#2164 『The Dorf / Protest Possible』『ザ・ドーフ / プロテスト・ポッシブル』
Protest songs to achieve a utopia of expression. „Utopian beats & krautrock/jazz/trance/noise : 25-Piece sound collective“ – this is the tagline on the official website of The Dorf, which was formed in 2006 in Dortmund, the central city of the Ruhr aria of Germany. Not a big band or an orchestra, but a „Collective“. The biography says: „This large band works like a marketplace or even a pub – people come together, who didnt know each other before, constantly new faces enter the scene, old acquaintances say goodbye, some regulars can always be found.“ For more on the process of not only playing music, but also discussing the significance of the group and its ideas and reflecting them in expressive activities, see the interview with founder and conductor Jan Klare. The Dorf’s latest work, „Protest Possible“ is a „song“ album filled with a feeling of vitality which seems almost opposite of their previous work „Baobab / Echoes“ (2020) which was the ultimate in stoicism with drone music. The project started in 2018, before the Corona Disaster. The first step was to contact potential authors. The initial concept was to create new songs that could be sung by modern people with guitar accompaniment, following traditional labor songs and protest songs, but the time when simply including „Death to Capitalism“ in the refrain would work had passed. While searching for a protest song appropriate for the present age, the world was suddenly struck by the Corona disaster, and capitalist society, which had been believed to never die, unexpectedly became dysfunctional. It is not hard to imagine that such an unexpected turn of events made Klare and his band rediscover the meaning of producing this work. Recording took place between May and June 2020. The vocals and most of the acoustic instruments were recorded in separate groups in the studio with click tone, while the electronics and some guitars and basses were overdubbed remotely from each musician’s home. Three years in conception and a total of 1,000 hours of studio work resulted in this, The Dorf’s first official studio effort. The expressive and emotional vocals of Marie Daniels are featured in front throughout all the songs, and although the instrumentals are almost entirely a backing band, the richness of the ensemble, sometimes heavy, sometimes light, is a testament to their pursuit of a wide range of dynamic sounds, from drones to roaring noise. Sound-wise, it recalls me German songs like Marlene Dietrich’s, Brecht/Weill’s epic theater, and progressive rock, especially the German experimental rock of the late 60s and early 70s, known as Krautrock. The Dorf’s multi-layered musicality, with elements of minimal music, improvised jazz, chamber rock, and sound poetry sprinkled throughout, testifies to their refusal to fit into any particular genre or style. The lyrics, provided by five lyricists from various backgrounds, are all in German, with the exception of one song, so I do not understand the detail meanings of the lyrics, but there are songs that include English four-letter-words, songs that heighten tension with their rigid repetition of pronunciation, and songs that utilize a rhythmic sense of word, all of which are multi-dimensional and filled with delicate emotion. The vinyl of this album is limited to 100 copies, each in a handmade jacket spray-painted with a 12inch LP + 7inch EP + booklet. It contains instructions on how to make protest sign for demonstration with the jacket, which has „YES“ and „NO“ printed in large letters on the front and back. As it says: „So, purchase, practice and singalong! „. The Dorf, a musical community stirring in the deepest part of Europe, has created a new generation of protest songs with real D.I.Y. spirit, filled with a strong will to create a utopia of expression in an age of absurdity.Protest songs to achieve a utopia of expression. „Utopian beats & krautrock/jazz/trance/noise : 25-Piece sound collective“ – this is the tagline on the official website of The Dorf, which was formed in 2006 in Dortmund, the central city of the Ruhr aria of Germany. Not a big band or an orchestra, but a „Collective“. The biography says: „This large band works like a marketplace or even a pub – people come together, who didnt know each other before, constantly new faces enter the scene, old acquaintances say goodbye, some regulars can always be found.“ For more on the process of not only playing music, but also discussing the significance of the group and its ideas and reflecting them in expressive activities, see the interview with founder and conductor Jan Klare. The Dorf’s latest work, „Protest Possible“ is a „song“ album filled with a feeling of vitality which seems almost opposite of their previous work „Baobab / Echoes“ (2020) which was the ultimate in stoicism with drone music. The project started in 2018, before the Corona Disaster. The first step was to contact potential authors. The initial concept was to create new songs that could be sung by modern people with guitar accompaniment, following traditional labor songs and protest songs, but the time when simply including „Death to Capitalism“ in the refrain would work had passed. While searching for a protest song appropriate for the present age, the world was suddenly struck by the Corona disaster, and capitalist society, which had been believed to never die, unexpectedly became dysfunctional. It is not hard to imagine that such an unexpected turn of events made Klare and his band rediscover the meaning of producing this work. Recording took place between May and June 2020. The vocals and most of the acoustic instruments were recorded in separate groups in the studio with click tone, while the electronics and some guitars and basses were overdubbed remotely from each musician’s home. Three years in conception and a total of 1,000 hours of studio work resulted in this, The Dorf’s first official studio effort. The expressive and emotional vocals of Marie Daniels are featured in front throughout all the songs, and although the instrumentals are almost entirely a backing band, the richness of the ensemble, sometimes heavy, sometimes light, is a testament to their pursuit of a wide range of dynamic sounds, from drones to roaring noise. Sound-wise, it recalls me German songs like Marlene Dietrich’s, Brecht/Weill’s epic theater, and progressive rock, especially the German experimental rock of the late 60s and early 70s, known as Krautrock. The Dorf’s multi-layered musicality, with elements of minimal music, improvised jazz, chamber rock, and sound poetry sprinkled throughout, testifies to their refusal to fit into any particular genre or style. The lyrics, provided by five lyricists from various backgrounds, are all in German, with the exception of one song, so I do not understand the detail meanings of the lyrics, but there are songs that include English four-letter-words, songs that heighten tension with their rigid repetition of pronunciation, and songs that utilize a rhythmic sense of word, all of which are multi-dimensional and filled with delicate emotion. The vinyl of this album is limited to 100 copies, each in a handmade jacket spray-painted with a 12inch LP + 7inch EP + booklet. It contains instructions on how to make protest sign for demonstration with the jacket, which has „YES“ and „NO“ printed in large letters on the front and back. As it says: „So, purchase, practice and singalong! „. The Dorf, a musical community stirring in the deepest part of Europe, has created a new generation of protest songs with real D.I.Y. spirit, filled with a strong will to create a utopia of expression in an age of absurdity.Protest songs to achieve a utopia of expression. „Utopian beats & krautrock/jazz/trance/noise : 25-Piece sound collective“ – this is the tagline on the official website of The Dorf, which was formed in 2006 in Dortmund, the central city of the Ruhr aria of Germany. Not a big band or an orchestra, but a „Collective“. The biography says: „This large band works like a marketplace or even a pub – people come together, who didnt know each other before, constantly new faces enter the scene, old acquaintances say goodbye, some regulars can always be found.“ For more on the process of not only playing music, but also discussing the significance of the group and its ideas and reflecting them in expressive activities, see the interview with founder and conductor Jan Klare. The Dorf’s latest work, „Protest Possible“ is a „song“ album filled with a feeling of vitality which seems almost opposite of their previous work „Baobab / Echoes“ (2020) which was the ultimate in stoicism with drone music. The project started in 2018, before the Corona Disaster. The first step was to contact potential authors. The initial concept was to create new songs that could be sung by modern people with guitar accompaniment, following traditional labor songs and protest songs, but the time when simply including „Death to Capitalism“ in the refrain would work had passed. While searching for a protest song appropriate for the present age, the world was suddenly struck by the Corona disaster, and capitalist society, which had been believed to never die, unexpectedly became dysfunctional. It is not hard to imagine that such an unexpected turn of events made Klare and his band rediscover the meaning of producing this work. Recording took place between May and June 2020. The vocals and most of the acoustic instruments were recorded in separate groups in the studio with click tone, while the electronics and some guitars and basses were overdubbed remotely from each musician’s home. Three years in conception and a total of 1,000 hours of studio work resulted in this, The Dorf’s first official studio effort. The expressive and emotional vocals of Marie Daniels are featured in front throughout all the songs, and although the instrumentals are almost entirely a backing band, the richness of the ensemble, sometimes heavy, sometimes light, is a testament to their pursuit of a wide range of dynamic sounds, from drones to roaring noise. Sound-wise, it recalls me German songs like Marlene Dietrich’s, Brecht/Weill’s epic theater, and progressive rock, especially the German experimental rock of the late 60s and early 70s, known as Krautrock. The Dorf’s multi-layered musicality, with elements of minimal music, improvised jazz, chamber rock, and sound poetry sprinkled throughout, testifies to their refusal to fit into any particular genre or style. The lyrics, provided by five lyricists from various backgrounds, are all in German, with the exception of one song, so I do not understand the detail meanings of the lyrics, but there are songs that include English four-letter-words, songs that heighten tension with their rigid repetition of pronunciation, and songs that utilize a rhythmic sense of word, all of which are multi-dimensional and filled with delicate emotion. The vinyl of this album is limited to 100 copies, each in a handmade jacket spray-painted with a 12inch LP + 7inch EP + booklet. It contains instructions on how to make protest sign for demonstration with the jacket, which has „YES“ and „NO“ printed in large letters on the front and back. As it says: „So, purchase, practice and singalong! „. The Dorf, a musical community stirring in the deepest part of Europe, has created a new generation of protest songs with real D.I.Y. spirit, filled with a strong will to create a utopia of expression in an age of absurdity.
