Stillste Stund (german: Stillest Hour) is a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

musical group formed by Oliver Uckermann and

female Female ( symbol: ♀) is the sex of an organism that produces the large non-motile ova (egg cells), the type of gamete (sex cell) that fuses with the male gamete during sexual reproduction. A female has larger gametes than a male. Females ...

vocalist Birgit S. in 1998. Their songs are written primarily in German, supported by male and female vocalists. The band's name comes from Friedrich Nietzsche's most famous book: ''

Thus Spoke Zarathustra ''Thus Spoke Zarathustra: A Book for All and None'' (german: Also sprach Zarathustra: Ein Buch für Alle und Keinen), also translated as ''Thus Spake Zarathustra'', is a work of philosophical fiction written by German philosopher Friedrich Niet ...

'', Part II - Die Stillste Stunde.

History

Stillste Stund released a Demo-Version of '' Ein Mensch, ein Ding, Ein Traum'' in 2000. They signed a record contract with music label ' Alice In...' of the Dark Dimensions label group shortly after that. There were originally two supporting female vocalists: Birgit S. and Inanis Kurzweil. Inanis appeared on the band's first three releases. '' Ein Mensch, ein Ding, Ein Traum'', the band's debut album, was released in mid-2000. In May 2002, Stillste Stund was nominated as Best Newcomer Band by German music magazine ''Orkus''. The ever-popular "Der Untergang" from '' Ein Mensch, ein Ding, Ein Traum'', was featured on four different compilations, all in two years. Some of the lyrical content is inspired by legends and fairy tales along with the thoughts of such notable German philosophers and novelists as

Friedrich Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (; or ; 15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher, prose poet, cultural critic, philologist, and composer whose work has exerted a profound influence on contemporary philosophy. He began his ...

Hugo von Hofmannsthal Hugo Laurenz August Hofmann von Hofmannsthal (; 1 February 1874 – 15 July 1929) was an Austrian novelist, librettist, poet, dramatist, narrator, and essayist. Early life Hofmannsthal was born in Landstraße, Vienna, the son of an upper-cl ...

Joseph von Eichendorff Joseph Freiherr von Eichendorff (10 March 178826 November 1857) was a German poet, novelist, playwright, literary critic, translator, and anthologist. Eichendorff was one of the major writers and critics of Romanticism.Cf. J. A. Cuddon: ' ...

, and

Hermann Hesse Hermann Karl Hesse (; 2 July 1877 – 9 August 1962) was a German-Swiss poet, novelist, and painter. His best-known works include ''Demian'', '' Steppenwolf'', '' Siddhartha'', and ''The Glass Bead Game'', each of which explores an individual's ...

. In 2001, the band released their second full-length album, '' Ursprung Paradoxon''. Its release gained Stillste Stund much popularity throughout Europe and even parts of South America . The music consists of theatrical, classical, and industrial influences. The band's album artwork and sleeve design and website design is all made by Birgit S. This album featured the first part of the ''Alice Trilogy'' named ''"Alice (Der Spiegeltanz)''. The track was originally written for the anniversary of their label Alice In... and was inspired by ''

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (commonly ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world of anthropomorphic creature ...

''. Their next album '' Biestblut – Zwei in Einem (Ein Gedankenkonstrukt in sieben Szenen)'' appeared in late 2003. The musical content of this concept album has a much more classical influence and "Nebelland", "Golem", "Weltwinternacht", "Sublunaris", and "Wo die Wirklichkeit schweigt" are among some of the notably popular tracks from ''Biestblut''. This was also the last album featuring additional female vocal support from Inanis Kurzweil. In 2005, Stillste Stund presented their fourth album '' Blendwerk Antikunst'' as a worthy successor to '' Ursprung Paradoxon''. The lyrics are written mostly in German except for three songs in English: "Apocalyptic Noon", "Darksomely", and "Obsessed with Purple". The most recent album '' Von Rosen und Neurosen - Eine erlesene Sammlung grausamster Albträume'' was released on March 14, 2008. The standard edition features twelve tracks all sung in

. The limited edition of this album includes a bonus disc named "Alice EP" with ten tracks that continue and end the very popular story that began on the second album '' Ursprung Paradoxon'' with the track "Alice (Der Spiegeltanz)" (amongst other titles, the EP features a remastered version of "Alice (Der Spiegeltanz)" and full-length versions of "Alice II" and "Alice III").

Ending

Stillste Stund claimed to be a "project" instead of a band. It announced that the production of Alice III would complete the project, and that Stillste Stund would dissolve, having fulfilled its purpose. There was speculation about more music being released under a new name, but to date, there has been no further official information.

Line-up

Current members

* Oliver Uckermann – Since Oliver has been active as a musician for many years and worked with several other bands and projects, the band's debut album '' Ein Mensch, ein Ding, ein Traum'' consists of earlier material from the late 80s. The lyrical content, much of which is written by Uckermann himself, is inspired by legends and German fairy tales. ''"Ebenholz, Schnee & Blut"'' from '' Ursprung Paradoxon'' is based on the Brothers' Grimm fairy tale

Snow White "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" is a 19th-century German fairy tale that is today known widely across the Western world. The Brothers Grimm published it in 1812 in the first edition of their collection '' Grimms' Fairy Tales'' and numbered as T ...

. Uckermann explained in an interview with Rock-E-Zine that the thoughts of people like Friedrich Nietzsche and Hermann Hesse are, in part, his inspiration for philosophical lyrics. ''"Furchtbare Herrin,"'' the prologue from ''Ein Mensch, ein Ding, ein Traum'' comes from Friedrich Nietzsche's novel: ''Thus Spoke Zarathustra'', which is where the band's name came from. * Birgit Strunz – Joined the band alongside Inanis Kurzweil when it was formed in 1998 and has been working with cohort Oliver Uckermann since then. At first, she only provided vocals to the project, but soon began to co-write the lyrics and contribute her song ideas. Together, she and Oliver wrote the lyrics for "Unter Kreuzen", on '' Ursprung Paradoxon'' and the two songs "Darwin" and "Nebelland" on Biestblut. Birgit is also the artist behind the visual concept for the Stillste Stund project. She independently wrote the lyrics for the songs "Apocalyptic Noon", "Ananke", "Obsessed With Purple", and most recently, "Tiefenritt" on the band's fifth and newest release '' Von Rosen und Neurosen - Eine erlesene Sammlung grausamster Albträume''.

Former members

* 1998–2003: Inanis Kurzweil – female vocals

Discography

Official albums

* 2000: '' Ein Mensch, ein Ding, ein Traum'' * 2001: '' Ursprung Paradoxon'' * 2003: '' Biestblut – Zwei in Einem (Ein Gedankenkonstrukt in sieben Szenen)'' * 2005: '' Blendwerk Antikunst'' * 2008: '' Von Rosen und Neurosen - Eine erlesene Sammlung grausamster Albträume''

Promotional releases

* 2005: '' Blendwerk Antikunst EP''

Compilation contributions

* 1999–present: '' Compilation contributions by Stillste Stund''

Miscellaneous releases

*TV series: Buffy The Vampire Slayer, episode 7x02 Beneath You - Von der Tiefe (inoff. Remix) (2002) *REMIX for album Cabaret/Variete by Das Ich - Cabaret (2006) *HÖRSPIEL (Radio play) Schattenreich, Folge (episode) 04 Nachthauch - Darksomely (2007) *Mindradio.de 13.03.3008 21.00-23.00h cet, Radio Special with Interview, Songs etc. (2008)

References

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