Dissidenten are a German rock band known for their collaborations with Middle Eastern, African and Indian musicians. In a 1988 article for ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', music critic
Stephen Holden
Stephen Holden (born July 18, 1941) is an American writer, poet, and music and film critic.
Biography
Holden earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Yale University in 1963. He worked as a photo editor, staff writer, and eventually be ...
acknowledged the band as being among the leaders of what he termed "the '
world beat' movement ... in which ethnic styles are contemporized with electronic dance rhythms".
History
Around 1981, "
Embryo
An embryo ( ) is the initial stage of development for a multicellular organism. In organisms that reproduce sexually, embryonic development is the part of the life cycle that begins just after fertilization of the female egg cell by the male sp ...
's Dissidenten" were founded in India by Friedemann "Friedo" Josch (b 21 July 1952,
Mainz
Mainz (; #Names and etymology, see below) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and with around 223,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 35th-largest city. It lies in ...
, wind instruments, keyboards) and former Embryo band members Uwe "Uve" Müllrich (b 7 December 1947,
Rügen, bass, oud, guitar, vocals) and Michael Wehmeyer (keyboards, piano). Still in 1981,
Marlon Klein
Marlon Klein (born 13 December 1957) is a musician and producer in the World Music and Fusion genres. He is a co-founder of the German group Dissidenten.
Career
Klein was born in Herford, Germany. His musical career started with studies of clas ...
(b 13 December 1957,
Herford
Herford (; ) is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, located in the lowlands between the hill chains of the Wiehen Hills and the Teutoburg Forest. It is situated in the cultural region of Ostwestfalen-Lippe (OWL) and the Detmold (administrat ...
, drums, perc, keyboards, vocals) replaced Wehmeyer, and the band renamed themselves to Dissidenten. 1982/83, they founded their own record label Exil in
Berlin
Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
.
Following a one-year tour of Asia, the group decided to stay in India to produce their first album ''Germanistan'', with the help of the
Karnataka College of Percussion, female singer R.A. Ramamani and percussionist Ramesh Shotham. The live line-up was joined by Indian pianist Louis Banks and American saxophonist Charlie Mariano. Concerts in Calcutta, Madrid, Casablanca and Stockholm are documented on the live album ''Germanistan Tour 83''.
They then moved on to Morocco to record ''Sahara Elektrik'' in 1982 at the Palace of Abdesalam Akaaboune in
Tangier
Tangier ( ; , , ) is a city in northwestern Morocco, on the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The city is the capital city, capital of the Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region, as well as the Tangier-Assilah Prefecture of Moroc ...
with the help of friend
Paul Bowles
Paul Frederic Bowles (; December 30, 1910November 18, 1999) was an American expatriate composer, author, and translator. He became associated with the Moroccan city of Tangier, where he settled in 1947 and lived for 52 years to the end of his ...
and local
sha'abi band
Lem Chaheb. The track "Fata Morgana" became a dance hit in Europe (especially Spain and Italy) and Canada, and the group toured worldwide.
In 1986 the Dissidenten moved to Spain, producing ''Life At The Pyramids'' and began to receive recognition in the US and UK.
In 1989 they moved back to Morocco, recording ''Out Of This World'' with the
Royal National Orchestra of Morocco, and other leading North African musicians including Cherif Lamrani and other members of Lem Chaheb. The album was released worldwide and the band toured around the globe to promote it. In 1991, the album ''Live In New York'' was released, and the following year ''The Jungle Book'' was recorded, weaving recordings of Indian life into dance tracks
Interview with Uve Mullrich by Jay Dobis (April 2022) - furious.com
/ref>.
In 1995, Klein stayed in the US to work as producer for two albums by singer Gary Wright, featuring George Harrison
George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician, singer and songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Culture ...
. In 1996, the group reunited to produce the album ''Instinctive Traveler'', their first album with mostly English-language songs sung by Müllrich's daughter Bajka, which was followed by a tour of international festivals. Two years later they appeared at the Glastonbury festival
The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts (commonly referred to as simply Glastonbury Festival, known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts held near Pilton, Somerset, England, in most su ...
and released their second live album, ''Live in Europe''.
In 2000, with American composer Gordon Sherwood, video artist Stefanie Seidl and the Bratislava Orchestra under Petr Feranec they created The Memory of the Waters, a "documentary opera" about the River Danube, debut performed at the International Danube Music Festival in the city of Ulm. The following year, they issued an album of remixes, ''A World Beat Odyssey'', which they then performed live with accompanying DJs.
In 2005, the opera "La Memoria de las Aguas" with the choir and orchestra of Pamplona under the direction of conductor Tomas Garridoand was broadcast by the Spanish National Radio at the Navarra Festival. In 2006 the group worked on a new Moroccan project, ''The Tanger Sessions'', with the legendary Moroccan cult group Jil Jilala.
In 2007, Dissidenten toured North Africa with Jil Jilala. Between concerts they worked together in Tangier and Casablanca to complete ''The Tanger Sessions''. Also in 2007, the band composed and arranged the musical program for the final party of Germany's spectacular CREOLE-Award for World Music. French/German TV ARTE and German TV WDR broadcast a lengthy feature about Dissidenten's Moroccan experiences, "The Hippie Trail".
In 2008, ''The Tanger Sessions'' was released and they toured Europe and North Africa. The first gig of the tour was broadcast live and online by German National Radio SWR in April 2008. Since summer 2008, Dissidenten & Jil Jilala performed live in Europe and North Africa. 2009 sees them again at various festivals around Europe/Northafrica and North America.
Discography
Albums
Compilations and EPs
Soundtracks
Videoclips
References
External links
Official website
YouTube – "Fata Morgana" with collage of band images
YouTube – "Fata Morgana" (original video)
U.S. Radio Mix
discogs
Dissidenten at discogs
{{Authority control
German world music groups
German rock music groups
Musical groups established in 1981