Betterov

Inspired sonically by the works of Bruce Springsteen, the Smiths and the Cure (but never betraying the unique perspectives and German upbringing that help define him), Betterov has connected with listeners in his homeland thanks to songs like “Dussman” and “Schlaf gut” (from his 2022 debut OLYMPIA) as well as “In meinem Zimmer spielen sich Dramen ab” (from his 2025 follow-up Große Kunst). Manuel Bittorf was born in Bad Salzungen in 1994. Early musical influences ran the gamut from Bruce Springsteen's “Thunder Road,” classic rock acts like the Doors and Grand Funk Railroad, all the way to Nirvana's epoch-defining sound, which inspired him to pick up the guitar as a teenager. After a brief apprenticeship as a mechanic, Bittorf worked as a musician at a local theater in Eisenach, honing his own musical style along the way. Bittorf drew inspiration from unexpected sources as a burgeoning artist, from the unfinished Georg Büchner play Woyzeck (a psychodrama about a soldier caught in the cogs of the military-industrial complex) to the Danish film The Olsen Gang Goes to Jutland (he borrowed his stage name Betterov from a character in the script). His soaring, rhythmic indie rock was starting to win over audiences, first as a club act and then opening for English-speaking groups like Kaiser Chiefs and the Gaslight Anthem. His independent debut EP Viertel vor Irgendwas and a 2021 acoustic version of its track “Angst” were well-received, and he soon signed a contract with Island Records' German office to release his debut album OLYMPIA. It reached the local Top Five and featured well-received tracks like “Dussmann” and “Schlaf gut,” blending post-punk energy with confessional lyrics about dreaming of a better life. A re-release featured alternative versions of album tracks and the new song “Mein leiben ist monoton,” a collaboration with indie pop band Provinz. (Both acts participated in Bandpool, a musical development program at the Pop Academy of Baden-Württemberg.) 2025 saw the release of his conceptual Große Kunst, a Top Ten album in its debut week; it featured deeply personal tracks like “In meinem Zimmer spielen sich Dramen ab” and the two-song epic “17. Juli 1989” and “18. Juli 1989,” which told the real-life story of Betterov's father’s escape from East to West Germany in the months before reunification. ~ Mike Duquette