 |
|
 |
 |
|
„I actually really enjoy listening to my own music“ says Kurt Ebelhäuser succinctly in between two drags of his cigarette. And the way he says it you instinctively know he honestly means it. For him that seems to go without saying...not only that this statement sets him apart from most of his colleagues in the music business (most of whom would say something about their fans or hide behind false modesty). It could also be that here we find the key to Blackmail’s secret. Ebelhäuser, is not only the master of the six chords but also a musical director, producer and studio wizard for his band. He is the one that enjoys no downtime; everything has to move on and advance. He is demanding because he wants to carry on enjoying his own music. All this is eminently proved by the 12 songs on their new album, „Tempo Tempo“. A refreshingly unpredictable, sometimes even surprising choice of pieces that form an undoubted claim on originality, authenticity and virtuosity. An achievement not many would have expected of a band that can’t be labelled as new anymore and hail from one of Germany’s wine-growing districts... But up to now, maybe it’s exactly this kind of thinking that has stood in their way the most. All the time people have said, „This band is right on the edge of their big breakthrough.“ It almost become their personal mantra that has followed their career all these years. Having this goal and waiting for the big success - at some point it just became very annoying. Record labels and managements have pushed those ambitions while the band secretly got better and better. And that is what „Tempo Tempo“ sounds like: The big coup for the liberation of all this baloney. This time nobody has interfered, nobody has built big castles in the sky, or talked them into utopian career plans; but instead the band raised their standards for quality themselves. „We always put ourselves under a lot of pressure. All our records were made under this pressure. This time we just didn’t really care!“ confirms the band. So on this album you can hear Blackmail unleashed, playing just to free themselves. Their powerful rock songs happen to turn around 360°, break into little pieces on their way to finally unite again at the end. They truly master the art of arrangements at its highest level. One second you will be caught by some oriental string theme, the other you will be surprised by a beautiful female choir. Sometimes the songs open right up and there you can feel the release and salvation. A special and distinctive way of arranging the songs took over the conventional songwriting. On „Tempo Tempo“ Blackmail create a perfect alliance of 12 versatile and often surprising songs, led by the strong and extensive melodies of singer Aydo Abay. He and his first-class fellow combatants won’t be satisfied with the „normal“ refrain; „Something else needs to be there.“ The result might almost be called Artrock but still in their audacious and thudding way that remains one-of-a-kind. You might almost think that Blackmail get closer to their label’s musical roots. And it’s wonderful to listen to... „We started with the pre-production and finished about 7 songs when I realised that all of them were written in the same, slow tempo. I think that was the idea behind that album title. And I think it’s just a nice sounding word in German as much as in Spanish.“ says Ebelhäuser, himself half-Spaniard. „But by the way, only two of those songs made it on to the album in the end.“ With „Tempo Tempo“ the band continues to work on their reputation to be the best German rock band of today. With this album they won’t have hard time to convince. This record is like a celebration and we are already looking forward to them bringing it on stage. It’s gonna be huge! BLACKMAIL » Aerial View « BLACKMAIL » Aerial View Limited Edition « |
 |
