Blauerosen

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The soundtrack of 2017!

What are the odds of making new year's resolutions at the same place with the same beverage as last year if one is not a creature of habit? They must be greater than the odds of witnessing the comeback of favourite bands after 25 years! What are the odds that names such as Barry Adamson, Band of Holy Joy, Diamanda Galas, Edward Ka-Spel, Marilyn Manson, Thurston Moore, Mark Lanegan, Trisomie 21, hackedepicciotto would be releasing albums within the same year? In 2017 Trisomie 21 released an album after 9 years and so did Der Plan after 25 years! It was a year during which we experienced powerful moments in beautiful gigs.It was also a year during which many bands released impressive debut albums. In 2017, more and more bands have embraced the internet and new ways have been explored for audiences to enjoy music and also show their support online. We often found similarities or artistic points of convergence between these music releases and exhibitions of modern/alternative art.It was in the simplicity of the ideas and the roughness of texture in the work of Christos Bokoros for the exhibition entitled 'The Bare Essentials' (Benaki Museum, Athens, Greece) that we have found shared qualities with the drama and theatricality of the music of Diamanda Galas. It was in the cultural and spiritual explorations of the 60s as they were highlighted in the V&A's exhibition 'You Say You Want A Revolution?' that we have found glimpses of the emotional fervour and social perceptiveness that Trisomie 21 and Band Of Holy Joy are expressing in their albums. It was in the imposing posture and evocative emotional strength of Reza Aramesh's 'Metamorphosis' sculpture (part of FRIEZE London) and in the rich texture of the abandoned buildings of Athens, that we have identified elements also expressed in the albums 'World Eater' by Blanck Mass and 'Raw Effort' by Livingtotem. We experienced similar feelings while watching the brave use of colour in the work of Opi Zouni (exhibition 'Order In Chaos' Benaki Museum) and listening to the albums 'Serious Business' and 'Brutalism' by Grey Hairs and IDLES.We admired the inventiveness of Nevin Aladag who transformed ordinary furniture into musical instruments (Documenta 14 Athens) and Mary Watts, who decorated in such a unique and unparalleled way, the Watts Chapel in Guildford. It was the same awe that we felt while listening to the dreamy (and somewhat gloomy) soundscapes that Edward Ka-Spel and Amanda Palmer have composed in their album 'I Can Spin A Rainbow'. If there is one conclusion that one can safely draw for 2017 as far as music is concerned, is that musicians from around the world have indeed expressed the strength of the emotions and ideas that the tense worldwide situations are causing in all of us, using impressively creative ways. Within this year, some of us have realized, that the possibility of war happening closer to us, was bigger than we expected to witness in our lifetime. Because of that, we might have really understood why art and music created in ugliness and hardship is so beautiful! There have been so many beautiful albums within the year that this time, Blauerosen has chosen for its soundtrack, those albums that had the strongest impact on us in their entirety. With thoughts about peace, creativity and inspiration, let's all have a beautiful 2018!

This was the soundtrack of Blauerosen in 2017!

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