Duisburg post-punk duo Mottek87 released “Kleinkunst” on 14 August 2026 as a self-released digital EP. It runs three tracks and just over nine minutes: the title track at 2:46, “Oszillation” at 3:16 and “Widerstand” at 3:00. Downloads are offered in MP3, FLAC and 24-bit/44.1 kHz at a name-your-price minimum of one euro, and no physical edition has been issued.

Zbigniew F. and Jürgen W. record as Mottek87 in a downtown Duisburg apartment with the shutters closed. The two mix post-punk guitars, cold synths and programmed drums, with Jürgen W. singing in German. Their own release copy describes them as “two long-time friends from Duisburg telling stories from a region in transition”.

What Mottek87 mean by ‘Kleinkunst’

The German title carries a double meaning: cabaret or variety performance on one reading, small art on the other. The duo set out what they wanted the word to do here:

“Kleinkunst is about realizing that change is not automatically freedom.”

They added a second line on the same point: “Sometimes something gets better, and you still need time to stop being angry about it.”

Their Bandcamp page places that reading in a region undergoing structural change, which is the setting the duo have used since their first upload in January 2025.

About Mottek87

Mottek87 are a post-punk duo from Duisburg in Germany’s Ruhr area, formed in 2024 by Zbigniew F. and Jürgen W., two long-time friends of Polish descent who decided to make a record after an evening of drinking beer and listening to records. Jürgen W. sings; the pair build their tracks from guitars, bass, programmed drums and sparse synthesizers, with lyrics in German.

The project’s first upload was the track “Grausamkeit” on 6 January 2025, followed a month later by the album “Wir kaufen und verkaufen alles” on 7 February 2025. The single “YOGTZE” arrived on 3 August 2025, the album “Zadamy Chleba” on 28 November 2025, and “Duisburger Schule” on 10 April 2026.

Every Mottek87 release has been self-released and digital-only, sold directly through Bandcamp at name-your-price. The duo have not signed to a label and have not announced live dates. “Kleinkunst” is their sixth release in nineteen months and their first since “Duisburger Schule” in April.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

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