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HERZTECHNIK |
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Billie Mayer: vocals |
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Oliver Balk: guitar, bass, programming |
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Heart and mechanics is implied in the name of the Regensburg-based electro-pop duo and refers to an emotional approach to music and audience paired with digital sounds and arrangements. Oliver Balk, 30 year old producer and guitarist and Billie Mayer, former spare time goldfrapp, know each other for years, what shows in an outstanding harmonious feel being apparent in recordings as well as live on stage. Thus a lot of people believe the duo is also a couple in private life.
In September 2003 Schinderwies released their full-length debut Wasserliebe (Waterlove). 11 originals (of which a couple are instrumentals) and a rearranged cover from the 50s by D.Libbey and S.Wayne, Mangos, form an album bristling with earworms and tomorrow´s hits. Billie´s vocals, seductive but never affected are pure pop, her urban nightlife lyrics never miss a certain wink. On most songs Oliver plays electric guitar, mostly clean and picked while others like Urbanite feature crunchy Indierock riffs. Warm and soft synthie waves, discrete drum beats and various plicks and plonks give the album its digital outfit. The Eighties might also glimpse through some of the songs. Juicy, Sleepless and the dubby Pier 17 are definite club faves! Their mixture of Indie-pop, electronic songwriting and dance-music place Herztechnik at a position ready to further explore the wide field of digital-analog pop.
On their second album "Walk on Air" (November 2006) Herztechnik go straight to the core of their songwriting. Melody rules. Oliver Balk´s delicate arrangements focus on the essence. Instruments - mainly acoustic guitars, light beats, organs, strings, vibraphone, harpsichord and the like are sensitively embedded into the album´s timbre. Compared to the predecessor “Wasserliebe” (Waterlove), which mixed Electronica and Club sounds with Indierock, “Walk on Air” sounds more homogeneous and relaxed. Billie Mayer´s soft vocals ensnare the listener with smart metaphors laced by subtle irony. Pop music at its finest with elements of Chanson, Wave, Bossa Nova, Jazz and Easy Listening. These references are so cleverly interwoven that the music never sounds like plagiarism, but fresh and timless and hundred percent Herztechnik.
Photo: Patrick Vallée
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