{"id":125,"date":"2019-12-15T09:08:26","date_gmt":"2019-12-15T08:08:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shamall.eu\/en\/?p=125"},"modified":"2025-06-22T03:43:31","modified_gmt":"2025-06-22T01:43:31","slug":"aller-weser-publishing-house-a-record-is-like-a-long-journey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shamall.eu\/en\/2019\/12\/15\/aller-weser-publishing-house-a-record-is-like-a-long-journey\/","title":{"rendered":"Aller Weser Publishing House: \u201cA record is like a long journey\u201d."},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n\r\nA new double CD by “Shamall” has been released \/ Videos on YouTube\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nNatural phenomena like wind, rain, or maybe a little stardust at the beginning of a piece of music are not uncommon. Probably the most famous example is “Riders on the Storm” by the Doors, in whose opening sequence thunder and lightning compete for attention in addition to rain. The atmosphere of the song is therefore given. The band “Shamall” also uses sound elements of this kind. On their new double CD “Schizophrenia,” however, no heavenly floodgates are opened, but all the more rocking, emotional, psychedelic, and spiritual ones are. Sound designer Norbert Kr\u00fcler, who has been the musical head of the band for more than three decades, creates a large musical spectrum, which in some of its suspenseful moments ranges from Pink Floyd to Mike Oldfield, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Amon D\u00fc\u00fcl, and Jean Michel Jarre to the Swiss natural voice catcher Andreas Vollenweider.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
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https:\/\/youtu.be\/O7UjRh5MPXA<\/div>\r\n
Title track of the album “Shamall – Schizophrenia”<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nIt’s an intriguing m\u00e9lange in which the quite independent musical ideas and entries of Kr\u00fcler and singer Anke Ullrich assert themselves sovereignly. In a period of six years, the new album was created in the recording studio in Etelsen. Lead guitarist Matthias Mehrtens, a longtime Shamall collaborator, is once again an integral part of the production.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nThe video for the track “Schizophrenia” is dominated by long passages of true color explosions. They seem like an homage to the commercials of the 1960s. Charles Wilp and the Africola lemonade he advertised come to mind. Ice cold and quirky. But it also reminds us of music shows like the Beat Club, directed by Mike Leckebusch. The images back then seemed colorful, out of context, and somehow confusing, but today they seem almost soothing compared to the rapidly cutting clips of today.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nFor Shamall’s content and thematic explorations, however, music and lyrics are the most important. “Schizophrenia” is a musical description of the current state of the world, and therefore not a comforting one. Many things seem to be out of control. Global shocks vibrate down to the private microcosm. Norbert Kr\u00fcler finds catchy images and harmonious lines. The music of the author, his singing, and that of Ullrich often strive for higher spheres and, in the best case, overcome the conflict between earthly feasibility and fairy-tale possibilities.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nThe title track, “Schizophrenia,” is followed by pieces like “All the Answers,” “The Inconvenient Truth,” “Foolin’ Myself,” “Yearning Moments,” “Meet Me by the Water,” “Man in the Mirror,” “Always Livin’ in a Lie,” “Eyes of a Stranger,” “We Are All in the Same Boat,” and “Supernatural Dream.” Instrumental tracks and songs are given equal weight on Schizophrenia. “First comes the music, then the lyrics,” says Norbert Kr\u00fcler, adding, “I also write for Anke’s voice.” She manages high notes and holds her own even against orchestral soundscapes.\r\n\r\n