Tender Rain

Description

may reach back as far as the late 1980s.
The album opens with the title track “Tender Rain,” where smooth vocal jazz
harmonies merge effortlessly with soulful pop elements. The track originally
appeared only on CD in 1993 on the small Mikado label run by renowned German
guitarist Ulli Bögershausen. The band recalls that the piece was first pre-recorded
using MIDI equipment and a Tascam 16-track recorder before being completed in the
studio with drums by legendary drummer Mickie Stickdorn (Carsten Bohn’s
Bandstand, Cyklus, Elephant, Lake), percussion by Corinna Ludzuweit, and the final
touch—Lisa Ohm’s remarkable vocals.

At the time, Mikado was also looking for instrumental material for radio and
synchronization use. They selected the track “Tropfstein” for a sampler CD and
requested more pieces. In response, “und recken ihre schlanken Glieder” (roughly
translated as “and stretching their slender limbs”) was composed especially for the
project, as Frank Simon remembers. Both tracks appeared on the now rare Mikado
sampler CD under the alias z. Zt., short for “zur Zeit” (“at present” or “these days”).
Several further pieces in a similar vein were created during this period, including the
previously unissued “Auf unserm grünen Sofa,” “Reise bei Nacht,” and “Was ich Dir
noch sagen wollte.” These tracks are beautifully crafted downtempo pieces featuring
smooth, jazzy piano lines combined with touches of ambient and New Age
aesthetics. “Auf unserm grünen Sofa” stands out in particular and will likely resonate
with all downtempo enthusiasts. Lutz Boberg recalls that many of these recordings
were captured during a single afternoon in the studio, fueled by spontaneous ideas
and creative momentum.
On tracks such as “Teardrops in Your Eyes,” “New Love,” and the haunting Dark
Spirits Mix of Ghia’s song “What’s Your Voodoo?”, singer Lisa Ohm delivers soulful
pop performances with her clear and captivating voice. “Change Your Sex,” the third
track previously featured on the Mikado sampler, leans more toward late-1980s funk
and was aimed at radio and DJs at the time. Its subject matter was relatively daring
for the period, telling the story of someone contemplating a change of sex “to get rid
of the troubles.”
Together with “This Is” and “Curacao Blue”, “Tender Rain” forms another essential
chapter in the rediscovery of the band’s work. More than thirty years after their
creation, these recordings still sound strikingly fresh, reflecting a unique style that in
many ways anticipated the rise of trip-hop in the early to mid-1990s.