Ich Traume So Leise Von Dir

Music from Memory’s final release of 2016 is an EP of works by a German trio formed in the city of Wuppertal, in the late eighties. A one off and unique project, Becker, Stegmann and Zeumer were asked to produce an album of recorded material after a string of successful concerts celebrating the work of local poet Else Lasker-Schüler (1869–1945).Very much an integral part of the Wuppertal jazz scene in the 1980’s, trumpetist Heinz Becker and Pianist Karl-Heinz Stegmann met the actress Isabel Zeumer when performing at the opening of an event organized by Wuppertal’s cultural department. Following this the three of them were asked put together a programme on Else Lasker-Schüler. A unique figure in her time Jewish poet Lasker-Schüler embraced a bohemian lifestyle and became a leading exponent of Germany’s expressionism and avant-garde poetry movement before fleeing the country in 1937. Becker, Stegmann and Zeumer’s programme would combine readings of Lasker-Schüler’s works with experimental music and imagery. These performances were met with great enthusiasm at the time in Wuppertal and were even televised. Following on from the strong response to the music and performances, the trio were invited to release the material on local label ITM Records.Embracing Lasker’s avant-garde sentiments within their own musical compositions, Becker, Zeumer and Stegmann’s album ‘Ich Träume So Leise Von Dir’ LP blends jazz and electronics to create a wholly unique sound. Embracing and experimenting with elements of Ambient and even New Wave; the four tracks selected here, in particular, seem to take music and spoken word into an entirely unique musical realm.