August 24, 2003
“So, you’re a singer?”
“Yes, I sing.”
“What do you do?”
“I sing.”
“You play for me on Saturday?”
“I’ll be back in England by then.”
“England? No, you play for me on Saturday!”
Being propositioned by a drunken German Princess can be hard work.
After my singing one line of ‘Ten Versions Of America’ into her regal ear, The denim-clad, chocolate bearing aristocrat Catharina Prinzessin zu Schaumburg-Lippe has demanded that Centrozoon play for her next Saturday and her aides are determined to make sure that it will happen. I have an intimate chat with a lovely harpist, while Markus tries to bed Catharina’s assistant and Bernhard negotiates our fee. I remain very sceptical, but who knows, by next week we could be frightening the frocks off some Deutsche aristocracy.
Perhaps even more bizarre than the absurd contrivances of the mighty Leprechaun 4 – Leprechaun In Space was the setting for Centrozoon’s experience at the annual festival celebrating the work of German artist Simone Beckman (www.simonebeckman.de).
Somewhere in the heart of Northern Germany amidst lurid neon paintings, laser projections, drunken princesses and hundreds of revellers getting their thrills from a sensual overload of art, cheese, avant-garde performance and music, our second date of the week took place.
Tighter than Thursday’s gig, the trio performed well in what was effectively an open-air festival setting. More accessible in tone, the band has developed a more controlled approach to the music and heightened the dynamic range and definition within the songs. ‘Bigger Space’, Make Me Forget You’ and ‘The Me I Knew’ remain the emotional highspots for me.
For the rest of the week, we’ll be recording new material and re-recording some old material in the style of the recent live performances.
np:
Björk – Vespertine (the ideal post-gig comedown experience)