Für D.a.f.

D.A.F. - Für Immer
EAC+LOG+CUE | FLAC: 204 MB | Artwork | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: Virgin # CDV 2239 | Country/Year: UK 1992, 1982
Genre: Electronica, Pop | Style: EBM, Synth Pop, Neue Deutsche Welle

"…Despite their innovations, solid technical ability and raves from the critics, D.A.F. were certainly never ready for prime time. When other artists in the club genre were dancing around the issue of alternative sexuality, D.A.F. was fairly "out" about it – their album covers were blatantly homoerotic and lyrics often dealt with sadomasochism. While D.A.F.'s big, industrial-inspired dance sound certainly had some measure of commercial potential, the group didn't, and they were way ahead of their time – too far ahead. Gold und Liebe followed, much in the vein of Alles Ist Gut, though offering some further refinements in terms of sound and style. Some critics argue that Gold und Liebe represents D.A.F.'s "personal best," though Alles Ist Gut is such a defining statement in retrospect it would seem hard to top. With 1982s Gold und Liebe, D.A.F. decided to disband amicably, as the sequencer they used proved too limited to sustain them artistically beyond what they had already done."

This DAF overview from Mute's Grey Area pulls from Alles Ist Gut, Gold und Liebe, and Für Immer, the three Conny Planck-produced albums Robert Görl and Gabi Delgado released on Virgin during 1981 and 1982. It's even-handed in its selections, with six tracks off Gold und Liebe and seven each from the other two. Virtually all the highlights are here, and almost all of them dish out the impossibly clenched, bruising rhythms and barked vocals DAF perfected during this phase. The slower, sleazier, and even more sinister material ("Im Dschungel der Liebe," "Prinzessin") is also well represented. Naturally, this is the best dose of early electronic body music short of Mute's fine 1998 album reissues.

The well-known painting of Wilhelm Friedemann Bach reproduced on the cover of this CD must be one of the most immediately attractive composer portraits ever made. The wide-brimmed hat, the fur-lined coat, the wisp of steely hair and, above all, the reddened but unmistakably genial face (displaying, if I’m not mistaken, his father’s nose) suggest a man one would want to accompany straightaway to the nearest coffee-house. But Friedemann was actually a little more complex than that, both as a person who could be lazy and argumentative and as a talented musician torn between the styles of the late baroque and early classical periods, so it is perhaps no surprise to find that there is considerable variety in the music on this disc.

Monarchie und Alltag, the 1980 debut album by Die Fehlfarben, is one of the key releases of the Neue Deutsche Welle (NDW), the German equivalent of new wave. Die Fehlfarben were never quite the same after Monarchie und Alltag – constant lineup shuffling, intermittent streaks of band activity – and though the album fell upon deaf ears initially, it grew in stature over the years and rightly became recognized as a cornerstone of modern German rock, earning a deluxe reissue in 2000…

Part of Warner's Mozart 250th Anniversary Edition, this set of 12 discs contains all the complete piano sonatas and violin sonatas, most of the works for piano duet, and several solo piano works. The recordings all date from the late '80s to early '90s and have very good sound. The solo piano works are all performed by Swiss pianist Karl Engel, while the duets are by sisters Güher and Süher Pekinel.

Georg Friedrich Händel - Sonatas For The Recorder
Dorothee Oberlinger / Ensemble 1700
EAC+LOG+CUE | FLAC: 406 MB | Full Artwork: 140 MB | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: Raumklang "Edition Marc Aurel" # MA SA 024 | Country/Year: Germany 2007 (2004)
Genre: Classical | Style: Baroque, Recorder

…Yet these are not fragile or rarefied renditions, for Oberlinger and her companions are quite vigorous in the Allegro movements; the long, lyrical lines in the Larghettos and Adagios are always solidly supported through the soloist's unerring ornamentation; and the accompaniment is fully realized and strongly characterized, distributed throughout the works to a variety of basso continuo instruments. The illustrated booklet includes an informative essay on the recorder's history and Handel's music by Gerhard Braun, and the recording is absolutely clear in details and natural in reproduction. This disc is highly recommended.

2009 Marks The 111th Anniversary Of Deutsche Grammophon. Over 11 Decades, The Label's Philosophy Has Always Been 'The Greatest Recordings By The Greatest Artists In The World' And Now They Showcase This With This Incredible 55 Cd Box Set. This Unique Collection Forms Dg's Major Release In Its 111th Anniversary Celebrations. The Limited Edition Box Set Gathers Together Many Landmark Recordings, From The Past To The Present. Most Of Them Appear Complete, As Originally Programmed, In Their Original Cover Art And Several Include Additional Material.