DeutschEnglish

FEDERN LIVE 2014-206

Federn Live

Bass Quarterly 4/17 | Text: Michael Loesl

It takes courage to release live recordings without overdubs. After all each inexact note, every millisecond-delayed beat is immortalised under these conditions. Great international popstars bypass overdubbing with the old trick of securing a kind of "perfect" live version by editing together different performances of the same piece. Hubert von Goisern neither lacks courage, nor does the man from Upper Austria make it easy. There's never been cheating with him, because he disdains nothing more than cheating himself. The listeners to his new live double album profit enormously from this. Federn Live was recorded at various venues during the extensive tours of 2014, 2015 and 2016 and aside from applause and anecdotes, captured 1:1 on the 23 track-strong bundle of energy. Nothing is a matter of course, neither the unbelievable musicality, nor the concerts themselves from which the recordings originate - this palpable amazement of von Goisern's and his resulting burning passion for music, which results from his gratitude to the audience for their reception make Federn Live sound like a rousing manifesto. A manifesto of effortlessness with which sometimes complex metres and the not remotely easy undertaking of uniting the American South with the south of the German-speaking region are performed. Of course von Goisern plays with an excellent band, but it is his obsessiveness, his character that makes his new album a pearl among live recordings. Casual listening is fortunately impossible.

The guerilla unit bids farewell

Mittelbayerisch.de 19th May 2017 | Text: Mario Kunzendorf

Hubert von Goisern releases a new double album. A memory of more than 400 of the genre explorer's shows.

Never change a winning team: Hubert von Goisern does the opposite, once more at the point when one of his projects has reached its zenith. For ten years, the Austrian singer and accordion player formed a "musical guerilla unit", as he once called it in an interview with the MZ, with guitarist Severin Trogbacher, bassist Helmut Schartlmüller and drummer Alex Pohn. Now he is saying a dignified farewell to the band with the concert album Federn live 2014-2016 (BlankoMusik/Sony). Blues, rock, country, folk music – the genre explorers performed more than 400 shows in total.

Musical profession goes without saying, the note that the concert recordings weren't edited after the fact is almost unnecessary. With 23 pieces in a good two hours, the double album spans an entire Goisern show and is both technically and musically flawless. Only the anecdotes are missing. "To save them growing old", says Hubert von Goisern.

Alpine rock with an Americana streak

Sounds and Books 12th May 2017 | Text: Gérard Otremba

Ever more generations make the pilgrimage to his concerts. Music for the whole family, from 8 to 88. No other musician has managed to combine and pacify rock'n'roll with folk music in their career in such an honest and original way as the Austrian Hubert von Goisern. Hubert Achleitner, who named himself after his funny little home town of Bad Goisern in the Salzkammergut, yodels and plays the electric guitar as naturally as he does the accordion. When it comes to Hubert von Goisern, the genre of alpine rock makes sense. 64-year-old von Goisern celebrated his first success at the beginning of the 90s, when he reached number one with Alpinkatzen and the albums Aufgeigen statt niederschiassen and Omunduntn, finding his way to the upper reaches of the album charts in neighbouring Germany and Switzerland too. With the live album Wia die Zeit vergeht... then came the end of the Alpinkatzen at their high point in 1995.

Hubert von Goisern turned to diverse projects, wove African and Tibetan music into his work and found his way back to his roots via the album EntwederUndOder and the most recent longplayer Federn. Roots that lie in rock, folk, blues, punk, pop and even folk music. The release Federn Live 2014-2016 is an impressive documentation of this next noteworthy phase of his career. On the double CD with a total of 23 songs, the Federn album stands as expected in the foreground. Von Goisern has packed nearly all of the songs from the 2015 album onto the live edition, just the first nine songs of CD 1 alone are come from the Federn oeuvre.

His band of Severin Trogbacher on guitar, Helmut Schartlmüller on bass, Alexander Pohn on drums and Bob Bernstein (and Steve Fishell in 2014) on lapsteel and pedal steel are on well-rehearsed top form, a kind of new edition of the Alpinkatzen with new personnel. Whether Alle 100 Jahr, Es ist wahr (von Goisern's Jambalaya adaption) or Stoansteirisch, the alpine rock with country-Americana influences grabs you right away. It's wonderful to hear that von Goisern can add new accents to the two older ballads, Wieder hoam and Heast as nit, which do their part to dampen the feelings of nostalgia. And nobody is going to beat Hubert von Goisern and his band at the yodelling polka punk of Stadltür in a hurry. Technically only a "best of" tour is missing.

The special tip: Federn Live

magaScene 5-2017

On the last studio album Federn Hubert von Goisern dealt with the relationship between country and alpine folk music - something that turned out to be extremely exciting. And can be considered to have been very successful. Then he and his band went on tour for two years, travelled across nearly the whole of Europe and even managed to satisfy the Americans with their music. And now Federn is available live as a double album. Brilliant music from brilliant musicians. Rocky, down to earth, engaged. The recordings were made between 2014 and 2016 and are simply a lot of fun! Unfortunately afterwards von Goisern disbanded his super band.

Federn Live 2014-2016

Global Music 20th April 2017 | Text: © Global Music | Weltmusik-Magazin

It's a shame: after ten years Hubert von Goisern is ending his collaboration with his current band, the excellent lineup of Severin Trogbacher on guitar, Helmut Schartlmüller on bass and Alex Pohn on drums.

On the other hand, he's of course right that you should stop when things are at their best. Federn, his previous studio album, was also his best in our opinion. Even this splendid musician may have had a hard time topping it.

So, soon there will probably be a "new" Hubert von Goisern. He has surprised his fans more than once during his career. What will come next? There's no telling what the Austrian will come up with next.

Then we will celebrate the end of this phase, which brought forth such great albums as Federn, EntwederUndOder and S'nix. It all began with a journey by ship down the Danube, which was beautifully documented and showed Hubert von Goisern as a curious and multi-faceted musician. Along the way he met many musicians from the Balkans and was inspired by them. Most recently though, there was an unexpected turn to the music of the USA. Country and Cajun sounds were suddenly there. He'd already had the blues.

Now he is ending this successful phase with a sumptuous live album, which offers 23 tracks with a playing time of about 2 hours. Federn Live shows not just the bandleader, but also his companions in top playing form.

The harder numbers have drive, the quieter songs are relaxed and beautifully transparent. It seems as though his accompanying musicians wanted to show him once more what he was losing with the disbandment of the group.

Without a doubt Federn Live can been seen as the crowning finale of Hubert von Goisern's (hitherto) best phase.

Nashville knocking at the window

Schwäbische Zeitung 3rd May 2017 | Text: mh

Alpine folk music, rock, African folklore, Tibetan tunes – Hubert von Goisern has made all these sing together, as if it had always been so. A few years ago he also made America's country music his own. Federn was the name of the record and the tour, whose distillate has now been released on a live double album of the same name. Without bells and whistles, no talking, the applause edited, but more than just an impression of how powerful the concerts are from the 64-year-old from the Salzkammergut. Country sounds can be heard in almost all of the songs, clear at times, more subtle at others. Even in the goosebump classic Heast as nit Nashville is knocking gently at the window. Only chart rocker Brenna tuats guat steps out without any American style.

With this double CD the collaboration between Hubert von Goiserns and his band Severin Trogbacher, Helmut Schartlmüller and Alexander Pohn comes to an end. What will come next? We're eager to see.

Hubert von Goisern has the alpine blues

SchlagerPlanet 21st April 2017

Now you can experience the magic that Hubert von Goisern produces at every concert at home too.
The alpine rocker releases his album "Federn live 2014-2016".

Fans of Hubert von Goisern know that a live concert from the artist is a real experience. The 64-year-old knows like no other how how to produce a magical experience on stage for his audience and yet always remains down-to-earth.

[...] After its release, Federn led the artist on his next journey, namely the extensive Federn tour. For two years he toured together with his band and stood on stages across Europe. On the new Hubert von Goisern album Federn Live 2014-2016 the Austrian has perfectly captured the magic of his concert travels. Thus all those who were able to experience one of the alpine rocker's shows can relive this once more and all those who couldn't be there now have the chance to catch up. Of course this journey couldn't have fit on just one CD and so Federn Live 2014-2016 is released as a double CD.

Hubert's little consolation prize

OÖN 21st April 2017 | Text: Lukas Luger

CD review: Today Hubert von Goisern releases his new double album "Federn Live"

Live albums are the record equivalent of pralines; a nice souvenir present that gives a little joy, but whose half-life is generally limited. Federn Live 2014- 2016, the excellent double album from Hubert von Goisern out today is different.

Not just because it brings together 23 consistently excellent pieces, but because the record also marks the end of an era. After 10 years and 400 concerts with his young band, consisting of Alexander Pohn (drums), Severin Trogbacher (guitar) and bassist Helmut Schartlmüller, the Goiserer is closing this chapter. The 64-year-old has prescribed a concert break for the next two years. Federn Live is a little consolation prize.

Raw and without correcting the sound in post production, the musicians spark with the joy of playing. Here von Goisern delves deeper into the fields of Nashville and New Orleans that on the Federn studio album, blending country and blues set pieces with his special kind of real folk music. Highlights: Alle 100 Jahr, I hab den Blues, Wie der Wind, Wieder hoam.

OÖN rating: ★★★★★☆