BOY -Mutual Friends- [Album] Release: 02.09.2011 Grönland/GoodToGo/RTD

  
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BOY “Mutual Friends” [Album]

Release: 02.09.2011 Grönland/GoodToGo/RTD

Info: Listening is a fine thing. But the really good songs, you can feel and see them. Close your eyes and wait for the images to come. These are shimmering and colorful like the lanterns of a turbulent summer festival. A fresh breeze blows through the music of BOY. And when you listen to the lyrics, films immediately start running in your head that are about new beginnings and change: "This is the beginning of anything you want" it says at the beginning of this debut album.

BOY consists of Valeska Steiner from Zurich and Sonja Glass from Hamburg. A young duo that is carving out its own musical path. Both were musically independent before - Valeska as a singer in Switzerland and Sonja as a bassist in Germany - until they met in Hamburg, got to know each other, and decided to make music together. A kind of songwriter pop that sounds touching and playful, drawing its stories from their own lives. That’s why Valeska decided to move from Zurich to Hamburg, where almost all the songs were created. - The adventure of BOY could begin.

The recordings for the album mostly took place in Berlin, together with multi-instrumentalist and producer Philipp Steinke, who set up a studio in his parents' house, in his old childhood room. In an area of 12 square meters, concentrated work was done for weeks, mostly late into the night. BOY played almost all the instruments themselves this way. Only for the drums did they ask several drummer friends, including Thomas Hedlund. Valeska remembered a nice evening in Zurich that she spent with the French band Phoenix. Their drummer would of course be an ideal fit. A few emails and phone calls later, Thomas Hedlund actually found himself in a Hamburg studio, where he recorded the drum parts for "Oh Boy", "Skin", "Waitress", and "Silverstreets".

The music of BOY could easily be described with the words: Sounds like a mix of the rocking elegance of Phoenix, the quirky musicality of Feist, and the emotional depth of Bon Iver. But unfortunately, that doesn't do justice, because you would miss the best part: the individuality of BOY and the charisma of the two protagonists. "This Is The Beginning" is the springboard into the album - dreamily, voice and music feel their way into a new world. Suitcases are unpacked, pictures hung up. The lyrics of BOY are autobiographical. "Drive Darling" recalls Valeska's farewell to family and friends in Zurich: "And no rearview could picture what we leave behind. Drive Darling, drive." But optimism prevails, the music gains momentum, the guitar rushes ahead, and the future begins to smile. The melancholic yet beautiful "Waitress" tells of a waitress who is waiting for her life to begin. "While daylight is fading / While traders are trading / While the jukebox is playing / While lovers are dating / The waitress is waiting".

The single "Little Numbers" was created as the last piece, a latecomer. But precisely because everything was done and the work was just play - "Little Numbers" possesses this exuberant drive, something wild and a freshly in-love cheerfulness.

Pop can sound banal and cheap, like an overly sweet chocolate bar for braces-wearing kids. Here, however, poetic realism meets captivating melodies, a mix that can easily save your day. Because Valeska Steiner and Sonja Glass are so refreshingly lively, so humorous, full of self-irony and drive.

Thus, the duo has been touring across Germany and Switzerland since last year - by train and car. With a purely acoustic EP in their luggage, which is selling like hotcakes at their over 60 concerts. Internationally, they have already sparked interest and played at the Eurosonic Festival in Groningen/NL 2011, among others. At the beginning, Sonja and Valeska couldn't afford a band, so they had to reduce their songs to a duo format.

On the debut album, the pieces are now heard as they were originally intended, in all their sparkling arranged splendor. And when BOY goes on tour in the fall, there will surely be a few more musicians on stage.

Both versions are equally valid because they show the two sides of this quirky band. BOY is about new beginnings, the joy of the new. And at the same time, they want to arrive with their songs. That’s what "July" is about, the last piece that closes the circle of this extraordinary album: "And this roof is a blanket / It's keeping you warm / Inside the silence / After the storm". You can hear the empathy in Valeska's voice, feel the gentle warmth of the music, and feel as if you have finally arrived home after a long journey.

Video:

BOY „Little Numbers“

http://youtu.be/zsyjS_vJfkw

Tour Dates:

01.09.11 Hamburg – Stadtpark*

02.09.11 Münster - Coconut Beach*

12.10.11 Osnabrück – Glanz & Gloria

13.10.11 Köln – Stadtgarten

14.10.11 Frankfurt – Yellow Stage

15.10.11 Heidelberg – Karlstorbahnhof Klub_K

24.10.11 A-Wien – B72

25.10.11 München – 59to1