Poems for Laila
Poems for Laila is an Eastern European folk pop band. It was founded in 1989 in Berlin from the duo Nikolai Tomás and Roy Eisenberg.
style
The band plays a mixture of Russian-Hungarian folklore , chanson , pop and rock . The older pieces of the band are much more folky than the newer, more chansonesque-rock albums.
history
In 1989 the band won the Berlin Senate Rock Competition and released their first album Another Poem for the 20th Century on the Berlin Vielklang label. Extensive tours followed in Germany , Austria , Switzerland , France , Russia and Poland , many television appearances and the change to the major label Polydor under Tim Renner . The albums La Filette Triste with producer Dave M. Allan and Katamandu with Roy Spong were made here. 1994 changed Poems for Laila to Phonogram where I Shot The Moon was that of the former Roxy Music - guitarist Phil Manzanera in London was produced.
Between 1994 and 1998 Nikolai Tomás put the band on hold and devoted himself to realizing his own projects and film music. In 1996 his solo debut album Wild On came out, but he soon turned back to Poems for Laila . Between 1997 and 2002 they didn’t develop anything new: a remix album ( Another Poem for the 21st Century , 1999) and a best-of album ( Motor Music , 2001) came onto the market.
The success of the best-of album led Nikolai Tomás to reorganize the band with new musicians and to release On a Wednesday in 2002 . This happened again at the Berlin Vielklang label under Jörg Fukking.
In 2004, Breakfast was released in Budapest (Vielklang, Edel), the first album in German. Anne de Wolff had returned to the band. Together with Thimo Sander, Marcus Runzheimer and Jan P. Eckelmann, the entire record was recorded live in just two weeks in the Berlin Vielklang-Studio. In March 2004 the band toured Germany.
In 2005/06 Nikolai devoted himself almost exclusively to the musical development of his lyrics and songs - only interrupted by two duo tours with Anne de Wolff .
In spring 2006, the collaboration with the producer Don Philippe (Freundeskreis, Laura Lopez Castro) and a completely new band began. In September 2007 the new album Klamm was released .
In 2008 Poems for Laila celebrated the 20th anniversary of the band with a live DVD and CD as well as an extensive tour of Germany.
At the beginning of 2009 Nikolai was touring solo with a new and mainly German-language program. After extensive tours in spring and summer, the Berlin Metropol label released its EP Alles auf Anfang . The music had changed. She was now between Brel, Johnny Cash, Tom Waits and Nick Cave.
Poems for Laila has been made up of the duo Nikolai Tomás and Joanna Gemma Auguri since January 2016 . In March of the same year, the current album Tiktak was released.
The latest album Dark Timber was released in 2018 .
Members
Current members
- Nikolai Tomás - vocals, guitar
- Joana Gemma Auguri - accordion, vocals
former members
- Ania Clarissa Gürke - violin
- Dasha Berdyugina - singing
- Anne de Wolff - violin
- Jan P. Eckelmann - drums
- Antje Messerschmidt - violin
- Arnold Kasar - keyboard
- Björn Werra - bass
- Buggie Schlede - drums, clarinet
- Christian Podratzky - bass
- Dave M. Allen - production
- Geoff Dugmore - drums
- Haymo Doerk - guitar
- Jackie Norrie - violin
- Jean-Marie Gilles - bass
- Judith Hermann - vocals
- Julia Goldlust - vocals
- Michael Paucker - bass
- Melissa Lou Knutson - vocals
- Miss Alaska - vocals
- Mo Asumang - singing
- Nils Arndt - drums
- Otana Tiede - vocals
- Patrick Majer - production
- Phil Manzanera - production
- Philippe Kayser - drums
- Roma Casley Management
- Roy Eisenberg - guitar
- Roy Spong - production
- Speedy J. Sheppard - bass
- Thimo Sander - guitar
- twin - vocals
- Jo Ambros - guitar, mandolin
- Wiebke Wiedeck - vocals
- Marcus Runzheimer - bass
- Willi Witte - drums
- Trilli - vocals, bass
Discography
Albums
- Another Poem for the 20th Century (1989)
- La Filette Triste (1991)
- Katamandu (1992)
- I Shot the Moon (1994)
- Another Poem for the 21st Century (Remix Album)
- Sometimes In The Nighttime - Best Of (2001)
- On A Wednesday (2002)
- Breakfast In Budapest (2004)
- Klamm (2007)
- Tiktak (2016)
- Dark Timber (2018)
Singles
- Russian Billy (1989, vinyl 7 ″)
- Live At The Arctic Circle (1990, CD, Vinyl 10 ″)
- Nights In Bordeau (1991, MCD, Vinyl 12 ″)
- Jackie (1992, MCD)
- Cold World (1994, MCD)
- Endless Stripe (1994, MCD)
- I Was Walking (2002, MCD)
Video albums
- Poems For Laila - Live in Berlin (2008, DVD, 105 min.), Director: Stephan Guntli
Side projects / solo releases by Nikolai Tomás
- Nikolai Tomas - Alles auf Anfang (EP) 2009
- Nikolai Tomás - Wild On (CD Album) 1996
- Nikolai Tomás - True Love (Mini-CD) 1996
- Nikolai Tomás - Hi, Hi, Hi (Mini-CD) 1996
- Nikolai Tomás - .... sings Poems for Laila (CD) 2014
- Radiotron - Dangerous Love Songs (1999, CD album)
Film music
- 1992 - Herzsprung (music and performance)
- 2001 - "After Hitler. Radical Right Armaments" (ARD, 3x45 minutes)
- 2002 - "The Secret Inquisition" (ZDF, 3x45 minutes)
- 2004 - "Witches - Magic, Myths and Truth" (ARD, 3x45 minutes)
- 2005 - "Mätressen - The secret power of women" (ARD, 3x45 minutes)
- 2009 - "My Germany" (ARD, 3x45 minutes)
- 2010 - "When we were children - Grew up in the GDR" (MDR, 45 minutes)
- 2011 - Friedrich - A German King (2011) (ARD, 2011)