by Tim DiGravina
Alphaville's 1984 debut, Forever Young, deserves to be viewed as a classic synth pop album. There's no doubting that Germans are behind the crystalline Teutonic textures and massive beats that permeate the album, but vocalist Marian Gold's impressive ability to handle a Bryan Ferry croon and many impassioned high passages meant the album would have worldwide appeal. Indeed both "Big in Japan" and the touching, sad change-of-pace "Forever Young" raced up the charts in multiple continents. Borrowing inspiration from Roxy Music's detached theatricality and Kraftwerk's beats and rhythms, Gold and company hit upon a magic formula that produced here an album's worth of impossibly catchy tunes that could almost serve as pure definitions for the synth pop genre. The hits race straight for one's cranium and embed themselves upon impact. "Big in Japan" feels like a more serious cousin to Murray Head's "One Night in Bangkok," as a slow-pounding beat spars with Gold's desperate voice. "Forever Young," a stark, epic song that would become essential for every post-1984 high school graduation, drips sadness and never fails to cause a listener to nostalgically reflect on life and loss. Outside of these hits, the remainder of the songs rarely falter, mixing emotion, theater, and of course electronics into a potent, addictive wave of synth euphoria. It's likely every fan could pick his own favorite of the other should-have-been-hits, but "Fallen Angel" deserves special mention. It begins with spooky, funny warbling and icy keyboards, and then explodes and transforms into a startling, romantic epiphany at the chorus. If its lyrics are a bit goofy or juvenile, it only adds to the heartfelt love the song expresses. Alphaville stick firmly to their synths and sequencers on Forever Young, but they keep things interesting by incorporating motifs from funk, Broadway, Brazilian jazz, and even hip-hop. Even when the band takes itself too seriously, the songs' catchy drive and consistently smart production cover any thematic holes. Forever Young is a technically perfect and emotionally compelling slice of 1980s electronic pop/rock music. It's also a wonderfully fun ride from start to finish.

There's little that the dreamy, new age intro vibes to Schiller's "Zeitgeist" LP can do to take the edge off of the über-German spoken word bits that hover atop of them. It's just not a pretty language, and the only reason that Western ears bought it from mega-synth legends Kraftwerk was because the cold steel timbre of those voices meshed so well with the perceived notion of machine-speak. Those uncomfortable interruptions aside, the Schiller duo of Mirko von Schlieffen and Christopher von Deylen do a fair job dabbling in the hypnotic organica of Enigma. When the beats are finally dropped (on "Liebesschmerz" or "Lover's Pain," for instance), however, the most the duo manage to pull off is a pale and less dramatic approximation of Bedrock's "Heaven Scent." Taking their name from the German poet Friedrich Schiller, the lyrics translated for the sleeve read like pedestrian, high-school fare ("Love is like a fever/it overcomes us and disappears"). While most of the tracks here are passably produced and logically thought through, the resulting material is far too bloodless to spend much time poring over.

莎士比亚经典悲剧中那自溺的姑娘古往今来曾经引发了多少诗人画家的感慨而今德国的NEO CLASSICS巨星OPHELIA'S DREAM用音乐将其重新演绎.这支97年被Oli发掘出的天音新古典组合明显是Hyperium旗下用以填补即将离去的STOALOVE IS COLDER THAN DEATH位置的接班人.Dietmar grenlich - 穷困潦倒靠在酒吧弹钢琴为生的艺术家突然之间成了德国著名黑暗公司力捧的新星,不能不说是个乞丐王子的奇迹.Oli为其找来Julia fiedje这位拥有奔放高音花腔的年轻女孩作为乐队的特邀主唱,并不惜巨资在Eudraum专有录音室请Weisser herbst的四位录音师及制作人打造OPHELIA'S DREAM的首张专辑ALL BEAUTY IS SAD,凄美浪漫的故事又一次征服了所有听众.ORKUS更是将乐队评为了当年最有传奇色彩的乐队.华丽的古典音乐编排与时而悲伤绝望时而小鸟倚人的正统学院女高音的配合简直是....惊叹!不得不感叹HYPERIUM在天音及新古典乐风上的造诣,其麾下涌现出了多少让人倾倒的组合厄.
但正所谓成也萧何,败也萧何.由于Oli的独裁以及HYPERIUM公司经营的换向.OPHELIA'S DREAM的新作品直到2000年才得以发行,这时候的Dietmar grenlich已经转投到Trinity发行集团的Sad Eyes旗下.新EP：Stabat Mater取材于意大利古典作曲家Giovanni Battista Pergolesi(1710-1736)的作品,OPHELIA'S DREAM重新演绎了它.与上张作品相比,Stabat Mater更是一张古典音乐作品,Dietmar已不甘心仅在GLASSIS-POP领域发展了,也许他渴望的是创作一些真正的古典音乐.
就这张专辑来讲，认为OPHELIA'S DREAM完全可以替代STOA离去后HYPERIUM天音/新古典体系中产生的空缺.专辑的第一首歌RISE一出手就改编自著名古典管风琴器乐段落.通篇的古典管弦乐编排和钢琴独奏在加上Julia那十分华丽的女高音,就是纯正的古典音乐么.看得出Dietmar与STOA的OLAF有同样的野心和梦想：用个人力量全面嫁接古典乐团的音乐神韵.13首歌曲中,声乐的分量不是很重,更多的是Dietmar那钢琴在管弦伴奏下的抒情演绎,不明白国人会对那种钢琴POP小品如痴如醉,却对这样的新古典作品视而不见?
这颗新古典殿堂的璀璨夺目的明珠于2002年再版的专集多加了他们珍贵的新作，依然非常富丽堂皇尊贵高雅，新古典的魅力被Ophelia''s Dream演绎得淋漓尽致，相当出彩！大型厚重的古典管风琴器乐段落，豪华的管弦乐段如水银泻地般地冲击着听者的听觉神经，别以为black l才能给你带来这样的震撼与快感，新古典也可以！学院派正统女高音Julia显示着其华丽高贵的气质，就如典雅的女皇缓缓步入铺砌黑色大理石的殿堂，女皇在诉说着一个凄美传奇的悲剧。钢琴solo相当有水准！如高山泉水般直泻、音符流动于那着魔的指尖之间，十分流畅同时也富有激情。惊叹于Dietmar grenlich的音乐才华，而Ophelia''s Dream同时也演绎着一幕传奇的新古典神话，为新古典的历史谱上金碧辉煌的一页，是新古典乐界的又一里程碑！

The title track is the ubiquitous soundtrack for Werner Herzog's classic film Aguirre, the Wrath of God, an excellent movie about a doomed party of conquistadors gradually swallowed up by an uncaring jungle. Fricke created here a transcendent masterpiece of ambience; seriously some of the finest melotron work ever recorded. This re-release features a 7:16 mins bonus track!

强烈推荐! 我从没想过电子音乐可以编辑的如此震撼，直到我听过了这张专辑，它用最卑微最无人问津的方法是触动了我，洗去声音的浮华，让孤独变得如美酒般甘甜，唯有听者的感动亘古不变。
“Uwe Zahn (aka Arovane)来自柏林，与Stefan Betke(aka Pole)同为当今德国极简派电子音乐(minimal techno)最重要的名字之一， 於实验电子音乐厂牌Din发表的「Atol Scrap」(2000)是他向心目中的英国IDM大师Autechre的致敬作品，风格表现出早期Autechre在「Amber」等专辑的旋律路线，神秘轻盈的环境电子。
Arovane 同年在德国电子音乐厂牌City Centre Offices的专辑「 Tides」(2000)是张完美作品，大键琴(harpsichord)与吉他的运用、声音取样旋律，再加上hip hop节奏，推出至今的四年，几已取得经典地位，被誉为是与英国电子Boards Of Canada的「Music Has The Right To Children」(1998) 同样优秀的专辑。两者包裹著hip hop节奏，而以环境取样为基础，都是可听性极高的电子诗篇。也可以从概念专辑（ conceptual album)的角度欣赏。如果说「Music Has The Right To Children」主题是学校生活童年回忆，「 Tides」就是海边度假与浪花拍打，都有著带领听者进入另一个遥远时空的神奇魅力。
一开始的"Theme" 大键琴的旋律有著巴洛克室内乐的想像，特别之处是hip hop节奏，让Arovane与Jake Mandell、BoC同为此类音乐的翘楚。标题曲" Tides" 的海潮声音，以及Christian Kleine弹奏的吉他、缓拍hip hop沈思而迷人，是一场漫长之旅，两分半有出现海鸥叫声的取样，有著沈入浓雾之中的迷惘。"Eleventh! " 大键琴里的海鸟声音、小孩谈话嬉笑，反覆唸著「I own you!」仍引人注意，很像BoC名作的曲子，是更为优雅自在的閒适心情。"Tomorrow Morning" 夜晚虫鸣取样组成的ambient，气氛转换，从午后转移至郊野深夜。"Seaside"是夜间海边的浪花拍打，吉他为主ambient绵延声浪构成的泡沫有著心灵音乐的美感，反覆听几遍，真有置身於港边提防垂钓，灯塔正闪烁著。大键琴在"A Secret"有著印象深刻的演出。"The Storm"是专辑里极为精彩的曲子，透过吉他、钢琴与鼓声表现海洋风暴的酝酿与深沈，与海潮等声音取样在气氛营造上配合得很好。"Deauville" 有甜美的键盘弹奏，风雨之后的沈淀 "Epilouge"大键琴、吉他、hip hop节奏等主题再度出现，首尾呼应，隐隐淡出画面。
一百年前，法国印象派音乐大师德彪西的交响诗作品<海>(Debussy:La Mer,1903)，「海上的黎明到中午」、「浪之戏」与「风和浪的对话」所掀起的翩翩想像，浪花拍击，海鸥鸣叫，是神话与梦境般地美。德国当代电子音乐家Arovane的「Tides」著重於岸边海滩上，浪花与人的互动。德彪西透过弦乐表现海洋的苍茫，以单簧管和双簧管描写从天际线升起曙光的万道光芒， Arovane则是以吉他、大键琴和笔记型电脑重现了海潮的深沈与美丽。" --- 转自网络

三位热爱音乐的人，在同一间Pub做服务生而相识，因相同的爱好而相知，于一次意外中"结合"，从此德国的三人乐团TradeMark诞生了。
在乐团成立前，乐队成员Achim Remling、Mirko Baumer和Sadeghian一起去看卡拉OK秀，因卡拉OK点唱机出现故障，他们被要求上台即兴表演，这是三人的第一次亲密接触，精彩的演出不仅博得了满堂喝采，更开启了他们演艺之路的大门。就在那一年内，他们办了将近两百多场演唱会(只有三种歌声加一个钢琴手)。
TradeMark的音乐融合了李察玛尔克斯的性感、摇滚麦克的抒情摇滚乐风和空中补给合唱团的高亢美式和声唱腔，就是这些完美的结合令他们顺利地和BMG唱片公司签了约，并于1998年发行了他们的首张专辑《Another Time，Another Place》(物换星移)。这个"初生儿"在亚洲受到热烈的欢迎，更在香港、菲律宾、马来西亚、泰国赢得金唱片，特别乐队受邀去亚洲巡回宣传时，更引发了乐迷们的大骚动，其轰动程度不亚于首领到访。
两年后，TradeMark的新生儿《Only Love》在爱的感召下降临人世。光看专辑名就知道，这又是一张颠倒众生的情歌宝典，尤其是里面收录的翻唱自Lonestar称霸全美Billboard单曲榜/乡村榜冠军的作品，藉由细腻的编曲和TradeMark深情款款的演唱，将一段感情娓娓道来，触人心弦，令听过的人都为它痴迷。
此外，TradeMark通过三人不同的嗓音表现不同的曲风和不同的情绪，表现出他们长足的成熟和进步。而为西城男孩演唱会担任暖场嘉宾，则再一次印证了他们在流行歌坛的地位。

（转自
，作者：kamachen ）

1977年生于Heidenheim，从小就是披头士的歌迷、学习录音、上过打击乐和钢琴课、在学校乐团任职的他，从1994年起用吉他创作到2000年开始用钢琴创作，而后在2001年出版了自己的处子专辑，也就是那张美丽的"Infinite Love Songs" 。我是从03年的那张"Rose"开始认识这个忧美的男人的，这里的“忧美”不是错别字，而是“忧伤美丽”的一个缩写，的确，这是对他音乐最好的两个形容词，诚然，这样的词汇可以用来形容的乐队艺人何止千万，但Maximilian Hecker确实赋予了它们更为纯粹的别样意义：古典韵味的钢琴、通透的假声、弥漫的稀薄情感、独特的曲式行进、偶尔肆虐的吉他失真和神经质的男声。

GREEN DAY American Idiot + Live In Tokyo (2005 Japanese 19-track enhanced 2-CD set comprising the Japanese version of the album including the bonus track 'Favorite Son', an EXCLUSIVE 5-track CD recorded live in Tokyo plus on-stage and behind the scenes CD-Rom footage