NEW ALBUM... LOST TRACTION
Fasten your seatbelts for this album! Otherwise, you might lose traction. What Ralf Henrich, aka RAHEN, presents in his latest album "Lost Traction" is not an ambience for easy listeners. These songs don't want to be consumed, but heard and understood! Because they speak - musically and lyrically - of the big emotions and themes such as love and passion, anger and hate, powerlessness and obsession, with RAHEN also not shying away from taboos such as addiction and dependence, instead bringing them out of the depths of human existence into the bright light.
Here is someone who doesn't reduce the spectrum of life to the pleasant and pleasing, but instead takes his listeners on an adventurous and varied journey through an acoustic mirror chamber where behind every corner there's a new encounter with the self and life. A life that, when looked at honestly, often lacks consistent Instagram-worthy quality, but is instead marked by highs and lows, shocks, breaks, loss and confusion. And yet, the listener is not met with a dark sense of impending doom, but rather a delicate musical fabric of light and shadow. Because the counterpoint to RAHEN's critical look at humanity and the world and its systems is always his seemingly inexhaustible joy and delight in musical experimentation!
RAHEN began experimenting with electronic music instruments in the 80s. In 1983, he produced the song "Feel It Right" with his then musical partner Andreas Tomalla, aka Talla 2XLC, under the project name AXODRY. Over the coming years, he composed and produced more electronic dance floor classics whose sound aesthetics would later significantly influence the sound of Frankfurt.
RAHEN is thus regarded as a pioneer of the Frankfurt electronic music scene. His unique style and the way he used synthesizers and drum computers were groundbreaking for the electronic dance music scene at the time. In particular, with his projects Robotiko Rejekto, Microchip League and Moskva TV, he created iconic dance floor classics such as "Rejekto," "Umsturz jetzt!," "Communicate," and "Tekno Talk."
In addition, he produced other defining debut works for artists such as ARMAGEDDON DILDOS, LEATHERSTRIP and AIRCRASH BUREAU. He was also involved in the first album "Dynamics and Disciplines" of MOSKWA TV with Kurt Ader, whom he had been working with since 1984 and later with Axel Henninger. He also played a key role in the founding of Frankfurt-based record labels like „Muzic Research, Zoth Ommog und New Zone“ in the late 80s, which helped shape the Sound of Frankfurt in the following years.
Overall, "Lost Traction" is a must-listen for fans of electronic music, and for anyone who wants to take a journey through the complexities of the human experience. RAHEN is a true pioneer of electronic music, and his influence on the genre is undeniable. Don't miss out on this album!
BASICS
RAHEN is one of the leading composers and producers of the SOUND OF FRANKFURT. He has been working as a composer, music producer, and artist since 1982. to date, he has released more than 100 songs (12“/cd/streaming/etc.) of different styles and genres, both under his stage name rahen as well as numerous project names. His songs tekno talk and umsturz jetzt! ranks within the 100 most influential dance music songs of all time!
He also deserves recognition as the master mind behind bands such as robotiko rejekto, moskwa tv, mcl and axodry, and led his compositions to success, also at an international level. bands like leatherstrip, armageddon dildos, airbrush bureau and many more had their debut albums produced by him, thereby establishing themselves within the music industry and achieving their musical breakthrough. moreover, he has accomplished numerous international remixes over time.
With its musical origin in the 80s, RAHEN has continuously developed his projects into the present. He radically and persistently mixes his distinctive retro style with styles of alternative, crossover, and electro music.
Furthermore, RAHEN is at home in the vast field of electronic music. The spectrum of his creative work ranges from ambient and meditation music, to electro, trip hop, dance, and eurodisco.
With his music, RAHEN acoustically describes the disruption and inconsistency of our existence in conflict with a rough world. His music is an initiative to raise awareness to the world’s ongoing decline to the bad, thus representing a voice against blind greed and emotional impoverishment.
A lot of the lyrics refer to social and political developments in a world affected by increasing globalization, aggressive militarism, respectively, the formation of a military-industrial complex in our industrialized world. The anger about the ever-increasing and seemingly uncontrolled destruction of nature and exploitation of mankind is expressed in the words.
RAHEN militates explicitly against triple oppression, i.e. multiple and simultaneous oppression and discrimination based on sexual, ethnical, and class-specific affiliation (sexism, racism, classism).
RAHEN has closely teamed up with the singer and songwriter FAE CROSS. Often working behind the scenes, she‘s the one to transport RAHEN‘s ideas and point of view into lyrics, giving his messages a sharp edge as well as a female voice whenever necessary.
