Review by Dream_Taster

1997’s “Sehnsucht” is the second studio album from the most exposed German singing band on earth, Rammstein. In their characteristic style, quite difficult to label, but I guess close to Industrial Metal. Those six former East-Germans reached a status of international stars with this very album, especially in the United States, all of this starting after some of their songs were selected for a movie soundtrack ['Lost Highway' by David Lynch]. Then, this album just overwhelmed everybody who had the chance to listen to it, and all of this despite of the fact that all the songs use the natural language of the band, German. It even became mandatory for the band to sing in German since it has become one of the trademark of their music.

After you’ll unpacked the CD from its freaky artwork, it’s nearly impossible to put it back in there as it’s so unusual and transporting! Repetitive chorus, slow mechanical rhythms, hypnotic lyrics and odd keyboard lines make “Sehnsucht” into a curiosity that only the discovery of their first album “Herzeleid” can tied.

“Sehnsucht” is a collection of eleven songs, all around 4 minutes, and all so indispensable to the ambient atmosphere of the album. From the eponymous opener to the controversial “Küss Mich Fellfrosch” [I won’t translate that one, find out by yourself!], every song is an oeuvre d’art. True radio hits, especially in Germany, ‘Engel’ and ‘Du Hast’ are both amongst the best songs ever written by Rammstein. But it’s almost impossible to find a weak link on this album! ‘Eifersucht’, ‘Spielt Mit Mir’,... every track is worth a thousand words. My personal favorites are still ‘Klavier’, a odd ballad through the eyes of a sick mind, both heavy and melodic, and ‘Sehnsucht’, catchy as hell.

Rammstein is a phenomenon that needs to be checked out quickly if you still don’t know it. While their first album “Herzeleid” is probably better in the whole, “Sehnsucht” is without a doubt a great introducer to their music. Dark and complex lyrics add to the mystery that [still] follows the band, twisted emotions arise and Rammstein prevails.

初听的时候,还以为是一把童声在唱歌,完全被吓到了...Annett Louisan的声音像一股清泉,非常特别的.她歌声里的纯真让我感动不已...
一个身高一米五二的娇小女人，一张邻家女孩一般平和亲柔的脸。
Annett Louisan 并不是踩着美色，家世，力量的叱咤风火轮踏入乐坛的。
25岁的Annett生于德国一个单亲家庭，父亲似乎从来就是一页早已翻过的日历，一个封存在岁月以外的话题。没有father figure的童年也可以没阴影，Annett在祖父母的庇护下无忧地度过了青稚岁月。
唱歌就象她的另一艺术爱好绘画一样自然而然地嵌入她的成长。当她在汉堡学习绘画的时候，Annett开始在酒馆打工演唱来支付学习和生活的费用。城市这个五彩斑斓的大舞台不仅为她的演唱日渐成熟提供了养足的沃土，融入歌艺圈枝节相连，脉络互通的庞大关系网更为Annett日后的成功奠定了基础。
在Annett的歌声中，你可以捕捉到很多歌坛元老巨匠的收放自如，对歌曲驾驭的随心所欲。但是她那纯得似水的音色又那么熨贴地拂过你的耳侧，将你包绕。你听她不动声色地向你讲述那些饰色的出演(Das Spiel)，那些虚遮的谎言(Die Luege)，你会在她的歌声里心痛了，为了这个美音的歌者，为了那些渐行泛起的尘封记忆。。。。

style nujazz / headz / groove

Review by Blair Sanderson
Antonio Vivaldi's Le Quattro Stagioni is one of the most beloved works in Baroque music, and even the most casual listener can recognize certain passages of "Spring" or "Winter" from frequent use in television commercials and films. Yet if these concertos have grown a little too familiar to experienced classical fans, Max Richter has disassembled them and fashioned a new composition from the deconstructed pieces. Using post-minimalist procedures to extract fertile fragments and reshape the materials into new music, Richter has created an album that speaks to a generation familiar with remixes, sampling, and sound collages, though his method transcends the manipulation of prerecorded music. Richter has actually rescored the Four Seasons and given the movements of Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter thorough makeovers that vary substantially from the originals. The new material is suggestive of a dream state, where drifting phrases and recombined textures blur into walls of sound, only to re-emerge with stark clarity and poignant immediacy. Violinist Daniel Hope is the brilliant soloist in these freshly elaborated pieces, and the Konzerthaus Kammerorchester Berlin is conducted with control and assurance by André de Ridder, so Richter's carefully calculated effects are handled with precision and subtlety. Deutsche Grammophon's stellar reproduction captures the music with great depth, breadth, and spaciousness, so everything that Richter and de Ridder intended to be heard comes across.

甚至比传说还遥远。
就在远古的美拉尼西亚人的记忆里。
西南太平洋群岛的一片暗黑礁石上，
Adaro低声吹奏着风笛，美丽而忧伤。
Adaro是一种美人鱼。
她们从太阳深处而来，
顺着彩虹到达有人的水域，
平时消隐在海上龙卷风中。
人类不曾遗忘这样一种美人鱼，Adaro，
古老而神秘的传说，恬静而美好的事物。
琴弦轻缓拨动着，圆润清新的人声颂咏着，
Adaro从太阳出发，沿着彩虹，到达了水。
听她的歌唱吧。

Annwn这张发行自中古大厂Curzweyhl, 实力自然不容小觑。看曲目表，一首又一首的中古民谣，虽然已经被诸多乐队翻唱无数遍，但是她再翻自然有她的道理。首先是曲子都是优美异常，传唱许久，再次就是她能对其做些自己的诠释。这个德国一男一女的乐队，从骨子里透出那股凯尔特的香气，就是这张最大的亮点。笛子，竖琴和小提亲，挑起了器乐部分，而女主唱一把嘹亮的嗓子则挑起了人声部分。有些曲子，比如madre deus和cuncti simus，一直一来都是非常快的，几乎可以作为舞曲来听。但是Annwn版本的则属于慢拍的抒情小调，跟着女主唱慢慢吟唱这些几百年前的曲子，是相当的一种享受。这张专辑的出现，似乎继续着中古凯尔特化的进程。期待不久某个团能出一个所谓mittelmarkt类型的与这股潮流抗衡啊。