Short Stories

Artist: Friedemann
Title: Short Stories
Catalog-Nr.: 76761
Format: CD
Playing Time: 49:01
Release Date: April 2003
Label: Biber Records
Distribution: Inakustik, Germany

»Once upon a time there was a young folk singer who left his home in a small town in Alemannia and set out into the world to seek his fortune.« That more or less is the beginning of the story of Friedemann, who eventually, in the mid-nineties, three decades later, returned to his home at the foot of the Black Forest. A lot has happened in that time. The young lad has turned into a cosmopolitan man in touch with his home roots, a guitarist and composer, father of two daughters, music publisher, producer, businessman and... storyteller.

»While I am composing, and later while doing the production, I keep seeing pictures which have either been there already or come while I am working,« says Friedemann. »In these pictures stories are enacted. Sometimes they come from my imagination, such as in ›The Samurai who Decided to Die‹ and sometimes I am inspired by fairy tales, like ›The Rusty Knight‹ or ›The Queen Bee‹ - (a Grimm's fairytale). And my own experiences come in too, such as the melancholy calm of a summer evening (›One Summer Eve‹) or meeting ›The Lady from Yonder Hill‹. Each piece has its own story to tell, so the whole album is a collection of stories - short stories.«

Tracklist:
01 The Lady From Yonder Hill 5:20 (Ph. Geiss / F. Witecka)
02 One Summer Eve 4:37 (F. Witecka)
03 Three Little Ghosts 5:48 (Ph. Geiss / F. Witecka)
04 Once In The Black Forest 4:36 (F. Witecka)
05 The Samurai Who Decided To Die 4:50 (F. Witecka)
06 The Rusty Knight 6:16 (F. Witecka)
07 The Queen Bee 4:37 (E. Séjourné)
08 The Little Lioness 4:49 (M. Faller / F. Witecka)
09 The Sleeping Princess 4:18 (F. Witecka)
10 The Last Waltz 3:14 (Ph. Geiss)

Musicians:
Friedemann: guitar
Philippe Geiss: soprano and alto sax, percussion
Emmanuel Séjourné: marimba, vibes, percussion
Kurt Eisfeld: keyboards
Markus Faller: drums, percussion
Guest musicians:
Dieter Burmester:guitar
Henrik Mumm: double bass
Ingo Rau: electric bass
Alina Lieske: voice

Recorded at Studio F, 2002/2003
Recording Engineers: Adrian von Ripka, Johannes Wohlleben
Mixing Engineer: Johannes Wohlleben
Mastering: Pauler Acoustics, Hans-Jörg Maucksch
Producer: Friedemann Witecka