Maike Zazie Matern currently lives in a garden apartment in Berlin. Childhood days were spent thumbing through her parents’ eclectic collection of Keith Jarrett and Miles Davis recordings. She received a thorough grounding, too, in the German children song collection ‘Das Liedmobil’. In the 90s, her serious classical piano studies drew her to Eric Satie and Chopin, but at twelve she found that miraculously, classical and pop piano, can be soul mates. That enticing marriage of evocative piano and voice that artist Tori Amos pioneered, proved to be a particularly deep inspiration. Bjork, Yann Tiersen and Peter Broderick also became part of her steady canon. Zazie’s solo project, ‘Zazie Von Einem Anderen Stern’ began in 2006.
That title means, “zazie from another star.” Her debut, ‘Regen:Tropfen’ is a hybrid which might mostly appeal to acoustic piano fans and those who appreciate experimental soundscapes. The listener will not be force-fed. This is not a, “just add water”, commercially solvent type of album. It’s clearly inspired by the sensitive artistry of Amos, but Zazie’s voice is not an overriding force> It is simply one of the elements.
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Read More… from regen:tropfen review at pennyblackmusic.co.uk