Shades of Dawn
| Shades of Dawn | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| origin | Dusseldorf , Germany |
| Genre (s) | Progressive rock , art rock |
| founding | 1993 |
| Website | www.shades-of-dawn.de |
| Founding members | |
Bass, guitar, vocals |
Wolfgang Schmidt |
Guitar, vocals |
Karl Nothen (until 1993) |
Drums, vocals |
Chris Struwe (until 2011) |
Keyboard |
Annette Schepermann |
Keyboard |
Peter Schneider |
| Current occupation | |
singing |
Gitta Löwenstein |
Keyboard, guitar |
Peter Schneider |
Guitar, bass |
Peter Lorenz |
Drums, flute |
Klaus Neumärker |
| former members | |
Bass, guitar |
Theo Labs (1995–1999, 2005) |
bass |
Chris Wälters (2002-2003) |
bass |
Edzard Schmidt (1999, 2000, 2002, 2003-2004) |
Bass, bass pedals |
Klaus Lohr (2006–2009, 2010–2011) |
Keyboard, saxophone, vocals |
Bernhard Marx (2007-2013) |
Keyboard |
Cyrill Stoletzky (2006–2009, 2010–2011) |
Guitar, vocals |
Hans-Jürgen Klein (2007-2014) |
Shades of Dawn is a German progressive rock band from Düsseldorf that was founded in 1993. Her music contains many elements of the classic progressive rock of the 1970s.
history
The band was formed in 1993 when the Düsseldorf formation KAWUMM was looking for a singer. Singer and guitarist Hans-Jürgen Klein joined them and suggested a name change. It was agreed on the new name Shades of Dawn.
Guitarist Karl Nothen left the band in autumn 1993 due to musical differences. In early 1994 Shades of Dawn recorded The Slaughterhouse tapes in a disused slaughterhouse . After mixing in the Düsseldorf Skyline Studio, however, the band was not satisfied. When band founder and bassist / guitarist Wolfgang Schmidt - and then keyboardist Annette Schepermann - left the band after disputes, the recordings were initially not processed any further.
In 1998 the debut album The Dawn of Time , with completely new music, was released by Second Battle / Early Birds worldwide. Members were now keyboardist / pianist Cyrill Stoletzky and bassist Theo Labs. This line-up (with Klein, drummer / backing singer Chris Struwe and keyboard player / backing singer Peter Schneider) performed and a. at the Burg-Herzberg-Festival . Then the line-up changed again. Nevertheless, Shades of Dawn gave occasional concerts, such as in February 2002 at the Progparade in Neustadt. Later the Slaughterhouse tapes were completely revised, supplemented with further music and remixed. The album was released worldwide in February 2007 as From Dusk till Dawn .
Shades of Dawn surprised Jane in Jever that same year as the opener . In 2008 the band stood out especially with their appearance at the Wuppertal Krautrock Festival - alongside Jane and Birth Control .
After further line-up, the album Graffity's Rainbow was completed in 2010 . The CD contains only four long pieces and was released in March 2011. In the almost 26-minute title track, the band also processed themes by Franz Schubert and Modest Mussorgsky . Title and text are inspired by Thomas Pynchon's novella Gravity's Rainbow .
Drummer Chris Struwe died on June 6, 2011. Bassist Klaus Lohr left the band.
In September 2011 Klaus Neumärker joined Shades of Dawn as the new drummer and shortly afterwards bassist Peter Lorenz (ex-Werwolfmusic). With the new line-up, the band gave a comeback concert in the Cologne canteen in September 2012.
In September 2013, keyboardist Bernhard Marx also left the band. For him, Cyrill Stoletzky returned to the band in November.
In August 2014 Shades of Dawn played with this line-up at the open-air city festival in Solingen - u. a. also with "Brings".
Immediately after the concert, Cyrill Stoletzky and Hans-Jürgen Klein left the band. Hans-Jürgen Klein planned a new beginning with completely new musicians. Unfortunately not very successful. The project failed.
The remaining Shades of Dawn Peter Schneider, Peter Lorenz and Klaus Neumärker decided to continue without any other musicians and to dedicate themselves to a new album. Studio work in the new band's own study was announced. Peter Lorenz and Peter Schneider took over the guitar parts alternately, Klaus Neumärker also played the flute. In 2015, Peter Lorenz's former band colleague Gitta Löwenstein joined WERWOLFmusic as lead singer. The powerful voice of Gitta matched the newly created sound perfectly. The Prog elements were taken back, now a hard rock sound with many melodic elements dominated. The band name was also changed to Shades of Dawn II to illustrate the change in style of the music. Support also came from ex-band member Bernhard Marx on the piano.
In 2018, the new Shades of Dawn II album: INVISIBLE SHADES - Sound of the '70s was released on CD and for download and streaming on all music portals
Very powerful rock music. The memory of the '70s comes back to life in this disc for everyone who appreciates and loves this legendary sound of the' 70s; and the real freaks look back a little wistfully. The individual songs are characterized by the powerful voice of the singer Gitta Löwenstein, impressive and soulful guitar solos and demanding keyboard passages. The precisely coordinated interplay of bass and drums gives the songs the foundation as well as the necessary pressure and groove.
Discography
- 1994: The Slaughterhouse Tapes (Demo)
- 1998: The Dawn of Time (Early Birds EB 003)
- 2007: From Dusk till Dawn ( Musea FGBG 4692)
- 2011: Graffity's Rainbow (Musea FGBG 4866)
- 2018: Invisible Shades
Web links
- Official website (currently still in progress)
- Shades of Dawn on Facebook