The perfect mix of pop chansons and Tom Waits
The Hamburg-based Katriana is pure, incredibly direct, intense to the point of pain, and charmingly captivating. A truly great entertainer who knows how to redefine musical poetry.
On her first two albums, Katriana cultivated pop minimalism par excellence with vocals, piano, and cello. With her third album "Aber klar doch," she is moving forward. With a producer and delicate band arrangements, she shows that she has grown and that her pop chansons are cinematic masterpieces that sometimes remind one of Amanda Palmer or Tom Waits.
In Florian Sommer, Katriana has found the perfect producer: her vocals, piano, and ukulele playing are complemented acoustically and airy with drums, bass, of course cello, and occasionally brass, guitar, or accordion. For the recordings, for example, Hagen Kuhr on cello (Stefan Gwildis) and Johnny Johnson on trombone (Jan Delay) were brought on board.
On "Aber klar doch," the focus sharpens. Katriana moves away from being a general singer/songwriter to becoming a pop storyteller. The depth of her lyrics goes hand in hand with the emotional weight of her voice and the lightness of everyday stories that Katriana uniquely interprets.
"Katriana's art is to come across as emotionally poetic without being cheesy..." already stated the Intro magazine. Each of the 10 songs is absolutely worth listening to. Recommended tracks include the title single "Aber klar doch," to which Katriana says: "I actually wrote this song for a pessimistic friend of mine. While writing, I realized that I was also writing it for my own pessimistic sides. I especially love the choruses and the C-part, where the sun rises." and the heart-touching "Erwachsen": "This song was gifted to me from somewhere; the verse, bridge, chorus, and C-part just flew in. It is so beautiful and has touched me from the very beginning."
Katriana debuted at the Hamburger Rockspektakel at the age of 13, later training as a singer and pianist. After years in rock bands and initial solo projects, she recorded her first EP in 2004 together with cellist Krischa Weber. In 2006, the wonderful live CD "Jeden Tag" followed, which not only made it into the NDR program but also received four out of five stars in the Hamburger Abendblatt. The positive response to Katriana's second album "In meinem Kopf" (2009) has since allowed her to tour across Germany and into Austria. From Flensburg to Vienna, from Dortmund to Dresden – Katriana's fan base is steadily growing.
For the acoustic sampler released in 2012 by her label "The Stewardesses – Pussy Empire takes off," Katriana arranged three of her favorite heartbreak songs: "Mensch" by Grönemeyer, "Weißes Papier" by Element of Crime, and "Geile Zeit" by Juli. The accompanying tour brought the four "Stewardesses" well-attended clubs, and the temporary project has turned into a long-haul flight.
That Katriana can also do something completely different is proven by the last song of "Aber klar doch," the unusually instrumented "Himmel im Kopf." Katriana herself says: "You've never heard Katriana like this! With a Bontempi drum loop and reversed piano notes... I love it. Florian and I really jammed on this at the last moment in the studio, and then he came in with the bass and the drum loop..."
With the album released at the beginning of March, Katriana makes the leap to a veritable indie act that we can really use for the future of the local music scene. So thumbs up. Aber klar doch.
Album Tracklisting:
01 Nicht cool genug
02 Erwachsen
03 Heute keine Hoffnung
04 Aber klar doch
05 Einfach mit
06 Ballade für Menschen
07 Die Entdeckung der Müdigkeit
08 Ich singe dir ein Lied
09 Wilde Ufer
10 Himmel im Kopf
Press reviews:
"...the perfect mix of pop and poetry: captivating, but never superficial, touching, but never sentimentally embarrassing" [Hamburger Abendblatt]
"...highly emotional – and very, very good." [Kulturnews]
KATRIANA Live
Kulturnews and Westzeit present
Aber klar doch Tour 2013:
6.3. Würzburg, wunschlos glücklich, 19.30h
7.3. Lindau/Bodensee, Café Großstadt, 20h
8.3. Salzburg, Café Denkmal, 21h
9.3. Linz, Stadtwerkstatt, 21h
12.3. Villach, Café Herr Vincent, 19:30h
13.3. Klagenfurt, Lendhafencafé, 20h
14.3. Wien, Café Carina, 21h
15.3. Töging am Inn, Herrenhaus (Engfurt 2), 20h
16.3. München, Südstadt, 20h, supp. Lilli und Emma
20.3. Kiel, Prinz Willy, 20h
21.3. Lübeck, Tonfink, 20h
27.3. Hamburg, Nachtasyl, 21h
10.4. Bremen, Litfass, 20h
11.4. Berlin, Lange Nacht, 20h
12.4. Kassel, Café Buch Oase
13.4. Dortmund, subrosa, 20.30h
14.4. Köln, Kulturcafé Lichtung, 17h
18.4. Magdeburg, Songtage Magdeburg
19.4. Hannover, Kulturpalast Linden, 20h, with Herbstbirken
23.4. Darmstadt, Schlosskeller, 20.30h
24.4. Stuttgart, Café Stella, 21h
25.4. Freiburg, JosFritzCafé, 20.30h
26.4. Frankfurt, Kunstcafé MomentMa, 19.30h
27.4. Gießen, Café Amelie, 20h
Video:
KATRIANA "Aber klar doch"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_6qL2rB51g
Web:
