2020
You Better Watch Out...
21/12/20 14:11 Filed in: Music
The time of the year has come again when almost everyone publishes their list of their favourite albums of 2020 - so let's do it just the same way.
Only 5 albums made it on our list, because we actually spend much more time making music than listening to it, but nevertheless the following albums have caught our attention and impressed us a lot:
Bruce Springsteen: "Letter to you":
Certainly not one Springsteen’s strongest albums, but songs like "Ghosts", "Burnin' Train" or the awesome ballad "I'll See You In My Dreams" will quite rightly join the reign of Springsteen classics.
Myrkur: "Folkesange":
Myrkur is definitely one of those artists who are difficult to classify and who are overcoming and transcending the boundaries of their respective genre - in Myrkur's case Black Metal - in most fascinating and creative ways.
Autumn Nostalgie: "Esse Est Percipi":
The Slovakian one-man-project Autumn Nostalgie combines Black Metal with a kind of pop sensibility that is hard to find amongst the Black Metal genre. You could almost think of something like The Cure joining forces with Darkthrone.
Fenne Lily: "Breach":
Definitely the best indie rock album of this year. Period. Also, the Bristol-based songwriter writes some of the most intelligent lyrics I've heard this year. If The Mekons and Throwing Muses ever had given birth to a child, it’d be Fenne Lily.
Raat: "Raison D'être":
This band from Delhi plays the most emotional Atmospheric Black Metal ever. The most amazing thing about it is that -- apart from buzz-saw vocals -- they really do avoid all the clichés that are common to the genre. As if the Swans and Anathema got together for a rather wicked session.
These are our favourite albums in this most peculiar year, the effects of which have unfortunately not yet come to an end. So continue to take good care of yourselves as well as your fellow citizens, stay at home as best you can and above all — stay healthy.
Only 5 albums made it on our list, because we actually spend much more time making music than listening to it, but nevertheless the following albums have caught our attention and impressed us a lot:
Bruce Springsteen: "Letter to you":
Certainly not one Springsteen’s strongest albums, but songs like "Ghosts", "Burnin' Train" or the awesome ballad "I'll See You In My Dreams" will quite rightly join the reign of Springsteen classics.
Myrkur: "Folkesange":
Myrkur is definitely one of those artists who are difficult to classify and who are overcoming and transcending the boundaries of their respective genre - in Myrkur's case Black Metal - in most fascinating and creative ways.
Autumn Nostalgie: "Esse Est Percipi":
The Slovakian one-man-project Autumn Nostalgie combines Black Metal with a kind of pop sensibility that is hard to find amongst the Black Metal genre. You could almost think of something like The Cure joining forces with Darkthrone.
Fenne Lily: "Breach":
Definitely the best indie rock album of this year. Period. Also, the Bristol-based songwriter writes some of the most intelligent lyrics I've heard this year. If The Mekons and Throwing Muses ever had given birth to a child, it’d be Fenne Lily.
Raat: "Raison D'être":
This band from Delhi plays the most emotional Atmospheric Black Metal ever. The most amazing thing about it is that -- apart from buzz-saw vocals -- they really do avoid all the clichés that are common to the genre. As if the Swans and Anathema got together for a rather wicked session.
These are our favourite albums in this most peculiar year, the effects of which have unfortunately not yet come to an end. So continue to take good care of yourselves as well as your fellow citizens, stay at home as best you can and above all — stay healthy.
"Foxfire" Is Finally There!
The completion of "Foxfire“ took much more time than we had expected. This was mainly due to the fact that we both were buggered by some troublesome health issues since the release of "Not Fade Away“: whether it was pneumonia, tinnitus, blood poisoning or depression — you name it, we had it!
But much to my surprise, "Foxfire“ almost formed itself on its own: many songs were written, recorded and some of them got discarded — but when the core of the album finally began to emerge, I realised that this album turned into some kind of review of my life so far, with all its ups and downs. Given my advanced age, such a review is not at all surprising, indeed. That said it isn’t a look back in anger, but a rather forgiving and sometimes astonished look at all the years that lie behind me which made me the person I am today.
That is also the reason why I am going back to my musical roots with songs like "Romeo“, "Last Night“, "St. Materiana“ or "The Night is Still Young“, as I felt that I should pay some kind of tribute to the heydays of the Punk scene that I grew up in. And there is also a new version of "Goodbye to Jane" to be found on this album, because that song, which goes back to the first Antichrisis demo "Missa Depositum Custodi“, has always been very close to my heart.
On the occasion of the release of "Foxfire“, Kurt Mitzkatis of German Rock e.V. did a very profound interview with me on Rockradio (in German only), which you can listen to here.
And the legendary Fatal Unterground-zine wrote a pretty comprehensive review of "Foxfire“ which can be found in the reviews-section of their website (German only, too).
With "Foxfire“ an important chapter of Antichrisis comes to an end, because with our next album Ayuma and me will take a completely different route in terms of songwriting and sound. And we do keep our fingers crossed that this forthcoming album won’t take us another 8 years to finish.
But much to my surprise, "Foxfire“ almost formed itself on its own: many songs were written, recorded and some of them got discarded — but when the core of the album finally began to emerge, I realised that this album turned into some kind of review of my life so far, with all its ups and downs. Given my advanced age, such a review is not at all surprising, indeed. That said it isn’t a look back in anger, but a rather forgiving and sometimes astonished look at all the years that lie behind me which made me the person I am today.
That is also the reason why I am going back to my musical roots with songs like "Romeo“, "Last Night“, "St. Materiana“ or "The Night is Still Young“, as I felt that I should pay some kind of tribute to the heydays of the Punk scene that I grew up in. And there is also a new version of "Goodbye to Jane" to be found on this album, because that song, which goes back to the first Antichrisis demo "Missa Depositum Custodi“, has always been very close to my heart.
On the occasion of the release of "Foxfire“, Kurt Mitzkatis of German Rock e.V. did a very profound interview with me on Rockradio (in German only), which you can listen to here.
And the legendary Fatal Unterground-zine wrote a pretty comprehensive review of "Foxfire“ which can be found in the reviews-section of their website (German only, too).
With "Foxfire“ an important chapter of Antichrisis comes to an end, because with our next album Ayuma and me will take a completely different route in terms of songwriting and sound. And we do keep our fingers crossed that this forthcoming album won’t take us another 8 years to finish.
In These Troubled Times
29/04/20 06:57 Filed in: News
It is really strange: 3 months ago our world was very different from the world today: COVID-19 has changed almost everything within no time at all, and I very much hope that all those reading these lines are on the baker’s list and won’t have to mourn any losses in their families and/or amongst friends.
Ayuma and me are still in good health and therefore continue to work on new songs for Antichrisis as well as for Ayuma’s solo project. And fortunately we’ve almost reached the finishing line for Antichrisis’ forthcoming album „Foxfire“: there are just three songs left to be completed: their backing tracks are already recorded, so all that’s left to do are the vocal tracks. Then everything has to be put up for final mixing and mastering — and so I dare to prognosticate the release of „Foxfire“ by autumn 2020 at the lastest.
The only drawback concerning vocal recordings is this year’s hay fever season which struck me quite hard — hence I’ll have to wait a few weeks until my throat has recovered because there’s no way to do any decent vocal recordings at the moment unless a song would be in desperate need of rhythmic coughing and sneezing. But as soon as that bloody pollen allergy has cleared out (which it usually does as soon as springtime is over), I’ll be back in our vocal booth to complete these pending recordings.
A few years ago I was bold enough to suggest that Antichrisis might refrain from releasing albums as such and to publish single tracks instead as soon as they are recorded. This train of thought, however, led to an outcry of many Antichrisis-Fans, for album releases seem to be of great importance to many of you out there even if these albums are only available via digital distribution. And though I don’t fully understand that urge we’ll be at your service because our songs will see the light of day, anyway — but of course with some delay due to the fact that it takes some time to collect and curate enough songs for an entire album.
Having said that we do hope that you will come through these strange and somehow scary times in good health and that you will further on enjoy the music we create. Meanwhile, take good care and protect yourselves and your fellow human beings as best as you can.
Ayuma and me are still in good health and therefore continue to work on new songs for Antichrisis as well as for Ayuma’s solo project. And fortunately we’ve almost reached the finishing line for Antichrisis’ forthcoming album „Foxfire“: there are just three songs left to be completed: their backing tracks are already recorded, so all that’s left to do are the vocal tracks. Then everything has to be put up for final mixing and mastering — and so I dare to prognosticate the release of „Foxfire“ by autumn 2020 at the lastest.
The only drawback concerning vocal recordings is this year’s hay fever season which struck me quite hard — hence I’ll have to wait a few weeks until my throat has recovered because there’s no way to do any decent vocal recordings at the moment unless a song would be in desperate need of rhythmic coughing and sneezing. But as soon as that bloody pollen allergy has cleared out (which it usually does as soon as springtime is over), I’ll be back in our vocal booth to complete these pending recordings.
A few years ago I was bold enough to suggest that Antichrisis might refrain from releasing albums as such and to publish single tracks instead as soon as they are recorded. This train of thought, however, led to an outcry of many Antichrisis-Fans, for album releases seem to be of great importance to many of you out there even if these albums are only available via digital distribution. And though I don’t fully understand that urge we’ll be at your service because our songs will see the light of day, anyway — but of course with some delay due to the fact that it takes some time to collect and curate enough songs for an entire album.
Having said that we do hope that you will come through these strange and somehow scary times in good health and that you will further on enjoy the music we create. Meanwhile, take good care and protect yourselves and your fellow human beings as best as you can.