Smoke & Fire

Neulander | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 23, 2004)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Disko-B Records
• ASIN: B00015U69E
• In-Print Editions: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #446,722 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

XLR8R, April, 2004

Beyond the toss-away faddishness of Berliniamsburg and related electro revival opportunists. Smoke + Fire is sing-along good

Product Description

NEULANDER is Adam Peters and Korinna Knoll. They are based in New York City.

In the early 80’s Adam Peters began as keyboard player and orchestral arranger in ECHO AND THE BUNNYMEN. Since then he has been associated musician, arranger or producer with BETH ORTON, FAMILY OF GOD, SIOUXSIE AND THE BANSHEES, LLOYD COLE and THE TRIFFIDS amongst others. He has also written film scores and made the music for the cult tv series "Disinfo Nation". Singer/artist Korinna Knoll, is originally from Austria. She graduated in Fine Arts in Hamburg, Germany. Korinna then moved on to New York where she met up with Adam.

Adam and Korinna began writing together in 2002. As the songs and ideas took shape so NEULANDER came into being. With a handful of shows around New York, an extraordinary gig at a castle in Sweden, and an exciting debut recording has already led to the New York Times as describing Neulander as a hot tip for 2003. "Neu taking on The Human League in battle" "Neulander are melodic, unusually cool and slightly aloof".

NEULANDERs debut recording "Sex, God + Money" (disko B 119, efa 27919-6) already made it into the Playlists of the likes of JOHN PEEL and got praise like "Four marvelous songs, of which every single one is a perl. I wished it would never stop. Neulander make us desire more." (de:bug/germany) or "The spiritual heirs to Kraftwerk - if only Kraftwerk allowed soul and emotion into their lives - New York’s Neulander are about to depose Client as the epitome of clinical electro chic. A duo, Adam Peters (ex-Family Of God) and Korinna Knoll, they unashamedly steal synth riffs from The Human League, yet make them sound like the future. Given the plethora of other bands doing exactly the same thing, this alone is an indicator that something very special is going on here. (logo/uk)".

Neulander write strong and defined songs whilst using deconstructed electronic arrangements. The music and the voice mesh together creating a timeless and almost ancient quality. The lyrics seem to suggest Russian poetry colliding with an abstract and personal response to the confusion of 21century media culture.

A drum machine, 2 keyboards, a cello, a boy and a girl in gigantic baroque luscious minimalist overdrive.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars More sounds of the 80's......the techno-synth...., May 14, 2004

By 

"scott98104" (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Smoke & Fire (Audio CD)

With all the retro rock (Strokes, Stills, Hives, etc.) and the nostalgia of the 'new' funk/dance channeled New Order/Gang of Four (Interpol, Franz Ferdinand, Liars, Rapture, etc.) who is there to pick up the pieces left by Alphaville, Propaganda, Pet Shop Boys, etc. -- Neulander! Here, this is as the nation's beloved home-guru/convict-in-waiting would say is a 'good thing'

The CD is both dense & spacious, with various synths and bass/percussion lines interweaving with beautiful female vocals (not quite Laetitia Sadlier/Stereolab nice, but close). A little redundant, but doesn't all electronic/ambient music have some of that (on the other hand- Boards of Canada would have to be exempt from this clause!)

Cool, soothing, great 'chill out' or driving music.
Stand out faster tracks are 'Flying' (getting a lot of airplay on indie radio here), 'Sex, God + Money', 'Blue Bird Party', the euro-ballad 'Schauspieler' is also nice.

Overall, not original (what really is....), but good & entertaining nonetheless.