Who was/is Helmut Debus ? - CDs, Vinyl LPs, DVD and more
Helmut Debus
"I just belong more to the quiet of the land, I'm not with the loud, the garish and the garrulous." (Helmut Debus)
In 1972 Helmut Debus (born 1949) made his first appearance with songs from High and Low Germany, after he had first played drums in the beat band The Madmen Musik in the 60s. That was a time "when Platt was no longer an issue for me at all, it was too stupid for me. Plattdeutsch - those were the 'old people', the homeland clubs. I just wanted to get away from that, out of the confinement. Only when I started singing German myself did I realize what I had inside of me, a wonderfully poetic, musical, second language that had more to do with me than the other," Helmut Debus wrote in his 'Mien plattdütsch Singbook' published in 1989 with Peter K. Kirchhof. In an interview with 'FM folk-michel' in 1992 he said: "I always compare Low German with the left arm and the left hand, because they are closer to the heart".
Helmut Debus has released over a dozen albums since the mid 70s. He describes the approach of his songs as follows: "I want to go deeper with my lyrics, which do not arise from reflection, but from an idea and images that arise from writing. I also don't want to repeat myself with a 'Brokdörp Song' or other, superficially political lyrics" ('FM folk-michel' 6/1992). The Low German singer-songwriter sees himself as a political singer: "I find it literary, social and also politically important to tell a story. [...] By describing a person, one also describes, without expressing it directly in words, something about the social and political state in which this person finds himself, by expressing longings for departure, for awakening. They're poetic themes, but they're very political."
Helmut Debus writes about his song Griep na den Wind:
"The song begins with a "yes. Earlier, when my mother asked me what I wanted to be, I answered: 'I want to be happy later.
Griep na den Wind - reach for the wind.
Nothing stays the way it is. Say what you never said.
Go where you've never been before.
Listen to what you've never heard before. "Griep na den Wind.
Hope is always irrational. Happiness starts with not being afraid anymore. I write and sing because I'm confused by life. To learn to think and feel, to understand each other better. And to understand me.
My language is an ancient language. She's got a lot of silence in her. Short sentences and then a lot of silence. You say one sentence, you hear, you say one sentence.
It's a very unique speech melody, a very unique music. Longing and humble at the same time. Far away and deep inside. May it go on and on.
Griep na den Wind."
For Helmut Debus, Plattdeutsch is a universal language and a "linguistic resistance nest in an ever colder world", which on top of that seems to be getting faster and faster. This is probably one of the reasons why he still refuses to use technical aids such as the Internet, fax or mobile phones - many of which are self-evident and some of which are almost essential to life. "Instead", wrote the 'Folker! 2005 in a portrait, "in case of doubt he trusts in a good fountain pen and decent stationery, otherwise the spoken word is valid, best eye to eye".
Helmut Debus, Am Weserdeich 23, 26919 Brake
Extract from
Various - songwriter in Germany
Vol.3, For whom we sing (3-CD)
/various-songwriter-in-Germany-vol.3-for-who-who-we-sing-3-cd.html
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