Albrecht Schrader

In the organizer's words:

Albrecht Schrader lives in Hamburg. He regularly releases music as a solo artist via the label KROKANT, which he runs together with Florian Sievers (Das Paradies). He also works as a composer, producer and arranger for television, film, theater, games and other artists.

With his new, self-titled album, Albrecht Schrader has once again created a piece of music that seeks its own resonance space. Known for his stylish blend of timeless pop sound and contemporary lyrics, the Hamburg native proves himself once again as a composer and lyricist with a keen sense of his time, and a little bit of the time before him, not without humor, but certainly without cynicism. It is unpretentiously pleasant music in the best sense of the word, if that still exists. And a perfect highlight in the artist's discography to date.

On his fifth studio album, the dauphin of German-language songwriters masterfully handles the entire range of musical composition. His past as an orchestra conductor is audible in the artfully coordinated, well-tempered arrangements. Even if it is a dwindling genre in the local music landscape, Schrader proves that organic sounds, real instruments, real voices without autotune and tracks at normal speed can release just as much dopamine. There is a very special kind of satisfaction when listening. Maybe it's the sorting, maybe it's the harmonies, or maybe it's a secret third thing that Albrecht Schrader will never reveal, or only in an exclusive interview for a lot of money. The fact is, there is no one like him in this country.

"Albrecht Schrader" begins with a sublime chord. "The music begins" begins and what follows are 9 more songs. 10 is undisputedly the best number of tracks for an album; attentive listeners will have already noticed this on previous releases. Where his last record was almost a disco moment, Schrader now returns to the craft of pop, classically orchestrated with piano, warm synths and rather soft drums, actually even softer than "Soft" from 2023. Schrader has retained the joy of beautiful sound. And it seems to grow even more with each new release. The upbeat "Wofür die Liebe sich noch lohnt", the bittersweet "Zwanzig Jahre Nikotin", or the strolling piece "Ich lese was hinein" about the ambiguities of interpersonal encounters - Albrecht Schrader is either the finest in the pub or the most rocked-out in the concert hall, and both suit him perfectly.

Nevertheless, "Albrecht Schrader" also speaks a kind of worldly melancholy, always moving on the bright side of life, even in moments of doubt. As in "Ist Musik noch unser Ding", the almost anthemic class reunion of current German pop artists with a crisis of meaning. Schrader is joined by Saskia Lavaux, Das Paradies, Resi Reiner, Rocko Schamoni, Malonda, Nicola Rost and finally Dirk von Lowtzow. So is music still their thing? The question of the final chorus remains unanswered. What remains is hope and the quiet certainty that there is not much better out there to defy the storms of the present. In this sense, "Albrecht Schrader" is also music for music, a bow to one's own guild.

The catchy lyrics only reveal their meta-level after the third humming along, so well interwoven does Schrader slip his audience the small, sometimes cheerful, sometimes melancholy observations of everyday life. As if he had signed a kind of chivalric code of honor, his linguistic points are so finely aimed that those affected, for example the city of Hamburg ("I'm not sure if it's because of Hamburg"), might even be flattered at first. That's the way it is with multi-layered art. It can be enjoyed in many ways. Yes, Albrecht Schrader rebels while sitting down. But not out of laziness, but out of the clever foresight that this can be sustained for longer. And because that's the best way for him to play the piano.

Text: Ilona Hartmann