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LP
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KK 138LP
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Mother Nature is the debut solo album by Berend Intelmann, a key figure in the German indie music scene since the late 1980s. Having made his name as a member of groups such as Hallelujah Ding Dong Happy Happy, Guther, and Paula, Intelmann most recently focused on his work as a producer for artists such as Jens Friebe, MissinCat, and Fotos. Mother Nature sees the multi-instrumentalist and singer navigate between pop sentiment and his penchant for classical music on these eight pieces, three of which feature additional contributions by Karaoke Kalk label mate Marla Hansen, synth pop iconoclast Der Assistent, and the versatile Mieke Miami, respectively. Mother Nature combines a sense of playfulness with cunning compositional rigor to stunning effect. Intelmann took full creative license and worked with the instruments that he feels most comfortable using: the drums, synthesizers, and his voice. While inspired by his life-long passion for pop music in all shades, he also took some cues from his more recent passion for classical music. The resulting sound isn't quite as "krauty," instead the artist prefers to call it "slow-kraut -- 1980s synth sound with 1970s George Duke-style beats." This is simply the essence of Berend Intelmann as a composer and storyteller. The lyrical matter of Mother Nature is inspired by life and death. This informs an album that masterfully creates contrasts and utilizes the friction generated between them to tell its stories. The album opener and second single "All Gone" greets its audience with the couplet "In the long run / We're all gone," but sets this to soothing sounds that form a joyful counterpoint to the fatalism of the words. These darker tones slowly give way to laid-back grooves, Intelmann's smooth vocalizations and whirling synthesizer sequences. The collaborations further enrich this album that the artist claims has been "co-produced by friends and family." Indeed, Mother Nature might be Intelmann's solo debut proper, but he remains a team player at heart.
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