ZAHN to release new double album ‘Adria’ in November (ex/current members of The Ocean and HEADS.)

Found on stickers on the backs of millions of camper vans crossing Europe each summer, the word ‘Adria’ has become synonymous with the magic of going on holiday for many generations of continental plebeians. It represents a mythical destination with the promise of leisure, but also an arduous road journey and a healthy dose of exhaust fumes. Like watching the sun set over a shabby highway restaurant or eating a melting popsicle next to a dirty campsite pool, »Adria« offers the perfect balance of blandness and heaviness.

Consisting of Chris Breuer (HEADS., ex–THE OCEAN COLLECTIVE), Nic Stockmann (HEADS.) and Felix Gebhard (MUFF POTTER, live–EINSTÜRZENDE NEUBAUTEN), ZAHN stands in the progressive tradition of musicians from a local scene working together on albums and exploring new grounds regardless of the respective bands they became known for. With a debut album that was recorded in only two days, this trio revealed an insatiable thirst for creation and boundless ambition in rhythm and texture.

With »Adria« ZAHN have chosen the scenic route to create a collection of vivid sonic vistas, juxtaposing their noise rock roots with healthy doses of a variety of genres. »Zebra« opens the album like an otherworldly elevator overture faintly echoing the chirping sound of crickets in the warm evening wind, »Faser« stretches out like a highway marrying noisy krautrock textures with remote mathrock elements. Meanwhile, album–closer »Idylle« could easily fit on a soundtrack album to a lost David Lynch motion picture.

Once more, ZAHN have curated a group of talented musicians to augment their own multi–instrumental exercises. ‘Amaranth’ with its rolling rhythm features some excellent doom rock stylings courtesy of guitarist Markus E. Lipka (EISENVATER), while the jazzy mid–section of ‘Tabak’ is softly propelled by the subtle accordion flourishes of Joanna Gemma Auguri. ‘Schmuck’ features an artful buildup in 5/4 embellished by the tasteful guitar playing of Jobst M. Feit (RADARE) while the aforementioned ‘Idylle’ features his bandmate Fabian Bremer(RADARE, AUA) on synthesizer.

Returning to the task of making these musicians sound good is Peter Voigtmann (THE OCEAN COLLECTIVE, SHRVL) who recorded the album at his Die Mühle studio in Northern Germany. The huge storage space of the old mill provided an ideal recording site for ZAHN’s big drums and huge bass sound while leaving ample room for the intricate atmospheres created by the other instruments. Voigtmann also provided his magic on the uncanny end section of ‘Yuccatan 3E’ and on ‘Idylle’, perfectly capturing the unheimlich in shades of slow shimmering sequencers and synthesized textures.

‘Adria’ was mixed and mastered by Magnus Lindberg (RUSSIAN CIRCLES, CULT OF LUNA) at his Stockholm studio. The cover artwork, based around photographs by Lupus Lindemann(KADAVAR), was designed by Fabian Bremer (RADARE, AUA).