[photo by Christian Thiele]
Captured Howls is hosting a new video for “Lied Aus Stille” from Germany outspoken rock/folk icon, FRIEDEMANN, as Exile On Mainstream prepares for next week’s release of the artists new double-live album, Mehr Sein Als Schein – Friedemann Live II.
“Lied Aus Stille appeared on FRIEDEMANN’s first album Uhr vs. Zeit, released in 2014. With FRIEDEMANN’s heartfelt live interaction with the audience and the superb delivery of the song, the new video is brought to life through a collage of stunning photos taken by renowned German photographer Christian Thiele.
FRIEDEMANN offers with the premiere, “The life circle consists of Becoming, Being, and Vanishing. We mortals must accept this if we want to resonate with the nature surrounding us. The song ‘Lied Aus Stille’ (‘Song From Silence’) beautifully describes the path reaching this harmony. The lyrics are based on a poem by the German writer Eva Strittmatter, named ‘Vor Dem Winter’ (‘Before The Winter’). It’s a quiet song and a part of me and my live shows for some years now. It’s full of power and pure poetry at the same time.
Friend and Exile On Mainstream owner Andreas Kohl writes, “The pictures are original photographs by Christian Thiele, a renowned photographer from Ruegen Island, FRIEDEMANN’s home base. Both have been friends for years and Christian has a huge part in the visual concept of FRIEDEMANN’s appearance by being responsible for every official picture of the artist. Christian has also photographed several other acts on the label such as Conny Ochs and Tricky Lobsters to name a few. As a photographer he has earned a strong following not only for his artist pictures but also and in several circles even more, for his work in photographing nature and especially the beautiful landscape along the German Baltic Sea coast, in particular on Ruegen Island. He’s considered ‘The Ruegen Photographer’ over here in Germany. The pictures in the slide show video correspond directly with the lyrics which don’t need any hidden message to be transported. They are a direct visual counterpart to the descriptive content of the song giving listeners not familiar with the German language enough hints to relate to the song.
In the spoken intro of the song FRIEDEMANN refers to the above described circle of life and the several seasons nature is going through; summer, fall, winter, spring. He expresses concerns that living in harmony with the seasonal circle might be something that people are missing today by living in cities and trying to escape it by going on vacations and moving.”
Writes Captured Howl with the video’s debut, “A push towards taking in the beauty shining around us shines brightly in the new video… Sometimes, precisely what we need is a reminder, however forceful, to stop and look around.”
See FRIEDEMANN’s “Lied Aus Stille” video at Captured Howls RIGHT HERE.
Mehr Sein Als Schein – Friedemann Live II will see release through Exile On Mainstream next Friday, October 4th. The 2xLP package features over one-hundred-eleven minutes of music and is pressed on 180-gram pure virgin black vinyl packaged in a wide-spine sleeve, in a limited run of 500 copies worldwide. While the vinyl does include an mp3 download card of the album, there will be no digital or CD release of the record.
Find preorders at the label webshop HERE and see the “Gelassen” video at THIS LOCATION.
FRIEDEMANN continues to perform live regularly across Germany and Europe and is working on new material for the next studio full-length which will follow in 2020. Exile On Mainstream is releasing a special USB stick containing FRIEDEMANN’s discography which will only be available only on live dates. Stay tuned to all live dates HERE and watch for additional news to be issued in the weeks ahead.
FRIEDEMANN Tour Dates:
10/03/2019 Zukunft – Berlin, DE *Record Release Party
10/04/2019 20 Years Of Chaos Festival – Ilmenau, DE
10/05/2019 AJZ Banane – Erfurt, DE
10/06/2019 AJZ Talschock – Chemnitz, DE (matinee)
10/18/2019 Logo – Hamburg, DE
10/19/2019 House Show – Freiberg, DE
10/20/2019 Cafe Wagner – Jena, DE (matinee)
11/01/2019 House Show – Kamen, DE
11/02/2019 Rock Cafe Kasa – Lüneburg, DE
11/03/2019 Hansa 48 – Kiel, DE (matinee)
11/13/2019 Heile Welt – Münster, DE
11/14/2019 Oetinger Villa – Darmstadt, DE
11/15/2019 Don’t Panic – Essen, DE
11/16/2019 Dirty Dancing – Osnabrück, DE
11/29/2019 Peter-Weiß-Haus – Rostock, DE
11/30/2019 Beatpol – Dresden, DE w/ Conny Ochs
12/01/2019 Puschkinhaus – Halle/Saale, DE
With three studio full-length albums and a prior live album under his belt, FRIEDEMANN remains one of the most truly independent figures in the German music underground. Having been recently dubbed, “the German Ian MacKaye,” by no less figure than Scott “Wino” Weinrich, due to his DIY-ethics and no-compromise attitude, FRIEDEMANN has earned merits for being outspoken and a true honest voice of reason in nowadays chaos and self-centered society. His natural gift for storytelling is revealed in his native language, German, and shines through poetic soulful blues alongside straight and radical statements on this new live album, which contains a full concert recorded in Berlin in November 2018.
Mehr Sein Als Schein – Friedemann Live II itself puts a closing bracket around an important part in FRIEDEMANN’s career: recorded with a full live band whose line up incorporates his brother Johannes and long-time friend Matze who left the band amicably shortly after the tour. This album therefore marks a recording that punters might not be able to witness live again as FRIEDEMANN will remain on touring solo or as a two-guitarist lineup in the future. The live setting itself reveals FRIEDEMANN’s outspoken nature as well as his approach to doubts and questions being raised by today’s culture and society setups.
With narrative and radical statements linking the songs, he leaves all standards of song announcements we might be used to. The statements in between the songs create another level in approaching his art and can move the listener deeply. Sentiments like this one show how much sense live albums can make as they illustrate in almost perfect manner how much of a personal connection an artist can reach with a crowd when leaving the comfort zone of just pleasing an audience. This album is a challenge as much as it is a blissful experience.
http://www.facebook.com/Friedemann.ruegen
http://www.friedemann-ruegen.de
http://www.mainstreamrecords.de