THE NOTWIST | VERTIGO DAYS

On Vertigo Days, The Notwist's first album in six years, one of the country's most pioneering indie bands presents itself in the here and now. Curiosity and openness have always been the driving forces behind The Notwist's music, but rarely has this been more evident than on Vertigo Days. Musically, this openness is conveyed in an amalgam of melancholic pop and sparkling electronics, hypnotic krautrock and floating ballads. Conceptually, it is reflected in the fact that The Notwist have expanded their core line-up (consisting of brothers Markus and Micha Acher and Cico Beck) to include guest musicians for this album: "We wanted to question the usual concept of a band, but also to soften the idea of national identities," explains Markus Acher. "That's why we also gave space to other voices and languages."
Six years have passed since the last album (Close To The Glass). Years that the members of the band have dedicated not only to their other bands (e.g. Spirit Fest, Hochzeitskapelle, Alien Ensemble, Joasihno), but also to running their own record label (Alien Transistor), composing several film scores and curating compilations (most recently Minna Miteru) and an annual festival (Alien Disko). All of this has left its mark on the new album. It is reflected above all in its structure, which is the result of an open, collectivist process: improvisations became songs that often intertwine. The result is extremely lively music, whose cinematic quality is also reflected in the artwork by Japanese photographer Lieko Shiga. The rediscovered openness is already evident in "Ship", the first single from the album.