Handwerke – Songs for my Fathers

2021 | Album | Live-Music and Composition

BUY THE VINYL

 

»Handwerke – Songs for My Fathers« is Simon Lovermann’s debut album. Oscillating between Jazz, Electronica, Hip Hop and Minimal Music, the album is focused around the piano, both as a harmonic and a percussive instrument. Simon’s biological father, Robert, was a Jazz musician and died before his birth. Simon was raised by his father Christian. The album is therefore a vividly emotional way for him to explore topics like death, fatherhood, family, identity and belonging. (continued below)

The story is told using audio-samples taken from the Wim Wenders movie »Paris, Texas«, which are positioned as a loose story line in between the songs. This layer is the first connection to the visual – to film in particular – which is then expanded through accompanying images and video-works.

For the vinyl version of the album, Simon invited 16 artists to contribute an image that reflects their own personal (artistic) identity, with the intention of bringing together a variety of different, deeply individual explorations of the self. „Handwerke“ comes with a special artwork and cover design, featuring these contributions printed on individual postcards and assembled in a 20-page booklet.

Contributing artists:

• Laia Abril
• Thomas Albdorf
• Gita Cooper-van Ingen
• Adji Dieye
• Anna Ehrenstein
• Saskia Groneberg
• Balarama Heller
• Tommy Kha
• Gabby Laurent
• Fiona Ones
• Nicolas Polli
• Maximilian Prüfer
• Silvia Rosi
• Pacifico Silano
• Susanne Steinmaßl
• Dustin Thierry

The videos are collaborations with choreographer Dustin Klein and visual artist Maximilian Prüfer. They also reflect on notions of identity and the construction of the self.

Simon celebrated the release with an intimate suite of performances at WEBBER Gallery in London, showcasing all 16 visual contributions.

The release is a collaboration of Der Greif and Squama Recordings. Artwork designed by Daily Dialogue.

Recording: Michael Kamm, Lovebox Studios, Pas de Deux, Augsburg
Edit: Karim Weth, Simon Lovermann, The Grand Post, Vienna
Mixing: Sam Irl, Vienna