MANUELA KRAUSE + POLE, "MEIN FREUND DER BAUM"

Manuela Krause is a Berlin-based club DJ and vocalist forCopenenhagen's electro/jazz group Electrazz. Here she teams up withStefan Betke, aka Pole, for this seriously thick 7" from MonikaEnterprise. The A-Side is a cover of Alexandra's 1968 cult hit "MeinFreund Der Baum" (My Friend The Tree), a tune I'm sure Germans areinfinitely more familiar with than I am. It's a pretty pop poempresented here by Krause's husky yet feminine vocal and Pole'selegantly refined production. Betke does a wonderful job of recreatingthe song with bass pulses and hi-hat, tastefully accentuated by dubmelodica and effects. He really should consider a parallel career pathin electro-pop. The "Balalaika" dub on the B-Side delves deeper andadds a bit of piano but isn't nearly as satisfying minus the vocal. Alovely little record well worth the five bucks.

samples:

• Balalaika
• Mein Freund der Baum

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