Viennese Melange Vol. 6
Belle Fin - Vereter - The Scottish principle
For the first time, the sixth edition of our „Wiener Melange“ series was not curated by a single person, but was announced in 2025 via an open call in collaboration with „Austrian Music Export“ and „mica“. Three highly topical acts were selected from more than 100 applications to present their individual Viennese signatures to an audience.
Belle Fin
Belle Fin are not a band that stages itself, but one that you encounter. The Viennese duo, consisting of Fabian Belfin-Wisniewski and Robin Ullmann, works with guitar and trumpet and moves confidently between different forms of musical expression. Expanded to a quintet, with accordion and double bass, the music grows into a poetic fairground band in which circus, melancholy and quiet humour resonate. Their music is deeply rooted in the Viennese song, but reaches far beyond that. Jazz, blues, chanson, pop and a raw, sometimes almost punkish directness flow naturally into one another. The result is a sound language full of nuances: melancholic and exuberant at the same time, elegant and earthy, always carried by a fine sense of rhythm, dramaturgy and atmosphere. The lyrics tell of loving and losing, of intoxication and the aftermath, of compassion, the search for truth and the small absurdities of everyday life. Belle Fin invite their audience to travel with them: to a place where melancholy dances, laughter is allowed and songs still do what they are made for - bringing people together.
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Vereter
VERETER is the acoustic alter ego of Viennese musician Pete Prison IV - and one of those voices that give the Viennese song a long overdue perspective update. Rooted in the dialect, the humour and the narrative tradition of the city, VERETER stubbornly refuses to continue singing about Vienna as a cosy backdrop. Instead, he focuses on the present: on fractures, frictions and everything that is often ignored in classic Viennese songs. As a second-generation Viennese child, VERETER tells stories from a queer-migrant perspective that encompasses experiences of foreignness, attributions and everyday marginalisation as well as moments of solidarity, humour and resistance. His songs deal with encounters in public spaces, neighbourhoods, loneliness and identity - always unagitated, often sharply observed and with a keen sense for the nuances of everyday life. In terms of sound, VERETER favours reduction rather than transfiguration. Guitar, accordion, piano and occasionally a sparingly used band accompaniment carry lyrics that gain urgency precisely through their simplicity. The Viennese song is not dismantled here, but reoriented: away from romanticised self-reflection and towards an open, contemporary narrative form. The result is music that, despite its heaviness, allows hope, retains humour and resonates for a long time. VERETER shows that tradition does not have to be a stagnation - but a material that can be changed if you have the courage to tell new stories in it.
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The Scottish principle
Behind the unconventional name lies a quartet that sees pop not as a feel-good zone, but as a space for experimentation. The band is roughly what would have emerged if Nico, Wolf Biermann and Nina Hagen had formed a band together, taken a long educational leave in London in the late 1970s and emerged in Vienna after a long period of back and forth, disillusioned and inspired in equal measure. This formation, consisting of the four Viennese Julia Reißner (Voc/Git), Viktoria Mezovsky (Git), Jana Mitrovic (Bass) and Petra Fraißl (Drums), captivates with its very own charm and its courage to be different. The lyrics are sophisticated and not only bring together themes such as Nietzsche, fear of failure or the endless desire to travel without pathos, but also create their own little worlds that you can't get out of your head. In terms of sound, the band moves through different spheres with great naturalness. Heavy rock outbursts stand next to new wave references, pop melodies meet electronic coolness, mechanically driving rhythms meet dancing lightness. Jungle drums, quaver bass riffs, ska gestures and shimmering synth pads combine to create a sound that both urges and seduces.
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