Browse by Artist: DONNA REGINA

Artist:	DONNA REGINA
Title:	Northern Classic
Label:	KARAOKE KALK (GERMANY)
Format:	CD
Price:	$14.50
Catalog #:	KK 011CD

"If only it wasn't that drab and miserable outside. Yes, if, then this here text may read completely differently. But as it is, the new Donna Regina album hits right into the author's winter depression. Not knowing what to write about these new enchanting songs by this duo, he instead starts rambling about sense and nonsense, possibility and impossibility of casting into words the unique qualities of music -- until it all comes down again to music. 'Blue' is the track we're listening to. And if we didn't know better, one could think this would be the last we'd ever get to hear from these two. It cuts deep into your heart, sounding so very much like the last time, that dreadful moment of parting for ever, to be surpassed a couple of tracks onwards by 'Who's You Who's Me', until the title track 'Northern Classic' leaves us standing alone in the dark and the rain. Music is always at its best when it gets to you where it hurts most -- where you're most capable of feeling: fear, loneliness, despair, doubt, longing, dreams, beauty and, yes, love ... All of these words rush past when listening to Northern Classic. And the best thing is: You want to be part of this trip, you start losing the fear of words because you know there's someone walking right beside you who feels the same. Yes, music can still do that."

Artist:	DONNA REGINA
Title:	Slow Killer
Label:	KARAOKE KALK (GERMANY)
Format:	CD
Price:	$14.50
Catalog #:	KK 032CD

Slow Killer is the new Donna Regina release by the Cologne-based melancholic electro pop duo Regina (vocals) and Günther Janssen (guitar). Slow Killer is a melodic tribute to their travels to foreign lands and unusual places, and the album fairly breathes with the excitement of meeting new people amidst the rush of getting from place to place. Since their last release late in September 2003, Regina and Günther Janssen together with their DJ and samples-trustee Steffen Irlinger have had more live appearances than in the preceding eleven years together. Thus, more new friends and old acquaintances have participated in Slow Killer than on any other previous release. The French musician and producer Bertrand Burgalat -- who set to music an album by and with Michel Houellebecq -- produced parts of "Lazy Heart." Sebastian Carreras, the musician and composer of the successful Argentinian trio Entre Rios wrote the lyrics to "Mirame, Miraba," which is Donna Regina's first track in Spanish and the first and only one which Regina Janssen didn't write herself. Thomas Fehlmann, a very early fan of the band himself, always wanted to remix one of their songs, but Donna Regina have taken it one step further and asked him to produce "Enemy - No Enemy." Labelmate Pascal Schäfer plays saxophone on two tracks and "Mirame, Miraba," and Theo Roos plays the mouth organ. With their sampled rhythms and analogue sounds, their swift and light changes from track to song and back, Donna Regina occupy their very own spot within the great world of beautifully-arranged pop music.

Artist:	DONNA REGINA
Title:	More
Label:	KARAOKE KALK (GERMANY)
Format:	CD
Price:	$15.50
Catalog #:	KK 041CD

More is the tenth Donna Regina release by the Cologne-based melancholic electro-pop duo Regina (vocals) and Günther Janssen (guitar). On the road somewhere -- alongside foreign waters, beneath foreign skies -- More is the echo of your favorite memories. A warm and fuzzy feeling arrives immediately with the first few beats of the opening song, a vague elation arises with the entry of the bass. This is music that carries the world inside of it, rather than getting bogged down by it. More is music that is present without being trendy, with lyrics that don't describe heroic battles but those little private battles that sap our energy within our everyday life. The melodies and arrangements transport a playful easiness along with precious harmonies whose preciousness is evoked by the lyrics. The pop hit aspirant, "Dream On" seems like a cheerful children's song with its clear bells and the fair and sober voice of Regina -- but it is sharply tempered by declarations of war against a complacent life. This is an album for that very special moment when you catch yourself thinking: this is exactly how it's supposed to be, finally.

Artist:	DONNA REGINA
Title:	Slow Killer
Label:	KARAOKE KALK (GERMANY)
Format:	LP
Price:	$14.50
Catalog #:	KK 042LP

LP version. The Cologne-based melancholic electro pop duo Regina (vocals) and Günther Janssen (guitar). Slow Killer is a melodic tribute to their travels to foreign lands and unusual places, and the album fairly breathes with the excitement of meeting new people amidst the rush of getting from place to place. Guests include The French producer Bertrand Burgalat, Sebastian Carreras,Thomas Fehlmann & Pascal Schäfer. With their sampled rhythms and analogue sounds, their swift and light changes from track to song and back, Donna Regina occupy their very own spot within the great world of beautifully-arranged pop music.

Artist:	DONNA REGINA
Title:	The Decline Of Female Happiness
Label:	KARAOKE KALK (GERMANY)
Format:	CD
Price:	$15.50
Catalog #:	KK 054CD

Cologne-based melancholic electro-pop duo Donna Regina release their sixth album for the Karaoke Kalk label. Günther and Regina Janssen have been around longer than electronica and the term never really fit their music that well. After all, the duo from Cologne are really all about writing songs, not just producing tracks, and certainly not electronica. But you can't take such categorization so literally. They fit all the characteristics that we attribute to withdrawn and playful electronic music with all its nuances. Donna Regina are masters of reservation, allusion and vagueness. Only they are capable of keeping listeners in suspense in the way that they do. For example, the piece "Vague," with its really stunning Giorgio Moroder bass-line, creates expectation right from the first note. They knowingly build up tension and consistently hold that level right through to the end without ever letting up. Donna Regina would rather play one note briefly than two for too long. They deliver a wonderful production that is sonically varied and full of ideas. Their sound and their songs are elegant and melancholy, in varying degrees. And for as long as anyone can remember, Regina Janssen has been singing like the great Nico, who after all, was also from the Rhein area. And yet The Decline Of Female Happiness is somehow different. But Donna Regina wouldn't be Donna Regina if this difference was noticeable at first glance. It seems as if the band, or at least its front woman, is taking stock with this album. Not only in the title track does The Decline Of Female Happiness deal with womanly situatedness and self-reflection. Loneliness, growing old and everyday life are also topics. These songs speak of experience and perhaps also of disillusionment. It's this sublime aloofness that makes The Decline Of Female Happiness such a special album, and the music sounds equally at ease and experienced. Donna Regina achieves a kind of unity with their songwriting that many strive towards, though few attain.

Artist:	DONNA REGINA
Title:	The Decline Of Female Happiness
Label:	KARAOKE KALK (GERMANY)
Format:	LP
Price:	$15.50
Catalog #:	KK 058LP

LP version. Cologne-based melancholic electro-pop duo Donna Regina release their sixth album for the Karaoke Kalk label. Günther and Regina Janssen have been around longer than electronica and the term never really fit their music that well. After all, the duo from Cologne are really all about writing songs, not just producing tracks, and certainly not electronica. But you can't take such categorization so literally. They fit all the characteristics that we attribute to withdrawn and playful electronic music with all its nuances. Donna Regina are masters of reservation, allusion and vagueness. Only they are capable of keeping listeners in suspense in the way that they do. For example, the piece "Vague," with its really stunning Giorgio Moroder bass-line, creates expectation right from the first note. They knowingly build up tension and consistently hold that level right through to the end without ever letting up. Donna Regina would rather play one note briefly than two for too long. They deliver a wonderful production that is sonically varied and full of ideas. Their sound and their songs are elegant and melancholy, in varying degrees. And for as long as anyone can remember, Regina Janssen has been singing like the great Nico, who after all, was also from the Rhein area. And yet The Decline Of Female Happiness is somehow different. But Donna Regina wouldn't be Donna Regina if this difference was noticeable at first glance. It seems as if the band, or at least its front woman, is taking stock with this album. Not only in the title track does The Decline Of Female Happiness deal with womanly situatedness and self-reflection. Loneliness, growing old and everyday life are also topics. These songs speak of experience and perhaps also of disillusionment. It's this sublime aloofness that makes The Decline Of Female Happiness such a special album, and the music sounds equally at ease and experienced. Donna Regina achieves a kind of unity with their songwriting that many strive towards, though few attain. Includes a voucher for a free download of the entire album, including an extra track.

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