That Time Township Rebellion Broke Their 8-Year Silence
For the better part of their career, Township Rebellion posed a special sort of social commentary. How best to speak out against the state of affairs plaguing dance culture? They decided it was not to say anything at all.
The German duo, comprised of Arthur Wagner and Marlon Mürle, launched their project in 2012. They eschewed interviews and commanded a depersonalized social media presence, using it as a channel for announcements with little to no mention of their individual lives. At a time when people around the world found themselves starved for connection, Wagner and Mürle decided to break their silence at long last.
2020 marked the beginning of the COVID pandemic. Amid the uncertainty and crossed signals from authority figures, Township Rebellion felt called to build a more personal bond with their audience.
It also just so happened that the same period brought the release of their EP 2020 on RÜFÜS DU SOL’s Rose Avenue imprint. What better time than this life-changing turning point for Township Rebellion to show the world who they were?
Insightful gems stud their interviews from that period. Perhaps the most notable is their Q&A with FLAUNT, in which they touch on the importance of resisting one’s fear of missing out.
“No matter if you’re just starting out or far ahead, the world always has a lot of things to tell you to do, to follow, etc. to gain success,” they said. “But how can you create something new if you’re just following a path everyone goes?”
Perhaps the most telling quote came when VMAN asked about the philosophy behind 2020. It was not originally from them, but German painter Gerhard Richter. “If you want me to explain what I have drawn I would have used words to express myself and not a painting,” he said.
Even with their move to face the public, Township Rebellion have not grown much less mysterious. What careful words they’ve shared paint them as layered artists who each contain multitudes.
