Grenzenlos	iwasig
Hubert von Goisern on tour through Egypt and West Africa	Hubert von Goisern and band live in Neumarkt in 2002

Gitarre & Bass June 2003

Hubert von Goisern, the superb musician from Austria, is fascinated time and time again by experiencing the musical diversity of this planet and musically pondering on it himself.

Grenzenlos documents a 5 week Africa trip in spring 2002 through Egypt, the Cape Verde islands, Senegal and Burkina Faso, on which he played for and with native musicians, on the search for a mutual musical language.

In summer and autumn 2002 he was then travelling in Europe again. Iwasig is a 133 minute concert recording from this tour. Real folk music with heart and mind.

Musix 06/2003

In Africa and "at home"

Hubert von Goisern has two new DVD in his luggage

On his trip through Africa in spring 2002 Hubert von Goisern played his current programme, Iwasig (which translated means over, above). In summer 2002 he goes on tour with his programme on an extensive tour "at home", which will be one of the most successful of his career. And: for the first time the new songs are presented live before they are to be had on CD. Aside from the complete Iwasig concert the DVD contains additional sequences from the backstage area, interviews and information on the accompanying musicians as further "sweets" (in fine Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound).

The Grenzenlos DVD reflects Hubert von Goisern's trip through the world: in Egypt together with the native superstar Mohamed Mounir he gives a celebrated concert in Assiut; in Praia, the capital of Cape Verde, von Goisern appears together with the native group Simentera; in the poor district of Ecopol he and his band played probably the best concert of this unusual tour. And: musical meetings of the archaic kind come to light on the way to difficult to reach villages in Senegal, where the inhabitants received the guests with traditional singing and danced to the songs Hubert von Goisern played on his accordion.

Bloom 27th May 2003

Hubert von Goisern will be on tour in Austria and Germany from June to August. Those who want to get in the mood perfectly can do so with two simultaneous DVD releases. For one there is a concert recording of his iwasig tour from last year. Naturally here are presented the songs which were later released on the album of the same name. This concert especially shows again the influences with which Hubert von Goisern has become acquainted in other cultures. And it is about that exactly on the second DVD: his journeys to Egypt, Cape Verde, Senegal and Burkina Faso. A total of 120 minutes' documentary allows a look at the preparation of his concerts in these countries and the contact formed there with native musicians. In their simple composition, without impressive bonus material, both DVDs give an impression of the current musical development of Hubert von Goisern. In order to confirm this impression with your own experiences, you can go to a summer concert.

www.musikwoche.de 25th April 2003

The DVDs Grenzenlos and Iwasig are the first releases from Hubert von Goisern on BMG.
They stand for a change of strategy from his label Lawine.

"Actually we wanted to finally help Hubert von Goisern to an international breakthrough, but the good world music ties at Virgin proved to be a one way street," Hage Hein, manager of Munich-base Blanko Musik, justifies the change of his label Lawine to BMG. "Germany and Austria remain receivers in this genre and not sender countries for artists. Now the utilisation in the German-speaking area is the priority for us." But with it Hubert von Goisern is in better hands with the folk music friends BMG. The change of strategy comes at just a time when the singer from the Salzkammergut is making new international contacts.

In the past year, Goisern has toured through Africa in order to test how his music is received there. In Egyptian Assiut the Austrian played at the side of the star singer Mohamed Mounir in front of more than 15,000 people, and the group made an appearance in Dakar in the notorious poor district Ecopol. This trip was recorded on the double DVD Grenzenlos (82876518609), which BMG is releasing on 5th May. Hein: "The travel film shows the positive reaction of the people there. His music only encounters prejudices at the record companies." The new contacts are already bearing their first fruits. Goisern will play in Cape Verde in the middle of May. Afterwards follow appearances in Romania and possibly even a gig at WOMAD in Singapore. At the same time, Goisern and Mounir are touring together through Germany and Austria, starting from 19th June.

Goisern also tested the programme from his CD Iwasig - which in autumn 2002, still under Virgin, reached number 52 in the German album charts - for the first time in front of an African audience. Before the release he presented the new numbers on his hitherto most successful tour in the German-speaking area. Despite the new band lineup and largely unknown music, the audience were moved to storms of enthusiasm, as the concert DVD Iwasig (82876518599) also shows, which apart from a recording from the Iwasig tour, also contains recordings from backstage, interviews and information about the musicians.

Teleschau 24/2003

Hubert von Goisern: Grenzenlos, Iwasig

Hubert von Goisern is spoiling his fans with two simultaneous DVD releases in the merry month of May: Iwasig is a recording of the 50 year old's most recent tour, and Grenzenlos is a kind of travel film for Hubert von Goisern's spectacular world music project, which led him all over the world. A bit much at once? Very much even, and that won't bother true fans.

The DVD of his Iwasig tour will be especially important to those who love Hubert von Goisern's music. Goisern, that alpine ethno enthusiast who is able to unite the folk music of all countries thanks to his Styrian button accordion, plays his complete concert programme of 18 titles here. This is not only complete, but also in quite extraordinary sound quality, at which the maker of the DVD has efficiently tinkered. The very intimate camera direction, which makes you think rather of a small club stage than of the usual large arenas, also raises the concert experience to an unbelievable concrete sound picture experience. Not just fans who left the ticket window empty-handed, but also concert visitors who came no closer than a metre are offered a great perspective.

Otherwise the DVD does not offer wonderful gimmicks. The presentation of the individual musicians in the form of interviews is helpful and endearing, the accompaniment, made possible via menu, of Goisern through a concert day too. But the strength of this DVD is the concert film of which you almost feel a part, the direct and immediate stage presence of the musician himself.

A piece of luck that he disposed of the rubbish from his old raging rock Alpinkatzen and hoisted these wonderful multi-cultural chaps into the boat. They are jazzy, ethno, rocky, poppy, Caribbean, alpinesque and sometimes all at once. Goisern primarily plays pieces from Fön, the Trad CD and the Iwasig CD, plus new numbers which will be found on his new studio CD expected in the autumn. It is great that the encores offer the immortal Heast as nit and the Kohler yodel.

When Hubert von Goisern received the offer from the Goethe Institute, to present his alpine music in Assiut / Egypt, he took the whole thing to be a mistake at first. A concert should be played together with the wonderful Egyptian-Nubian musician Mohamed Mounir, before which the two bands could only meet for a few hours. A hazardous business! By the way, an old acquaintance played the oud with Mounir's band, namely Roman Bunka, member of the first German ethno band Embryo. Thanks to this knowledge of language, the meeting also then led to a wonderful concert, even if only one piece was worked out together: this one piece is great! Instructed by his two main interests, music and travelling, after the Egypt experience, Goisern also moved to Cape Verde, Senegal and Burkina Faso, accompanied by a sensitive camera team which he had organised to his taste.

Who ever loves Goisern's concerts, they stick with his Iwasig DVD. In the case of the Grenzenlos DVD, you can rather speak of a calm travel report, which is suitable for fans who are interested in the person. Fans of non-European music, the people who go with it and foreign countries, can also have fun with this double DVD. Long breaks and a very personal leadership from Hubert von Goisern himself, who also entered these countries as a newcomer, let the journeys blend together to a beautiful report, which offers not only countries, people, adventures, but also a very thoughtful look at Goisern, the world and its music. The peaceful, beautiful view of the unknown countries, neither glossed over nor reproachful and underlined with Goisern's music, demonstrated without many words that we all live on one world, that we are people of one family. A universal language of pictures.

The small Munich Lawine label, Goisern's musical home, changed to agency of BMG Ariola with these ambitious publications. After the hoped for international breakthrough was missing with the past partner Virgin, one is now obviously betting on the folk music background in the BMG house, in order to at least advance into new dimensions in the German-speaking area.

Assessment:

Teleschau
der mediendienst, Munich