| Lotte Kestner — Off White (September 1st, 2017) |
Lotte Kestner — Off White (September 1st, 2017) 
•ς• Art by Mayme Kratz. Jako siréna, její hlas se vynořuje z mlhavých, někdy robustních zvukových vln okruhu Magnolia, West Point Treatment Plant, Schmitz Preserve Park anebo Cedar Grove Natural Area. Když zpívá Williams, bojíte se dýchat. Její hlas je zářící, udělán z perel. Zpívá milostné písně pro nemocnice. Off White je tak nesnesitelně pohupující se plavba, že raději si důvěrně sáhnete na dolní čelist, jestli je pořád na svém místě. A po tom, co jste to slyšeli, už nikdy nebudete stejní. Nedávno hrála ve filmu “I Cannot Go On As I Am”, který měl premiéru v roce 2015 a který také obsahuje živé hudební vystoupení. Hudba Anny~Lynne Williams je náladová, dovnitř a její texty jsou překvapivě nepředvídatelné. Navíc má jeden z nejopojnějších hlasů v moderní hudbě. Často ani nezáleží na tom, co zpívá — nálada se dobře promítá do melodií a nástrojového použití, přesto je dobré, že součástí alba jsou kompletní texty. Má sice jeden z těch křišťálově jasných hlasů tvořených stydlivostí, osamělostí a klidným zoufalstvím, přesto skutečné tajemství písní se skrývá v upřímnosti. Hraní je jednoduché: akustické kytary, které se mísí s harmonikou, perkusemi, klíči, malou klávesnicí a dalšími nástroji, jako je harfa a ukelele. Spoluhráči: Andrew D.B. Joslyn (gorgeous string arrangement on Have You Sailed Home!), Adrian Van Batenburg (bicí), Christopher Merrill (basa).Ve všech 12~ti písních dává zapomenout na Hope Sandoval. Jakmile uslyšíte “In Glass”, rozeznáte, že jde o hodně nad to, co je psáno kdekoli v univerzitních metodických příručkách: příběhy o naději na lásku, ztrátě lásky a obtížné navigaci v lidských vztazích. To, že leaderka shoegaze bandu Trespassers William ze Seattlu změní své jméno pro svá sólová alba z celoamerického Anna~Lynne Williams na německé Lotte Kestner, je pravděpodobně gesto sebepoznání. Mohlo by ale také narážet na pocit sounáležitosti s kabaretními skladbami Starého světa se seriózně míněným účelem i přes lehkost sdělení. Ne že by její hudba připomínala něco, co Kurt Weill kdy napsal. Ani v nejmenším. (Jméno je převzato od Goetheho, jehož vliv je jinak také nedetekovatelný, neboť jeho Lotte byla tragická postava.) Další píseň, která vás dostane, je “Eight Ball”, někoho jiného “Senses”, já jsem ve vytržení od úvodní “Secret Longitude” až po závěrečnou “Dead/Sea”. Lotte Kestner není zbrusu nový projekt: její dráhu sleduji od počátku. Pod tímto jménem vydala již 3 celovečerní alba (China Mountain, 2008; Stolen, 2011, The Bluebird of Happiness, 2013), 2x EPs (Until, 2013; Covering Depeche Mode, 2015) a 5 online realizací v rozmezí let 2009~2015. Pro úplnost také 6 alb s Trespassers William a 2 alba jako Ormonde. Od předešlých se však vymyká ve všem myslitelném. Jako celek. Pochopitelně je to pořád Anna~Lynne, jak ji známe a jak jsme ji slyšeli 2x v Praze, v Chapeau Rouge (2.11. 2009), v Jamm Clubu ve formaci Ormonde (15.04. 2015), v Jihlavě a v Plzni také v dubnu 2015. Navíc, letos je to již její třetí album: “Solo Versions” (8 písní) vydala na Nový rok, o 19 dnů později “Covers”, kde ukázala svou lásku ke svým idolům v 17~ti písních. Loni na Ars Cameralis, festivalu všech umění v Katovicích, četla svou poezii a pak hrála jako Lotte Kestner s Kevinem Longem. Teatr Korez zažil jakési předznamenání toho, co máme na stole dnes: světové dílo. Rozmanité a soudržné. Mírně tiché a zasněné vokály Anna~Lynne dodávají jemným a pohybujícím se písním vítanou srdečnost a hloubku, jaká u ní doposud nemá obdobu. Přemýšlejte o nekonvenčním koktejlu její náklonnosti k Evropě, čistým vztahům a vytříbeného hudebního vkusu. Ben Tais Amundssen
Location: Seattle, WA
Album release: Sept/01/17
Record Label: Saint Marie Records
Duration: 42:09
Tracks:
01 Secret Longitude 3:00
02 In Glass 3:23
03 Have You Sailed Home 4:29
04 Ghosts 2:49
05 Off White 4:14
06 Eight Ball 3:52
07 Go To Sleep Now 3:39
08 Senses 3:25
09 Another Moon 4:58
10 Ashland 3:40
11 Boat Of Mine 3:13
12 Dead/Sea 1:27
Personnel:
♠ Anna~Lynne Williams (guitars, vocals, electronics, keys)
♠ Andrew D.B. Joslyn (check out the gorgeous string arrangement on Have You Sailed Home!),
♠ Adrian Van Batenburg (drums),
♠ Christopher Merrill (bass) for the instruments they contributed.
Description:
•ς• Her version of Beyonce’s “Halo,” from 2013’s The Bluebird of Happiness, captivated the world. It garnered international attention when HBO series The Young Pope used it in a pivotal scene. Now Lotte Kestner returns with Off White, her devastating new album. Its unsparing, alabaster songs are powerful enough to age a young pope 50 years and shatter his faith in the almighty.
•ς• Lotte Kestner is the pseudonym of Anna~Lynne Williams, formerly the singer in beloved band Trespassers William and collaborator with the Chemical Brothers.
•ς• When Williams is singing, it hurts to breathe. Her voice is luminous and made of pearls. She sings love songs for hospitals. Off White is so unbearably moving, so jaw~droppingly intimate, that you’ll never be the same again after hearing it.
•ς• At times her voice is a dead ringer for Magnolia~era Aimee Mann, but the sparse spiritual yearning of Talk Talk or Red House Painters is a more apt comparison. The songs may be driven by piano, or understated acoustic guitar, but they’re fleshed out with bloodless synths, or in the case of “Have You Sailed Home,” beautiful strings. The darkness of a clean white room, furnished in ivory and plastered with eggshells.
•ς• It’s the eerie delay/reverb effect on the verses in the midnight waltz of “Eight Ball” that kills us. It’s the sound of yellow chalk being dragged across an icicle and conveys the true artistry behind Lotte Kestner’s music. To call it folk, to call it anything, does a disservice to her intelligence and her art.
•ς• Off White is a treasure, an album of shadows and silhouettes. Songs you’d want played at your funeral, elegiac and uplifting, valedictory and ashen. It ends with a solitary piano figure, nothing left to say. Words always fail us, and sometimes silence is the best way to convey what is dead in our hearts.
Review / Until
Kevin Krein, 26th April 2013
•ς• It’s only been two months since singer~songwriter Anna~Lynne Williams dropped The Bluebird of Happiness, the third full~length LP she’s put out under the Lotte Kestner moniker. Believe it or not, Williams is back with a self~released companion EP, Until, a collection of eight songs — some of which are outtakes from the Bluebird sessions, along with experiments, old songs that were written and just newly recorded, or songs that were intended for her old band Trespassers William.
•ς• The first two songs on Until are in the same vein as “Eggshells,” the dark, synth~heavy track from Bluebird. The EP opens with “Confession,” a track that begins with an interesting, phone dial pad~esq keyboard riff, before somberly plucked acoustic guitar strings clear the way. The second song, “Flap,” features some dope beats — uncharacteristic of Williams’s canon thus far — and is propelled forward by some very spacey, hypnotic synth tones.
•ς• The EP’s standout track comes third — “Bell Under Water” is a moody and restrained meditation, anchored down by Williams’s wordless singing that serves as an ethereal refrain. The second half of Until finds Williams shedding the experimentation of the first few tracks, and heads back into the sparse, downcast acoustic guitar songs that she is excellent crafting. The closing track, “To Stand In” is a perfect example of that, while the song prior to that, “Bright to be True,” is one of the only songs to feature more instrumentation, courtesy of her former Trespassers band mates.
•ς• There’s always a slight risk in releasing a second set of material shortly after you’ve already put out an album. If this were a release by a lesser artist, it could come off as being an “odds and ends” collection. However, due to Williams’s strength as a songwriter, Until is very capable of standing on its own. Even though these tracks are pulled from different recording sessions and different times, they all sound very natural when you listen from start to finish. The sequencing of the songs also helps; Until flows seamlessly from the first half into the second.
•ς• In the review of Until written by the folks at The Big Takeover, it’s mentioned that this EP is slightly “darker” than Bluebird. After letting that idea sink in for a minute, I would agree. Until has a heavier weight to much of the material. Also, the artwork for each is staggeringly different. Bluebird features a haunting photograph from Desiree Doldron — the composition and subject matter give off an almost baroque~era feeling. •ς• While Until’s cover features the black and white image of a jelly fish, and all of the text is in a large, heavy, all caps font — black text on an even blacker background.
•ς• If you slept on The Bluebird of Happiness, shame on you — it’s a remarkable album. So you should do yourself a big favor and peep that. And when you’ve finished, turn your attention to Until. Playing them back~to~back showcases the how diverse yet cohesive the songs of Anna~Lynne Williams are. •ς• http://anhedonicheadphones.blogspot.com/
Label: http://www.saintmarierecords.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/lottekestner
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/annalynneland
Bandcamp: https://lottekestner.bandcamp.com/
Website: http://lottekestner.com/
••••••••••_________________________________________••••••••••
| Lotte Kestner — Off White (September 1st, 2017) |
Location: Seattle, WA
Album release: Sept/01/17
Record Label: Saint Marie Records
Duration: 42:09
Tracks:
01 Secret Longitude 3:00
02 In Glass 3:23
03 Have You Sailed Home 4:29
04 Ghosts 2:49
05 Off White 4:14
06 Eight Ball 3:52
07 Go To Sleep Now 3:39
08 Senses 3:25
09 Another Moon 4:58
10 Ashland 3:40
11 Boat Of Mine 3:13
12 Dead/Sea 1:27
Personnel:
♠ Anna~Lynne Williams (guitars, vocals, electronics, keys)
♠ Andrew D.B. Joslyn (check out the gorgeous string arrangement on Have You Sailed Home!),
♠ Adrian Van Batenburg (drums),
♠ Christopher Merrill (bass) for the instruments they contributed.
Description:
•ς• Her version of Beyonce’s “Halo,” from 2013’s The Bluebird of Happiness, captivated the world. It garnered international attention when HBO series The Young Pope used it in a pivotal scene. Now Lotte Kestner returns with Off White, her devastating new album. Its unsparing, alabaster songs are powerful enough to age a young pope 50 years and shatter his faith in the almighty.
•ς• Lotte Kestner is the pseudonym of Anna~Lynne Williams, formerly the singer in beloved band Trespassers William and collaborator with the Chemical Brothers.
•ς• When Williams is singing, it hurts to breathe. Her voice is luminous and made of pearls. She sings love songs for hospitals. Off White is so unbearably moving, so jaw~droppingly intimate, that you’ll never be the same again after hearing it.
•ς• At times her voice is a dead ringer for Magnolia~era Aimee Mann, but the sparse spiritual yearning of Talk Talk or Red House Painters is a more apt comparison. The songs may be driven by piano, or understated acoustic guitar, but they’re fleshed out with bloodless synths, or in the case of “Have You Sailed Home,” beautiful strings. The darkness of a clean white room, furnished in ivory and plastered with eggshells.
•ς• It’s the eerie delay/reverb effect on the verses in the midnight waltz of “Eight Ball” that kills us. It’s the sound of yellow chalk being dragged across an icicle and conveys the true artistry behind Lotte Kestner’s music. To call it folk, to call it anything, does a disservice to her intelligence and her art.
•ς• Off White is a treasure, an album of shadows and silhouettes. Songs you’d want played at your funeral, elegiac and uplifting, valedictory and ashen. It ends with a solitary piano figure, nothing left to say. Words always fail us, and sometimes silence is the best way to convey what is dead in our hearts.
Review / Until
Kevin Krein, 26th April 2013
•ς• It’s only been two months since singer~songwriter Anna~Lynne Williams dropped The Bluebird of Happiness, the third full~length LP she’s put out under the Lotte Kestner moniker. Believe it or not, Williams is back with a self~released companion EP, Until, a collection of eight songs — some of which are outtakes from the Bluebird sessions, along with experiments, old songs that were written and just newly recorded, or songs that were intended for her old band Trespassers William.
•ς• The first two songs on Until are in the same vein as “Eggshells,” the dark, synth~heavy track from Bluebird. The EP opens with “Confession,” a track that begins with an interesting, phone dial pad~esq keyboard riff, before somberly plucked acoustic guitar strings clear the way. The second song, “Flap,” features some dope beats — uncharacteristic of Williams’s canon thus far — and is propelled forward by some very spacey, hypnotic synth tones.
•ς• The EP’s standout track comes third — “Bell Under Water” is a moody and restrained meditation, anchored down by Williams’s wordless singing that serves as an ethereal refrain. The second half of Until finds Williams shedding the experimentation of the first few tracks, and heads back into the sparse, downcast acoustic guitar songs that she is excellent crafting. The closing track, “To Stand In” is a perfect example of that, while the song prior to that, “Bright to be True,” is one of the only songs to feature more instrumentation, courtesy of her former Trespassers band mates.
•ς• There’s always a slight risk in releasing a second set of material shortly after you’ve already put out an album. If this were a release by a lesser artist, it could come off as being an “odds and ends” collection. However, due to Williams’s strength as a songwriter, Until is very capable of standing on its own. Even though these tracks are pulled from different recording sessions and different times, they all sound very natural when you listen from start to finish. The sequencing of the songs also helps; Until flows seamlessly from the first half into the second.
•ς• In the review of Until written by the folks at The Big Takeover, it’s mentioned that this EP is slightly “darker” than Bluebird. After letting that idea sink in for a minute, I would agree. Until has a heavier weight to much of the material. Also, the artwork for each is staggeringly different. Bluebird features a haunting photograph from Desiree Doldron — the composition and subject matter give off an almost baroque~era feeling. •ς• While Until’s cover features the black and white image of a jelly fish, and all of the text is in a large, heavy, all caps font — black text on an even blacker background.
•ς• If you slept on The Bluebird of Happiness, shame on you — it’s a remarkable album. So you should do yourself a big favor and peep that. And when you’ve finished, turn your attention to Until. Playing them back~to~back showcases the how diverse yet cohesive the songs of Anna~Lynne Williams are. •ς• http://anhedonicheadphones.blogspot.com/
Label: http://www.saintmarierecords.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/lottekestner
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/annalynneland
Bandcamp: https://lottekestner.bandcamp.com/
Website: http://lottekestner.com/
••••••••••_________________________________________••••••••••