Spain is a country full of warmth, temperament and joy of life. The Spanish soul is synonymous with love of life and unbridled passion; the geographical features between Estaca de Bares and Punta Marroquí are the epitome of natural beauty; and the songs of the southern European kingdom always draw on the full life between agonizing heartbreak and perfect cheerfulness. It is all the more astonishing that a band from Hanover has managed to translate the Spanish attitude to life into music for an international audience and, with their sun-drenched sound of Spanish flair and catchy pop melodies, to put together a passionate package of hits that also works beyond any national borders. We’re talking about Marquess.
It’s been three years since the band from Lower Saxony released their last studio album “Compañía Del Sol” and made it into the charts thanks to the combination of relaxation and commitment. A lot has happened since then. Artistic differences caused bassist and keyboardist Marco Heggen to leave the band in September 2011. Since then, Marquess has been a trio. But what would have been the beginning of the end for many other groups led to a release of energies that had almost been thought lost for Sascha Pierro (vocals), Christian Fleps (keyboard) and Dominik Decker (guitar); to a new burst of artistic motivation; and to a creative culmination in groundbreaking new songs, all of which can now be found on the new album “Bienvenido”.
“Songwriting suddenly became wonderfully easy for us again,” reports Dominik Decker. “Even our old label Starwatch was so enthusiastic about the euphoria of the new songs that we were immediately given a new record contract in order to rewrite the old success story again.”
The old success story is four long-playing records, eight single hits and countless live concerts across the entire continent. This goes hand in hand with gold and platinum awards throughout Europe, number 1 hits in the Czech Republic, Poland, Greece and Switzerland, an Echo nomination in 2008 as “Best Band of the Year” and – all of their releases combined – almost 200 -week stay in the top 100 of the media control charts.
A success story that could hardly be more exciting. And yet Marquess feel called upon to add a new chapter to this ongoing success story with their upcoming album “Bienvenido”. The approach of novelty, freshness and freshness can be heard in every bar, every melody and every line of lyrics on the songs on the new album. One almost has the feeling that the individual pieces on the record have been fueled with the illuminating lightness of the Spanish sun in order to make the audience’s eyes light up and put a summery smile on their faces. The sound sounds more modern, playful and impresses with a stronger integration of electronic influences than on the previous albums. Nevertheless, “Bienvenido” sounds unmistakably like the Mediterranean dance-pop of Marquess at every point, which so unmistakably characterized the summers of 2006 to 2009 that we can hardly wait for the upcoming summer of 2012.
“Bienvenido” (in German: welcome) is the musical greeting formula for entering the charts, clubs and fan hearts alike. The traditional recipe of driving dance tunes, catchy sing-along choruses and a feel-good vibe set to music is cleverly refined on “Bienvenido” and given the necessary spice by the contemporary paint.
Spain may be a country full of warmth, temperament and joy of life. But the appropriate soundtrack for his attitude to life comes from Hanover.
From Marquess.
More information is available at: www.marquess.de
