The original use of strings: cello, violin, guitars, a full string quartet diverts the traditional perception of those classic instruments when they deal with electronics and the result is emotionally moving.
The album has been written and recorded between Berlin and Rome, it took nearly two years to be made, Teho and Blixa worked next to each other choosing carefully every sound, every word and silence.
There are 12 songs on Still Smiling, including a new version of A Quiet Life and a cover of Alone With The Moon by The Tiger Lilies.
Amongst collaborators there are The Balanescu Quartet and cellist Martina Bertoni.
Lyrics are visionary and are sung in english, german and italian, Blixa reveals a really personal and intimate side to the listener this time.
Still Smiling is an album whose special vision covers all the sky between Rome and Berlin, daytime and nocturnal.
It'll be released on Teho's label Specula on april 22nd in Italy and it'll be distributed all over Europe on June 28th 2013.
There's also an italian tour in May: 7th Roma, Circolo degli Artisti, 9th Milano, Alcatraz, 10th Moncalieri/Torino, Audiodrome, 11th Bologna, Senza Filtro where Teho and Blixa will be joined on stage by cellist Martina Bertoni.
Tracklist:
1 Mi Scusi
2 Come Up And See Me
3 Axolotl
4 Buntmetalldiebe
5 Still Smiling
6 Nocturnalie
7 Alone With The Moon
8 What if...?
9 Konjunktiv II
10 Nur Zur Erinnerung
11 A Quiet Life
12 Defenestrazioni
Here's the video by Chiara Battistini of Mi Scusi, the first track from the album http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXzcBpIGKas&feature=youtu.be
Musicians
Teho Teardo - baritone guitar, electric and acoustic guitars, bass, rhodes piano, synths, piano, percussions, electronics, programming
Blixa Bargeld - voice, hammond organ, clavichord, electric slide guitar, water percussion, re-arrangements, glockenspiel
featuring:
Martina Bertoni - Cello
The Balanescu Quartet
Alexander Balanescu - violin
James Shenton - violin
Katie Wilkinson - viola
Nick Holland - cello
Elena De Stabile - violin
Elisabetta Pacini - italian accent voice
Crew
Recorded in Berlin at Anderebaustelle studio and Rome at Basement recordings, 2012/2013
Defenestrazioni
Teho Teardo & Blixa Bargeld Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Taxi flugzeug taxi
Hotel
Die minibar ist traurig bis albern
Schokoriegel, schlechter wein
Room service oder masturbation
Nichts eröffnet perspektiven
Can I ask you a stupid question? I heard that you have been influenced a lot by "The Ubiquitous Caboodles"?
Are you going back to play with Nick?
I think since FM Einheit has left your music have softened a lot.
Is that a question?
Wasn′t it terrible to be enclosed by a wall?
A nulla servono neppure le belle sopracciglia
Via, via, andare ...
Defenestrazioni, dimensioni storiche
Porta aperta sul palco, aperta sul balcone
Masse d'uomini
A gettar fiori
Giubilo! Gloria!
Per chi? Per mi?
Tutti noi vivremo per sempre
Sempre e in eterno
Potremo volare
Berremo miele, vino in miele
Ambrosia
A colazione mangeremo nuvole
Dormiremo a fondo sulla luna
Notte per notte
Qualche volta un po′più a lungo, e durante il giorno
We will all live forever
Forever and ever
We will able to fly
We will drink honeyed wine
And eat clouds for breakfast
We'll sleep sound on the moon
Night for night
For night and night
Sometimes a little longer and in the daytime too
The lyrics of Defenestrazioni seem to describe the fatigue and ennui that comes with a life on tour - the endless cycle of taxis, airplanes, and hotel rooms that can make everything feel mediocre and meaningless. The references to the minibar, room service, and masturbation suggest a kind of listless nihilism - nothing seems to offer any real satisfaction or excitement. The interview at the hotel bar adds to this sense of emptiness, with the interviewer asking inane and irrelevant questions that only serve to highlight the pointlessness of the whole endeavor. The repeated refrain of "We will all live forever / Forever and ever" can be read as either a futile dream of immortality, or a sarcastic commentary on the ephemeral nature of life on the road.
The title of the song, Defenestrazioni, refers to the act of throwing someone or something out of a window - something that has been historically significant in European politics and revolutions. The reference to "masses of men throwing flowers" suggests a similar kind of uprising, but it's unclear who is being celebrated or overthrown. The final lines of the song, which repeat the refrain from earlier, suggest a vision of utopia - a place where everything is perfect and eternal. However, this vision feels hollow and unattainable, given the bleakness of the rest of the lyrics.
Line by Line Meaning
Träge der ablauf
The movement is sluggish
Taxi flugzeug taxi
Taxi airplane taxi
Hotel
Hotel
Die minibar ist traurig bis albern
The minibar is sad to the point of being silly
Schokoriegel, schlechter wein
Chocolate bars, bad wine
Room service oder masturbation
Room service or masturbation
Nichts eröffnet perspektiven
Nothing opens up perspectives
A nulla servono neppure le belle sopracciglia
Even beautiful eyebrows are of no use
Via, via, andare ...
Go away, go away...
Defenestrazioni, dimensioni storiche
Defenestrations, historical dimensions
Porta aperta sul palco, aperta sul balcone
Door open on the stage, open on the balcony
Masse d'uomini
Masses of men
A gettar fiori
Throwing flowers
Giubilo! Gloria!
Jubilation! Glory!
Per chi? Per mi?
For whom? For me?
Tutti noi vivremo per sempre
We will all live forever
Sempre e in eterno
Always and forever
Potremo volare
We will be able to fly
Berremo miele, vino in miele
We will drink honeyed wine
Ambrosia
Ambrosia
A colazione mangeremo nuvole
We will eat clouds for breakfast
Dormiremo a fondo sulla luna
We will sleep sound on the moon
Notte per notte
Night after night
Qualche volta un po′più a lungo, e durante il giorno
Sometimes a little longer, and during the day
Writer(s): Mauro Teardo, Blixa Bargeld
Contributed by Gabriel K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@stePUNTOdeve
IL TESTO è fantastico:
träge der ablauf
taxi flugzeug taxi
hotel
die minibar ist traurig bis albern
schokoriegel, schlechter wein
room service oder masturbation
nichts eröffnet perspektiven
INTERVIEW AT THE HOTELBAR
Can I ask you a stupid question? I heard that you have been influenced a lot by "The Ubiquitous Caboodles"?
Are you going back to play with Nick?
I think since FM Einheit has left your music have softened a lot.
Is that a question?
Wasn't it terrible to be enclosed by a wall?
A nulla servono neppure le belle sopracciglia
Via, via, andare …
Defenestrazioni, dimensioni storiche
Porta aperta sul palco, aperta sul balcone
Masse d'uomini
A gettar fiori
Giubilo! Gloria!
Per chi? Per me?
Tutti noi vivremo per sempre
Sempre e in eterno
Potremo volare
Berremo miele, vino in miele
Ambrosia
A colazione mangeremo nuvole
Dormiremo a fondo sulla luna
Notte per notte
Qualche volta un po'più a lungo, e durante il giorno
We will all live forever
Forever and ever
We will able to fly
We will drink honeyed wine
And eat clouds for breakfast
We'll sleep sound on the moon
Night for night
For night and night
Sometimes a little longer and in the daytime too
@batifay2830
solo Blixa es capaz de hacer una jodida obra maestra de una letra tan absurda y darle forma con una musica sublime
@LeonardoAlbanese-KOL
Ovviamente senza nulla togliere a questa feature con Teho Teardo che a me sinceramente piace un sacco!!! non lo conoscevo prima. GRANDI!!!!
@Cafe-nw6ct
Hola...just one word: MASTERPIECE. En castellano two words: "OBRA MAESTRA".Eisntein said that: time is relative, when you have the best time it happens faster. It is the fastest 5 minutes and 20 seconds of my life. Saludos
@chrisandersen5635
The entire album is fantastic.
@batifay2830
Y está jodida obra maestra porqué no tiene miles de loves??????
@ChipsDim
Please tell me it's not just me. When I listen to this I feel like I am in a forest in late Autumn or early winter. It's not a scary or spooky forest, it's a welcoming forest, very still, densely green, and humid..
@littlemissscare-all5320
i have a different image in my head, it's beautiful to see how different people get different images. i keep seeing a sunny highway, and a cold car, with mountains and desert on both sides, it makes me feel calm
@MrPelucheFilm
beautiful!
@fromfreee
Masterpiece
@weeleetube
one of the reasons I love so much this one :)))