Klee (band)
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Klee (
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
for "clover") is a German
pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...
band from
Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...
. Named after German painter
Paul Klee Paul Klee (; 18 December 1879 – 29 June 1940) was a Swiss-born German artist. His highly individual style was influenced by movements in art that included expressionism, cubism, and surrealism. Klee was a natural draftsman who experimented wi ...
, the band was formed in 2002 by singer Suzie Kerstgens and musicians Sten Servaes and Tom Deininger. Klee's brand of pop music incorporates electronic as well as acoustic sounds and, in more recent years, the band has embraced
chanson A (, ; , ) is generally any Lyrics, lyric-driven French song. The term is most commonly used in English to refer either to the secular polyphonic French songs of late medieval music, medieval and Renaissance music or to a specific style of ...
and schlager. Four of Klee's albums have entered the top 30 of the
German albums chart The GfK Entertainment charts are the official charts for music, home video, and video games in Germany and are gathered and published by GfK Entertainment (formerly Media Control and Media Control GfK International), a subsidiary of GfK, on be ...
.


History

During the nineties, Tom Deininger, Sten Servaes and Suzie Kerstgens were members of German band Ralley and recorded the albums ''Ralley'' (1997) and ''1, 2, 3, 4'' (1999)."laut.de-Biographie - Klee"
(in German). ''laut.de''. Retrieved 2 April 2015.
A serious traffic accident in 1999 forced them to take a three-year break so that Deininger and Servaes could fully cover from their injuries. The trio then reformed in 2002 as the band Klee.Krechting, Wiljo
"Glücksfall für die Popmusik"
(in German). ''RP ONLINE''. 12 August 2009.
According to Kerstgens, the new band name was inspired by the work of German painter Paul Klee, and also hints at the
four-leaf clover The four-leaf clover is a rare mutation of the common three-leaf clover that has four Leaflet (botany), leaflets instead of three. According to traditional sayings, such clovers bring good luck, a belief that dates back to at least the 17th cent ...
as a good luck symbol. With the change in band name, there was also a change in style from guitar pop to electropop. In 2002, the single "Erinner dich" (Remember) from Klee's debut album, ''Unverwundbar'' (Invulnerable), was released. The single was in the top 100 of the German singles chart for one week at No. 94."Chartverfolgung / Klee / Single"
(in German). musicline.de. PHONONET GmbH. Retrieved 2 April 2015.
In July 2004, Klee's second album, ''Jelängerjelieber'' (The longer the better), was released. The first single from it, "2 Fragen" (2 questions), brought the band to the attention of German radio and television stations. In November 2004, Klee gained further exposure by performing "Gold", another single from the album, on television show ''
Sarah Kuttner – Die Show ''Sarah Kuttner – Die Show'' was a German television talk show that ran on VIVA and was then transferred to MTV under the title "''Kuttner.''" in mid-2005. It ran from 2 August 2004 to 3 August 2006. Hosted by Sarah Kuttner, it was a more yo ...
'' on
MTV Germany MTV is a German language free-to-air television channel operated by Paramount Global. The channel launched on 7 March 1997 as MTV Central, as part of a regionalisation strategy by MTV Networks Europe. Availability The channel primarily se ...
. The band then represented the German state of
Saarland Saarland (, ; ) is a state of Germany in the southwest of the country. With an area of and population of 990,509 in 2018, it is the smallest German state in area apart from the city-states of Berlin, Bremen, and Hamburg, and the smallest in ...
in the
Bundesvision Song Contest 2005 The Bundesvision Song Contest 2005 was the first edition of the annual Bundesvision Song Contest musical event. The contest was held on 12 February 2005 at the König Pilsener Arena in Oberhausen, North Rhine-Westphalia. The contest was hosted by ...
with "Gold", finishing in 10th place with 37 points.Gantzkow, Sven
"Experten in Sachen Widerspruch"
(in German). ''Westdeutsche Zeitung''. 31 July 2008.
"Gold" stayed in the German singles chart for nine weeks, where it reached number 54. An American version of ''Jelängerjelieber'' titled ''Honeysuckle'' was released in July 2006 by US record label
Minty Fresh Minty Fresh is a Chicago-based record label, founded in 1993 by Jim Powers with Anthony Musiala. The label is known for launching the careers of Veruca Salt (band), Veruca Salt. They also gave the Swedish band The Cardigans their first US releas ...
. For this album, three songs were re-recorded in English: "Für alle, die", "Tausendfach" and "Gold", the respective official English titles being “This Is for Everyone”, “A Thousand Ways” and “Gold”. Klee's third album, ''Zwischen Himmel und Erde'' (Between heaven and earth), came out in August 2006 and became the band's first top 20 album in Germany, peaking at No. 17. One song from the album, "Die Stadt" (The city), was released earlier in July 2006 as a single and reached No. 55 in the German charts. ''Zwischen Himmel und Erde'' continued the trend started in ''Jelängerjelieber'' of Klee’s music becoming less reliant on electronic sounds and giving more prominence to guitar sounds. In July 2008, Klee released the single "Zwei Herzen" (Two hearts), which became the band's first German top 30 single, peaking at No. 29. The single came from Klee's fourth album, ''Berge versetzen'' (Moving mountains), which was released in August 2008 and went to No. 15 in the German albums chart. The second single from the album, the title song "Berge versetzen", was released later in 2008 and reached No. 57 in the German singles chart. In 2010, Deininger parted company with Kerstgens and Servaes, leaving the duo to record Klee’s fifth album, ''Aus lauter Liebe'' (Out of sheer love).Probst, Volker
"Mit Klee auf dem Dach"
(in German). ''n-tv''. 31 August 2011.
Released in August 2011, the album was the band’s most successful to date, peaking at No. 6 in the German albums chart. One single released from the album, "Willst du bei mir bleiben" (Do you want to stay with me), reached No. 29 in the German singles chart. ''Aus lauter Liebe'' shows a further development in Klee's sound, with several songs having hints of
chanson A (, ; , ) is generally any Lyrics, lyric-driven French song. The term is most commonly used in English to refer either to the secular polyphonic French songs of late medieval music, medieval and Renaissance music or to a specific style of ...
. Klee's sixth album, ''Hello Again'', was released in August 2015, featuring bossa nova-influenced cover versions of schlager songs, such as "Hello Again" by
Howard Carpendale Howard Victor Carpendale (born 14 January 1946) is a South African-German singer living and working in Germany. Carpendale is a pop singer who sings most of his songs in German. His 1979 song ''Nachts, wenn alles schläft'' had been among the ...
and "Du bist nicht allein" by Roy Black.Lippert, Oliver
"Klee veröffentlichen Boss Nova-Album „Hello Again""
(in German). ''The Huffington Post''. 7 August 2015.
The idea of doing the album came about by chance during the recording of Klee's next studio album, which is due to be released in 2016. ''Hello Again'' charted at No. 23 in the German albums chart.


Live performances

Klee frequently performs live, giving up to 150 concerts each year. The band’s appearances ranged from performances at small venues to opening for established bands such as
The Wedding Present The Wedding Present are an English indie rock group formed in 1985 in Leeds, England, by members of The Lost Pandas. The band has been led by vocalist and guitarist David Gedge, the band's only constant member. Closely linked to the C86 scene ...
and
Nena Gabriele Susanne Kerner (born 24 March 1960), better known by her stage name Nena, is a German singer who rose to international fame in 1983 as the lead vocalist of the band Nena (band), Nena with the Neue Deutsche Welle song "99 Luftballons". I ...
. Outside Germany, Klee has performed in London and Amsterdam, and also in Turkey, Russia and China following invitations from the
Goethe-Institut The Goethe-Institut (; GI, ''Goethe Institute'') is a Nonprofit organization, nonprofit German culture, cultural organization operational worldwide with more than 150 cultural centres, promoting the study of the German language abroad and en ...
. For live performances, additional musicians including drummer, bassist and guitarist are added to Klee’s lineup""Klee" lässt das sechste Album sprießen"
(in German). ''RP ONLINE''. 19 April 2014.
and the band adopts a greater "rock sound" than in its studio recordings.


Musical style

Deininger described Klee's musical style in a 2009 interview: "We make international pop music that has its roots in the eighties. It can be more minimalistic and electronic, as on the debut album ''Unverwundbar'', or it can be more acoustic and on a grander scale, as on the third album ''Zwischen Himmel und Erde''." ("''Wir produzieren internationale Popmusik, die ihre Wurzeln in den Achtzigern hat. Mal minimalistischer und elektronischer, wie auf dem ersten Album ,Unverwundbar´, mal akustischer und größer, wie auf dem dritten Album ,Zwischen Himmel und Erde'.''") In its biography of Klee, online music magazine ''laut.de'' called the band the great romantics of German pop ("''die großen Romantiker des deutschen Pop''") and described the band's music as a harmonious marriage of synthesizer sounds, forceful drums and British-style electric guitars ("''Synthie-Sounds, druckvolles Schlagzeug und britisch angehauchte E-Gitarren gehen eine harmonische Ehe ein''"). The magazine also noted the contribution by Kerstgens' unique, softly breathing and velvety voice ("''veredelt von Suzie Kerstgens einzigartiger, weich hauchender und samtenen Stimme''"). Various journalists have noticed the British pop influences in Klee's music. In its review of the album ''Jelängerjelieber'', music website ''plattentests.de'' found such influences in the songs "Gold" ( New Order), "Unser Film" (
The Cure The Cure are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Crawley in 1976 by Robert Smith (musician), Robert Smith (vocals, guitar) and Lol Tolhurst (drums). The band's current line-up comprises Smith, Perry Bamonte (guitar and keyboards), Reev ...
) and "Wunschfrei" (
Coldplay Coldplay are a British Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer and percussionist Will Champion, and manager Phil Harvey (band m ...
).


Lyrics

Klee's lyrics are written by Kerstgens, while the other band members provide the music. The band also has a long-time working relationship with German songwriter
Tom Liwa Tom Liwa (born Thomas Greiner, 25 October 1961) is a German singer-songwriter who has been performing as a solo artist in addition to being a founding member and frontman of the band Flowerpornoes. While his artistic solo output long went unnotic ...
. Songs are produced in the band's own studio in Cologne.Köhler, Michael
"Die süßeste Versuchung seit Nena"
(in German). ''Frankfurter Allgemeine''. 22 October 2008.
Klee's lyrics refer to deeply felt moments in human relationships. Klee's lyrics straddle the material world and a dream world in which desires and conflicts intermingle. In a 2012 interview, Kerstgens stated: "I completely open up my heart in our songs. Everything in Klee is autobiographical, personally experienced and personally suffered." ("''Ich offenbare in unseren Songs komplett mein Herz. Bei Klee ist alles autobiografisch, selbst erlebt und selbst erlitten.''")Sielski, Karoline
"Suzie Kerstgens - Musikerin bei Klee"
(in German). ''stadtmagazin.com''. 6 June 2012.


Band members

Current members * Suzie Kerstgens – lead vocals (2002–present) * Sten Servaes – piano, keyboards, vocals (2002–present) Former members * Tom Deininger – guitar, bass (2002–2010) Additional members for live performances * Stefan "Pele" Götzer – bass (also credited as band member on the albums ''Zwischen Himmel und Erde'' and ''Berge versetzen'') * Daniel Klingen – drums (also credited as band member on the albums ''Zwischen Himmel und Erde'' and ''Berge versetzen'') * Andreas "Pese" Puscher – guitar * Boris Rogowski – guitar image:Suzie_Kerstgens.jpg, Suzie Kerstgens image:Sten_Servaes.jpg, Sten Servaes image:Tom_Deininger.jpg, Tom Deininger image:Pele_Götzer.jpg, Stefan "Pele" Götzer image:Daniel_Klingen.jpg, Daniel Klingen


Discography


Albums

* I ''Jelängerjelieber'' was also released as a tour edition with bonus live CD. In the USA, ''Jelängerjelieber'' was released by record label
Minty Fresh Minty Fresh is a Chicago-based record label, founded in 1993 by Jim Powers with Anthony Musiala. The label is known for launching the careers of Veruca Salt (band), Veruca Salt. They also gave the Swedish band The Cardigans their first US releas ...
as ''Honeysuckle'' (2006) with three songs re-recorded in English. * II ''Zwischen Himmel und Erde'' was also released as a deluxe edition with bonus DVD. * III ''Berge versetzen'' was also released as a deluxe edition with bonus DVD. * IV ''Aus lauter Liebe'' was also released as a deluxe edition with bonus DVD.


Singles


References


External links

*
Klee
at
Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Netherlands, Dutch–United States, American multinational Music industry, music corporation under Law of the Netherlands, ...
website
Klee
at Warner Music Germany website {{DEFAULTSORT:Klee German pop music groups Musical groups established in 2002 Musical groups from Cologne 2002 establishments in Germany