Tocotronic is a German rock band founded in 1993 (see 1993 in music). Similar to Blumfeld or Die Sterne they are considered a part of the Hamburger Schule (School of Hamburg) movement. They are influential for bands such as Wir sind Helden.

Tocotronic got signed to L' Age D' Or, a German independent record label situated in Hamburg, in 1994 after quickly gaining popularity in the local scene. Their early style consists of ironic sloganeering ("I want to be part of a youth movement") and almost diary-like songwriting, paired with a lo-fi rock sound. In 1995 they released their debut-album "Digital ist besser" (Digital is better). Their third album, released in 1996, was the first to hit the German charts. The music got more complex over time, their lyrics less direct, resulting in a sound that was compared to that of Pavement on Tocotronic's 1999 album "K.O.O.K". The self-titled "White Album", released in 2002, features dreamlike songs; metaphoric, heavily produced, highly polished, it completes a slow but steady course away from their early works ("eins zu eins ist jetzt vorbei" - "one-to-one is over now").