Album
Berlin / Erfurt (dpa) – Clueso recently presented himself as a thoughtful songwriter on his acoustic album “Handgepäck” (2018). With the successor, simply called “album”, a record is now coming onto the market that sounds much more poppy and in a better mood than the Corona period would suggest.
«I wanted to find catchy melodies. It was clearly supposed to be a pop album, ”said the musician, born Thomas Huebner in Erfurt (“ winner ”,“ Chicago ”) in an interview with the German press agency. “At the same time, of course, I want it to be dedicated pop. Clueso stop. “
And so the 41-year-old, who released his first record 20 years ago and last topped the German charts three times in a row, also deals with profound themes on the new “album” despite the danceable beats. The nostalgic “Leider Berlin” is again a hymn to his hometown Erfurt, in “Tell me what you want” he addresses his inner turmoil, in “Hotel California” Clueso sings about dreams and longings.
Most of the songs have one thing in common: lines that get stuck. This and other characteristics are also due to the new listening habits of a young audience, explains the singer. “A lot of the songs start early and you don’t have to wait 30 seconds before I start singing. They also have a certain length learned, between 2:30 and 3:30 minutes. But in the meantime it has grooved itself in with me so much that I also listen to music like that. “
The new Clueso wants to keep up with the times. He is active on the social platform TikTok, which is becoming more and more important for the distribution of music. And he works with rappers like Bausa (“Hotel California”) or Bozza (“Heimatstadt”). Because the rap genre is currently booming, especially with the streaming service Spotify.
“It was very easy for me to immerse myself in this spoken chant because I come from rap,” says the award-winning singer and songwriter in an interview with dpa. «Anyone who knows my albums knows that I always walk over rhymes and love ambiguities. But I tried a lot to find this sound for the album. “
While the songs on “hand luggage” were created on various trips, Clueso produced most of his new album in the studio. Exceptions: “Aus Dem Weg” he sang with the rapper Sharaktah at night in an empty Berlin bar, the second verse of the single “Tanzen” during the lockdown in his pantry.
He used the work in the studio as a counterpoint to the melancholy silence in the corona pandemic, explains the Erfurt native. That is why the desire for “fat beats, a lot more energy and ‘sunny’ chords” arose, which were rather sparse on earlier albums.
«I have a tendency to melancholy and am not ashamed of it either. I can live that out wonderfully in music. Minor always takes hold of me a little more than major », explains the musician. “A Clueso album is actually 70 percent quiet and 30 percent alarm. It’s the other way around with this album. “
In fact, there is only one ballad among the 19 tracks. In the minimalist “Alles zu seine Zeit” (Everything in its Time) it says: “Maybe it shouldn’t be the case that I stay with someone for a long time, I don’t have a love song that ends well, but I’ll write one for you.”
The new basic energy suits the new Clueso well. Also because he manages the balancing act between pure party songs (“VIP”) and lyrical depth (“What if”). With this mix, the singer-songwriter wants to go on tour in Germany from the beginning of February 2022.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210928-99-391583 / 3
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