{"id":7821,"date":"2021-02-13T19:37:11","date_gmt":"2021-02-13T18:37:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kessel-tamerus.nl\/Esthers_Blog\/?p=7821"},"modified":"2024-06-16T15:53:43","modified_gmt":"2024-06-16T13:53:43","slug":"melanie-mau-martin-schnella-crowdless-sessions-live-dvd-cd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kessel-tamerus.nl\/Esthers_Blog\/cd-recensie\/melanie-mau-martin-schnella-crowdless-sessions-live-dvd-cd\/","title":{"rendered":"Melanie Mau & Martin Schnella – Crowdless Sessions – LIVE DVD\/CD"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Als je deze recensie liever in het Nederlands leest, kun je hier klikken<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Singer Melanie Mau and singer\/guitarist Martin Schnella are quite productive. They play in a number of bands, including their own band Flaming Row. This couple also releases albums under their own name: last summer, this was ‘Through The Decades’, which was filled with covers from various decades. At the end of last year, they released ‘Crowdless Sessions’. This is a live DVD\/CD with their own songs, played by their band. Again in their own style of a mix of folk and prog rock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CD<\/strong>:
From Flaming Row they play ‘Aim L45’, the atmospheric start is calmer here. The combination of percussion and acoustic guitar playing is very good. So is the blend of the voices. The clear voice of Mathias Ruck forms a nice combination with the vocals of Melanie. Martin has a friendly sound in his voice. Whether you hear one, two or three voices, the vocals are constantly in harmony with the music. The layers are well distributed on the headphones and the sound quality is, as always, very good. This passes almost seamlessly to ‘The Pure Shine – Medley’. Especially with the a capella vocals, the polyphonic singing stands out positively. Because of the good sound quality, you can clearly hear the different timbres in the percussion. The beautiful details and the clear sound of the guitar play also come into their own. This Flaming Row medley lasts over 26 minutes. In general, there is enough variation in tempo and volume. Some parts are minimalistic, others are slightly exhilarating. Most changes in vocals and music flow smoothly into one another. This is followed by four of their own songs, including ‘My Dear Children’. Here too, everything is in balance. The bass is pleasantly audible. The division between vocal and instrumental pieces is fine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the songs sung in German is ‘In Dieser Zeit’. The album comes with a nice photo booklet, which does not contain the lyrics. Just reading along in the booklet is not an option.
But if you can understand a bit of German, you can understand most of it. It was written during the first lockdown. The song has a positive message that we will get through this together, and that it will get better in the future.
The structure and the quiet atmosphere of the songs make it easy to chill out, it’s a comfortable listen. You would almost forget that some parts are quite complex. Every song has some nice things, like the a capella vocals in ‘The Spire And The Old Bridge’ and the details in percussion in ‘Treasured memories’. ‘Close to Heart’ has beautiful clear sounds in the intro. The lyrics are sensitive and clearly sung. The vocals briefly go against each other, but the atmosphere of this song is preserved. Tempo and volume increase for a moment, to end on a beautiful small note. ‘Erinnerungen’ is a fine melancholic song. Because there is no audience, you don’t really get the live experience. But even without a real live feeling, you can enjoy this subdued album, where now and then the rock is also nicely present.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

DVD<\/strong>:
Abbey Session (2020)
The basic setting of the light and the quiet changes of images fit the whole. On the CD, you could already hear it, but on the DVD, you see the passion and power especially in Melanie. Sometimes I miss a purposeful close-up, for example of the percussion. Simon Schr\u00f6der sometimes plays with sticks, sometimes with his hands on the various drums.
At the moments where it is possible in the music, some band members make a little to less contact with the camera. A performance without an audience, and therefore without applause, feels a little unreal. The mutual harmony between the band members is clearly visible. You can see their love for the music, and they show that they are used to playing live.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The same goes for ‘TV Session (2019)’. Here there is partly a different line up, the whole thing is smaller in scale. The set elements are retro, in the background the calm light has a modern, contrasting look. Because the track list of the CD and DVD is different, it remains fun to listen to\/watch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bonus consists of an interview. This is in German, and not nearly everything is subtitled, so it is not possible for everyone to follow. There are also official videos as a bonus. These are modest but carefully made and fit the songs. The Horseshoe was filmed in the Harz Mountains in Germany. The song is based on a fairy tale about a princess who was chased by a giant. She fled from the giant by sprinting away on her magic horse. The giant fell into the river during his chase and drowned. Then she jumped with her horse over some mountains. The other clips are fun to watch, especially ‘My Dear Children’. In ‘Die Zwerge Vom Iberg’ you can hear Jimmy Keegan (ex Spock’s Beard) as guest drummer. Because of the quiet set-up, it’s great to watch the DVD in a relaxed way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(83\/100) (Gray Matters<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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