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Traum'er Leben hails from Hannover in Germany, and Ursprung is their debut album. I have learnt one thing about debut releases and that is not to expect too much. Young bands often tend to sound quite shy and unsecure. But Ursprung is, on the contrary, very powerful.
It contains 10 songs and all are pure German neofolk music. No long ambient tracks or experimental soundscapes that never ends. The album starts off with powerful drums, joined by a heavy wall of acoustic guitars and later by a duet of male and female voices. And that is pretty much what the music is about. Sometimes a flute melody can be heard and keyboards, violins or orchestral sounds back up some tracks. All is very well composed and performed.
Some songs are, like the first one, kind of proud in its sound. Others carry a more melancholic sound and mood. These songs are often sung completely by the female, called BIA. She has a very special and original voice. Usualy I prefer male vocals in neofolk, but BIA dominates in Traum'er Leben. Not that Jay, the male singer is in any way a bad or anything.
Every song has something special. Some have very nice verses and others are stronger in the choruses. Some songs have particular good vocals and some a nice guitar melody that sticks in your head, so all in all, I can say that Ursprung is a very strong debut album from a band whose carrier I gladly will follow. Not many of their influences (Forseti, Belborn, Dies Natalis, Orplid are quite obvious), that today rule the scene, sounded this developed in their debut album. The few things I can complain about is that the drums sometimes are a bit out of tune, and the CD cover looks like some old PC game but at least the later one is a trifle. My favorite tracks are "Sternenklar" and "Weltenbrand". Two pretty different tracks. One slow and one a bit faster, both with excellent qualities.
If you are interested in Ursprung you can order it from the bands website. It is a good idea to do so now, since the album is limited to 480 copies. There is also a special box version available.
CME
It contains 10 songs and all are pure German neofolk music. No long ambient tracks or experimental soundscapes that never ends. The album starts off with powerful drums, joined by a heavy wall of acoustic guitars and later by a duet of male and female voices. And that is pretty much what the music is about. Sometimes a flute melody can be heard and keyboards, violins or orchestral sounds back up some tracks. All is very well composed and performed.
Some songs are, like the first one, kind of proud in its sound. Others carry a more melancholic sound and mood. These songs are often sung completely by the female, called BIA. She has a very special and original voice. Usualy I prefer male vocals in neofolk, but BIA dominates in Traum'er Leben. Not that Jay, the male singer is in any way a bad or anything.
Every song has something special. Some have very nice verses and others are stronger in the choruses. Some songs have particular good vocals and some a nice guitar melody that sticks in your head, so all in all, I can say that Ursprung is a very strong debut album from a band whose carrier I gladly will follow. Not many of their influences (Forseti, Belborn, Dies Natalis, Orplid are quite obvious), that today rule the scene, sounded this developed in their debut album. The few things I can complain about is that the drums sometimes are a bit out of tune, and the CD cover looks like some old PC game but at least the later one is a trifle. My favorite tracks are "Sternenklar" and "Weltenbrand". Two pretty different tracks. One slow and one a bit faster, both with excellent qualities.
If you are interested in Ursprung you can order it from the bands website. It is a good idea to do so now, since the album is limited to 480 copies. There is also a special box version available.
CME