Klangbad Records is the home of some of the most creative and experimental musicians in Germany. Faust is probably the most famous of them all, with a history stretching back to 1971. The label also has a number of non-German artists like the Russian experimentalists Ole Lukkøye, the folk-trance project Kangaroo Moon from the UK, and others.

Every year, Klangbad hosts a concert festival that has some of their best musicians as well as some from other labels. The Klangbad Festival is being held from August 1-3 this year, in the southern German town of Scheer. But, for the first time ever, the festival’s creators have decided to broadcast the entire 3-day performance live and free online. This is a fantastic idea that lets you check out the action even if you are simply too far away to actually attend the festival. Don’t miss it!

Who is performing at the Klangbad Festival this year? The major headliners on the first 2 days will be Mouse On Mars, one of Germany’s most influential electronic groups, and of course Klangbad’s own legend, Faust. Other big name artists include Bernadette la Hengst and Band, Kammerflimmer Kollektief, Jolly Goods, Pram, and Olafur Arnalds, along with dozens of other lesser-known musicians playing a wide range of musical styles. You can see the full list of artists and when they will be playing on the Klangbad Festival website.

The monks’ unusual success story started when a video of the Cistercian monks, who start their days at the generous time of 5:15 by praying, chanting at their monastery was posted on YouTube. The video soon became a minor internet hit, and when one of the monks sent an application for a contest held by Universal Records, they were soon offered a record contract. This was followed by the setting of a recording studio in their monastery, the recording of a full album, the filming a professional music video and the invasion of the European music charts.

If you’re in any way at all interested in medieval or classical music, you should really take at least a peek at Chant’s work. I’m sure you can enjoy them even if you’re not catholic or religious at all, I know I’m not either and I still did. There are various ways to check them out: you can hear a few songs on their website (player in the up-right corner), download the free song Hymnus ‘Veni Creator Spiritus’ here or just kind of watch the original video where it all started embedded after the break. You can order the album on Amazon, here for those stateside (the American version of the CD is titled Chant - Music for the Soul) and here for Europeans. I hid the rather huge tracklisting behind the link.

Tracklisting for Chant - Music for Paradise by Cistercian Monks Of Stift Heiligenkreuz
1. Antiphon “In Paradisum” et Psalmus 121 (122)
2. Responsorium “Subvenite”
3. Responsorium “Libera Me”
4. Stift Heiligenkreuz Bells
5. Missa pro defunctis: Introitus “Requiem aeternam”
6. Missa pro defunctis: Kyrie
7. Missa pro defunctis: Graduale “Requiem aeternam”
8. Missa pro defunctis: Tractus “Absolve Domine”
9. Missa pro defunctis: Offertorium “Domine Iesu Christe”
10. Missa pro defunctis: Sanctus
11. Missa pro defunctis: Post Elevationem: “Pie Iesu Domine”
12. Missa pro defunctis: Agnus Dei
13. Missa pro defunctis: Communio “Lux aeterna”
14. Ad Completorium: Deus in adiutorium
15. Ad Completorium: Hymnus “Te lucis ante terminum”
16. Ad Completorium: Psalmus 4
17. Ad Completorium: Psalmus 90 (91)
18. Ad Completorium: Pslamus 133
19. Ad Completorium: Lectio brevis
20. Ad Completorium: Responsorium breve
21. Ad Completorium: Canticum Simeonis “Nunc dimittis”
22. Ad Completorium: Kyrie
23. Ad Completorium: Oratio conclusive
24. Ad Completorium: Antiphona ad Beatam Mariam Virginem “Salve Regina”
25. Ad Completorium: Benedictio
26. Stift Heiligenkreuz Bells
27. Hymnus “Veni Creator Spiritus”
28. Introitus Dominica Pentecostes “Spiritus Domini”
29. Communio Dominica Pentecostes “Factus est repente”

Everyone here knows how great German music is, but if you are anything like Valtteri and I, it’s probably not the only thing you listen to. You might have a great love of all kinds of diverse musical styles, or you might be interested in foreign music for its cultural qualities. That’s how we feel, so a few weeks ago we decided to start a new project that focuses on a different region of Europe: the Nordic countries.

There is so much great music coming out of Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark, and Iceland, that we just had to find a way to share it with you. So, with the help of a few friends, we are really happy to launch our new blog NordicBoom.com. Go check it out! There are already several articles that were written during the time we were building the blog and there will definitely be many more to come.

Thanks to Valtteri, Paul, and Nadja for giving NordicBoom some life!

It looks like Eisbrecher’s new single “Kann Denn Liebe Sünde Sein?” could be delayed by one week. The new release date, according to Amazon.de, is July 18th, but EMP.de still says the 11th as of now. Neither site has a tracklisting yet, but if you’re a big Eisbrecher fan and you want to order the single as soon as possible, just head on over to Amazon.de and get it for 7.99 Euros. EMP is a Euro more and won’t ship to the USA anyway.

Amazon also gives us our first glimpse of the “Kann Denn Liebe Sünde Sein?” cover art. It seems pretty simplistic, nothing like previous Eisbrecher covers, but it is what it is. Click here or the image above to see a bigger version.

As for Eisbrecher’s forthcoming album Sünde…
There’s still not much info about it other than it will be available in 2 different versions. Both versions are available to pre-order from several sites including Amazon.de, AlphaMusic.de , and EMP.de.

Thanks to Nadja for keeping us up to date in this post.

3-CD Antikörper Summer Special

Eisbrecher also just released a 3 disc box set of their previous album Antikörper called the Antikörper Summer Special yesterday, June 27th. This limited edition item is essentially a combination of the album and its 2 related singles “Vergissmeinnicht” and “Leider”. You can find it on Amazon.de or EMP.de, both of which have it for the price of a typical album.

Herzwerk II re-released today

Some Megaherz fans will tell you that Herzwerk II is the band’s best album. It is fantastic, no doubt, and is the last album recorded with their original singer Alexx Wesselsky. Herzwerk II was originally released in 2002 on the new (at the time) BMG sublabel Firestarter, but they later shut down business, leaving Megaherz in need of yet another new label. One question that was never really asked was who got the rights for Herzwerk II after the demise of Firestarter. Now, it is apparent that Megaherz’s first (and also current) label ZYX got them. How can we tell? ZYX organized a re-release of Herzwerk II and it has just arrived in stores today!

Megaherz has yet to say anything about this, but luckily for German music fans, we are all over any news about Megaherz like flies on… well, you know. If you’re anything like us, you will notice right away that the re-release contains the bonus track “Es Brennt” which was originally only available on the limited edition digipack version of Herzwerk II. That’s good news if you weren’t able to get one of the digipacks when the album first came out, or if you are a newer fan. Want even better news? The re-release is actually cheaper than the original in most stores that still have it for sale. For the best prices, visit Amazon.com in North America or AlphaMusic.de in Europe.

Megaherz - Herzwerk II re-release tracklist:
01. Herzblut
02. Glas und Tränen
03. I.M. Rumpelstilzchen
04. 5. März
05. F.F.F. (Flesh for Fantasy)
06. Hand auf’s Herz
07. Zu den Sternen
08. Licht II (Instrumental)
09. Heute schon gelebt?
10. An deinem Grab
11. Perfekte Droge
12. Spiel nicht…
13. Gold
14. Es brennt

“Mann Von Welt” single also out today

Don’t forget that Megaherz’s new single “Mann Von Welt” is also being released today. Yes, the band announced that it would be out last week on June 20th, but all the shops say June 27th and since they have the ultimate control about when a CD is put on the shelf, we will go with their date. You can find both the basic version and the limited fan edition on EMP.de.

“Still Love You” is the second track off Die Happy’s new album VI, and it’s also the band’s second single for that album. The single, which is released today, contains 4 songs including a 2 different versions of “Still Love You”, the non-album song “Kill Me” and a live version of “Standing Strong”. There are also 2 music videos, one for “Still Love You” and the other for the band’s previous single “Peaches”.

You can either listen to samples of the 4 songs or buy the single for 5.99 Euros from AlphaMusic.de, one of our favorite German music sites.

Die Happy - Still Love You maxi single tracklist
01. Still Love You (New album version)
02. Kill Me
03. Standing Strong (Live and unplugged)
04. Still Love You
05. Still Love You (Video)
06. Peaches (Video)

The Viennese metal band Stahlhammer has just announced their first ever live appearance in the United States. They will be one of many bands performing at the Thunder of Gods Festival II outside of Austin, Texas, which will run from May 8-10 of 2009.

While the concert is still almost a year away, many of the details are already confirmed. It will be a 3-stage, 3-day weekend festival at RP Campground which is in the town of Dripping Springs, Texas. The pre-sale ticket price is expected to be $60 for the weekend which includes camping, and it will be BYOB.

The festival’s site will be announcing their first set of bands (and hopefully other details) in just a few days on June 30th. We’ll keep you up to date as the festival date comes closer.

An introduction to Resonator

Resonator is a duo from Münster, Germany, who makes some of the most unique and creative music you can find. Kai typically writes music for theater and works on film soundtracks, while Anja is a formally trained musician who plays the accordion for the Resonator project. Ambient electronic music mixed with accordions is certainly not a common combination of sounds, but I can assure you it’s something very special when you hear it.

Enter the Red Room Diner

Red Room Diner is Resonator’s first full length album, originally released in 2003. It starts out with the mysterious sounding intro “Avis De Securite”. Coming in at under a minute in length, the song doesn’t really give you much of a clue about what you’re in for. This could be the introduction for anything, it’s very abstract. What’s to come? It might surprise you…

The first real song is “Theme From Morgana” which makes clever use of samples from the film Morgana. What you really notice, though, is the haunting combination of accordions and the otherwise minimalist electronic music. It is surely an unfamiliar sound and leaves you wondering how this happened and why nobody else thought of it before. You don’t really know what to think so you just sit there in a daze and take it all in. What a track it is.

Song number three is called “Pond” and its subdued mellowness is reminiscent of some music by Boards Of Canada. “Fjords” then continues the French atmosphere that the accordions inspire, while being brought into the future by the spectacular electronic instrumentation. This is the sound heard in the streets of Paris on a cold, wintry day in 2108. Just one lone accordionist out there. The ambient background is just in your head, the soundtrack of the city.

But then, all of a sudden, the muted sounds of chaos and destruction can be heard from afar on “No School Today, No Home Today”. You think back for a moment and realize that all of this music did have somewhat of a post-apocalyptic sound to it, like people in despair. Or maybe it’s a war of religions and ideologies? “Truce” seems to suggest just such a thing with the first real vocals on the album, some Arabic chanting provided by guest Mohammed Cheban. What is going on here? Whatever it is, you get the feeling that something has been happening for a long time already and nobody wants it. Everyone is just trying to cope with the war and move on with their lives, but they are continually interrupted by leaders who are disconnected from the people they are supposed to represent. It is a deeply emotional track and its story is all too common.

“Le Cinquieme Cavalier” is almost celebratory by comparison. That familiar French accordion sound has returned and is a bit more traditional this time, at least in the beginning. You could also imagine hearing something like this in Venice while riding in a gondola. Still in the future, and still somewhere out in space, of course. Maybe this is what you would hear while navigating the canali of Mars. The gondolier’s alien voice even thanks you for riding at the end of the song.

The next track, “Mole People” is a bit more calm and even features a few lyrics, something that isn’t too common on the album. Red Room Diner formally finishes up with “Collida”, pairing the accordions with some funky beats that seem to wax and wane until the end of the song. There’s almost the feeling of a breakbeat at times, making for yet another great track.

You would be forgiven for turning off your CD player now, but stick around a little longer and you get to experience the awe inspiring hidden track “Infinity”. Close your eyes and imagine yourself floating somewhere in the middle of the universe with nothing else around for billions of miles. The feeling is frighteningly awesome. It’s a very different track than anything else on this album, but definitely one worth listening to.

Resonator both inspires and confuses with Red Room Diner. The blending of instruments and sounds that don’t usually fit together is so unique and foreign that the overall feeling is even more dramatic than what other ambient musicians can conjure up. There is little to compare it to, so the music is that much more powerful. Overall, this is easily one of the most fantastic and truly creative albums in recent years.

Now that we taken an in-depth look into Resonator’s album Red Room Diner, it might be appropriate to think about the concepts behind all of this. Here’s where we take a moment to have an interview with our new musician friends…

An interview with Kai and Anja

Greg: First of all, I have to say that you music is really very unique and wonderful to listen to, I like it a lot. But your combination of electronica and accordions is something I think most people would never try, or even think of. So where did this idea come from?

Kai: The accordeon is in fact something like the affordable preset synth is today — compared with a full fledged pipe organ it gives you amazing portability but still offers many different timbres of sound. To us it is the ancestor of modern keyboards and synthesizers. That is the technical side.

On the aesthetic side, we like to mix “real” instruments in with the electronics, because both sides have certain sonic qualities that the other can’t give you. A machine can play impossibly tight, fast and otherwise humanly impossible things. A real instrument is alive, chaotic and has many more ways of expression than most electronic sounds have to offer, especially when played by a proficient player. So we like to integrate the two for various reasons. Most of the time the accordeon lends itself to the melodic content whereas the electronics (and often an electronically treated accordeon) provide the mood, the beats and the harmonic background for our music.

Anja: Kai got it - but I want to add one idea: Our work is affected by a lot of contrasts and that is the charming thing of Resonator, I think. Resonator mixes electronic vs. real instruments like the accordion, subconcious vs. concious approaches, slow vs. rapid attitudes, straight vs. chaotic elements - even we two are contrasting charakcers. I think that is the juicy component which has made Resonator stick together for 12 years now.

Greg: Are you keeping a similar musical theme for the new album that’s coming out later this year?

Kai: Yes, certainly. We have many new tracks in the works, and we are trying to expand our world by trying out fresh new things, new approaches and interaction with other musicians (which is the best way to learn new things about music, I think). There might be vocals on the new album, we haven’t come to a conclusion on that, yet. But generally speaking, we are aiming for something pretty similar to Red Room Diner and most of the album will be instrumental again. Right now our working title is “green”, and even that shows our similar approach — centered around a color.

Greg: How did you meet your musical partner Anja?

Kai: we went to see a show of some electronic act a few years ago (1996). after the show we both had a geeky look at all their gear and started a conversation with the band (who were very nice people). We sat down for a chat and a beer with the band. After they had left to drive on home, we slowly realized how much both of us hated their music. We came to the understanding that we should certainly try to do better. I recently saw another gig with one of the performers of that concert and felt good about our trying…

Anja: Haha, yes - it happened exactly like this! The people from the band where really nice - but their sound and their way to work with all the funny equipment was definitely not our cup of tea. But honestly - I never imagined that something tangible would grow out of our very inspiring first meeting. I worked slow and dreamy as usual (Westfalia is sometimes a slow and dreamy area of Germany ) at my workplace in Münsters Acedemy of Fine Arts, when Kai surprised me with a rapid visit. Some tapes where swapped, some green teas where drunken and Resonator was born. Zap!

Greg: What connections do you have with film music? What have you done besides Morgana?

Kai: After we agreed to work together and jamming for the first times, we decided we should try out a few things for real. We took Nosferatu, the 1921 vampire silent film by FW Murnau and improvised a soundtrack. We did a series of gigs with that soundtrack in the metal shop of the Münster Academy of Fine Arts — a screen, an 16mm projector and all the metal shop machines with a strong oil smell. We had to change the reel halfway through the film and the rattle of the projector was sort of part of the soundtrack — all of that really added to the atmosphere.

Nosferatu was a success and we still play the soundtrack occasionally in movie theaters as well as a finish spy thriller (also silent) from 1929 called Korkein Voitto.

We met a few filmmakers over the years and made soundtracks for a few short films (the main other film besides Morgana would be “Flugversuch” (”Attempting to fly”), by Michael Spengler, an animation short about a cult that brainwashes its members until they are willing to lose their lives), others have asked (and received) permission to use material from our album Red Room Diner.

Anja: I studied at the Münster Academy of fine Arts when we first met. I was a student of Lutz Mommartz, an experimental film maker from Düsseldorf. He was Professor for experimental film at the Filmklasse there. He teached all about experimental film and the stuff around. Sound and sound installations where my main focus when I went to the Filmklasse. This as well as all the film-making around me taught me a lot about film music, about the association of sound and pictures. My work centers around film-like, narrative soundscapes and film music ever since.

Greg: I don’t see much news about live performances on your site. Do you strictly only do recorded music and film music?

Kai: Certainly not! we used play out live quite a bit — right now we are concentrating on our album and other projects, so gigs will have more of a priority after that is finished and released. We have a few gigs scheduled though: a silent film soundtrack on the 23rd of may in Pforzheim Germany and the Creole festival for World music in Dortmund (also Germany) on the 5th of September.

Greg: You seem to be involved in a lot of different projects (Fact, Canine, Resonator…) and I see you are the head of WAF80 Music, is that right? Is your music how you make your living?

Kai: WAF80 is actually a DIY label. I am publishing our releases on WAF80 and it’s my means to get things into all the download shops as well. Anja and I both pursue other projects, right now she is involved in putting together a film festival for August as well as in another project of classy dark ambient (www.thuja.net), whereas my main source of income is music for theater. The projects you mentioned (canine, Fact) were things that I did a long time ago, material that needed a name, some of it even before Anja and I had first met. Recently I started working with other projects but those are still in very early stages of production. It is a very different style of music though.

Greg: I also noticed that you took the photos for the Red Room Diner artwork. Do you also take photography and make artwork for other purposes?

Kai: Not really. Photography is just a hobby I enjoy. I showed my pictures to Anja while we were in the planning stages of the Red Room Diner release and she sort of curated them into something that tells a story, that gives them meaning.

For the new tracks for our upcoming album we shot short videos that we edited just for ourselves. Then we started writing the tracks as soundtracks for the videos we made. In the past we used still photographs edited and distorted with vj-programs to look like films, as projections for our live-shows. Maybe in the future we will finally start to use real videos for that purpose.

Anja: For me all kind of visuals are like filmstills or clippings from the film in my head. The sounds are the center of our artistic work - but sometimes those nonstop movies drip out of our heads a little and accompany and support the music. They are a very important element!
I think music from a fine arts approach - so sounds and visuals interfuse each other in a certain manner.

Greg: One last question I just have to ask. What message are you trying to send with your “intelligence requires countermeasures” motto?

Kai: It’s a pretty old meme for us, something that goes back to the gig where we met and similar ones. Some people in the New Music scene and the experimental electronica scene as well, are trying to be so smart about how they compose, that sometimes it seems to us they forget to listen to what their music sounds like. We are aiming to make music that has depth and meaning, but that frontmost goes through your stomach, has an emotional, sensual approach. I feel that you should be able to relate to music by listening to it — not by hearing a lecture about it first. This is not to say that many pieces of music actually do gain a deeper meaning if you know more about their background. But music should be sexy, not just academic.

Anja: I absolutely agree with Kai’s statement and want to add: *everything* should be sexy, not just academic!

Greg: Thanks very much for taking a few minutes with us. Good luck with all your future projects and the new album!

Kai: Thanks a lot for the interview and for doing what you do for German music!

Download the exclusive “Theme From Morgana” mix

We worked very closely with Resonator to help you experience the band in the best way possible. This article wouldn’t be complete without some of their music, so we asked if it might be possible for us to offer you a song to download. Not only did Kai agree to this, but he exceeded our expectations with an exclusive remix of “Theme From Morgana” that he created especially for this article!

Download the MP3 now (256 kbps, 14.5 MB) to own a special piece of Resonator’s work. Feel free to share it with your friends as you like and bring the band’s music to new ears. You can also download the full size artwork here.

Continue your Resonator experience

You have come so far, don’t stop now. CD Baby has 2-minute clips of all the songs from Resonator’s album Red Room Diner just waiting for you to give them a listen. That’s over 18 minutes of aural pleasure. Go check it out. And if you like what you hear, please buy the album there to support Kai and Anja’s talent. They will greatly appreciate it and their new upcoming album just might be a little bit better because of it.

Durch fremde Hand will be available as a basic jewel-case edition with both discs and a 20-page booklet, and in addition to that, there’s a strictly limited (2000 pieces worldwide) version in a digipak and a 28-page booklet. Now, this is where it gets complicated. First of all, there are differing accounts of the contents of disc 2, with some sites saying there are five new songs and others saying there’s six. Secondly, the only tracklisting I’ve found is a mammoth 19-piece one, and I just don’t have a bloody idea if it’s just for disc 1 or does it also include the tracks for disc 2. You can find it anyway at the end of this post.

Durch fremde Hand can be preordered at least at InfraRot and EMP, but word has it that it will be also be released in the US on Metropolis Records, so you should be able to get it from their shop or for example at Isotank.

Tracklisting for Durch fremde Hand by L’Âme Immortelle
1. 1000 Voices (Echoes Of A Thousand Voices Covered By ASP)
2. Behind The Light (Beautiful Light Remix By Bella Donna)
3. Bleib (Plastic Remix By Dope Stars Inc.)
4. Blutrot (Quiet Heart Remix By Necessary Response)
5. Das Kühle Grab
6. Durch Fremde Hand
7. Ein Blick Zurück
8. Es Tur Mir Leid (Entschuldigung Remix By Grendel)
9. Jenseits Der Schatten (Void Remix By Monozelle)
10. Lost (Pin-Up Remix By XPQ-21)
11. Namenlos (Drifting Downwards Remix By Perfidious Words)
12. Niemals (Club Remix By Wynardtage)
13. Now You’re Gone
14. Ophelia
15. Reborn (Hardcore Remix By Las Vegas 909)
16. Requiem (Satya Yuga Remix By Affentanz)
17. Suffocating Endlessly
18. The Cleansing (Voidian Cleansing Remix By Beyond The Void)
19. Vergessen (Die Namenlosen Von Berlin By Üebermutter)

This week’s Radio Goethe podcast is now online for your listening pleasure. In addition to the usual mix of styles, Arndt also has a few new songs for you. Most notable among them is the new Megaherz single “Mann Von Welt” which is being released this Friday. Be sure to listen to the podcast each week on RadioGoethe.org or iTunes to catch all the latest music from Germany.

Geist: Leider
Awen: Unexplained
LEM: Notorious Fault
Sonic Front: Wave Goodbye
In Extremo: Sängerkrieg
Megaherz: Mann von Welt
Rammstein: Amerika
Rammstein: Ich will
Beatsteaks: Hello Joe (live)
Jennifer Rostock: Kopf oder Zahl
Herwig Mitteregger: Glaspalast 2007
End of Green: My crying veins