Search - Dagmar Krause, Marie Goyette :: Scientific Dream & A French Kiss

New experimentaal territory for Krause

marcw@netspace.net.au | Melbourne, Australia | 05/07/1999

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is a new departure for the gorgeously talented (and gorgeously voiced) Dagmar Krause. Working with Frenchwoman Marie Goyette, who proves a genius at sampling, she has utilised parts of mostly classical pieces (including, for example, Prokofiev's 'Children's Guide to the Orchestra') to create a wonderland. You think you know the music backwards - then there's a change of sample, Goyette moves the boundaries and you are suddenly swept off into a new land. Meanwhile, Krause has written lyrics that play with and often subvert the meaning of the original orchestral works - with lovely touches of humour and even sections of dialogue between her and Goyette. I was unsure of this technique when I first heard it, but now, a month or more after receiving the CD, I love it - more and more each time I hear it. Except while being angrily haranged by Dagmar at a benefit concert for the miners in London, I've found her wonderfully focussed, one of the most aware and confrontational of artists, and often a lot of fun as well. Lots of people miss the fun - but I live by the Emma Goldman line 'if I can't dance I don't want to be part of your revolution'. This is lovely - as well as totally new (Of course, I may have missed some intermediary work, since I haven't had access to her work for several years). Order it now from amazon.com -"

Correct me if I'm wrong, Dagmar

Michael Thomas Roe | 10/11/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"it's worth about $100 for the amazing music. Dagmar's voice should be prescribed in place of anti-depressants. It's different, very different from anything she's done before, but god it's amazing!"

The great Dagmar Krause

Michael Thomas Roe | Atlanta | 01/30/2003

(3 out of 5 stars)

"There is really no other voice like Dagmar Krause. Actually, I would hazard to guess there is really no other person like Dagmar Krause. She is utterly unique. Her work with the Art Bears (Fred Frith/Chris Culter)was darn near perfection. She can go from startling sweet to startling alarming in a mili-second. Imagine a German "chanteuse" ala Marlene Dietrich performing in a smoky Berlin club, but instead of the music being Kurt Weill it is British avante garde with "prepared" guitar and "found" percussion. I may be over exaggerating, but you get the drift. Marvelous stuff. "A Scientific Dream and a French Kiss" carries on with Dagmar's appreciation of the sublime and avante garde. Her cohort Marie Goyette lays a bed of sampled classical snippets, making amazing song structures in which Dagmar lends her unique talents. The results are surprisingly diverse and oftentimes humourous, Dagmar relying on a kind of "stream of consciousness" reading of lyrics and poetry. Highlights for me are "Through My Satellite", "Piazza Navone" and "Your Star", a heart-wrencher if ever there was one. Practically worth the CD alone."