DEBUT ALBUM LEGENDE
Released in November 2018 after five years of production, strehmann’s dark-romantic debut “Legende” is a true collaborative album which features talented guest musicians from Europe and overseas, including Frank M. Spinath of Seabound.
“Legende” is a tribute to love. The flow and evolution across its 15 explorative tracks with a total runtime close to 80 minutes makes it sound like love itself with all its facets. Seduction, devotion, rememberance, sex and euphoria – it’s all there to make your heart flutter.
What makes “Legende” so unique is its attitude: Honouring love without compromise, sincerely and independent. This results in a contemplative journey through emotions with a great variety of styles across ambient, wave, trance, classic, rock and pop.
From reflections on first crushes to celebrations of love, listeners will literally get chills listening to “Legende”. It’s the type of conclusive concept album that soaks you right in and refuses to let you go.
The power, the stories and the dedication – all of it makes “Legende” a must-listen.
15 songs in German and English // 80 minutes
Check out the trailer and get it on amazon, iTunes or in strehmann’s online shop including the booklet.
Sound-wise “Legende” is an intelligent composition on which you can hear the artist patiently accomplished his work. The compositions are progressing crescendo sometimes resulting in an ecstatic final […]. One of the main strengths is the evasive atmosphere hanging over the work. […]
“Legende” is an album […] you can dream to, and it is also is a promising debut for this artist.”
Project strehmann was founded in 2013 by Berlin artist and musician Ronny Strehmann. Over the years it evolved to the first truly homopoetic and -romantic electronic music project out there.
strehmann tells genuine tales of boys meeting boys and falling deeply, heart-stoppingly in love. The autobiographically influenced lyrics inspired by the old German poetry tradition take music lovers deeper into the unknown and with the debut’s rich instrumentation and opulent arrangements strehmann sheds a different light on his main theme of homoromantic love.
During the album’s production Dutch artist Maurice Heerdink, an internationally acclaimed painter of male physique, joined the project in terms of its visualization. This resulted in the cover painting for “Legende”, the videos “Free” and “Kartenhaus” and two album trailers. Maurice’s works contribute to an audiovisual symbiosis that couldn’t be more powerful.
Besides his solo project Ronny Strehmann is also a member of the German dark electro band eXcubitors.
MAURICE HEERDINK & RONNY STREHMANN – PAINTER MEETS MUSICIAN
2011 – Dutch artist Maurice Heerdink gets a photo-homage to his “Boy Next To The Window” painting from Ronny Strehmann from Germany.
2018 – Ronny Strehmann sends Maurice Heerdink a proposal for a creative cooperation.
Why did you get in touch with Maurice?
Ronny: For some years I am working on my homo-poetic music project strehmann and regarding my debut album I got in touch with Maurice because I find his work extremely harmonizing with the theme of my music.
Were you right away interested?
Maurice: Yes, I found his homage at the time very beautiful and tasteful. The music videos he showed me were interesting and the concept of working together sounded promising.
Ronny: Maurice and I are fascinated by the aesthetics and sensuality of the male body in a romantic sense and we both try to avoid the clichés of the gay scene. The combination of music and image can be very powerful. In addition to image montages in which I interact with Maurice’s works we made the music video “Kartenhaus” that connects his works with my performance in a dreamlike way.
Maurice: A collaboration between artists is something that rarely happens to painters. From time to time you work with a model but most of the time you are working alone in the studio. I am not one of those artists who prefers to stay indoors. I was at a point were I liked to discover new grounds like music and film which I already tried myself before. In 2018 I got several invitations to exhibit my work and along came Ronny’s proposal. All at the right moment.
Can you tell us a bit more about your project?
Ronny: It is the first German music project that addresses homosexual love profoundly and romantically. It’s about two men, who tentatively approach each other, tender love, longing but also disappointment. Everything of which love consists. My main focus is on young gays who in the scene, often dominated by sexual motives, feel as ill at ease as I do. Nevertheless the music is of course there for everyone.
When I look at Maurice’s paintings, it is as if my music has been translated directly into the visual. It is therefore an honor for me to work with him.
The album “Legende” includes 15 songs in German and English and lasts 80 minutes.
HOW THE PROJECT DEVELOPED
Since 2013 Berlin artist Ronny Strehmann has been working on his self-titled synth project. In April 2018 his first two singles “Schwur”, a collaboration with Seabound’s singer Frank M. Spinath, and “Wer bist du” are released. May 2018 sees the release of a Schwur Remixes EP, a strings version of “Wer bist du” and the new song “Spielfigur”. The sarcastic industrial song “Kaufrausch” is released in June 2018. As a last foretaste of the debut album “Legende” the song “Mein König” comes out in August 2018.
After five years of production the debut album “Legende” is released on November 30th, 2018. It contains 15 tracks with a total playtime close to 80 minutes. Besides the fellows of eXcubitors many other guest musicians from all over the world such as guitarists, pianists, violinists and vocalists helped make “Legende” something truly special.
While the pre-album singles already were accompanied by self-produced artistic music videos, this trend continues after the release of “Legende” with music videos for the tracks “Free”, “Kartenhaus”, “Hey You” and more. All of them are presented on strehmann‘s youtube channel.
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Maurice Heerdink:
http://www.mauriceheerdink.com/
Get in touch with Ronny & Maurice:
info@strehmann-music.com | mauriceheerdink@gmail.com
