Shamall

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Shamall
Norbert Krüler (2008)
Norbert Krüler (2008)
General information
Genre (s) Psychedelic rock , progressive rock , space rock , electronic music
founding 1986
Website www.shamall.com
Current occupation
Vocals, keyboards, guitar, bass
 Norbert Kruler
Support
Drums
 Mike Bach
guitar
 Matthias Mehrtens
singing
 Anke Ullrich

Shamall (after the desert wind Schamal ) is a progressive rock band from Germany around the musician and producer Norbert Krüler.

history

As early as the early 1970s, Kruler used simple radio amplifiers , microphones and a normal acoustic guitar to create new effect sounds. A concert promoter from the Westphalian region became aware of the artist in 1976 and made it possible for him to perform the preliminary programs for many bands in the Krautrock scene, among others. a. Coarse cut , Kin Ping Meh , Birth Control , Kraan deny. At the same time, the discotheque boom set in in Germany, which meant that Norbert Krüler initially swapped the live stage for a DJ console for financial reasons.

At the end of 1984 Krüler began to make his own music again, he combined new technical possibilities, light and sound and used this as rhythmic experimental own compositions to background music for a light and laser show for his audience. The titles were reserved for this audience, however, and the material was never published.

The record industry eventually became aware of his works. In order to make them suitable for radio, however, it was essential, according to the market strategy of the time, to add vocals to the tracks.

Under the name Shamall, the debut single My Dream was produced in 1986 with the participation of Detlef Reder and Michael Jaspers , which reached a chart placement in the DJ TOP 40. Michael Jaspers left the project shortly afterwards. In 1987, Norbert Krüler and Detlef Reder produced the second Shamall single Feeling like stranger , which, like the debut single, also posted a chart placement and, like its predecessor, belongs to the Italo Disco genre . Detlef Reder also left the project two years later. Since then Shamall has existed as a “virtual band” with a wide variety of musicians.

style

After the first two singles in the Italo Disco style, there was a musical change of direction. The album Journey to a Nightmare (1989) is the first of many subsequent instrumental albums .

The second long player Moments of Illusion is Shamall's most successful album and contains the song Physical Visions used by T-Online and Time Life for advertising purposes .

The following albums, Mirror to Eternity (1993), In Search of Precision (1994) and This Island Earth (1997), were characterized by the American music critic and author Matt Howarth as "music with fascinating sound and emotional depth".

In 1999 Influences appeared , for which the progressive magazine Durp wrote that Shamall was music for prog fans with an interface to electronics.

Overall, almost a whole decade of psychedelic elements, atmospheric sounds and symphonic electronic music shape the style of Shamall.

The Book: Genesis appeared in 2001 and heralded a musical change. The defining work on this album, New Age Krautrock Symphony , was voted “the best title of 2001” by the listeners of the former WDR show Schwimmern , directed by Winfried Trenkler .

The project, which was previously more in the field of electronic music, has now become more down to earth. Singing and guitar took on a more prominent role from the concept album on the Iraq war Who do they think they are (2003). The two subsequent concept albums, Ambiguous points of view (2006) and Questions of Life (2008), were characterized by the specialist journal Eclipsed as works with “extremely high levels of addictive substance and hypnotic qualities” and assigned to the genre of psychedelic herb rock and progressive rock . In addition to stylistic independence, Shamall's music style is somewhere between Pink Floyd and Alan Parsons .

Shamall has worked with many musicians over the years. Names that keep appearing on many releases to this day are the guitarist Matthias Mehrtens and the drummer Mike Bach.

Shamall's texts often deal with questions about life. However, current political issues or environmental problems are also often dealt with.

Nominations / Awards

In June 2009, the American music organization Just Plain Folks announced that Shamall was nominated four times for the JPF Music Award . Norbert Krüler was nominated for the album Ambiguous Points of View , once in the “Progressive Rock Albums” category and three times in the “Progressive Rock Songs” category.

Discography

Studio albums

  • 1989: Journey to a Nightmare
  • 1990: Moments of Illusion
  • 1993: Mirror to Eternity
  • 1994: In Search of Precision
  • 1997: This Island Earth
  • 1998: Influences
  • 2001: The Book of Genesis
  • 2003: Who do they think they are
  • 2006: Ambiguous points of view
  • 2008: Questions of Life
  • 2009: Is this human behavior
  • 2013: turn off
  • 2016: Continuation
  • 2019: Schizophrenia

Samplers and compilations

  • 1993: Collectors Items (1986–1993)
  • 1994: Dance Rock Classics (Long Island)
  • 2001: Vibrations Sampler No. 07/2001
  • 2003: Vibrations anniversary edition No. 100
  • 2007: Vibrations Sampler No. 02/2007
  • 2007: Timeless journey I.
  • 2007: Timeless journey II
  • 2007: Timeless journey III
  • 2007: Timeless journey IV
  • 2008: Art of Sysyphus No. 47
  • 2010: Music From Time And Space Vol. 36
  • 2010: Feeling Like A Stranger - the whole trip (re-release from 1988 plus 50 minutes of unreleased bonus track)
  • 2014: Music From Time And Space Vol.50
  • 2016: History Book (30 years Shamall 5 CD anniversary box)
  • 2016: Music From Time and Space Vol. 62
  • 2016: Rewind to the 80s - Germany
  • 2019: Music From Time and Space Vol. 72

Singles and EPs

  • 1986: My dream
  • 1987: Feeling like a stranger

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Interview with Norbert Krüler. Music circus
  2. ↑ Portrait of a radio station ( Memento of the original from April 2, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.local-radio.de
  3. ↑ Swiss Charts
  4. ↑ Space.com: The electronic drama of Shamall by Matt Howarth ( Memento from June 15, 2002 in the Internet Archive )
  5. ↑ The Ultimate Review Page (DURP)
  6. ↑ Music Circus Magazine
  7. ↑ Rock magazine Eclipsed 11/08
  8. ↑ Just Plain Folks