The first compilation of songs written by Lemper herself, the album draws from her personal experiences and global background and is her most personal album to date.
Lemper’s interest in historical and current events, politics and philosophy are blended into the themes of several songs on the CD including Nevada, Nomads, and September Mourn. Says Lemper, “Ghosts of Berlin is a song that walks through cinematic and political territories, focuses on my memories of Berlin, contrasted with the Berlin of today. It depicts the city during the cold war as the little scarred island in the middle of the East Block: Berlin with a wall separating East from West.”
The album cover actually takes from a collage of graffiti from the Berlin Wall, while the faces on the album were taken from Lemper’s own paintings, and include a couple of self-portraits.
Nomads, the centerpiece of the album is a journey through the Middle East. It is based on an old Arabic Poem written by the Islamic teacher Ibn al Arabi, in the 12th century. The poem is about the highest purpose of religion and faith being love. Lemper says, “She connected the symbolic and political vision with the voyage of those who are beyond all religions and nationalistic identities – the Nomads.” The Arabic prolog and the Hebrew epilog is a poem for humanity and tolerance, vividly expressing the connections to the past and the future.
For Lemper, who lives in New York City, the aim and the goal is the journey, not the status and material gain. Her days are packed with responsibilities, challenges, and, she says “elements of love, worry and curiosity and definitely unconditional love for my 3 kids.” These thoughts are most pronounced in The Greatest Ride, Stranger Friend, Wings of Desire, Here is Love, Luna and Blood and Feathers. These songs tell the story of life and love, and a never ending evolution of doors that open and close, only to surprise you with something new or old, that presents the opportunity to reflect on yesterday and tomorrow.
The album will be available on iTunes, Amazon and other major retailers.
About Ute Lemper: Ute Lemper's performing career grows out of a passionate and enduring commitment to art, politics and history, and out of a contentious and complicated relationship with her homeland and its past. Her panache, versatility and sophisticated repertoire - including Berlin cabaret songs and the dark gems of Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill - have led her to international acclaim as a recording artist, and in the theatre, cabaret and film worlds.
She was the Billboard crossover-recording artist in 1992. She has won French, US and British theatre awards for her numerous performances in Plays and Musicals including the Laurence Olivier Award and the American Theatre Award for her portrayal of Velma Kelly in Chicago, and the Moldier Award for her Sally Bowles in the Parisian production of Cabaret, as well as many awards as an international recording artist.
Critics’ Praise for Ute Lemper: Stephen Holden, The New York Times 2009: “fearless and witty new cabaret show… a surreal multi cultural , multi lingual history journey… songs are interwoven with stream of consciousness fantasies..."
Frank Scheck, New York Post, 2009: “There’s no sexier language lesson these days than the one given nightly at the Caf Carlyle, where Ute Lemper sings in German, French, English and Yiddish and manages to sound provocative in each one.”
Stephen Brookes, The Washington Post 2006: “Her voice is a wonder, one moment a husky growl, the next a lilting soprano, the nest a strangled cri de coeur-all while shifting effortlessly among French, English, and German. But the most striking thing about Lemper’s singing is its authenticity.
