The Way We Go

Beat Solèr is Seelenluft. The Swiss entrepreneur from Zürich and innovator of modern, interesting and danceable music has felt closely linked to a continuing reinvention of electronic sounds for more than a decade. ?They Way We Go? is his fifth album so far- an opus consisting of dance, melody, reduction and addition, amazing details and straight forward beats. After excursions into the world of soundtrack- music, dance performances and experimental sounds Beat Solèr returns to his roots of electronic music: to the club. Still, he is far away from a simple four-to-the-floor-aesthetic: there is pop in it! Eclecticism. Intelligence. Stylistic openess. Plus a comprehension of music which goes far beyond the professional fusion of danceable rhythms. Ever since his last album ?Out of the Woods?, Seelenluft is known beyond all known stylistic and geographic borders as a DJ, composer and producer who transcends all existing principles, who knows no limit. He is somebody who fills the idea of electronic music with new contents. In the summer of 2002, ?Manila?, the most successful single of the album, had a bomb- like impact on dancefloors all over the world: the track was featured on more than 60 compilations, was found in top ranks in almost any stylespecific milleniumcharts and thus was only one more proof for the unique approach of Beat Solèr. The unique voice of the tune is that of Michael Smith, a 12- year- old boy at the time from South Central who he had met during a 3 month- stay in L.A. He then visited the boy at his home with his laptop to record the lyrics of the track. No doubt, this is not conventional. At the same time, it is yet another proof for Seelenluft?s conception of art, which does not know any limits. He started all that quite early. He learned playing the flute at the age of seven; as a teenager, he learned playing the guitar and bass, completing his studies at the jazz- schoolin St. Gallen which he had begun at the age of fifteen. He studied classical composing while at the same time earning money by playing in new wave and hardcore bands, by playing as a stand-up drummer in a purely girl-country- band or by playing the accordion in a Klezmer group. Besides, he became DJ, which allowed him travelling to clubs all over the world. In 1990, the published his experiences in his debut album ?The Flame of Acapulco? on which he developed his original idea of Seelenluft?s music by means of guitar, bass, a drum computer and his voice. However, the album was released on tape only limited to five units- what a shame. In the years to follow, he ?together with Swiss electronic Pathfinder- developed a proper electronic language of music. He still works together with him from time to time as ?Seelenfinder? live and in the studio. This electronic language of music can be admired in 1996 in Seelenluft?s first official album ?Bellatrax? which is a fantastic mixture of drum?n?bass sounds in the pas de deux style with easy listening and animal sounds. Three years later, after uncountable theatre and performance projects, he finished his first piece of work for ?Klein Records?: the album ?The Rise And Fall of Silver City Bob?. This is an exciting collection of his 40s and 50s easy- listening records which he had taken apart and reassembled anew combined with electronic beats. His last piece of work was released two years ago: ?Out of the woods?, which in a musical way displays his experiences gained in Los Angeles. It is this album which after all helped him to get his international break through. The British trend magazin ?Wallpaper? euphorically referred to it as ?a whirlpool of Prozac jazz and dreamy electronica." And now ? with ?The Way We Go?- a refocus on the exciting, reduced and always in a different way swinging clubgroove. ?My music mostly finds its own way?, says Solèr. ?It is a long process of ?trial & error? in which I create songs on my laptop, just to get rid of it a few minutes later because I have the feeling that it is not perfect yet. This continues until a track is born which has the potential to carry the album. It is only at that stage that the direction, idea and concept of the album is determined.? The result proves that he is right. ?The Way We Go? is both at the same time: a bit of pop and weird, edgy but still loveable, reduced but not naked, precise yet detailed. It has a intimacy and homogenity which is hard to be found in the field of pseudo- electroclash. After his last album which was quite personal due to his long stays abroad, ?The Way We Go? is more for the people who like listening to his music, dancing to it and letting themselves go. Still, there is a lot of personal touch on the album as well as memories of his beginning stages as a musician: while his last albums consisted almost of laptop works only, ?The Way We Go? includes live instruments. Thus, all bass sequences were recorded live by Beat, there are individual guitar sequences and a lot of analogous warmth in his instrumentation. Lead vocals, too, play a great role in Seelenluft?s music: while the numerous vocalists for ?Out Of The Woods? were found per coincidence somewhere in L.A., Seelenluft looked for specific partners in ?The Way We Go?: Jim Reid, former singer of The Jesus & Mary Chain, ?as I have always admired him. I would have never thought that it would be so easy to win him for my kind of music.? Furthermore, there is the unique voice to Olivera Stanimirov, who he met in his hometown Zürich and who he promptly chose as the lead vocalist of his album. Her impressive singing skills are based on a classical origin: she got her training in classical singing, had sung Haydn- cantates in churches before joining Seelenluft in his multi- facetted cosmos. She will shortly be seen live together with Seelenluft. Finally, Beat Solèr himself can also be listened to on some tracks- in duet with Olivera or as a transcendental brooding from the off. It is the next step on a seemingly endless ladder of multifunctional creativity which differs from theatre, performance, soundtrack, live- band, video installations and much more in its result only- not in the origin of the artist though who sees no limit for his work. Thus, his next projects are already fixed: apart from his regular worldwide DJ bookings and the conception of new live- shows with the band, he also has his hands at work in the forthcoming MCs- album, for which he has been invited by the masters of the groovy hiphop themselves. There is more to come ? be aware of the Seelenluft.