Langer writes the majority of his repertoire alone, but also collaborates with among others Marcus Winther-John , Tim Christensen , Daniel Ahearn , Edie Kuhnle , and Justin Hawkins . Tim Christensen has contributed to several songs with backing vocals, guitar and bass on Langer's earlier albums, and Justin Hawkins sings backing vocals on Langer's upcoming album. He has announced that he will also be working with several artists and producers from the United States, including Ryan Tedder . About his approach to music, Langer says: "I'm very inspired of the way Keith Jarrett just lets his hands run out of control and create big poetic moments out of improvisation. The same can be said for other big artists like Ryan Adams and Jeff Buckley. I can relate to all three because they all seem to let their intuition and playful musicality take them to beautiful places. My own music originates in the same way.” Other musical influences he names are Chris Cornell , John Mayer , Prince , Coldplay , Rickie Lee Jones , Stevie Wonder , The Beatles , Nick Drake , The Band , Radiohead , Fionn Regan , Bob Dylan , Neil Young , and Ray Lamontagne . His voice is often compared to Thom Yorke's and Jeff Buckley's. His band, both in the studio and live, is composed of Søren Lund on guitar, Nis Tyrrestrup op bass, and Asger Møller on drums and percussion. On March 30, 2011, Langer introduced Simon Luth as his sixth band member and announced he will be the opening act for his shows in May 2011. Langer plays among others guitar, piano, Mellotron, and keyboard.
Langer grew up in the town of Skive, Denmark. His parents are both teachers and share a love for music. At age three, he started learning the piano and he listened to his father's record collection. When he was 15, he dreamt of moving to New York and becoming a rock star. In high school, he was in a Rage Against the Machine cover band. After finishing high school, a local audition in Skive got him in touch with a talent scout who suggested him to move to Copenhagen and present his homemade demos there. He studied jazz piano at the Royal Danish Academy of Music, but eventually he just started writing music It was during this time he started playing guitar. Ultimately this landed him a record deal with Copenhagen Records. Langer debuted on March 20, 2006
in Denemark with Attention Please, an album containing potent pop rock songs. It was scheduled to be released a year earlier, but in post-production he connected so well with Søren Balsner of Carpark North that Langer requested his label to scrap the recordings and start over with Balsner as producer. Despite an intense media hype and good reviews, the album had limited success in Denmark. According to Langer, his record label is to blame for raising unrealistic expectations: "As it often happens, when something is overhyped, then the media just gives you the finger afterwards when it comes out. Because of course this record isn't a masterpiece, but I think it's a very good debut for a very young guy, but that's never where we came to because they had been told that it was a masterpiece from the record label. So the minute it came out, it flopped." The song "Breaking News" became a hit. The American spotter Sat Bisla picked up on him which enabled Langer to perform in Great Britain and Germany, to move to New York City and from there often travel back and forth to Los Angeles, where he among others played before record company executives. This media circus life was taxing on him at such a young age, he had grown tired of other people's visions on his career, questioned his talent and got homesick, so in 2007 he quit his rock star life and returned to Skive. Equipped with only a map and his guitar, he roamed through Europe like a troubadour, playing about 100 acoustic shows (other sources say about 60[6]) for gas money to fuel his c. 1987 Volkswagen Polo which he bought after his return. He lived off the money he collected by selling his CDs after each show. The tour helped him to find himself again and garnered him a growing fanbase. Later in 2007, he composed and conducted the Danish performance of Hedwig and the Angry Inch at the Nørrebros Theater in Copenhagen starring Anders W. Berthelsen.
For his second studio album, Langer had written over 90 songs, of which he wrote "Say No More" together with Tim Christensen. He explains the cause of this large quantity as follows: "A minute doesn’t go by, not even a second, without a stream of new musical ideas or familiar phrases running through my head. My songs spring from that source." The record was eponymous because he felt this album made it clear in which direction he is headed in style and genre, whereas he felt the songs on his first album did not reflect him, but were what he thought others wanted from him. The album was released in Denmark on February 9, 2009. The critical reception was bland; critics judged that the music was more of the same and lacked a soul because it was too polished. He did score hits with "Wake Me Up in Time" and Fact-Fiction, a song he wrote in the United States in less than ten minutes and describes his confusion during that time. He started his tour as opening act for Tim Christensen and The Script before continuing his tour as main act. The songs "The River has Run Wild" and "Beauty of the Dark" have been used in the American television series The Vampire Diaries, On En Hyldest til Sebastian ("A Tribute to Sebastian"), released in October 2009, Langer covers the song "Stille Før Storm" ("Silence before the storm"). Sebastian originally wrote this song for Lis Sørensen, which led to her breakthrough.
Langer grew up in the town of Skive, Denmark. His parents are both teachers and share a love for music. At age three, he started learning the piano and he listened to his father's record collection. When he was 15, he dreamt of moving to New York and becoming a rock star. In high school, he was in a Rage Against the Machine cover band. After finishing high school, a local audition in Skive got him in touch with a talent scout who suggested him to move to Copenhagen and present his homemade demos there. He studied jazz piano at the Royal Danish Academy of Music, but eventually he just started writing music It was during this time he started playing guitar. Ultimately this landed him a record deal with Copenhagen Records. Langer debuted on March 20, 2006 in Denemark with Attention Please, an album containing potent pop rock songs. It was scheduled to be released a year earlier, but in post-production he connected so well with Søren Balsner of Carpark North that Langer requested his label to scrap the recordings and start over with Balsner as producer. Despite an intense media hype and good reviews, the album had limited success in Denmark. According to Langer, his record label is to blame for raising unrealistic expectations: "As it often happens, when something is overhyped, then the media just gives you the finger afterwards when it comes out. Because of course this record isn't a masterpiece, but I think it's a very good debut for a very young guy, but that's never where we came to because they had been told that it was a masterpiece from the record label. So the minute it came out, it flopped." The song "Breaking News" became a hit. The American spotter Sat Bisla picked up on him, which enabled Langer to perform in Great Britain and Germany, to move to New York City and from there often travel back and forth to Los Angeles, where he among others played before record company executives. This media circus life was taxing on him at such a young age, he had grown tired of other people's visions on his career, questioned his talent and got homesick, so in 2007 he quit his rock star life and returned to Skive. Equipped with only a map and his guitar, he roamed through Europe like a troubadour, playing about 100 acoustic shows (other sources say about 60) for gas money to fuel his c. 1987 Volkswagen Polo which he bought after his return. He lived off the money he collected by selling his CDs after each show. The tour helped him to find himself again and garnered him a growing fanbase. Later in 2007, he composed and conducted the Danish performance of Hedwig and the Angry Inch at the Nørrebros Theater in Copenhagen starring Anders W. Berthelsen.
For his second studio album, Langer had written over 90 songs, of which he wrote "Say No More" together with Tim Christensen. He explains the cause of this large quantity as follows: "A minute doesn’t go by, not even a second, without a stream of new musical ideas or familiar phrases running through my head. My songs spring from that source." The record was eponymous because he felt this album made it clear in which direction he is headed in style and genre, whereas he felt the songs on his first album did not reflect him, but were what he thought others wanted from him. The album was released in Denmark on February 9, 2009. The critical reception was bland; critics judged that the music was more of the same and lacked a soul because it was too polished. He did score hits with "Wake Me Up in Time" and Fact-Fiction, a song he wrote in the United States in less than ten minutes and describes his confusion during that time. He started his tour as opening act for Tim Christensen and The Script before continuing his tour as main act. The songs "The River has Run Wild" and "Beauty of the Dark" have been used in the American television series The Vampire Diaries, On En Hyldest til Sebastian ("A Tribute to Sebastian"), released in October 2009, Langer covers the song "Stille Før Storm" ("Silence before the storm"). Sebastian originally wrote this song for Lis Sørensen, which led to her breakthrough.
In December 2010, Langer offered a free download of "The River has Run Wild" off this album to anyone who joined his mailing list. In March 2011, the single "Microscope" was offered to new subscribers instead. "Microscope" entered the Italian charts at #25. It was written in around 30 minutes and came out of nothing. It was intended to be a happy song, but turned melancholic as the lyrics were written. Langer has already explained the theme of some of the other songs. "Last Flower" was written in memory of a Danish fan who committed suicide. In her suicide note she requested Langer to play at her funeral, where he performed this song. "Death has Fallen in Love" is about stopping to realize that someone you love could die too. The idea for the song came about while Langer' girlfriend was brushing her teeth.
A song that has not made its way onto the album is "Bowie and Champagne", which refers to a girl he fooled around with when he was growing up, but who tried everything and ended up a drug addict. The original lyrics were written after Langer woke up from a dream and jotted a few lines down about Aerosmith and wine. At that time he thought they might just be the best lyrics in the world, but when he checked them over the following morning, he felt they were too cheesy but could be improved with some changes.
From May 11 through to 14, Langer will go on a mini-tour through Denmark.
www.madslanger.com.
Contact:
Sue Whitehouse:
sue@whitehousemanagement.com
Booking ( Europe except Denmark)
Adam Saunders: adam@xraytouring.com
Booking (Denmark)
Malte Erbs: mbe@PDH.DK
www.madslanger.com
www.youtube.com/user/madslanger24
www.facebook.com/pages/Mads-Langer/99879780312
www.myspace.com/madslanger
Overgir mig langsomt
Mads Langer Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Et flygtigt minde trænger sig på
Tankestrejken viser vej tilbage
Et spørgsmålstegn kan få tiden til at gå i stå
Jeg drømmer mig væk i tankeløse tanker
Jeg ser på mig selv med lukkede øjne
Jeg spejler min frygt i dine øjne
Jeg slipper min angst og mine løgne
Og overgiver mig langsomt til dig
En symfoni synger på mine læber
Et åndedrag forsvinder fra mit bryst
En tankestreg kan vise vej tilbage
I en gammel sang finder jeg trøst
På kanten af kanten finder lyset mig
Jeg ser på mig selv med lukkede øjne
Jeg spejler min frygt i dine øjne
Når du ser på mig
Jeg slipper min angst og mine løgne
Og overgiver mig langsomt til dig
Står her på kanten af kanten
Men et hjerteslag fra dig
Kan jeg hente viljen til livet
Så det overgiver sig langsomt til mig
In "Overgi'r Mig Langsomt," Mads Langer sings about being lost in thought and losing track of time. He starts by reflecting on how quickly moments pass, and how fleeting memories can be. However, he finds solace in getting lost in his own thoughts and dreaming away. He describes this as "drømmer mig væk i tankeløse tanker," which translates to "I dream away in thoughtless thoughts." He also acknowledges the power of a question mark to stop time in its tracks, emphasizing how much a single moment of reflection can create a shift in perspective.
As the song progresses, Langer sings about finding comfort in the eyes of another person. He sees his own fears reflected in their gaze but also finds the courage to let go of his anxiety and falsehoods. He surrenders to the other person, allowing himself to be vulnerable and authentic. He likens this experience to a symphony, where he feels music on his lips and a sense of unity in his heart. Despite feeling on edge, he finds light and purpose when he's close to this person.
In the final verse, Langer sings about being on the edge of a precipice. However, he's just one heartbeat away from his lover and finds strength in this proximity. He finds the will to live and power in his connection to another person. The song's repetitive chorus reinforces this idea of surrendering slowly to another, as though it's a gradual but inevitable process.
Line by Line Meaning
Et øjeblik er hurtigt væk i dag
Moments pass by quickly today
Et flygtigt minde trænger sig på
Fleeting memories come to mind
Tankestrejken viser vej tilbage
Mental breaks lead me back
Et spørgsmålstegn kan få tiden til at gå i stå
Asking questions can pause time
Jeg drømmer mig væk i tankeløse tanker
I drift away in thoughtless musings
Jeg ser på mig selv med lukkede øjne
I observe myself with closed eyes
Jeg spejler min frygt i dine øjne
I reflect my fears in your eyes
Når du ser på mig
When you look at me
Jeg slipper min angst og mine løgne
I let go of my fears and lies
Og overgiver mig langsomt til dig
And surrender myself slowly to you
En symfoni synger på mine læber
A symphony sings on my lips
Et åndedrag forsvinder fra mit bryst
A breath disappears from my chest
En tankestreg kan vise vej tilbage
A mental break can lead me back
I en gammel sang finder jeg trøst
In an old song, I find comfort
På kanten af kanten finder lyset mig
On the edge of the edge, the light finds me
Jeg ser på mig selv med lukkede øjne
I observe myself with closed eyes
Jeg spejler min frygt i dine øjne
I reflect my fears in your eyes
Når du ser på mig
When you look at me
Jeg slipper min angst og mine løgne
I let go of my fears and lies
Og overgiver mig langsomt til dig
And surrender myself slowly to you
Står her på kanten af kanten
Standing on the edge of the edge
Men et hjerteslag fra dig
But one heartbeat from you
Kan jeg hente viljen til livet
I can gather the will to live
Så det overgiver sig langsomt til mig
So that life surrenders to me slowly
Writer(s): Boe Larsen, Mads Langer, Morten Woods
Contributed by Levi O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@kimabbasi3998
This is a free translation of the song - did spice it up a bit. It will give you a picture of what he is singing. Though my version make the words more beautiful.
A moment passes swiftly today
Volatile memories comes to mind
May prevented thoughts lead it´s own way back
A question leads to time collapse
I dream myself away in thoughtless thoughts
I look at myself with closed eyes
For then to mirror my fear in yours when you look at me
I let go of my anxiety and lies
so i can surrender myself to you.
A symphony sings upon my lips
A deep breath disappears from my chest
May prevented thoughts lead it´s own way back
In an old song i find my comfort
On the edge of this edge light guides my way
I look at myself with closed eyes
For then too mirror my fear in yours when you look at me
I let go of my anxiety and lies
so i can surrender myself to you
I stand on the edge of this edge a heartbeat away
with the will to carry on
While life slowly surrender herself to me
@missmooofin
I think I've watched this over 30 times already. Gets better each time. His voice is just.. out of this world.
@jonathanalmind3097
I get you ;-)
It's really an AMAZING performance!
@lucianokn74
linda música, linda voz, bela surpresa!!! muita luz para você!
@GenbrugsGuld12341
Dette er en af de sange, der altid kan give mig tårer i øjnene. Ligemeget hvor mange gange man har hørt den. Tak for det Mads!
@majakeiniche8987
Smukt, ikke mindre end smukt, og så var det fantastisk at opleve i live på grøn koncert i søndags :O) meget meget meget stor respekt fra mig til Mads Langer !
@erikandersen6341
Jeg er fra 1968 og mest til Rock. Da jeg hørte denne unge mand spille dette nummer i Tv, rejste hårene i nakken sig og fik helt gåsehud. Måtte på nettet og finde den og skrue helt op. Får en helt klump i halsen. Efter dansk standard lever dette nummer helt op til nogle af de store Queen og Pink Floyd numre. helt fantastisk tekst og stemme. Sort 5 tal herfra. keep up the good Work. Mads
@annemettebak7568
Erik Andersen z
@jacobzwick4587
Enig vis jeg hade hår i nakken var de rest😉
@peteradelheidwetke6463
os dejlige blomsterbørn fra 68
@Hokus66
Overgir mig langsomt er et af numrene på albummet 'Unico', som Sanne udgav tre år efter, at hun var blev ramt af en blodprop i hjernen. Nummeret er skrevet af netop Mads Langer