Michaela Melián returns with Music For A While – her first release since 2018. It is not a work tied to an overarching theme, nor does it accompany one of her art exhibitions. Instead, it is a classic Melián album, complete with a cover version – this time not of Roxy Music or David Bowie, but of Giorgio Moroder and Sparks. For their song »My Other Voice«, the F.S.K. bassist uses a vocoder – yet her voice still recalls Nico at moments.
Much of the album was created in Marseille, her new home. Despite the abundant sunshine there, everything feels darkly veiled. A piece like »Nordwest-Passage« radiates a progressive blues atmosphere. Then – as in »Tübingen« or »Märchenwald« – she begins to experiment: with dragging rhythms, hypnotic piano figures, hints of cello and bursts of crackling electric guitar.
By contrast, compositions such as the Irving Berlin interpretation »They Say It’s Wonderful« or »Le Grand Orchestre de Kursaal« have the character of accessible classical music with a dramatic pop inflection. Her hypnotic soundscapes and atonal synthesiser textures were once again co-produced by Felix Raeithel, with occasional contributions from Ruth May on violin and Elen Harutyunyan on viola. None of this alters the signature Melián melancholy – if anything, it becomes even more affecting.
