Roger Matura

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Roger Matura In Cologne, January 2012

Roger Matura (born December 11, 1953 in Gelsenkirchen ) is a multi-instrumentalist , singer-songwriter , folk and rock musician . Because of his songs, his style and the way he interprets him, he is also known as " Bob Dylan of the Ruhr Area ".

Life

As a child of a Bergmann family, Roger Matura moved with his parents to the Katernberg district of Essen at the age of ten . At the age of eleven, he played in bands at family celebrations and local celebrations. He dropped out of school to initially work for two years at the “ Zollverein coking plant ” in Essen. Later, however, he did the Abitur and then studied social sciences .

After graduating, Matura went to New York in 1978 to try his hand at folk singers. He first played as a street singer in Greenwich Village and other parts of the city, but was able to establish himself as a serious musician in the " Big Apple ". In the years that followed, he stayed in the USA for shorter or longer periods of time . His skills as a singer and guitarist subsequently led to three albums on the Folkways Records label by Moses Asch .

From the end of the eighties the singer and guitarist made a name for himself in the German folk scene with his CD recordings, concerts and compilation contributions. In 1988 and 1990, Hotcon Records released The WDR Tapes 1984–1988 and Night of the falling stars . This was followed by the CD Blue Shadows with song material partly influenced by folk and partly by rock. In addition to catchy rock pieces such as Be rough, be cool (on Urban Junge Streets) and Cajun -Folk as in Under the Cajun Moon , the album also contained three German-language tracks with Ruhrpottnächte , Wind im Face and In der Wärme der Nacht . Industrial city - tot from 1997 and the double CD On Folkways from 1998 were particularly well received by critics and audiences . Live in Thessaloniki in 1999 documented a concert organized by the Goethe-Institut in the Greek port city. The folk musician and songwriter presented his skills as a multi-instrumentalist on the 2005 album Time Traveler . The CD, which largely consisted of instrumental compositions, only contained two sung pieces - the Dido hit White Flag and the Carole King classic Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow . On the rest of the album, which alternates between jazz and folk, Matura presented his diverse skills as a multi-instrumentalist. The last album to date was the CD box The Return of the CaveMan / goodbye future !? While the first two CDs of this retrospective contain old and new pieces, some sung in English and some in German, the third CD, conceived as a bonus disc, offers cover versions of well-known pieces from the rock 'n' roll and beat era.

For most of his career, the singer and musician worked full-time as a social worker . He currently lives in the greater Cologne area . On several occasions, Matura has spoken out against the quota regulation in favor of German song texts on the radio demanded by some German-speaking artists such as Heinz Rudolf Kunze . Reason: The criterion for airplay should not be the language of the music, but rather the musical quality.

Style and reviews

Matura lists some of the greats from the 1960s and 1970s as major influences on his music: John Lennon , Rod Stewart , Steve Marriott , Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan. The reason he gives is that he grew up with this music. Although songs, habitus and the productions published on independent labels would suggest classification in the field of alternative country , the Gelsenkirchen native is rarely performed in this context. The classification of the "Ruhrpott-Dylans" is made more difficult by the texts, which are usually in English, but often also in German. The hoarse voice is occasionally reminiscent of Herbert Grönemeyer , especially in some German songs . The style of playing, which is firmly rooted in folk roots but also incorporates blues , rock and jazz elements, as well as the singing show similarities with the German folk guitarist and singer Werner Lämmerhirt . Other comparable musicians are found primarily in the United States - such as the Californian Dave Alvin or from Des Moines in Iowa originating Kelly Pardekooper .

On the occasion of the CD Time Traveler , which was released in 2005, the online magazine Jazzdimensions felt reminded of a "gentle Tom Waits who is slowly losing his anger". At the beginning of 2004, the music magazine Guitar & Bass described Roger Matura as the "eternal insider tip". The Viva Lifestyle Portal finally stated the folk and country musician in a review by Time Traveler “campfire spirit, virtuosity and chewing gum-soft relaxation”.

Discography

Roger Matura In Cologne, January 2012

Albums

  • No more Nukes (1979; Folkways)
  • Times are gonna get harder (1980; Folkways)
  • The outrage grows (1981; Folkways)
  • The WDR Tapes 1984–1988 (1988; Hotcon Records)
  • Night of the falling stars (1990; Hotcon Records)
  • Blue Shadows (1992; Hotcon Records)
  • On Folkways (1998; double CD, Hotcon Records)
  • Industrial City - Dead (1997; Hotcon Records)
  • Abandoned (1999; Hotcon Records)
  • Live in Thessaloniki (1999; Hotcon Records)
  • Captain Moonlight & Little Miss Bronté (2001; Hotcon Records)
  • Chocolate Icing and Vanilla Ice Cream (2001; Hotcon Records)
  • Time Traveler (2005; Ozella Music)
  • The Return of the CaveMan / goodbye future !? (2006; CD box; Ozella Music)
  • Follow me down to Chesil Bay (2009; Ozella Music)
  • World Gone Wrong (2011; Songways)

Contributions to compilations and miscellaneous

  • Lili Marleen on the sampler Lili Marleen on all fronts (2005; 7-CD box; Bear Family Records )
  • Time is a River : The piece was featured on April 24, 2005 in the WDR documentary feature German-Polish Relations. Played 60 years after the end of the war .

Reviews

  • This band with an unlikely name and unlikely origins may be the best debut in the contemporary folk field since the 60's. Like Phil Ochs and Tom Paxton, the Band adeptly handles both gentle reflective pieces and more hard-hitting political numbers like the title track and the tragic and explicit "Nicaragua" ... JP "Rocking Chair" USA 1979
  • "... maybe they are prophets of the eighties after all. It's something I guess, to have folk music showing some sort of social concern again ..." Colin Irwin / Melody Maker June 1980
  • "... committed, harsh political songs the hard way ..." Stern May 27, 1981
  • "... a singer / songwriter is discovered ..." ZDF aspekte August 1981
  • "... beyond all trends and fashions ..." Audio February 1983
  • "... if German musicians had the economic assertiveness of their American colleagues, the songwriter Roger Matura would have long been considered a German Bob Dylan or Tom Waits ..." Thomas Rothschild. In: Frankfurter Rundschau , October 24, 1992
  • "... an insider tip over the years that doesn't really fit anywhere - a stranger in your own country ..." Thomas Rothschild. In: Frankfurter Rundschau , December 7, 1996
  • "... angry accusations, wistful memories - contradictory, takes getting used to and extremely exciting ..." Weserkurier October 1997
  • "... songs breathe the touching melancholy of the asphalt romantic, demons of darkness - a masterpiece ..." Allgemeine Zeitung Mainz January 1998
  • "... a German muddlehead from the Ruhrpott - a bit of Bob Dylan, the relaxed bite of JJ Cale and a lot of his own ..." Siegfried Schmidt-Joos / SFB "Aufgelesen" November 10, 1999
  • "... Matura is musically limited to the essentials, relies on the fascinating fragility of his voice and his dreamlike feeling for melodies ..." Norbert Sonderfeld / Jazz Thing June '99
  • "... Roger Matura writes angry and tender songs and sings them in a delightfully idiosyncratic way ... socially critical asphalt poetry ... anger and melancholy ... someone knows how to deal with language ... the title track 'Industrial City - dead' sounds like Bob Dylan's 'Subterrenean Homesick Blues' ..." Fritz Werner Haver / Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung June 4, 1999
  • "... asphalt lyricist ... captivating the expressiveness of his fragile, smoky voice, fascinating his feeling for melodies ... songs of immense emotional power ..." Claus Christoph Eicher / Munich evening newspaper January 2000
  • "... must have been scary to him to be mentioned again and again in the same breath as the greats of the music industry ... sensitive, full of melancholy and longing, but also full of anger, as well as his unmistakable grating voice ..." Olaf Klein / Frankfurter Neue Presse October 8th 2001

Web links

literature

personal data
SURNAME Matura, Roger
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, folk and country musician
DATE OF BIRTH December 11, 1953
PLACE OF BIRTH Gelsenkirchen