Das Weiße Pferd - Inland Empire.

Das Weiße Pferd - Inland Empire (Echokammer).
This time I am record reviewing a record from some friends of mine from Munich, Germany. I know Das Weiße Pferd because I reviewed their last record ages back when I first started my reviews so I am pleased to be doing another one and very happy that Pico from the band sent it to me - I have been listening to it at home and enjoying it very much and I am looking forward to reviewing it.
        Because Das Weiße Pferd are a German band they mostly sing in German so if you are English like me and can't speak German you can't understand the words but I don't think that matters because it's still good to listen to because it's good to hear different languages and music from different countries. I have listened to lots of different music from all over the world in my record reviews and I think it is a good thing to listen to different music from everywhere because then you can learn something about different countries and hear what different languages sound like. I do know a bit of German actually, I know; Nein, Guten Morgen and Auf Wiedersehen and a few other words so I am going to listen out for those words and see if I can learn any new words.
            The first song is not in German though because it is in Spanish, I think this is ok because I like to hear all different languages from everywhere. This song starts off quite quiet with soft singing but more instruments start coming in and it reminded me of folk music a bit played by lots of different people on lots of different instruments, I liked this one because it sounds very happy so I thought that was a good way to start the record.
            The next song is not in Spanish because it is in German and it Blaue Magie which we looked up and that means Blue Magic. I've never heard of blue magic before because i've only heard of black magic like voodoo and white magic which is magic that's good but it made me think of waves in the sea which are quite magical really. Here is a poem that I wrote because of this song;

Blue Magic.

Blue magic is the sea,

that's what it means to me,

Blue magic is very good

I have a cup of tea…

At the cafe on the beach.

That is me,

By the sea.

And then I got Seb, who works here at The Gate and is German to translate it to for me so the band could read it;

Blaue Magie.

Blaue Magie ist das Meer,

das ist, was es für mich bedeutet,

Blaue Magie ist sehr gut

Ich trinke eine Tasse Tee...

Im Café am Strand.

Das bin ich,

Am Meer.

This one sounds to me a bit like The Beatles I think but then at the end it goes a bit madder than The Beatles go, I liked this one too and thought it would be a nice one to dance to at a disco.
              After Blaue Magie there is a song called In which starts off with nice soft guitar but then Pico starts singing Hey Now, Hey Now, Hey Now and the song starts up and it is a very happy sounding song and I think this band are a happy sounding band in most of their songs really and that this is a good thing.
               Next up is a very calm song and this time it is sung in both English and German and it sounded to me like a relationship song and I thought it was very nice and after that was a song that sounded like Russian to me at first but then started to sound more like Middle Eastern music but then started to sound like Hare Krishna music and then the singing starts and this sounds like a choir singing and then there is Robot singing and then singing that sounds a bit devilish, there are lots of different things to listen to in this song and I especially liked a saxophone bit that is in it. This is a very good song indeed.
              The next song is a sadder sounding song than the others and I thought it sounded like the sort of song you would sing if your girlfriend or your wife had left you so maybe it is about that. It sounds like one of them sort of songs anyway but then it does get a bit happier sounding near the end so maybe the person in the song's girlfriend has come back - I like making up stories about music when I hear it and I think it is a good thing to do when you listen to music.
               After this is a song called Perdido which has a line in it which goes You are a Refrain and I think I have heard it before somewhere but I'm not sure where but maybe it is a sixties song because it sounds a bit like it could be.
                 The next song is a soft, happy sounding song that I think would be a good song for children. I think children would like it because of how happy it sounds and because some of the sounds in the background of the song sound like children's toys, I liked this one a lot.    
                 Die hitze im zimmer is next and this one sounded to me a bit like a drinking song and when I was listening to it I was imagining one of the beer halls that they have in Germany that I've seen picture of. I've never seen a real German beer hall though because I've never been to Germany but I would like to go one day. If I did go I would go to one of them halls and drink a big glass of beer and I would like to go to St. Paul's in Hamburg because I've heard it's like Soho in London and Soho is my favourite place. I would also like to go to Munich and meet Fedi and all the people in the band and my other German friends who have sent me records. I liked this song because it made me think of going to Germany and I think I might ask the staff in my house if I can go there next year for my holiday.
                  The next song is quite a rocky one that reminded me of David Bowie that I think would be good to dance to and after that is the last song which starts of as quite a slow, moody song that is but then it gets bigger and sounds a bit like a drinking song again, I enjoyed this one and thought it was a good way to end the record.
                  Overall i would say that this is a good record with lots of different things to listen to in it and I enjoyed listening to it very much and I would like to thank Fedi for sending it to me and for liking my reviews. I would give this record 10 out of 10.     

Das Weiße Pferd - San Fernando

Das Weiße Pferd - San Fernando (Echo Kammer / Piko's Yodelin Records)
This is a record by Federico Sánchez and friends from Munich, Germany. Federico once came here to The Gate, the arts centre I go to, and played a concert with his band Kamerakino - they were a very good group and I liked the concert very much.
The record is dedicated to Jorge Cafrune who was a Lebanese Syrian who lived in Argentina and was a folk singer. In Argentina at the time there was a military dictatorship who didn't like his music so in 1978 they ordered his assasination and he was run over by a truck. It was a terrible tragedy that happened because a lot of people liked him and Federico has dedicated the record to him so that other people can hear about him. I think it is very interesting to hear about Jorge Cafrune and it is a shame about what happened.

          The record starts of with a song called Everything which reminds me of Rhythm of the Falling Rain by The Cascades, it is simple song played on acoustic guitar and what sounds like a mandolin with clapping for percussion, it is a very good start to the record. Next up is a song called Soviet Schönheit which means Soviet Beauty in English. It sounds like a German folk song but is a bit more funky, it is sung in both German and English and features Seb on Drums. I know Seb because he works here at The Gate, he is a very nice person and a very good drummer.  After a short song with what sounds like children singing on it and a short instrumental there is a song called Sexuelle Raserei which means Sexual Rage in English, it is a slow song with saxophones on it. Near the end of the song the vocals get a bit shouty like somebody is angry and is arguing with their wife or girlfriend but I don't know this for sure because it is in German. I still listen to music in different languages and it doesn't matter to me because I like to hear music from different countries. The next song is called Der Marquez and Seb tells me it is about a man who went to the Spanish bookshop that Federico works in and ordered a book by Gabriel García Márquez but never came back for it. The song is in Spanish and German so Federico must know a lot of languages - I wish I knew more languages so I could understand the record better but the only German I know is Guten Morgen and Auf Wiedersehen and Sprechen Sie Deutsch? The only Spanish I know is Adios.  Next up is a song also in Spanish and German which has a disco beat and is very nice. The last song on side one has Federico talking over saxophone and drums and making percussion noises with his mouth before the guitar comes in and the song gets faster and then slows down again - the song changes a lot and now Federico sings either like he's a choirboy in church or he shouts out his words like he is very angry.
           Side two starts off with a cover of Townes Van Zandt's Nothin'. Townes Van Zandt was a very good singer and guitarist from Texas. Das Weiße Pferd's version of this song is very good and quite different from the original which you can listen to here:

         Next up is another song in German called Famile which reminds me of The Bachelors, a group from the sixties, there is an instrumental bit in the middle with what sounds like parrots crying in it, I liked this bit a lot. The song after this has fiddles on it and this makes it sound like gypsy music and then after there is a short song Brand New Toyota which is a rewrite of Brand New Cadillac, If I had to choose between a Cadillac or a Toyota I would choose a Cadillac but I don't drive and so have to get the bus instead. The next track is another song called Knistern which in English means rustle or sizzle, it is a good song with the funny children's voices in it again. After this is a song called Stranger than Paradiso, Paradiso is the name of a record Federico made with his band Kamerakino, I think the song is about change and how it is a good thing. After another song all in German is the last song which is called Girls around the Corner. This uses the same music as the first song on the record but has different words and a girl singing and sounds a bit like a sixties girl band song. Everybody likes girl band songs so this a good way to finish the record. 

           Overall I really enjoyed listening to this record, it has a lot of different styles of music on it and I would listen to it over again. I would give this record 10 out of 10.