Cast off the spring lines!
Alev Lenz, the storytelling, piano-playing singer and songwriter with the honest heart and free spirit of a sailor, is setting sails again, navigating to unchartered musical territory: the British Isles — London, England, to be precise. On board: her beloved piano and a lot of yarn, about the German music industry, life, the universe, love, and of course, metamorphic moments of re-birth and reconception. Entangled and tied up in a giant knot: new songs and ideas and approaches, and new ways, and a new love, and a new life, and a new band, and, last but not at all the least, a new album.
Alev Lenz,
daughter of a Turkish artist and a German business man, and born and raised between orient and occident, has a heart-felt knowledge about uniting contrasts and fusing distinctive worlds and backgrounds into something that is intrinsically herself… Her bittersweet voice and utterly personal lyrics, loaded with melodic flavours and inspiring hooks that take you by surprise, off kilter harmonics and deep and compelling song structures have often been compared to songstresses like Fiona Apple and Regina Spektor, but standing all by herself, proud to be her, and rightly so… And finding out who or what she is hasn't exactly been easy. After heading an almost stereotypical, successful rock band outfit, Alev set out to find out who exactly she wanted to be on and off stage, without the backing of any mayor. This musical journey turned out to be a fantastic musical trip as well as a personal one, leading her to move to New York where she honed her singer and live performer skills, culminating in the release of her debut album "Storytelling, piano playing Fräulein" on the Munich-based label Great Stuff, in 2009, and then to Berlin.
Shedding various skins…
…and a few releases down the line, Alev is less compromising and more to the point then ever, giving birth to her newest self while reinventing her music, her life and her heritage once more. After releasing her mini-album "Alte Schönhauser", in the UK in 2010, wrapping up her Berlin experience, deems a turning point in her musical outlook on things as she finally realised she'd "never compromise again, no matter what", only "doing things I am absolutely sound with", the whirl-y-gig girl with little luggage and lots of honesty, managed to reinstall herself in a new place, with a fresh face, and the best intentions to break through — with her second longplayer.
Conceived in a hot session…
…in the studio, without a biological father… and hasn't got a real name yet as it's not born yet. Yes, that's right. A free spirited, hippie flippy love child indeed. Born out of everything and nothing, desire and free will, fire and storm, Alev Lenz and her travelling piano, backed up by a solid band outfits that comes on strong with a female drummer, are taking the stages with panache. A burning will to break through combined with a never-ending necessity to learn, reinvent, and progress, lets the strong-willed blonde Fraeuleinwunder move from one place to the next, accumulating experience. This time, it's an existential one — everything and nothing at stake, she is visualising her music in an adventurous attempt to create a strong bond between anyone willing to take her to the next level, and herself.
by: planetkat.com
