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This talk discussed the ways in which local history, identity, and politics in Dresden have been shaped by performances and cultures of brass music for the past 100 years. While much has been discussed about the collaborative practice of brass bands and their music, past and present (neo)colonial appropriations and the ways in which they engage and shape local cultural politics remain underconsidered. In particular colonial and neocolonial appropriations of brass music reveal continuing efforts to use brass instruments and their distinct signaling sound as functional vessels to impose or shift hegemonic epistemologies. A genealogy of brass music in Dresden sheds light on brass music’s role in this kind of social mobilization in this setting. The examples discussed range from military and para-military bands at the turn of the 19th to the 20th century to political agitation with brass during the GDR and after the reunification to contemporary brass music activism. Each of these instances shows how, what I term, “collaborative brass-ivism” in Dresden sets in motion reflections on local identities. That concerns notions of community, nation, and belonging, but also ideas of hegemonic domination and colonization. Furthermore, this case highlights the many facets of brass music in politicized settings such as Dresden. The discussion of ethnographic fieldnotes and local historical music sources shows that brass music is and remains an important vehicle for celebrating but also for (re)negotiating local identities. Brass music’s musical aesthetic builds on the organological build and purpose of the instrument: a sonic prosthesis. The signaling sound of brass music is directional, almost messianic in pushing citizens, who perceive themselves to be in resistance, into audibility and visibility. As such, brass instruments, their instrumentalists, as well as their sound can set into motion an aesthetic of force.