Männerfreundschaften und Metaphysik Sankt Otten

• 1 Eigentlich ist alles schön 07:01
• 2 Massiere die Maschine 12:43
• 3 Manchmal schmeckt nichtmal der Kaffee 06:40
• 4 Heile Welt 08:19
• 5 Auf drei lassen wir los 05:23
• 6 Milchmädchen und Herrenschokolade 09:51
• 7 Diese bessere Welt ist auch nicht besser 09:00
• 8 Am Ende der Fahnenstange 05:07
• Total Runtime 01:04:04

Info for Männerfreundschaften und Metaphysik

The German instrumental duo SANKT OTTEN (Stephan Otten, Oliver Klemm), founded in 1999, has been releasing music on Denovali Records since 2009. Their 10th full length album called MÄNNERFREUNDSCHAFTEN UND METAPHYSIK (eng: Male Friendships and Metaphysics) is once again a collaboration record - this time with fellow countryman and experimental guitarist N (Hellmut Neidhardt). The eight pieces on the album are based on freely improvised studio sessions and have all been recorded live, with a few overdubs added by SANKT OTTEN later.

SANKT OTTEN's Denovali labelmate N - for whom this album is release nr. 47 - is well-known for Noise, Ambient and Drone sounds standing apart from classical song writing. The aim of this collaboration was to combine the perspectives of the genres of both partners, with N adding a grave and menacing mood to SANKT OTTEN's Electronica and Kraut Rock and SANKT OTTEN providing the sound walls of N with an unusual dynamics.

The albums starts off with with the guitar drone track EIGENTLICH IST ALLES SCHÖN (eng: Actually Everything is Beautiful), in which the unusual style-clash already clearly manifests itself; the opener literally cuts through the ears of the listener. One of the highlights of the albums, the subsequent 13-minute monster MASSIERE DIE MASCHINE (eng: Massage the Machine), offers salvation. The powerful, but always minimal drumming and the sequencer bass of Stephan Otten constantly drive the track forward and lead to an intricated E-bow battle between Oliver Klemm and N, with their melodic lines closing in on each other.

A further highlight of the album is HEILE WELT (eng: Ideal World), a track reminiscent of the hymnal atmosphere of BRIAN ENO, if only this beauty was not burst open by the feedback-guitar of N. A piece immersed in its own orchestral slowness, with a harmonic twist into the unknown ...

The album closes with the noisy and at the same time meditative ambient song AM ENDE DER FAHNENSTANGE (eng: At the end of the road (fig.)). While recording this impro-drone numerous tracks have been piled up on top of Neidhardt's guitar amps and effects, including a harmonium, additional guitars, synthesizers and a prepared piano the oscillations of the strings of which have been induced by E-bows. A mellotron whispers a fragile melody from the distance and perfects the track ...

Stephan Otten, drums, programming, synthesizers
Oliver Klemm, guitar, synthesizers, piano
N (47)
Hellmut Neidhardt, amps, guitar

Sankt Otten
In 1999, Stefan Otten founded the band together with Carsten Sandkämper. Shortly after the band's formation, the first 12" EP, "Stille Tage im Klischee," was released on "Eleganz" in 1999, followed by the first CD release, "Eine kleine Traurigkeit," that same year.

After Sandkämper left the band in 2001, guitarist and keyboardist Oliver Klemm joined the band.

Sankt Otten quickly gained a foothold in the small but globally active electronic music scene and released numerous albums. After switching from the "Eleganz" label to "Hidden Shoal Recordings," the band released a total of eight albums on "Denovali Records" from 2009 to 2020. The releases feature elaborate graphics and, to a certain extent, a corporate design. In addition to CDs, Sankt Otten places particular emphasis on the elaborate vinyl editions of their albums. With colored vinyl and audiophile-quality 180-gram weight, these limited editions reach an international audience. A collaboration between Klemm and "CAN" drummer Jaki Liebezeit on Phillip Boa & the Voodooclub led to the legendary Kraut-Rock drummer being invited as a guest musician for the 2013 album "Messias Maschine."

This album contains no booklet.