Debut Album "Tea On The Moon" by FeinSinn
Whichever of us has not looked up to the moon and the stars in once in a while? Be it during a romantic walk by night, be it during an utmost philosophical and lonesome hour. On many occasions the distant celestial bodies impersonate the very substance of our deepest longings. How beautiful it would be if one could just drop in there for a cup of tea.
This is what Tea on the Moon, the opening piece and name-giver of FeinSinn's debut album, tells about. After an introduction of epic amplitude the song takes a turn towards Balkan reggae. The voices of Alexander Nantschev and Elke Pichler are controversive and therefore luring. High emotions in Bulgarian jazz-folk style meet with merry melodies - in minor.
The sounds of Minimog Voyager by Uwe Pichler-Necek trigger a journey to presumed times long past. Smiling Eyes dresses up bombastically in the retro-look of the eighties, dancing to a disco beat and thus going its own way. Thereby the track points out once and for all: Whoever thinks that words might be able to tell, to express anything is living behind the moon. The laughing eyes of a beloved individual, however, make everything clear.
Volatile and transparent like the new moon the fourth number, Crystal Horizon, comes up. Fondled by the violin and the violoncello you find yourself bathing in a sea of pictures. The piece bears clear affinity towards film music. This oldest composition from Tea on the Moon has proved its worth manifold in dance, straight theatre and radio play.
The creation of the debut album was not easy, as the last two years were marked by a number of changes within the formation. What started as a duet, with Elke Pichler and Alexander Nantschev, today's band leader, today is the five-person ensemble FeinSinn. The publication of the album Tea on the Moon therefore is just a small step for the individual, but a big step for FeinSinn as a group. Nevertheless the songs developed with light-heartedness and ease, in a way as playful as the voices in Game are passing the ball to one another. The unisono strings, focussed by Alexander Nantschev, prove that even a one-man orchestra may sound setting the tone. - "Life's a game, so play it like a child" it's whistling throughout the song. A "summer garden" within the temporary winter in the pop scene.
In mythology the moon stands for the subconscious, the female, the mysterious and the enchanting. Melting sings of the power of seduction, till the first snow starts to fall. The percussionist Michael Flatz intensifies the catchy melodies and in a crescendo pushes them to the climax. At the same time the song amazes through its idiosyncratic structure, orchestration and development. You will enjoy the surprise of the sweet-to-the-ear chorus that follows the whirring sounds of the reed organ.
Guitar on the Beach, the next song, is also about love. Under the full moon, a young woman bravely swims out into the sea on a hot and humid night, thus breaking the heart of the man who secretly watches her slim and graceful figure from the beach. The guitar tunes he is to play for her later not only convey great emotions but also a displaced sense of tact: As she gives herself up to him too soon in a naive manner she not only loses her maidenhood but her very dreams and perspectives of life as well. Like a boat out on a black sea Guitar on the Beach rocks to the waves of the 6/8 beat. This beat is pierced by a driving chorus that admonishes in a dramatic manner for the return to the own self. The fragile falsetto of the finale lingers in the air like an unanswered question.
In Heaven Can Wait, track eight, the quintet turns back completely to worldly matters. Heaven is to wait, at least for one last night. Hereby the genre of retro-prog-pop is founded. The vocals of Elke Pichler rise clear and unpretentious above the uncompromising guitar arrangements of Alexander Nantschev. In a Sergio Leone style the E-mandolin boldly counterpoints a harsh Stravinsky-bass played by Robert Siegel.
The Moon rotates around the Earth, is her permanent companion. At times the Moon seems vanished, during an eclipse, for instance. But soon enough it shows that this was but an illusion. My Honey and the Timer sings of the true and permanent companions in life - the companions we often do not treat with due respect, with the respect they deserve. In the finale of the song the C-64 appeggiator and the space-echo-violin unite to form an expanding cosmos of sound.
Thus the end leads back to the beginning, creating an invitation to listen to the album again.
Release: 08.04.2011
Download the album on iTunes
FeinSinn homepage
