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We have already posted a whole bunch of these city guides over the past couple of years, but I doubt we have ever featured a band that loves their hometown as much as Germany's KMPFSPRT. This hardcore band out of Cologne even went as far as to record an entire album worth of songs about their city where they blast through ten songs in just ten minutes. 'KMPFSPRT' is already the band's fifth album and will be out July 17 via Uncle M Music. Read on to find out all about one of my favorite German cities!

PRT: What made you first fall in love with the city?

First time I came to Cologne on my own was to see a couple of punk bands play in the beginning of the 90s. I still remember how awesome it felt to be surrounded by like-minded people, so many of them too, singing along to songs that I loved and experiencing counter culture for the first time. I realized that the world was a much bigger place than the small town I grew up in at that moment, and that completely changed my life.

PRT: If you had to come up with a marketing slogan for the city, what would it be?

Cologne – like Berlin, but without the hipsters

PRT: Best place to play?

They tore down Underground last year, best club ever. But we still have Gebäude 9, love to play there, love to see bands there!

PRT: Best place to go for a late night drink after the show?

There's 2 bars that I love equally: Stereo Wonderland and Frieda. Both have a great punkish indie-vibe, cheap drinks and very nice people. Oh, and let's not forget about Sonic Ballroom too!

PRT: Best place to go for a late night snack after the drink after the show?

I really like Habibi Falafel at Zülpicher Straße, you can get a Falafel Sandwich to go for less than 2 Euros, it's vegan, tastes great, and even if you get sick after all those drinks – not a big financial loss!

PRT: Best touristy thing to do in the city?

I guess I have to go with “Check out the Dome”. It really is special and looks like a cathedral out of a vampire movie or something. They just don't build stuff like that anymore. You can also climb up all those stairs, but it takes about an hour all the way up to the top, so make sure you're not too hungover, or just stay the fuck down and have a drink at one of the many breweries  around there.

PRT: Best hidden spot in the city?

There's a great illegal punk-club pretty much in the inner city, but that's all I can say about it, wouldn't want the cops to find out. You'll get there eventually if you ask the right kids. Lots of cool shows there!

PRT: One thing you would like to see changed in the city?

I really wish they would stop the gentrification. Almost impossible to rent an affordable apartment in the inner city these days, also they shut down a lot of the good clubs because of that shit.

PRT: What's your best memory about the city?

There are so many of them and they all kinda blur together at some point so it's really hard to say, but it's probably about seeing a band like HOT WATER MUSIC play at some sweaty small club in the middle of summer and then spending the rest of the night outside drinking with all my friends and just having a blast all the fucking time. Stuff like that still happens a lot and I still love it. 

PRT: Where in the city did you get your heart broken?

Where didn't I?

PRT: Is there a historical fact about your city that makes you chuckle?

Cologne Bundesliga Football Club 1. FC Köln once bought a player in the 1960s for a lot of money from Belgrad, but they send them his very limited identical twin brother instead and kept the talented guy for themselves. At least that's what the rumors say and I just WANT to believe it.

PRT: Favorite song about your city you'd like to share, either yours or someone else's?

There aren't a lot of songs about Cologne that I like, which was one of the reasons for us to write that 7”. But if I have to, I wanna say “In uns'rem Veedel” by Bläck Fööss.