What could be more fitting than singing about a chocolate factory while afternoon tea is being served? I recently played a few gigs in the Netherlands. This is a short clip of me playing the song Heinrich (… owns a chocolate factory) live at the teahouse Theetuin d’Aole Pastorie in Zwartemeer, NL.
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24082016 (Piano)
Composed in August 2016 as a musical study.
The Artwork was painted by the fabulous Andrea Christen who also created my previous album covers. Check out her work at andreachristen.com
The Choice (Piano)
Written and recorded in November 2016. Every choice comes with a downside. Don’t let it paralyse you. Make the best of it.
The Artwork was painted by the fabulous Andrea Christen who also painted my previous album covers. Check out her work at andreachristen.com
Heidelbeerenlied
Das offizielle Heidelbeerenlied ist da. Wer etwas auf sich hält, kennt den Text auswendig:
Das Lied gibt es überall im Internet zu kaufen. Zum Beispiel bei iTunes.
Die Illustration zauberte Andrea Christen in Aquarell aufs Blatt. Andrea sang auch im Hintergrund.
Alles über die Heidelbeeren erfahrt ihr hier: felixolschewski.com/heidelbaeren
Das Heidelbeerenlied
Hei – Hei – Heidelbeer’n
Ja die mögen wir sehr gern
Jetzt ist es endlich so weit:
Heidelbeeren weit und breit
‘S gibt sie nur ein Mal im Jahr
Wir naschen reichlich, ist doch klar
Jetzt kommen wir um sie zu pflücken
Werden sie sogleich verdrücken
Aus der Sonne in den Mund
Denn sie sind ja so gesund
Uns geht’s gut, denn wir verzehren
die geliebten Heidelbeeren
Hei – Hei – Heidelbeer’n
Jetzt sind sie wieder so fern
Ein Jahr bis sie wiederkehr’n
Hei – Hei – Heidelbeer’n
Warten fällt uns gar nicht schwer
Wenn wir mit Bedacht genießen
Sinnlich werden Schätze sprießen
Niemand kann sie uns verwehren
Träume von den Heidelbeeren
Heidelbeeren wunderbar
Bald sind sie schon wieder da
Werden tausend Beer’n verspeisen
Feiern, tanzen und sie preisen
‘S gibt nichts schöneres im Leben
Als Heidelbeergenuss zu pflegen
January (Piano)
A piece for piano, written on 11th January 2017 with a view on a snow- and ice-covered landscape.
95 – Live in the lounge
This is a live recording of my instrumental 95 played in a sunlit lounge as part of my rehearsals. The song is part of my album Love and Passion which you find here.
A Night at Tommy’s
I wrote this little tune the morning after I had the pleasure of attending a Tommy Emmanuel show in Groningen, NL. I really like Tommy’s compositions, which to me are far more interesting than his virtuoso playing style.
The Muse
As befits the lyrics, writing this music really had me busy for months. This song apparently had to mature for three years. I am glad that it is finally done. It also marks the next step in my singing: Never before have I felt comfortable using my voice in this way in a rock/metal context.
During this past year I have lost my ear for music twice for long periods of time. Now I am back again and as always I will try to hang on to it forever and never lose it again. I have a feeling that I might finally succeed.
Together with my good friend and metal artist Andrea Christen I released this song as a collaborative piece with her artwork The Trophy:
Lake of Tears – Melancholy
We had sex to the music of Lake of Tears. Frequently. The Scandinavian band entered my life in the middle of the 90s and is one of the few influences from the period to stay with me. They are part of my musical DNA. If Forever Autumn was a straightforward metal album I would probably add it to my list of the three best metal albums of all times. But it is different. Its style haunted me for so long that it integrated into my music as an explicit influence.
And so the song title Lake of Tears was born. A song in which I planned to pay tribute to this versatile, great band and also to somehow summarize what I hear in their music. But I am incapable of straight imitation. And so, of course, things turned out differently.
There is an intense connection between my lyrics in this song and the band, one that by far surpasses the title. It is most evident in the refrain which reflects my high regard for the unique mood Daniel Brennare and his bandmates reliably transfer me into.
This song has been new ground for me on many levels and I worked on the production a lot to figure things out. It turned out very differently from what I expected and I am still not sure whether I really like it. Time will tell. I still need to grow as a musician. Grow so very much.
Nevertheless I would like to share this with you.
Seasons
Parts of this instrumental track started out as a kind of study and then merged into this track about seasons. Some parts of it remind me of the track Tristram from the very first Diablo game.