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| | Arts Calendar / January 1 / Concerts |
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 From Moscow to Washington, from Buenos Aires to Tel Aviv - Melotron are Germany's most successful export when it comes to German-language electro pop. With their unique mix of club-compatible electronica, catchy pop-melodies and predominantly German-language lyrics that range from poetic to rather biting, Melotron have managed to settle into their very own little pigeonhole within Germany's flourishing music scene. The band now pays homage to its turbulent history while at the same time setting the foundation for a new era with the album Werkschau. Unlovingly slapping together impersonal "best of" compilations to throw at the masses for easy consumption and fast maximization of profits is rather bland and boring? The charismatic Melotron-front man Andy K. thought to himself and quickly gathered the rest of his lads together, serving the express goal that an anthology of his band's work would have to have a bit more style than the cheap-shot compilations the industry keeps churning out. In order to not only create a sort of monument for past works but to also provide the listener with a stepping stone for future endeavors, the popular German Synth Pop group decided to completely re-record an exquisite selection of the best songs plus fan favorites, thus giving them a total overhaul and merging the old with the new. Melotron teamed up with the renowned producer Dirk Riegner (Heppner, amongst others), to let a bunch of old friends shine in a bright new light, while also recording a few new tunes along the way, like the hit-single "Stuck In The Mirror" or the anthemic "Love Is Calling". Band-hits like the club-floor-filler "Brüder", which was revisited as a vocal duet with In-Strict-Confidence's Dennis Ostermann, are featured in completely new and fresh versions. Therefore, "Werkschau" can not only serve as the perfect introduction for the uninitiated to the music of one of Germany's most successful advocates of intelligent electronic popular and dance music, but will also give long-time fans an opportunity to rediscover old favorites from a new perspective. Melotron was founded in January 1995 by Andy Krueger, Edgard Slatnow and Kay Hildebrandt who decided to form a new music project whose lyrics would be exclusively German. The inexperienced band members reached success relatively quickly while touring Germany with European phenomenon And One. During this first tour, Melotron managed to sell 1,200 homemade demo disks. By May 1996, the band hired current manager Robert Wolf, and producer Olaf Wollschläger, leading to the legendary debut album Mörderwerk. Through 1997, the band toured Germany, and even showcased at the biggest German music fare, Popkomm. In 1998, Melotron broke onto Germany's alternative charts with the breakthrough single, "Dein Meister", and played support shows for EBM legends Front 242 and De/Vision. Then, in March 1999 "Mörderwerk", their debut album, was released on Zoth Ommog/Music Research, hitting number eight on the alternative music charts. The second released single, the Karat cover version "Den Blaue Planet" opened the doors for Melotron to the world of radio airplay in Germany. The band released the second album Fortschritt in February 2000 on their new label Bloodline, and released the single "Tanz Mit Dem Teufel". The tour accompanying this much more developed and experimental album saw Melotron as the headlining band, and met with a great reception in other European countries. Dennis Ostermann from In Strict Confidence joined the band in November 2001 as a guest singer on the title track "Brüder", which turned out to be the biggest hit for the band by reaching spot five on the alternative music charts. After two years, the band dropped Bloodline and found a new label with German-based SPV in June 2002. The band began studio sessions for the third album, and released "Gib Mir Alles" as an advanced single. The album Weltfrieden was released in September of that year, exceeding all expectations with its success. The following year, Melotron began a major North American tour in May with Swedish electro act Covenant. Subsequently that year, the band created their own label, Plattenkombinat, to re-release Moerderwerk with special artwork and bonus tracks as well as release a brand new album "Sternenstaub". Metropolis Records signed Melotron and released Sternenstaub in early October 2003 to coincide with their North American signing. It was received with great success, proving the German synthpop trio had arrived. Musically in the vein of Depeche Mode with sexy German vocals, Melotron released their follow-up album Cliché in 2005. 2007 saw the release of Melotron's Propaganda and then Fortschritt and Morderwerk was issued. In New Year Moscow the Germany band Melotron will present their best and new hits and "Special Retro Show". In this night at two dancefloors of Theater Club DJ's sets of Depeche Mode's songs will be played as well. More info
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