Barbara Morgenstern (born March 19, 1971) is a German
electronic music
Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...
artist, keyboardist and singer.
Biography
Born in
Hagen
Hagen () is the Largest cities in Germany, 41st-largest List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Germany. The municipality is located in the States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is located on the south eastern edge of the R ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, Morgenstern describes herself as self-taught, although she had piano lessons as a child and
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
lessons at the school of music in Hagen. In addition to having played in a band, she decided on a career in music in 1991 after completing her schooling at the Ernst Meister
Gymnasium in
Hagen-Haspe.
From 1992 until 1994 Barbara Morgenstern lived in
Hamburg
(male), (female) en, Hamburger(s),
Hamburgian(s)
, timezone1 = Central (CET)
, utc_offset1 = +1
, timezone1_DST = Central (CEST)
, utc_offset1_DST = +2
, postal ...
, working on her own music as well as singing in an
a cappella
''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...
group. She took part in a six-week popular music course at the Hamburg
Hochschule
' (, plural: ') is the generic term in German for institutions of higher education, corresponding to ''universities'' and ''colleges'' in English. The term ''Universität'' (plural: ''Universitäten'') is reserved for institutions with the right to ...
. In 1994 she moved to
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
, where she initially played keyboards in a band, and from 1996 onward she concentrated on her own music.
In early 1997 Morgenstern released the cassette ''Enter The Party'' through Hausfrau Im Schacht, a mail order label set up by former bandmate Florian Dietz (a.k.a. Jo Tabu). Later that same year she released the EP ''Plastikreport'', which she produced in tandem with Michael Mühlhaus, later to join
Blumfeld
Blumfeld () was an indie pop band from Hamburg, Germany, formed by singer and songwriter Jochen Distelmeyer. The name of the band was taken from the main character of the short story "Blumfeld, ein älterer Junggeselle" by Franz Kafka. Blumfeld a ...
. In the winter of 1998, she toured Germany with backing from Christian Obermaier and the aforementioned Mühlhaus on bass guitar, and in September of that year, she toured Germany, Austria and Switzerland with other Berlin-based musicians including Quarks, Jo Tabu and Fuschimuschi. The following month saw the release of her first full-length album ''Vermona ET 6-1'' on the Monika Enterprise label. 1999 saw the release of a remix EP, ''Fan No.1''.
On her 2000 album ''Fjorden'', Morgenstern worked with Stefan Betke (
Pole
Pole may refer to:
Astronomy
*Celestial pole, the projection of the planet Earth's axis of rotation onto the celestial sphere; also applies to the axis of rotation of other planets
*Pole star, a visible star that is approximately aligned with the ...
) and Robert Lippok of
To Rococo Rot
To Rococo Rot were a Berlin-based band who combined electronic and analog elements to create instrumental post-rock music. Pitchfork described the band's sound as "unmistakably digital, yet 100% human." The group was composed of bassist Stefan Sc ...
. The 2001 release of the EP ''Eine Verabredung'' was accompanied by gigs in Glasgow and London. Another EP followed in 2002, ''Seasons'', a collaboration with Robert Lippok, which was released in a limited run of 500 copies through
Domino Recording Company
Domino Recording Company or simply Domino is a British independent record label based in London. There is also a wing of the label based in Brooklyn, New York that handles releases in the United States, as well as a German division called Dom ...
. Morgenstern later worked with Robert Lippok on a full-length album, 2005's ''Tesri''. Stefan Betke and
Thomas Fehlmann
Thomas Fehlmann (born 1957) is a Swiss composer/producer who lives in Berlin, Germany, and has been active in electronic music since the 1980s. He is currently active on the Kompakt record label based in Germany. Fehlmann is an on-and-off member ...
assisted with the recording of ''
Nichts Muss'', released in 2003.
Another noted collaboration came in 2002, when she remixed DNTEL's "This is the Dream of Evan and Chan" which featured Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie on the single released for the track.
In 2004, at the invitation of the
Goethe-Institut
The Goethe-Institut (, GI, en, Goethe Institute) is a non-profit German cultural association operational worldwide with 159 institutes, promoting the study of the German language abroad and encouraging international cultural exchange and ...
, Morgenstern undertook a 34-date world tour together with
Maximilian Hecker
Maximilian Hecker (born July 26, 1977 in Heidenheim an der Brenz) is a German musician from Berlin, known for ethereal pop or dream pop music, similar to Radiohead, Sigur Rós, Tom Baxter and Nick Drake. He himself describes his songs as »melanc ...
.
Bill Wells
Bill Wells (born c. 1963)Strong, Martin C. (2003) "Bill Wells", in ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, is a Scottish bassist, pianist, guitarist and composer.
Biography
Wells is completely self-taught, and began performing in clubs in ...
' 2004 mini-album ''Pick Up Sticks'' featured contributions from Morgenstern on two tracks. She also joined Paul Wirkus and To Rococo Rot's Stefan Schneider in September Collective, a project which had its origins in encores that they joined together to play at their own individual concerts while on tour in Poland. September Collective's eponymous debut album was released on the Geographic label, an offshoot of Domino Records run by
the Pastels
The Pastels are an indie rock group from Glasgow formed in 1981. They were a key act of the Scottish and British independent music scenes of the 1980s, and are specifically credited for the development of an independent and confident music scen ...
' Stephen Pastel. Morgenstern's next solo album was ''
The Grass Is Always Greener
''The Grass is Always Greener'' is a 2006 album by Barbara Morgenstern
Barbara Morgenstern (born March 19, 1971) is a German electronic music artist, keyboardist and singer.
Biography
Born in Hagen, Germany, Morgenstern describes herself as s ...
'' (2006).
Discography
Albums
* ''Vermona ET 6-1'' (1998)
* ''Fjorden'' (2000)
* ''
Nichts Muss'' (2003)
* ''Tesri'' (with Robert Lippok, 2005)
* ''
The Grass Is Always Greener
''The Grass is Always Greener'' is a 2006 album by Barbara Morgenstern
Barbara Morgenstern (born March 19, 1971) is a German electronic music artist, keyboardist and singer.
Biography
Born in Hagen, Germany, Morgenstern describes herself as s ...
'' (2006)
* ''
BM'' (2008)
* ''Fan No.2'' (2010)
* ''
Sweet Silence
''Sweet Silence'' is the sixth studio album by Berlin-based musician Barbara Morgenstern.
Track listing
Personnel
*Barbara Morgenstern - composer, lyricist, primary artist, producer
*T. Raumschmiere
Marco Haas (born 1975) is a punk tech ...
'' (2012)
* ''Doppelstern'' (2015)
* ''Unschuld und Verwüstung'' (2018)
EPs
* ''Enter The Partyzone'' (cassette release, 1997)
* ''Plastikreport'' (1997)
* ''Fan No.1'' (1999)
* ''Eine Verabredung'' (10" vinyl, 2001)
* ''Seasons'' (with Robert Lippok, 2002)
* ''Himmelmixe'' (2003)
* ''Come To Berlin Mixes'' (2008)
* ''Silence Sweater EP'' (Remix EP of the track 'Sweet Silence', 2012)
* ''Spring's Sprung EP'' (Remix EP of the track 'Spring Time'. Released on the
Bit-Phalanx label, 2014)
References
External links
*
Soundcloud page*
Autobiographyfrom the Monika Enterprise website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morgenstern, Barbara
1971 births
Living people
People from Hagen
German electronic musicians
Women in electronic music