Tolyqyn is a Berlin-based three piece alternative rock band founded by Roland Satterwhite (Moka Efti Orchestra, Django Lassi) featuring his vocals, and invented “plucked viola” style. The band is defiantly cross-genre, incorporating jazz harmonies, Ghanaian highlife groove as well as other genres which have influenced the trio’s musicians on their distinct sonic journeys around the world. Their eponymous debut album received critical acclaim and led to appearances and features on German television and various radio stations (Radio Bremen, SWR, Deutschlandfunk Kultur, WDR, Radio Eins, and others). Since the release of their debut, the band has toured extensively at festivals and stages in Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and Denmark, including the International Music Meeting (NL), Tollwood (DE), Traumzeit (DE), and Copenhagen Jazz Fest (DK).
The band is dedicated to the art of the song, but also at the same time, capable of extended jams. At certain moments, Satterwhite sounds like Sting, singing intimate and melodic lines; other moments, the band goes into extended techno-like grooves with low pass filters reminiscent of the Berlin club scene. Riding this line between focussed and distilled songwriting, and the rhapsodic and expansive freedom of improvisation, the musicians are masters of their respective instruments.
The band released their second album, “Silver Seed”, on October 20, 2023, supporting the release with 15 concerts in Germany and Switzerland, including at Maschinenhaus in Berlin and at Burghof in Loerrach. They also have established small but devoted followings in Frankfurt and Munich.
