Stella Sommer has gained quite a reputation in her homeland as the “queen of german indie” and one of the most talented songwriters of Germany. She has been the singer and songwriter of her project Die Heiterkeit for 10 years now, releasing four critically acclaimed albums. She was supposed to play SXSW this year with her solo project as well as with Die Heiterkeit.
A Lover Alone is the first single off her upcoming new album, described as somewhere between folk, chanson and 60’s-pop in firm Nico/Marianne Faithfull/Nick Cave/Beach Boys/Francoise Hardy territory. There is so much calm, dignity, warmth, grace and grandeur in this record, it sounds almost as if it doesn’t have to prove anything to anyone.
‘A Lover Alone’ could almost have been written for Leonard Cohen, casually delivered yet potent. Vocally, the Nico/Marianne Faithfull comparisons are well placed and while her alt-pop leanings sound both rarefied and mysterious there is a warmth that draws the listener in…she’s as much a masterful observer of life as she is an eloquent songwriter; as Marcel Proust said: “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.”
On ‘A Lover Alone’ she says:
“Out of all songs on my album, ‘A Lover Alone’ was probably the easiest to write, it came to the world fully formed. I just sat down and recorded it as a demo and that was that. In the studio, we didn’t once touch the arrangement and basically left the song in its original state. During the whole recording process ‘A Lover Alone’ remained this beautiful guiding light, a calming beam of joy reminding us that sometimes songs just write themselves. And we were happy just to stand by and watch.”
And of the accompanying video below, which was Directed, shot and edited by Gloria Endres de Oliveira
“We were originally planning on doing something entirely different for the “A Lover Alone” video. But then Covid-19 came along and changed everything completely. We were no longer able to work with a crew as we were shooting the video during lockdown and had to improvise so that’s just what we did. The very talented Gloria de Oliveira, who made the video, and I just walked around Berlin with a camera and funnily enough we ended up with just the right video for the song. It was also quite bizarre to film a video for this song at this specific time because the lyrics fit the situation so perfectly as everyone was feeling vulnerable and lonely, missing their friends, lovers and/or family wondering when they would get to see them again.”
Stella Sommer grew up in a little village by the North Sea and at times you feel like you can almost hear the vastness and the rolling of the waves in her songs. Everything on this album seems to move to its very own (tidal) rhythm, with the verse rolling into the chorus and back again.
The album tells 10 enchanted stories of a magical world that could be ours, if we’d only make the effort to look closely enough at our surroundings. It is a world where shadows come in all colours, 7 unearthly sisters are always up to no good, hitches in time are being washed up on the shore and lights on the water are always there to lead you home. You have to be careful though not the look into the eyes of a singer, because otherwise you might get lost and will never return.
A Lover Alone is released on 30 July 2020 and can be pre-ordered via Bandcamp: https://stellasommer.bandcamp.com/releases
The forthcoming new album, on which more details will follow soon, was recorded by Max Rieger, singer of well accomplished German band Die Nerven and will be the first release on Stella Sommer’s own label Northern Dancer Records.
Photo Credit: Gloria de Oliveira