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Strange Companions

by Dirk Darmstaedter

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  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    Deluxe 12" Vinyl version with all tracks in a gatefold sleeve. Includes all lyrics. MmmmHmmmm....

    Includes unlimited streaming of Strange Companions via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 4 days
    edition of 500 

      €21.50 EUR or more 

     

  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    Super sweet gatefold sleeve Digipack CD with 16 page Booklet. Includes all Lyrics.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Strange Companions via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 3 days

      €13.50 EUR or more 

     

  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      €10 EUR  or more

     

1.
Wilhelmsburg 04:19
Sivan from Brooklyn is staring at her space grey iPhone looking for the Rua da Glória while Josh is in an Uber heading downtown he's gonna meet her at the airb'n'b and it's raining in Lisbon down on the streetlights, the bakeries and tram cars and I'm just waiting for my ticket to take me back to where I can see the night stars Dragging your suitcase down cobblestone streets the wheels they make a terrible sound checking directions on Google maps it's a normal Thursday evening in a tourist town, but .. I'm going back, I'm going home to Wilhelmsburg so put the kettle on and meet me at the front door, love cause I'm heading out I'm diggin' deep down inside I've had enough of the global travellers Tom from Newcastle is on a Ryan Air flight that cost less than the Starbucks coffee he had at the airport in London and it‘s so lonely in Barcelona but just like the folks at Plata Bar he's only passing thru Trawling his Pierre Cardin's down cobblestone streets the wheels they make a terrible sound he's posting pictures on his Instagram feed it's just a normal Friday nite in this tourist town, so .. I'm going back, I'm going home to Wilhelmsburg so put the kettle on and meet me at the front door, love cause I'm heading out I'm going deep down inside I'm so tired of the digital nomads I'm driving back, I'm going home to Wilhelmsburg so leave the kettle on and meet me at the front door, love cause I'm heading home I'm going deep down inside I've had enough of the global travellers.
2.
I've been on this ship for so long started out on a prayer and a song but that was in another life We set out to face our darkest fears now we're running from the broken years but this trip it just won't end The summer's off to the northeast sky as we hang around we don't question why our fates are sealed to the stars and dust cause it's only hope or the sea before us the sea before us Now we drift far off some distant shore sometimes I call in my sleep "I just can't take it no more" I just want to go home So, send word to the one’s I love and left behind all I can say is believe me I tried and I tried to make us a better life The summer's off to the northeast sky we hang around we don't question why our fates are sealed to the stars and dust cause it's only hope or the sea before us The morning comes we'll struggle on to keep our faith that we belong to the jet stream winds to the howling storm to the forward rush and the sea before us the sea before us.
3.
So the story goes, we were young, too intense with a violent side but damn the consequences we were old for nineteen jacked up on cigarettes and caffeine We'd watch the river flow on it's way to the sea our minds would run wild on random access memories and down the waterfall we let the waters bleed flow like the years and centuries Now I don't know where, where I can find you again and I don't know how I can hold on to this cause whatever this is just a detour thru life's conditions we stay strange companions I don't care how how long this will last for or just what the future holds, down which path but whatever we should find weirder things have happened we stay strange companions Oh what fine little worker bees you grow to love the hand keeps you fed but unfree we dodged the master plan just to settle for less now I need a little time to reassess I watched the river flow on it's way to the sea "it's just the will of the world you say" well, we disagree but where are you now when we need you the most? invisible but composed See I don't know where, where I can find you again and I don't know how I can hold on to this but whatever this is just a detour thru city canyons we stay strange companions I don't care how, how long this will last for or just what the future holds, down which path cause whatever we decide stranger things have happened we stay strange companions See, I don't care how, how long this will last for or just what the future holds, down which path cause whatever we decide weirder things have happened we stay strange companions strange companions
4.
Boys, I can see them parking their cars and honking their horns the girls are all dressed in their Sunday best Hey, I've never felt this confident before a ten grand dime store so if you’ve got the time, well we’ve got the crime we’ll make it all worth your while Put your vanities aside, there’s just no place to hide when you’re young in mind the writings on the wall we’ll remain in light cause I don’t want to feel like myself tonite Hey, all my failures are coming to an end just round the bend but tonite, I'm steppin' out to the deepest darkest night come light, just when you think that you'll never smile again Mr. Malcontent you're flying blind at forty thousand feet up in the sky So put your vanities aside cause there’s just no place to hide when you’re young in mind the writings on the wall we’ll remain in light cause I don’t want to feel like myself tonite
5.
Rachel smiles a soft smile as she combs thru her hair says I lost my innocence anyway when I was coming up for air down by the water the deep dark waters of Lake Charles I was blown to pieces by the possibilities blinded by the northern stars And the pages burn and the road's they U-turn as the fashions change it's a daisy chain Thirty seconds is all it takes to rearrange your brave face sixty seconds is all you get to change the story you be blessed Tommy knows the directions he can smell it in the wind the path forward is the path less taken it's just where he was sent and the playwright with a chip on his shoulder he'll wander the streets of Paradise, Ohio sizing up the merchandise And as the subways fail and the workers bail when the music stops the sky drops Thirty seconds is all it takes to wipe away your brave face sixty seconds is all you get to change your story you be blessed Ninety seconds is all we have from New York City to Tenefly one hundred eighty seconds and all is change watch it all go down in flames As the subways fail and the people bail When the music stopped the sky dropped Thirty seconds is all it takes to rearrange your brave face sixty seconds is all you get to change the story you be blessed Ninety seconds is all we have from Berlin towers to Dresden shacks one hundred eighty seconds and all is change see it all go down in flames
6.
Deborah 03:01
Deborah, some may say we're flawed but no one walks along these streets who hasn‘t yet been burned Deborah, lock up all these doors so much energy up to no good well, no one’s keeping score So you tear down the brick walls and you crash your mothers car because it makes you feel much better say it was a counter measure Deborah Deborah, it‘s 3 a.m I know and I‘ve been banging on your windowpane for you to come outside Deborah, your dime store troubadour well, he‘s down on his luck he's singing songs down by the record store We‘ll just hang on for a while then burn down the discotheques then make a run for better weather till life shuts us up forever yeah, oh my, we're taking it by and by if that don‘t make us feel much better Deborah, what are we after? Deborah Deborah, let me take you there See, just cause we‘ve been down so long you feel the worse for wear Deborah hey, I won't swim no more and this slow boat it‘s just full of holes we‘ll never get too far Could we just hang on for a while? act out all Byronesque make a run for better weather till life shuts us up forever, yeah oh my, we‘re living it on the sly if that don‘t make us feel much better Deborah, what were we after? Deborah
7.
It's no holiday it’s no retreat not anywhere that we would care to be this is not a show this is real it's just where we ended up So do we carry on? what can I expect? will we raise our hands give up and accept the lights are dimming down shadows fall on the silent plans of all parties involved I'm gonna fly with the wild geese I'm gonna hang with the wrong crowd I'm gonna walk on crooked heels cause love will find me a wheel I'll be down with the mods and rockers roll the dice with spin doctors live on air and highway meals until love finds me a wheel Caterwauls and tears they drop to the floor can we walk them back to where they were before? cause it's no festival of abstract ideals so this is our life now the art of the deal I'm gonna fly with the wild geese I'm gonna hang with the wrong crowd I'm gonna walk on cuban heels cause love will find me a wheel I'll be down with the mods and the rockers roll the dice with spin doctors live on air, reel to reel until love finds me a wheel cause I will not go under I'm gonna fly with the wild geese I'm gonna hang with the wrong crowd I'm gonna walk on crooked heels cause love will find me a wheel I'll be down with the mods and rockers roll the dice with spin doctors live on air and try to heal until love finds me a wheel Love will find me a wheel.
8.
Dresden leaves are falling fast winter‘s in the air we‘re older but no wiser just drag these old bones round each year Pick myself up from the floor and let my memories fade as the rooftops cast a knowing eye on last nights dear charades Clotheslines whip thru the morning breeze, suburbia's symphony but girl, I can‘t for the life of me say where I'm bound to be Cause it‘s the same roads that we‘ve walked before a hundred times or more as I cross the room you call out to me from an outside door Don‘t we get a second chance? don‘t we get another try? won‘t they let us stick around till we get it right don‘t we get a second chance? can‘t we get another name? won‘t they let us start again reset / rewind My mind it‘s saying one thing but my body disagrees let the morning papers shout our names cause there's poison on TV From the high rise crowded city streets to a hotel by the sea your misty, worn out high street eyes they burn holes right thru me But they're the same names that we‘ve heard before a thousand times or more as I‘m swimming hard you call my name voices from the shore Don‘t we get a second chance? don‘t we get another try? won‘t they let us stick around till we get it right don‘t we get a second chance? don‘t we get another name? won‘t they let us start again reset / rewind
9.
Family Ties 03:54
I want to go where the good kids go and I'm gonna be just a stone's throw away from where they keep the pure stuff hidden out of view from dirt like me I want to climb the family tree I want to be where the cool kids are turn all the pages burn like the stars cause they're all aligned in the right order for a change I don't want to feel weak anymore I don't want to feel strange Your mother said son it's gonna be OK what she forgot to mention was there'd be a price to pay to find the second cousin cause it runs in the blood these family ties are a powerful drug Now I'm gonna take what is rightfully mine I'd best the devil drink all his wine cause it's nobody's business if I should offend I've been good I've been calm for too long your fine friend But that's all over now I'm on my way down I was a ghost you were the man about town I was Hello Magazine you were Harper's Bazaar you flew 747 while I was in a stolen car Your mother said son it's gonna be OK what she forgot to mention was there'd be a price to pay for the trophy wife babies with the silver spoon the uncle from the war at the back of the room Your father said you'll need to grow up one of these days so he kissed you on the cheek and sent you on your way to find the second cousin cause it runs in the blood these family ties are a powerful drug Your mother said son it's gonna be OK what she forgot to mention was there'd be a price to pay so find the second cousin cause it runs in the blood these family ties they're a powerful drug a powerful drug.
10.
Living for the penthouse style smiling that big playboy smile But hating every second Keeping up with your anxieties and making your enquiries ‘bout how to screw me over Working on your master plan just because you said you can looking for that exit sign Breaking all your fathers rules bringing out the biggest tools hey, you're living in a gold mine Cause you could have everything you could do magic or you could go dark you could do anything You’re living in a dream but dreaming of fire You could have everything you could work the room or you can let it burn you can do anything You’re living for the lie not waiting your turn Flying across winter skies looking for the final prize but you know, you're getting nothing done Shouting at your sycophants trying so hard to be relevant but failing every minute We'll bury our heads in sand but knowing only violence sure don‘t make it any easier Cause you could have everything you could do magic or you can go dark you could do anything you’re living in a dream but dreaming of fire You could have everything you could work the room or you can let it burn you could do anything You’re living out a lie not waiting for your turn not waiting for your turn Cause you could have everything you could do magic or you can go dark you could do everything you’re living in a dream but dreaming of fire you could have everything you can work the room or you can let it burn you can do anything You’re living out a lie but when will you learn?

about

MIKROENTSCHEIDUNGEN

Dirk Darmstaedter eröffnet mit "Strange Companions", dem ersten Soloalbum nach seinem 20jährigen Jubiläum vor zwei Jahren, den zweiten Abschnitt seiner Solokarriere. Gleichzeitig feiert er ein zweites Jubiläum, denn es ist sein zehntes Soloalbum. Im Frühjahr 2020 wird er das Werk live vorstellen.

Nachdem Dirk Darmstaedter 2017 seiner Solokarriere mit einem Jubiläumsalbum ein geschmackssicheres I-Tüpfelchen gesetzt hatte, fühlte sich der Hamburger Singer/Songwriter »auf eine angenehme Art komplett befreit«, wie er heute sagt. Nach aufregenden zehn Jahren mit seiner Erfolgsband The Jeremy Days, kam so ein zweiter Abschnitt seines Musikerlebens zu einer Abrundung, zu dem auch die Gründung und jahrelange Führung von tapete records, eine der erfolgreichsten deutschen Independent-Plattenfirmen gehörte. Die Welt öffnete die Türen weit und bot ihm neue Möglichkeiten in Form einer Radiosendung bei Bremen Zwei oder auch die eines Pop-Dozenten. Nichts musste, alles durfte.

Komplett befreit ging er so auch seine neuen Songs an, begann zu experimentieren, versuchte einfach nur Spaß mit ihnen zu haben: »Es ging nicht darum, einen Fundus für ein Album zu schaffen, sondern jeweils nur um diesen einen Song, den ich gerade am Wickel hatte.« Jedes Lied veröffentlichte er so frisch wie möglich digital. Seine Fans konnten ihn auf seinen kleinen Expeditionsreisen in die Komposition quasi begleiten. Und sich jetzt freuen, dass daraus am Ende doch wieder ein Album geworden ist. Für Darmstaedter die adäquate Form: »Ich bin ja ein großer Fan des Shuffle-Play und von Mixtapes, aber sie stehen für eine andere Art von Spaß beim Musikhören. Ein Album können sie nicht ersetzen.«

Interessanterweise lobte Kai Blankenberg, der sich erneut um das Mastering kümmerte, am Ende der Produktion ein echtes Dirk-Album wie aus einem Guß. Darmstaedter schmunzelt: »Ich habe mich den Songs wirklich aus allen Richtungen genähert, Styles und Instrumente ausprobiert und mich um den größeren Kontext nicht geschert. Und dann merkt man auf eine beruhigende Art, daß all diese Mikroentscheidungen, die man täglich gefällt hatte, nicht beliebig sind - in ihrer Gesamtheit machen sie dich als Künstler aus.«

credits

released July 2, 2019

Written, produced, recorded and mixed by Dirk Darmstaedter

Dirk sang and played all the instruments except:
Drums: Lars Plogschties on all tracks except 1,2 and 4
Bass: Ben Schadow on all tracks except 1,4 and 8

Electric guitar: David Rieken on tracks 3, 6 and 10
Karsten Böttcher recorded the drums for tracks 3, 6 and 9

Photography by Johnny Johnson
Design by Stefan Kassel
Mastering by Kai Blankenberg at Skyline Tonfabrik, Düsseldorf

For more info, fun and drama please visit: www.dirkdarmstaedter.com

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Dirk Darmstaedter Hamburg, Germany

Dirk Darmstaedter is a singer, songwriter, and producer originally from northern New Jersey now living in Hamburg, Germany.

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