|
Supporting Station 17
In June of 2002 Steinberg released Cubase SX and launch a special auction to benefit Station 17, a group of german musicians with Down Syndrome. I win the auction and donate $625 for this cause.
The idea for Station 17 was formed and developed by Kay Bosen, a social worker, in 1988. His plan was for the occupants of the flat-sharing community at number 17 of the Alsterdorf Institution, a welfare centre for the mentally handicapped in Hamburg, to further their experiments with spontaneous music and to produce an album.
Initially an experiment, the main aim of the project was to have fun creating sounds while ultimately creating a musical product – the educational and therapeutic aspects of using music to work with handicapped people were secondary. For the therapeutic benefits, it was with the view that in later years the music making would be accepted as a job in the therapeutic centre, where normally envelopes are glued together or magazines are packed for distribution.
In 1989, Phonogram financed and released the project, on the condition that all the eventual profits would be invested into a musicroom/studio at Station 17. The Station 17 band was formed featuring six handicapped musicians alongside a number of professional musicians. The handicapped members had previously experimented with spontaneous music in the noise department at the Institution, using bass, guitar and percussion instruments, amongst others. The lack of proper recording and studio facilities meant that the best they were capable of at this time was to make extremely long, improvised jazz sessions. Starting a theme of collaboration that is present in the project to this day, renowned German musicians who had supported the project since its inception would help record and co-produce the music. After enlisting representatives of German music history such as Can’s Holger Czukay and Einstürzende Neubauten’s FM Einheit things started to happen in quick succession
In 1991, the first eponymously titled Station 17 album was released. As a result of its success an abandoned institutional kitchen became a rehearsal room, and the band members set about practising the unconventional use of their instruments, true to the motto "Kraut'n'free". The project became open to all interested occupants of the Alsterdorf Institution and soon the music room was being used by up to fifty musicians, playing in eight different formations. At this time Station 17 also played their first ever live show in Hamburg, led by their handicapped star vocalist and poet Karl-Heinz Hille (Kalle). Influenced by reggae, jazz, pop, folk and disco and combining versions of well known hits with their own compositions, their sound fused into a rich, complex and distinctive mix. They performed more live shows throughout the course of the next year around Hamburg.
The release of the second album "Genau So" in 1993 followed and during production of the album it became clear the concept was evolving to a larger scale than originally anticipated, so a theatre group formed. TV appearances and festival enquiries followed the release of "Genau So" and on subsequent tours of Germany, the Can references in their live performance - in other words the concept of permanent renewal, of improvisation - were pushed to the limit in a self-exploitative way. At the same time, the documentary "Station 17 - Der Film" (director: Hannes Schonemann and Frank Stolp) was filmed.
The band embarked on their path to a more loop based music in 1996, without giving up their improvisation concept. The liberating effect of the loops and the result of their efforts was condensed into the mixed-style, sample imbued and loop-grooved album "Scheibe" which was released in September 1997. The band continued to tour, rehearse and film, and the theatre group staged sold out performances of "The Midsummer Night's Dream" which went on to Dresden and Zürich.
1999 saw the arrival of the fourth album "Bravo", produced mainly by long-time friend and Orb member, Thomas Fehlmann. Station 17 were then joined by DJ Koze and Cosmic DJ of Fischmob, who produced two tracks. The common element on "Bravo" became computer structured electronic pop music.
With their music becoming increasingly dance orientated it seemed only natural that that the group should invite an impressive and diverse line up of artists to rework some of their best known tracks. Over the last ten years with four studio albums, TV appearances and over 100 shows behind them the group has managed to establish itself in the German mainstream, and now, through the release of the remix album Station 17+ "Hitparade" on 3rd December.
Now you know more about Station 17 you must know why I can not resistered to support them the next year. What a beautiful idea. Why didn't it occur to me this wonderful idea?
© http://www.mutelibtech.com/
| 
