The last time I encountered Frankfurt Dialog Company (no prizes for guessing where they are from) was with January's Critic Corner competition winner One Day (February 2009). It wasn't the first time either, Do or Die (A summer song) (August 2008) was something special too. It goes without saying that both tracks got a Must Have rating from me, but hey what does that matter? See I'm just a guy with a loud mouth and plenty of opinions, especially about what constitutes good music. Frankfurt Dialog Company floored me from the first with their innate musical skill and songwriting abilities but they would because I appreciate the arts. The very high amount of plays and views this band has notched up on Soundclick tells another story... All together now...we should be so lucky, lucky lucky

OK, maybe not that.

Silke and Andreas are joined on Close To Nothing by pianist Christiane Sattler and Hans Christian Stephan supplying trumpet. The piano, on the other hand takes centre stage along with an extremely tasteful acoustic dropping in the odd figure or two. What comes out is a very smooth jazzy waltz that is just perfect; the balance and feel alone worth a listen just for jaw dropping pace. So, yes, it's probably a given that you should like the softer musical side to really get into this, but Frankfurt Dialog Company bring on its not so secret weapon to tempt lesser mortals.

Silke has a terrific voice for this kind of material, someone wisely compared her to either Carly Simon or Alanis Morissette and I'd say either would work for me. Much more to the point this evokes the female greats of the early 1970's; Carole King chief among them because - when all is said and done - what Close To Nothing brings to the party more than anything else is a great song. Lyrically as well, which is always the big challenge for me but this I enjoyed in all ways. Five Star jobbie.

Excellently performed Acoustic Vocal. Highly Recommended.

Close to Nothing” – The Frankfurt Dialogue Company

I doubt it would be possible for anyone with even a modicum of musical appreciation to listen to the work of Andreas (the mastermind behind The Frankfurt Dialogue Company) without recognizing this man’s taste, talent and class. Andreas Horchler and Silke Natschke are the constituent members of the band, but they frequently include guest artists. In this case, the very beautiful piano work is apparently the artistry of one Christiane Sattler; whereas, the song itself is written by Andreas Horchler.

The soundscape is clean, pretty and straightforward – keys, drums and quiet, subtle lead - all tastefully woven to support Silke’s plaintive, intelligent vocal work. It is compelling and understated. Despite the excellent abilities of each artist, the contributions of each is subjected to the purpose of the whole. The result is a classy piece of music. I think, that a few of the notes presented a bit of a challenge to Silke – as her voice seems in one or two places to be uncertain; however, perhaps that’s a language issue and not one of range since her native tongue is German. Nevertheless, on balance, it’s a strong, clear vocal performance.

The lyrics are thoughtful, indeed, they are philosophically so. Essentially, the singer – in the guise of the first person singular – is singing on behalf of the whole of humanity – I have gone to the stars, cured diseases, stripped forest and so on. All of the works of humanity are juxtaposed with two things: our relative ignorance and our inability to articulate the deepest and most meaningful things in life – things such as the mystery of an innocent child speaking his/her first words. We are, as the song points out, unable to recapitulate the thought of life of those dearest and closest to us, for example.

It is a thoughtful song, and it made me think – even as it entertained my ear with its lovely strains.

Short story: this is free? Wow! I wish the radio played stuff like this.

Blessings,

Cam

Summary Opinion

Congratulations to Frankfurt Dialog Company on the win in the January Critics Corner contest. It was well deserved for an incredible piece of Blues, ‘One Day’, which confirms that this genre will never die as long as there is longing, joy, despair and soul in music.

One thing I found out when I first became aware of Frankfurt Dialog Company here at Soundclick is that they have a devotion to the concept of collaboration. Collaboration over the internet is a twin edged sword, it takes a strong controlling force to keep it organized and gather and combine the parts. There is usually a good deal of ego management because you don’t want to offend contributors, but you want to get the best from everyone.

Well put those concerns aside because on ‘One Day’ you have outstanding contributions from all involved. It is worth noting the contributors [Andreas, if I get any of this wrong, respond and I will correct my assignations].

Music: Andreas Horchler.
Lyric: Andreas Horchler and Stan Bolton

Final Mix: Andreas Horchler (and many other details otherwise not attributed)

Lead Vocal: Stan Bolton (aka Stan ‘Lightnin’ George)
Piano: Helfried Wildenhain (aka Wilfried)
Guitar Lead #1 and Rhythm: Carlos Carranza
Backing tracks/Guitar lead #2: Andreas Horchler
Backup Vocals and Horns: Silke Natschke
Bass: Lee Velazquez

In the spirit of a true internet collaboration, the contributors are from Germany, The US and Argentina.

From the subdued tinkling blues lead on Helfried’s ivories, we are conducted to the wall of sound that can only be described as ‘Big Blues’ with the entry of the ensemble punctuated by the horns and nailed with the ambling, but punching bass. The scene is set for Stan Bolton’s growling statement of the title ‘One Day’. My first listen was a ‘Wow’ moment that made me literally wonder if my rig was actually connected to Soundclick or even on a computer at all, the sound is big and professional in all aspects. The only bad moment in the song was my weeping with musical envy.

The blues is a uniquely American musical form coming out of the utter despair of the victims of the institution of slavery. Despite its narrow beginning in location and scope it has spread throughout the world, in fact, having more vivacity and acceptance outside the US than it now enjoys in the States. The collaborators here illustrate that it can settle anywhere in the world where an absolute soul exists.

The subjects of the blues are based on the vagaries of life where happiness and sadness are not constants, but decidedly falling on the sad side of existence. ‘One Day’ follows this traditional lyric form, but it would not have much meaning if Stan could not deliver on the emotional goods … he gives this piece great validity in his really remarkable performance.

Of course, many true instrumental musicians love the blues because it is a simple, yet profound way to bare the musical soul even if you don’t have the vocal chops. All the contributors to ‘One Day’ manage to sing, cry and talk to and through their chosen instruments. Blues performance is really a group experience where each participant answers another saying perfectly, ‘I know just how you feel.’ Solos, calls and answers are what it is all about.

Fortunately, great music today is not like fine wine, where you open a bottle and savor it, and then it is gone. ‘One Day’ can be recalled in all its brilliance time and again when the mood moves you. Get it and keep it in a safe place.

Production

Excellent production is a major contributor to this success of ‘One Day’; what is the good of a big sound unless it makes it to the ears of the listener. Part of it all has to do with the incredible stereo width of this production.

The opening piano rolls across the stereo spectrum as the fingers run across the keys. The sense of a big band is aided by the placement of the various instruments in their respective sections. Too many productions today are geared toward the movement of elements across a plane, where here the answer is fixed positions and the centering of the soloists.

The crystal clear, but warm sound is the essence of analog captured. I can tell great care was taken to get the spacial sense correct. The reverbs just touch, not dominating. Each element is set in the same space although they are coming from sessions all over the world. You get the feel of a live performance in a club with a particularly good sound system.

I am sure much of this credit will go to Andreas.

Music

Well this is blues and yes we have a standard blues progression. Yet this is the great mystery of music that a format so simple and often used produces some unique and remarkable results. But it is best to think of it in terms of a common bed. A bed is just a bed, but it gains significance depending on who is in bed with you. The blues form is the bed and the beautiful forms of expression are laid upon the bed.

This is a great assemblage. You listen to the soloist emoting and yet at other times you listen to the backing vocals and the underpinning of the warmest of bass lines. I almost forget the drums are there but they are excellent and so varied; if they are programmed, they are as good as any played live.

I won't single out anyone of the fantastic solos or Stan's dynamic vocal, it is all just too good even to the notable backing contributions of Silke.

Content

The lyrics and content of ‘One Day’ are the very essence of a blues message summarized by the last line of the first verse:

you´re up you´re down you´re bound to fall

These things are understood with a blues song. Some times there is a gimmick of clever verses or innuendo, but the message at the base is the same.

Blues is about performance. It is not really much about lyric and a melody line as much as it is about the person delivering the lyric. That person must be believed and seem to be expressing spontaneous emotion. It might even be a free form where the singer can change lyrics from performance to performance. The lyric here is pure blues and it is wedded with the wonderful dialogs of the members of this gathering of the Frankfurt Dialog Company.

Larry Ludwick

Winners of Soundclick's Critics Corner forum's competition for January is none other than Frankfurt Dialog Company, an artist I have come across only once before but it was a special treat - earning them a Must Have right off the bat. Handy, that. FDC (based in Frankfurt Germany in case you hadn't guessed) showed me with Do or Die (A summer song) (August 2008) that here were musicians who knew what they were about and knew exactly how to get to it too. Musically, lyrically and vocally Do Or Die hit every single button in my brains pleasure sectors and kept on pressing them for the rest of the year. Its now an established resident on my hard drive so it was absolutely no surprise to me that they won this peer-awarded competition. No faking the real thing, I say.

Nope, the real surprise is that its an out and out blues track.

Frankfurt Dialog's usual complement of Andreas and Silke is augmented by Stan Lightnin´George' Bolton on lead vocals, Lee Velasquez on bass, Carlos Carranza on guitar and Helfried Wildenhain on piano and what a stunner of a track they all came up with. Authentic to a fault, One Day is a slice of electric blues that screams out quality work in every single way. Even after the shock that Do Or Die's production values showed me I was unprepared for just how good it could get. The production and arrangement is absolutely rock solid, giving the track the 'bottom' a track like this demands and deserves. It's to Andreas' eternal credit that this came out with the kind of production that will scorch yer damn ears off - and you'll love every single minute of it.

Could all come to nothing though if the musical performance doesn't much the ridiculously high standard being set but I have to say ALL of the performers come off wonderfully. Great vocals (Stan), great backing vocals (Silke?), fekkin awesome geetar spanking from Carlos and Andreas, dexterious, flowing playing (and some great thumbed bass) from Lee and - as if all this weren't enough - a beautifully realised piano sound and playing; complete with barrelhouse feel in every note. It isn't often that I come across a track I wouldn't (in some degree) change if I had my druthers, but not this one; never this one. As perfect as it can get and as commercially viable as you are EVER likely to hear online or off, all of these musicians should take a well deserved bow and bask in their glory.

Obviously from Frankfurt (also home to Burp and Decollage btw) the band consists of 'Silke, Andreas and guests' and as the 175,000 plays I've seriously been missing out on not noticing this artist before. Class from the get go, as I expect from most musicians I have encountered from Germany, the musical performance being particularly inspired, a lot of which is down to Andreas Horchler. Aided most ably by Canadian Neil Numminen on bass (one of the highlights) and Carlos Carranza from Argentina on dobro (a much underused instrument IMO), this is a truly global track - so it really is stunning just how well this track has turned out. It's a testment to how relaxed and confident these musicians felt laying down this aurally splendid piece of music.

All, of course, would mean nothing without there being a great idea behind it. It's the heart of the matter, as the song itself says. The great idea being, in this case, Silke - a vocalist you are not going to believe. As much as the track will commend itself to you (if you know what you are listening to), its the vocals and the lyrics that finally put this over the top and head and shoulders above the crowd. Looking through some of the comments posted about this track you see phrases like 'beautiful', 'great', 'excellent' and more stars than exist in the sky, all of which should tell you that I am not alone in this opinion. So, check out this band and see what you have also been missing out on. Me, I'm going to kick myself a few times for missing this one in the first place.... Won't make that mistake again.

This is some impressive stuff. An all-star international lineup comes together for a super smooth tune. Any musician who hears this has to marvel at the individual musicians who contributed to this. Every little note is something agreeable, and it comes from such talented hands that the artists involved maintain this masquerade, making it sound so easy, so natural. We know better, a track like this is not easy to make. The brilliant aspect of this is two-fold. First, no one is dying to steal the spotlight, no ego gets in the way, no one trips over anyone else’s sound. The second is that the tones each player chose fits and mixes so well together that it makes this a perfect recipe for FM airwaves.
And what a smooth rich mix it is. You just gotta hear it to believe it. Probably some serious microphones in there and some serious production talent to capture the deliriously serious musical talent. It could be about two people who are convinced to cement a relationship. I want to take a guess that a meaning behind the lyrics speaks about accepting responsibility and understanding what commitment means. The lyrics seem centered on the future in a way that sums up what it is to find maturity in one’s life. “Adult contemporary” seems like a very appropriate genre. That’s how I relate to it anyway. I’ll say this much, the lyrics are solidly good because the more I think about it the more I can find a personal meaning that reflects on events in my own life. Great tune guys, loved it! the schwa sound

Close To Nothing - A very nice tune - composed in the classic waltz style, its put together very well. The vocals in particular are great. There is a lot of emotion generated from the harmonic progressions especially into the bridge (or second haslf) - the entire arrangement is excellent. The mix was very good - maybe had just a tad too much reverb but nothing to worry about. Overall its a unique tune and the performance is flawless. Great work as always, I've come to expect top notch work from you guys and you didn't disappoint. Thumbs up - station add.

Badlands - I really like this. Its kind of eerie. Man I love the string bending, very cool. Got sort of an epic feeling and would be great for something like a pre battle scene in a movie or a tense moment. Really well composed. The mix is very professional and extrememly well done (like your other works). You've nailed this one, keep on doing it. Thumbs up, station add - great job