Rock bands trying to make a comeback are bound to fail more often than not. Take the Stones for example. Everybody loved Voodoo Lounge in 1994. But the album was far from being a Beggars Banquet. There was nothing new to this music. A band that became famous for breaking conventions suddenly regressed to doing the same old same old.
When I read about Neneh Cherry publishing Blank Project (her first solo album since 1996), I was convinced that this was going to be another disastrous reappearance of a long lost idol. My expectations turned out to be wrong. There I was, anticipating some remake of the soulish hip-hop-trip-hop-dance tunes Ms. Cherry wrote in the nineties; instead, I found myself caught in the angst-ridden atmosphere of a song contemplating the death of her mother. The moment I pushed the play button her powerful voice filled the air. “Trickling water dripping down/ Slow like some rivers without a sound/ Passed many times since you’ve been on my side/ I’m still here, but I keep you deep inside bring more power to our brain….” In the background, a sparse drumbeat generated a merciless rhythm, seemingly symbolizing the sheer endlessness of human suffering. Evoking an almost unbearable tension between stone-cold Sprechgesang and harmonic outbursts of beautifully sung passages, these tunes profoundly enchanted me.
As Blank Project ranks high on my list of best albums ever made, I was excited about seeing Ms. Cherry perform her new songs at Palmengarten Frankfurt. One can hardly imagine a better place for this occasion. Resembling an oasis amidst the concrete of the city, this gorgeous 19th century garden seems like a physical representation of Ms. Cherry’s music. The Palmengarten takes you into the strange world of nature. Its greenhouses exhibit palm trees, gigantic cactuses, and all kinds of exotic plants and flowers creating the ideal spot to get away from the everyday hassle, get a clear head, and ignore your worries. This is what Ms. Cherry’s tunes do. They make you escape into another realm, open new perspectives, and reveal the sublime even in moments of suffering.
When I arrived at Palmengarten people sat on the floor, ate Bratwurst, drank beer, and enjoyed the last glimmers of daylight. Everything gave the impression of a casual get-together. Only the long line of unlucky ones who did not make it inside the sold-out concert indicated that this was something different than a gigantic cocktail party. Even as Ms. Cherry entered the stage nobody seemed to care. She received a restrained applause but only few persons stood up to give her a decent welcome. Everyone else sprawled in the sun acting as if nothing had happened.
It took Ms. Cherry less than two songs to wake her audience up from this state of relaxed distraction. I never saw people change that fast from indifference to enthusiastic partying. They left their seats, danced, cheered, and enjoyed the show. This did not come as a surprise. Ms. Cherry has a magical presence that made it impossible to resist the pull of her tunes. She seemed to become one with the music, and so did everybody else. The moment she opened her mouth there was nothing but her voice and the heavy drumbeats and scarce synthesizer melodies of RocketNumberNine. Fusing experimental tunes located somewhere between RnB, free jazz, and indie rock with dance-worthy rhythms, this duo consisting of the brothers Tom and Ben Page provided the ideal context for Ms. Cherry’s vocals. People moved their feet to the cadence of drum rolls, spherical sounds, and electronic effects while her voice led the crowd through a broad variety of emotional states ranging from melancholic downheartedness to radical optimism and grim determination.
It is hard to tell what made it such a unique experience seeing Ms. Cherry perform. Maybe it was because the instant you loose yourself in her music, you want every moment to be that way. Reality suddenly appears bleak. But there is also hope. If we are capable to feel joyful for just an instant of a second, there is reason to optimistically walk into the future.
When Neneh Cherry gave her farewell after singing her heart out for over an hour, the fans did not want to leave. Longing for another few minutes of ecstasy, they demanded more. But as much as they liked to conserve time, it remorselessly moved forward. The concert ended after Ms. Cherry came back once more to thank everybody for supporting her. She explained that she could not perform another number because she had to give a concert in Oslo the next day. A couple of minutes later the crowd transformed back into a nonchalant evening get-together.
More about the band on the official page.
