For 20 years, Heppner is known as the front man of one of the most successful and most influential bands of the recent German music history. With the Electro Pop and Dark Wave act WOLFSHEIM, he accomplished everything that’s possible: Still present radio hit singles (Kein Zurück, Once In A Lifetime, Find You’re Here, Blind)Awards for the albums and their top chart placements (Casting Shadows, Spectators), headliner performances on big festivals and sold-out tours in Europe and the US + the highest reward, the music industry has to offer: The ‘Echo’; and all this on a small, independent label without loosing the indie credibility or making compromises.On 12th September, the CD friends of intelligent and emotional Pop have waited so long for gets released, simply titled ‘Solo’, it is the first solo run of the maybe most distinctive German voice. After a bit experimenting, two names came up for the production of ‘Solo’. The already well-known José-Alvarez Brill (Witt, De/Vision, Kosheen, Xandria) not only has co-composed three of the ten songs, but also supervised them in the studio in Berlin. The rest of the album was recorded in a studio in London with the renowned Scotsman Peter-John Vettese, who worked for PET SHOP BOYS, FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD, DIDO, CLANNAD, ANNIE LENNOX, SIMPLE MINDS or MELANIE C. over the years.
Especially through the work with Vettese, the much noted textual work of the singer received another boost. “As a result of producing in the UK, I had to speak English all day, not only about everyday’s stuff but also about complex musical relations. I had some objections before, but it turned out to be a real lucky break in the end. I became a completely new feeling for its melody, what was helping me a lot to transport and word feelings and thoughts more accurately.”
Indeed, the lyrics of songs such as ‘Suddenly’, ‘No Matter What It Takes’ or ‘Being Me’ reached a depth and intensity, which is remarkable, even for Heppner, despite all directness; and perfectly complemented by immersive trenchant songs like ‘Alleinsein’ or the unmistakable ‘I Hate You’. That self-esteem isn’t only revealed lyrically, but also in the musical diversity of the CD. The good mood single ‘Alleinsein’ is counter parted by introverted material like ‘Easy’, melancholic tunes like ‘Suddenly’ and eclectic tracks like ‘Walter’ and ‘I Hate You’, altogether merging to a cohesive body of work.
