The dreamy, surfy sounds of Cactus for Breakfast

Vitamin B — The Berlin-based band blends eclectic lyrics and influences spanning The Ventures, King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard and Fela Kuti into a swirl of garage psych. We caught up with them as they brought their jubilant live show to Huck’s showcase on the final night of SXSW London.

Berlin, the city that pulsates at 140bpm, is not the first place you think of when you think of the surf-garage scene. But that’s where indie band Cactus for Breakfast found each other and their audience. 

On a musician-seeking-musician message board, Robin Wilms and Shane Wagner, Thomas Dwi Putra and, following a succession of drummers, Yannic Fischer, connected through a shared love of the gentle-buzzy reverb of 60’s surf-psychedelia and the surf and skate scene. A niche community in Germany’s techno wonderland, yet a sound that resonates with many. “Anyone who’s been in pop culture, they’ve heard this sort of sound, even if they don’t know the name of it,” Wagner says. Those who aren’t familiar with Dick Dale and the rolling lull of surf’s Middle Eastern and Mexican roots will recognise the fizzing, fluttering electric guitar that helped iconify the Pulp Fiction soundtrack. 

Cactus for Breakfast’s discography drifts from dance-y, dreamlike funk to twangy bluegrass, unified by a heady surf-nostalgia that creates melodies that feel like a desert road trip at dusk. But throughout the genre-bends, a thread of similarity runs throughout – “the little cactus vibe”, Wilms calls it. Drummer Fischer explains it as the sound you get when you turn off an amp, a buzzing with a hint of spring reverb, that trickles into each song. 

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Berlin provides the right space for exploring new sounds – a creatively abundant environment and, more practically, a city that affords artists the ability to work full-time, make music on the side and still have a social life. The German Music Export initiative also subsidises travel for up-and-coming musicians to perform at gigs. Wilms and Wagner explain the scheme was how they were able to perform at Huck’s SXSW gig at Village Underground. 

But Berlin, like anywhere else, is still a place where, as Wilms explains, “everybody’s trying to get somewhere and have a career, especially in the music industry.” Their song ‘Vitamin B’,  German slang for ‘connections’, deals with the tribulations of breaking into the music world when you don’t have the right contacts. “If you know people, you know, people; if you don't, you're just screwed,” Wilms says. Cactus for Breakfast tracks move steadily from industry frustrations, to grief and loneliness, to tripping on desert cacti. Harder topics retain their distinctive drippy surf-psych filter, creating warm, hazy melodies that create a sense of melancholy just beneath the surface.

“I think a lot of songs that we have are just fun moments in life. Like, having a cigarette or sugar coating bad memories, because you were a bit weird last night, and you just want to... forget what you did when you had too much booze.” Wilm says. 

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Cactus for Breakfast has more singles ready to be released, and a busy summer of German festivals to cover. But for their debut album, they want to go more psychedelic, all while preserving the fun and unconventional. “It’s just fun to be a bit weird on stage,” Wagner says. “We try to really embrace it. We can go on stage and just be our weird selves and just be doing strange stuff and not have this façade of being a cool musician.” 

Cactus for Breakfast performed at Huck x SXSW London’s showcase on Friday, July 5 at Village Underground alongside shame, Master Peace and Honey I’m Home. For more information, visit SXSW London’s official website.

Roxana Diba is a freelance journalist. Follow her on Instagram.

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