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Hoelderlin were a German progressive rock band that was formed in 1970 as Hölderlin by brothers Joachim and Christian von Grumbkow with Nanny de Ruig, whom Christian was married to. They were influenced by rock, jazz, and folk music.
The debut album of the German band named after a German romantic writer,
this does not fall into the Krautrock category of most bands of that
era from that country. They can be categorized as folk prog with female
lead vocals and mainly acoustic instrumentation:
- Nanny DeRuig / vocals
- Christian Grumbkow / guitars
- Joachim Grumbkow / cello, acoustic guitar, transverse flute, piano, organ, mellotron
- Christoph Noppeney / violin, viola, flute, piano
- Peter Käseberg / bass, acoustic guitar, vocals
- Michael Bruchmann / drums, percussion
The
vocals are in German and are describing dreams (Traum is the German
word for dream) but understanding the lyrics is not important since they
are mostly illuminating what the music expresses anyway.
The band
had a unique sound at that time (Renaissance as of Ashes Are Burning are
the closest to compare) but they changed a lot until their next album
three years later. The musicianship of all members with the variety of
instruments is remarkable, especially on the longer tunes.
IKARUS played progressive rock that sometimes was in the vein of VAN DER GRAAF GENERATOR. The sound is dominated by emphasis on guitar and organ interplay, but the use of flute, saxophone and clarinet add more color to their compositions. Far from perfect, but listenable enough for fans of 70's prog. A solid, but not essential album.
Review by
Sean Trane
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Prog Folk
Sole album from an early 70's German (from Hamburg I think) sextet
Ikarus, whose reputation as a pioneer of jazz-rock is a bit over-done.
Let's just say that they're a typical prog group with symphonic and jazz
influences, a bit ala Crimson. Lead by multi-instrumentalist Jochen
Petersen (guitars & winds), the group develops a wide soundscape in
just four tracks (the shortest being well over 6 mins) that goes as far
as electronic twiddling and string arrangements.
The 15-mins Eclipse starts out blues-like with a big guitar riff, but soon evolves into excellent phases of instrumental interplay, while Kohler's voice and accent being rather convincing, but the lyrics (not necessarily his when reading the credits) are not quite so. The opening track is quite interesting with its multiple movements including the organ-filled Scyscraper over symphonic layers (incl mellotrons) and ending in electronic birdsongs and other bruitist stuff. The following Mesentery is the weakest track of the album and disappears in a kosmic and spacey interlude before returning via string layers. The flipside opens on TV or Radio jingle ?like riff, which is the start of the other epic, the 11-mins Raven where Petersen's wind instruments soar, then suddenly (abruptly) morphing into a psych/space improv in its middle section before climbing back gradually via a an heard-elsewhere riff (Heep's Gypsy Woman) and ending in footsteps. The closing track (sung by guitarist Schulz) Early Bell's Voice is a strange trip through ether-modified soundscapes where the organ dominates until disappearing into a knell tolling its madness. Strange ending.
This was to be their only album (now very rare and expensive as a vinyl), most of the members continuing their musical foray, but not necessarily in prog circles, with leader Petersen becoming a record producer later in the decade after passing through Cornucopia. While I wouldn't call Ikarus essential to your collection, it is surely good enough to earn a spot in it and therefore deserving its fourth star.
After Crying is a Hungarian musical ensemble, established in 1986, which composes and performs contemporary classical music or symphonic rock. They use instruments ranging from classical acoustical instruments like cello, trumpet, piano, flute to the instruments of a modern rock band. They sometimes perform with traditional chamber or symphony orchestras. Their studio albums contain numerous variations in instruments and composition.[1][2]
After Crying released a unique retrospective as their fifth album, a 2-CD set which combines alternates and out-takes with a live album. Included are Hungarian versions of songs from Overground Music, and the concert disc includes a telling King Crimson cover.
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