Guano Apes - Dödel Up

JAN 29 2001 · 12:00

Guano Apes - Dödel Up (2001) Director: Gerhard Hahn Era: Post-Grunge / Nu-Metal Transition Era (2000–2001) - Late wave of European nu-metal crossover; German alternative rock at peak commercial visibility on MTV Europe and VIVA, with experimental animation entering the music video format. High curatorial value as a rare documented example of a professional German animation studio (Hahn Film AG) applying feature-film-grade 2D animation craft to a music video commission for a major alternative rock act. The video is a time-capsule artifact of 2001 German music television, nu-metal visual culture, and the early experimentation with animated band identity. Its confirmed director, documented broadcast history, and status as a creative departure within the Guano Apes catalog make it a primary source for multiple research threads. Context: Released in early 2001, 'Dödel Up' arrived during the peak commercial moment for European nu-metal and alternative rock crossover acts. Guano Apes were among the most prominent German rock exports of the era, riding the success of their second album Don't Give Me Names (2000) on BMG/Supersonic. The choice to produce a fully animated video, rather than the conventional performance or narrative live-action format, was a deliberate creative risk that distinguished the single from contemporaries. The video's broadcast debut on VIVA, Germany's leading youth music channel, placed it squarely in the cultural orbit of late-1990s/early-2000s German music television. The animation-meets-rock format had a precedent in the Gorillaz project launched the same year, suggesting a broader transatlantic appetite for animated band identity. Director notes: Hahn directed this fully animated music video for Guano Apes' single 'Dödel Up', released in 2001 via Supersonic/BMG. The video was a deliberate creative departure from the band's prior live-action music videos. It presents the band as half-bodied animated pencil-holder characters in a 2D animation style, composited with live-action footage. The video first aired on German music channel VIVA in February 2001. The single's CD-ROM multimedia component included sketches for the video, indicating a documented pre-production design phase. The production was credited under copyright to Supersonic (2001). Hahn's background in feature German animation and his studio infrastructure made him a natural fit for this ambitious animated music video commission.