Klee (band)
Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox musical artist
Klee (German for "clover") is a German pop band from Cologne. Named after German painter Paul Klee, the band was formed in 2002 by singer Suzie Kerstgens and musicians Sten Servaes and Tom Deininger. Klee's brand of pop music incorporates electronic as well as acoustic sounds and, in more recent years, the band has embraced chanson and schlager. Four of Klee's albums have entered the top 30 of the German albums chart.
History
During the nineties, Tom Deininger, Sten Servaes and Suzie Kerstgens were members of German band Ralley and recorded the albums Ralley (1997) and 1, 2, 3, 4 (1999).<ref name="laut">"laut.de-Biographie - Klee" (in German). laut.de. Retrieved 2 April 2015.</ref> A serious traffic accident in 1999 forced them to take a three-year break so that Deininger and Servaes could fully cover from their injuries. The trio then reformed in 2002 as the band Klee.<ref name="RP ONLINE">Krechting, Wiljo. "Glücksfall für die Popmusik" (in German). RP ONLINE. 12 August 2009.</ref> According to Kerstgens, the new band name was inspired by the work of German painter Paul Klee, and also hints at the four-leaf clover as a good luck symbol. With the change in band name, there was also a change in style from guitar pop to electropop.<ref>Gauger, Joachim. ""Saudi Arabien wird Weltmeister!"" (in German). laut.de. 1 July 2005.</ref>
In 2002, the single "Erinner dich" (Remember) from Klee's debut album, Unverwundbar (Invulnerable), was released. The single was in the top 100 of the German singles chart for one week at No. 94.<ref name="singles">"Chartverfolgung / Klee / Single" (in German). musicline.de. PHONONET GmbH. Retrieved 2 April 2015.</ref>
In July 2004, Klee's second album, Jelängerjelieber (The longer the better), was released.<ref>"Klee - Jelängerjelieber - Album" (in German). Offizielle Deutsche Charts. GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 6 September 2015.</ref> The first single from it, "2 Fragen" (2 questions), brought the band to the attention of German radio and television stations.Template:Citation needed In November 2004, Klee gained further exposure by performing "Gold", another single from the album, on television show Sarah Kuttner – Die Show on MTV Germany.<ref>"Klee" Template:Webarchive (in German). AMPYA. Retrieved 2 April 2015.</ref> The band then represented the German state of Saarland in the Bundesvision Song Contest 2005 with "Gold", finishing in 10th place with 37 points.<ref name="fan-lexikon">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>"Ein Lied für Stefan Raab - "Bundesvision Song Contest"" (in German). PRESSEPORTAL. 11 February 2005.</ref><ref name="WZ">Gantzkow, Sven. "Experten in Sachen Widerspruch" (in German). Westdeutsche Zeitung. 31 July 2008.</ref> "Gold" stayed in the German singles chart for nine weeks, where it reached number 54.<ref name="singles" />
An American version of Jelängerjelieber titled Honeysuckle was released in July 2006 by US record label Minty Fresh. For this album, three songs were re-recorded in English: "Für alle, die", "Tausendfach" and "Gold", the respective official English titles being “This Is for Everyone”, “A Thousand Ways” and “Gold”.<ref>Reges, Margaret. "Honeysuckle - Klee". AllMusic. Retrieved 2 April 2015.</ref><ref>Henson, Amber. "Klee - "Honeysuckle" - Album Review". The Red Alert. Retrieved 2 April 2015.</ref>
Klee's third album, Zwischen Himmel und Erde (Between heaven and earth), came out in August 2006 and became the band's first top 20 album in Germany, peaking at No. 17.<ref>"Klee - Zwischen Himmel und Erde - Album" (in German). Offizielle Deutsche Charts. GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 6 September 2015.</ref> One song from the album, "Die Stadt" (The city), was released earlier in July 2006 as a single and reached No. 55 in the German charts.<ref name="singles" /> Zwischen Himmel und Erde continued the trend started in Jelängerjelieber of Klee’s music becoming less reliant on electronic sounds and giving more prominence to guitar sounds.<ref>Cordas, Alexander. "Sanft dahin gehauchte Songs rund um das Thema Liebe." (in German). laut.de. 4 August 2006.</ref><ref>Sülzer, Torsten. "„Es hatte sich viel aufgestaut“" (in German). Kölnische Rundschau. 8 August 2006.</ref>
In July 2008, Klee released the single "Zwei Herzen" (Two hearts), which became the band's first German top 30 single, peaking at No. 29.<ref name="singles" /> The single came from Klee's fourth album, Berge versetzen (Moving mountains), which was released in August 2008 and went to No. 15 in the German albums chart.<ref>"Klee - Berge versetzen - Album" (in German). Offizielle Deutsche Charts. GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 6 September 2015.</ref> The second single from the album, the title song "Berge versetzen", was released later in 2008 and reached No. 57 in the German singles chart.<ref name="singles" />
In 2010, Deininger parted company with Kerstgens and Servaes, leaving the duo to record Klee’s fifth album, Aus lauter Liebe (Out of sheer love).<ref name="ntv">Probst, Volker. "Mit Klee auf dem Dach" (in German). n-tv. 31 August 2011.</ref> Released in August 2011, the album was the band’s most successful to date, peaking at No. 6 in the German albums chart.<ref>"Klee - Aus lauter Liebe - Album" (in German). Offizielle Deutsche Charts. GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 6 September 2015.</ref> One single released from the album, "Willst du bei mir bleiben" (Do you want to stay with me), reached No. 29 in the German singles chart.<ref name="singles" /> Aus lauter Liebe shows a further development in Klee's sound, with several songs having hints of chanson.<ref name="ntv" /><ref>"CD-Vorstellung in der Lieblingsbar" (in German). Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger. 15 June 2011.</ref>
Klee's sixth album, Hello Again, was released in August 2015, featuring bossa nova-influenced cover versions of schlager songs,<ref>Brandstetter, Markus. "Sommer, Sonne, Schlager im Bossagewand." (in German). laut.de. 17 August 2015.</ref> such as "Hello Again" by Howard Carpendale and "Du bist nicht allein" by Roy Black.<ref name="Lippert">Lippert, Oliver. "Klee veröffentlichen Boss Nova-Album „Hello Again"" (in German). The Huffington Post. 7 August 2015.</ref> The idea of doing the album came about by chance during the recording of Klee's next studio album, which is due to be released in 2016.<ref name="Lippert" /> Hello Again charted at No. 23 in the German albums chart.<ref>"Klee - Hello Again - Album" (in German). Offizielle Deutsche Charts. GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 6 September 2015.</ref>
Live performances
Klee frequently performs live,<ref name="ntv" /> giving up to 150 concerts each year.<ref name="WZ" /> The band’s appearances ranged from performances at small venues<ref>""Also, rauf auf die Bühne, spielen"" (in German). Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger. 8 May 2010.</ref><ref name="RP ONLINE 2" /> to opening for established bands such as The Wedding Present and Nena.<ref name="stadtmagazin" /> Outside Germany, Klee has performed in London and Amsterdam, and also in Turkey, Russia and China following invitations from the Goethe-Institut.<ref name="RP ONLINE 2" /> For live performances, additional musicians including drummer, bassist and guitarist are added to Klee’s lineup<ref name="RP ONLINE 2">""Klee" lässt das sechste Album sprießen" (in German). RP ONLINE. 19 April 2014.</ref> and the band adopts a greater "rock sound" than in its studio recordings.Template:Citation needed
Musical style
Deininger described Klee's musical style in a 2009 interview: "We make international pop music that has its roots in the eighties. It can be more minimalistic and electronic, as on the debut album Unverwundbar, or it can be more acoustic and on a grander scale, as on the third album Zwischen Himmel und Erde." ("Wir produzieren internationale Popmusik, die ihre Wurzeln in den Achtzigern hat. Mal minimalistischer und elektronischer, wie auf dem ersten Album, Unverwundbar´, mal akustischer und größer, wie auf dem dritten Album, Zwischen Himmel und Erde'.")<ref name="RP ONLINE" />
In its biography of Klee, online music magazine laut.de called the band the great romantics of German pop ("die großen Romantiker des deutschen Pop") and described the band's music as a harmonious marriage of synthesizer sounds, forceful drums and British-style electric guitars ("Synthie-Sounds, druckvolles Schlagzeug und britisch angehauchte E-Gitarren gehen eine harmonische Ehe ein"). The magazine also noted the contribution by Kerstgens' unique, softly breathing and velvety voice ("veredelt von Suzie Kerstgens einzigartiger, weich hauchender und samtenen Stimme").<ref name="laut" />
Various journalists have noticed the British pop influences in Klee's music.<ref name="laut" /><ref>Bauer, Janine. "Die Kölner Pop-Band Klee "macht ihr eigenes Ding"" (in German). schwäbische.de. 25 June 2005.</ref><ref>Pierschke, Christoph. "Sehnsucht nach Schönheit" (in German). Kölnische Rundschau. 31 July 2008.</ref><ref>"Zuckerwatte mit Widerhaken" (in German). Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger. 24 June 2010.</ref> In its review of the album Jelängerjelieber, music website plattentests.de found such influences in the songs "Gold" (New Order), "Unser Film" (The Cure) and "Wunschfrei" (Coldplay).<ref>Krautzig, Steffen. "Hasenbraten" (in German). plattentests.de. Retrieved 2 April 2015.</ref>
Lyrics
Klee's lyrics are written by Kerstgens, while the other band members provide the music.<ref>"VIP Interview: Talk with Suzie Kerstgens, Female Vocalist of Band Klee". LIAONING GATEWAY. 16 June 2009.</ref> The band also has a long-time working relationship with German songwriter Tom Liwa.<ref name="WZ" /> Songs are produced in the band's own studio in Cologne.<ref>Köhler, Michael. "Die süßeste Versuchung seit Nena" (in German). Frankfurter Allgemeine. 22 October 2008.</ref>
Klee's lyrics refer to deeply felt moments in human relationships. Klee's lyrics straddle the material world and a dream world in which desires and conflicts intermingle.Template:Citation needed
In a 2012 interview, Kerstgens stated: "I completely open up my heart in our songs. Everything in Klee is autobiographical, personally experienced and personally suffered." ("Ich offenbare in unseren Songs komplett mein Herz. Bei Klee ist alles autobiografisch, selbst erlebt und selbst erlitten.")<ref name="stadtmagazin">Sielski, Karoline. "Suzie Kerstgens - Musikerin bei Klee" (in German). stadtmagazin.com. 6 June 2012.</ref>
Band members
Current members
- Suzie Kerstgens – lead vocals (2002–present)
- Sten Servaes – piano, keyboards, vocals (2002–present)
Former members
- Tom Deininger – guitar, bass (2002–2010)
Additional members for live performances
- Stefan "Pele" Götzer – bass (also credited as band member on the albums Zwischen Himmel und Erde and Berge versetzen)
- Daniel Klingen – drums (also credited as band member on the albums Zwischen Himmel und Erde and Berge versetzen)
- Andreas "Pese" Puscher – guitar
- Boris Rogowski – guitar
-
Suzie Kerstgens -
Sten Servaes -
Tom Deininger -
Stefan "Pele" Götzer -
Daniel Klingen
Discography
Albums
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GER <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
AUT <ref name="AUT">Template:Cite web</ref> |
SWI | |||||||||||||||
| Unverwundbar |
|
— | — | — | |||||||||||||
| JelängerjelieberTemplate:Ref label |
|
75 | — | — | |||||||||||||
| Zwischen Himmel und ErdeTemplate:Ref label |
|
17 | 68 | — | |||||||||||||
| Berge versetzenTemplate:Ref label |
|
15 | 72 | — | |||||||||||||
| Aus lauter LiebeTemplate:Ref label |
|
6 | — | — | |||||||||||||
| Hello Again |
|
23 | 67 | — | |||||||||||||
| Trotzalledem |
|
26 | — | — | |||||||||||||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||||||||||||||||
- I Template:Note Jelängerjelieber was also released as a tour edition with bonus live CD. In the USA, Jelängerjelieber was released by record label Minty Fresh as Honeysuckle (2006) with three songs re-recorded in English.
- II Template:Note Zwischen Himmel und Erde was also released as a deluxe edition with bonus DVD.
- III Template:Note Berge versetzen was also released as a deluxe edition with bonus DVD.
- IV Template:Note Aus lauter Liebe was also released as a deluxe edition with bonus DVD.
Singles
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GER <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
AUT |
SWI | |||
| "Erinner dich" | 2002 | 94 | — | — | Unverwundbar |
| "Lichtstrahl" | 2003 | — | — | — | |
| "Nicht immer aber jetzt" | — | — | — | ||
| "2 Fragen" | 2004 | — | — | — | Jelängerjelieber |
| "Gold" | 2005 | 54 | — | — | |
| "Tausendfach" | 85 | — | — | ||
| "Für alle, die" | — | — | — | ||
| "Die Stadt" | 2006 | 55 | — | — | Zwischen Himmel und Erde |
| "Liebe mich Leben" | — | — | — | ||
| "Dieser Fehler" | 2007 | — | — | — | |
| "Zwei Herzen" | 2008 | 29 | — | — | Berge versetzen |
| "Berge versetzen" | 57 | — | — | ||
| "Willst du bei mir bleiben" | 2011 | 29 | — | — | Aus lauter Liebe |
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||||