Achim Reichel (born 28 January 1944) is a
musician
A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wri ...
,
producer, and
songwriter
A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...
from
Hamburg
(male), (female) en, Hamburger(s),
Hamburgian(s)
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, utc_offset1 = +1
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, utc_offset1_DST = +2
, postal ...
, Germany. He is known for his 1991 hit single ''Aloha Heja He'', and serving as the
frontman
The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...
for the 1960s
beat group
Beat music, British beat, or Merseybeat is a British popular music genre that developed, particularly in and around Liverpool, in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The genre melded influences from American rock and roll, rhythm and blues, skiffle ...
The Rattles
The Rattles are a German rock band, formed in Hamburg in 1960, best known for their 1970 psychedelic hit single, "The Witch".
Career
The Rattles performed in Hamburg, and played at the same venues as The Beatles on several occasions in 1962. In ...
, who, among other achievements, were selected to open for
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
on their last tour of Europe in 1966.
In 1968, he co-founded the
psychedelic pop
Psychedelic pop (or acid pop) is pop music that contains musical characteristics associated with psychedelic music. Developing in the late 1960s, elements included " trippy" features such as fuzz guitars, tape manipulation, backwards recording, ...
group Wonderland, which also included English ex-patriate
Les Humphries
The Les Humphries Singers was a 1970s pop group formed in Hamburg, Germany in 1969 by the English-born Les Humphries. The group had several chart hits in Germany and in other European countries.
The Les Humphries Singers dissolved at the end ...
who would soon start his own
Les Humphries Singers
The Les Humphries Singers was a 1970s pop group formed in Hamburg, Germany in 1969 by the English-born Les Humphries. The group had several chart hits in Germany and in other European countries.
The Les Humphries Singers dissolved at the end ...
. In 1971, Reichel left the group for his own progressive
Krautrock
Krautrock (also called , German for ) is a broad genre of experimental rock
Experimental rock, also called avant-rock, is a subgenre of rock music that pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique or which experiments ...
solo project, ''A. R. & Machines'', of which the first album ''
Die grüne Reise (The green journey)'' was critically acclaimed and likened to bands such as
Kraftwerk
Kraftwerk (, "power station") is a German band formed in Düsseldorf in 1970 by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider. Widely considered innovators and pioneers of electronic music, Kraftwerk were among the first successful acts to popularize the ...
and
Tangerine Dream
Tangerine Dream is a German electronic music band founded in 1967 by Edgar Froese. The group has seen many personnel changes over the years, with Froese having been the only constant member until his death in January 2015. The best-known lineup ...
.
Since 1975, Reichel has taken a keen interest in recording traditional German songs and classic poetry as modern-style music, which includes such albums as ''Dat Shanty Alb'm'' (1975), ''Klabautermann'' (1977), ''Regenballade'' (1977), ''Fledermaus'' (1988), ''Wilder Wassermann'' (2002), and ''Volxlieder'' (2006).
In 2021, the 30 year old song ''Aloha Heja He'' became a great success in China.
Discography
* ''Dat Shanty Alb’m'' (1976)
* ''Klabautermann'' (1977)
* ''Regenballade'' (1977)
* ''Heiße Scheibe'' (1979)
* ''Ungeschminkt'' (1980)
* ''Blues in Blond'' (1981)
* ''Nachtexpress'' (1983)
* ''Eine Ewigkeit unterwegs'' (1986)
* ''Fledermaus'' (1988)
* ''Was Echtes'' (1989)
* ''Melancholie und Sturmflut'' (1991)
* ''Wahre Liebe'' (1993)
* ''Nachtexpress'' (1994)
* ''Große Freiheit'' (1994)
* ''Oh ha!'' (1996)
* ''Herz ist Trumpf – Das Beste von Achim Reichel'' (1997, best-of)
* ''Entspann dich'' (1999)
* ''Wilder Wassermann – Balladen & Mythen'' (2002)
* ''100 % Leben'' (2004, live album)
* ''Volxlieder'' (2006)
* ''Michels Gold'' (2008)
* ''Solo mit euch – Mein Leben, meine Musik, gesungen und erzählt'' (2010, live album)
* ''Raureif'' (2015)
* ''Das Beste'' (2019)
With A.R. & Machines
* ''Die grüne Reise'' (1971)
* ''Echo'' (1972)
* ''AR3'' (1972)
* ''AR IV'' (1973)
* ''AR5 Autovision'' (1974)
* ''Erholung (A.R. & Machines Live)'' (1973)
References
External links
*
*
1944 births
Living people
German singer-songwriters
German male singers
Musicians from Hamburg
Brain Records artists
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