David Brandes

David Brandes (actually David Brändle ; born December 9, 1968 in Basel ) is a German singer , producer and composer .

Beginnings

David Brandes went to school in Ettingen in the canton of Basel-Landschaft . The native Swiss later took on German citizenship and moved to Bad Bellingen . At the end of the 1980s, he first appeared as a solo performer before becoming part of the group Xanadu , with whom he released numerous records between 1989 and 1992.

Career

In German-speaking countries he became known as a composer and producer for Maarja , E-Rotic , Chris Norman , Wolfgang Petry , Chris Roberts , Bad Boys Blue , Harry (from Big Brother ) and Fancy . Most recently he was with the girl group Vanilla Ninja and the former superstar candidate Gracia ( Run & Hide ; When the Last Tear's Been Dried , Never Been ; Passion ), the dance group Virus Incorporation ( Heaven Is a Place on Earth ), Shanadoo ( King Kong) and N-Euro (Lover on the Line) successful. He also composed the song Don't Close Your Eyes for Group 4 United , in which Gracia and her DSDS colleagues Nektarios, Stephanie and Daniel Küblböck sang. In 1999 he delivered the newly produced versions of the Dschinghis Khan hits Moscow and Dschinghis Khan, which were released on a best-of compilation on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the formation.

David Brandes had his own independent label called Icezone Music , formerly Bros Music, based in Weil am Rhein , where his recording studio is also located. All records of his artists appear on this label. David Brandes wrote most of his songs with Jane Tempest. The texts come from the pen of Bernd Opinion , who is also known under the pseudonym John O'Flynn. The two have been working together since the Xanadu times, when opinion leaders were still writing the lyrics for the Schlager group.

E-Rotic

David Brandes made his breakthrough as a producer in the mid-1990s with the Eurodance group E-Rotic . Some hits like Max Don't Have Sex with Your Ex , Fred Come to Bed or Sex on the Phone were successful in the German and international charts. The albums Sex Affairs (1995) and The Power of Sex (1996) were also released in the UK , Japan and Finland . The latter was also released in the USA in 2003 .

Vanilla ninja

Brandes had great success as the producer of Vanilla Ninja . He composed all of the songs from September 2003 to December 2005 and also all of the group's songs that were released as singles and made it into the German single charts. The album Traces of Sadness came to number three on the album charts and was awarded gold. The second album Blue Tattoo rose to fourth place on the charts.

Eurovision Song Contest

With Vanilla Ninja, David Brandes competed in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 for Switzerland , which triggered major protests there, as the band has no connection to the country apart from the birthplace of its manager. The song Cool Vibes was presented for the first time on Swiss television on March 5, 2005 and was one of the favorites for the win. The song took eighth place.

In addition to Switzerland, Brandes was also represented for Germany at the Eurovision Song Contest 2005: the song Run & Hide he composed with the singer Gracia won the German preliminary decision Germany 12 Points on March 12, 2005 ! . After the fraud allegations against Brandes, however, he was denied his place in the German delegation. Gracia was last in the final with four points.

Brandes had already taken part in the German preliminary decision as a composer in 2000 and took sixth place with his title Queen of Light, interpreted by E-Rotic . As a member of the Xanadu group , he was also on stage in German Grand Prix preliminary rounds in 1989 and 1990, and the group came in second on both occasions.

Manipulations

In March 2005, it was announced that Brandes had manipulated chart positions in favor of his artists Vanilla Ninja ( Blue Tattoo (album), I Know ), Virus Incorporation and Gracia (Run & Hide) . According to a report on the Sat.1 broadcasting act 05/12 , he had specifically commissioned buyers to purchase his products in large quantities from a well-known electronics wholesale chain. For this reason, on April 11, 2005, the Federal Association of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) excluded six products by the named artists - four singles and two albums - from the Media Control Chart survey for three months . On April 19, 2005, Brandes first publicly admitted in the ZDF talk show Johannes B. Kerner that he had bought 2,000 CDs by his own artists. He justified this by stating that otherwise he would have given his artists a “clear competitive disadvantage”, since buying CDs was customary in the industry. However, he rejected the number from Media Control, according to which he is said to have purchased 31,000 CDs.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Statement from Brandes to media partners regarding chart manipulation

Web links

• Works by and about David Brandes in the catalog of the German National Library