GDR oppositionist
Artists sing Wolf Biermann’s “Songs for Now”
Wolf Biermann’s songs have long been part of German history. Now they are sung by a younger generation of artists. The claim of the cover album is: “Songs for now!”
A cover album with 22 songs will be released for Wolf Biermann’s 88th birthday on November 15th. It’s called “Wolf Biermann re:imagined – songs for now!”. Younger artists sing classics and lesser-known titles by the former GDR opposition member. In a supplementary album, the Hamburg-based songwriter contributes several variations of his perhaps best-known song “Encouragement”.
The Hamburg music publisher Clouds Hill is offering the cover album individually and in a box with a retro design, which also includes the two reissued albums “Chausseestraße 131” (1968) and “Don’t wait for better times” (1973).
Annett Louisan, Ina Müller and Alligatoah
The cover album was an idea from his wife Pamela, says Biermann. He had nothing to do with the selection of the songs himself. Clouds Hill music publisher Johann Scheerer did that. The son of the literary scholar Jan Philipp Reemtsma has just acquired the rights to Biermann’s work, as the label announces.
The songs are sung by Annett Louisan, Ina Müller, Meret Becker, Lina Maly and Alligatoah, among others. The latter interprets the song “The Huguenot Cemetery”. Biermann sang it at his famous Cologne concert on November 13, 1976, which resulted in his expatriation from the GDR.
On November 13th, exactly 38 years after the concert in Cologne, Biermann will be on stage again, together with numerous performers from the cover album in Hamburg’s Thalia Theater.
dpa
Source: Stern
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
