D I S S I D E N T E N
‘The World’ was Dissidenten’s main musical subject long before such ideas floated into fashion. Over a thirty-year span their projects have ranked not only among the most innovative multicultural collaborations but they also figure among the most telling and groundbreaking contributions to the development and broadening of today’s popular music. Since the term ‘World Music’ entered the music lexicon in the early 1980s their name has been synonymous with, and at the forefront of ‘World Music’. After all, it was the Rolling Stone that dubbed Dissidenten “Godfathers of World-Beat” long before the term became popular.
More Info: The Penguin Encyclopedia of Popular Music1981/83: Dissidenten and their own label Exil Musik are founded in Berlin by Uve Muellrich, Marlon Klein and Friedo Josch. Following a one-year tour of Asia, the group decides to stay in India to produce their first album GERMANISTAN with the help of the Karnataka College Of Percussion, their charismatic female singer R.A. Ramamani and percussionist Ramesh Shotham. The live line up is joined by India’s outstanding pianist Louis Banks and American sax legend Charlie Mariano. Concerts between Calcutta and Madrid, Casablanca and Stockholm are documented on the live album GERMANISTAN TOUR 83.
1984/85: Concerts worldwide. Having toured North Africa, Dissidenten set up camp in Tangier, Morocco. Composer and author Paul Bowles and Tangier’s musical godfather Abdesalam Akaaboune introduce them to Moroccan musicians Jil Jilala, Nas El Ghiwane, Lem Chaheb and the likes. Dissidenten's third album SAHARA ELEKTRIK is recorded in Tangier with Lem Chaheb and their outstanding leader Cherif Lamrani. FATA MORGANA -the album’s hit song becomes famous not only in North Africa but a top dancefloor success in Europe and South America. 250.000 people see and hear Dissidenten live during a three-week tour of Spain. British DJ John Peel features the group in his legendary BBC program. 'Dissimania' -initially started out in the Mediterranean, spreads via England to Canada and the US. Dissidenten make it to the top of independent charts worldwide. Concert for German TV-WDR at the famous Rockpalast is broadcasted live all over Europe
1986/88: Concerts worldwide. Dissidenten move to Spain. LIFE AT THE PYRAMIDS is recorded in Madrid and Casablanca. The album includes TELEPHONE ARAB -Dissidenten’s hit song and videoclip. With a coverversion of TELEPHONE ARAB, Egyptian superstar Mohammed Mounir makes it number one all over the Arab world. Dissidenten tour major places in Europe and North America as well as North Afrika and Asia. One of these legendary concerts at New York’s packed Palladium is recorded for the album DISSIDENTEN LIVE IN NEW YORK. The song FATA MORGANA from the 1984 album SAHARA ELEKTRIK becomes a major hit in Brasil and South Amerika –ten years later it will have sold more than 1,5 million copies in Brasil alone. Dissidenten play the title song for the famous telenovela SASSA RICANDO. Till today Dissidenten enjoy a strong following in Brasil.
1989/91: Morocco: Recordings with the Royal Orchestra of Rabat for the album OUT OF THIS WORLD -featuring singer Mahmoud Saadi and the incredible talents of Cherif Lamrani on mandolincello. 1989 OUT OF THIS WORLD is released worldwide. The video for the album’s title song was filmed and produced by Dissidenten in East Berlin -just before and during the Berlin Wall came down. Concerts in North America. Recording for Real American Music in Ottawa. The album involves native American Indian musicians made friends and worked with while touring Canada.
1992/95: Concerts worldwide. Recordings in Mumbay and Bangalore for the album THE JUNGLE BOOK -an artistic reunion with many musicians and friends from the group’s past years working and touring all over India. Most of them have become internationally acclaimed by now. Ramesh Shotham, R.A. Ramamani, Karnataka College of Percussion, Louis Banks or Trilok Gurtu to name a few. European radio DJs vote Dissidenten second place amongst 800 albums in their annual European World Music Charts. DJ Sven Väth remixes the single-release JUNGLE BOOK PART II from the THE JUNGLE BOOK and thus introduces the "Love- and Trance-Generation" to Dissidenten.
1996/99: INSTINCTIVE TRAVELER is recorded in Hawaii, India, Canada, Morocco, Spain and Germany featuring the charismatic voice of Bajka and Germany's Manfred Schoof on trumpet. This highly esteemed album incorporates Dissidenten’s decades of experiences in almost every corner of the sounding globe. INSTINCTIVE TRAVELER is a time-travel between the various planets of Dissidenten’s unique musical universe. Hawaiian singers meet Basque accordionists, native American vocals, Arabic court musicians and Celtic drone as well as South Indian chanting and European Zeitgeist. Dissidenten live -featuring Izaline Calister, Noujoum Ouazza, Manickam Yogeswaran and Manu Gallo- play Europe's biggest festivals including two times in a row Glastonbury, Montreux Jazzfestival and Roskylde. Highlights from each of these shows are released on the album LIVE IN EUROPE.
2000: Dissidenten are exploring yet another musical world. Teaming up with composer Gordon Sherwood and video artist Stefanie Seidl they create the “Documentary Opera” THE MEMORY OF THE WATERS, first performed at “Internationales Donaufestival Ulm” for German National Radio SWR by the Bratislava Sinfonic Orchestra & Choir. Director: Peter Feranec, featuring Charlie Mariano, Nojoum Ouazza, Manickam Yogeswaran, Barabara Buchholz and Tomás San Miguel - more than 100 musicians on stage. Between 2000 and 2005 THE MEMORY OF THE WATERS is performed by various orchestras all over Europe. LA MEMORIA DE LAS AGUAS, the Spanish version is performed with conductor Tomás Garrido and the Orchestra & Choir Pamplona for the Festivales de Navarra -broadcasted by Spanish National Radio live nationwide. World Exhibition Expo 2000 Hannover: In collaboration with German sculptor Albert Hien Dissidenten compose and perform a piece for 96 Bavarian brass bands and a sound installation incorporating the sound of bells from 96 different Bavarian cathedrals and churches.
2001/05: 20 years around the world: Dissidenten once again call upon friends and collaborators to celebrate the anniversary. The album 2001: A WORLD BEAT ODYSSEY, gathers some of Europe’s most famed DJs: Badmarsh, Tricatel, Ravi Bal, Shantel, Deep-Dive-Corp, Lelonek, Kulisch & Vana and Slop Shop remix nine tracks from almost all musical phases of Dissidenten. In 2003 the remix-collection is completed with the album DISSIDENTEN REMIX.ED 2.O: A NEW WORLD ODYSSEY. At Womex 2001 in Rotterdam Dissidenten present thier new project IN 80 NIGHTS AROUND THE WORLD -including various DJs, VJ Annah and Andreas Leifeld, which later is performed live all over Europe.
2006/07: Dissidenten are touring North Africa with Moroccan hereos Jil Jilala. Between concerts they work together in Tangier and Casablanca to complete the new DISSIDENTEN//JIL JILALA album »THE TANGIER SESSIONS«. 2007: The band composes and arranges the musical program at the final party of Germany’s spectacular CREOLE-Award for World Music. French/German TV ARTE and German TV WDR broadcast a lengthy feature about Dissidenten’s Moroccan experiences.
2008: The album »THE TANGIER SESSIONS« is released. Concerts in Europe and North Africa from April onwards. The first gig of the tour is broadcasted live and online by German National Radio SWR in April 2008.
contact: info@dissidenten.com
