with Uwe Hassbecker
Of course, Dieter "Maschine" Birr has never done anything impersonal in his more than 50-year career as a musician, but "Lieder für Generationen - Maschine Intim" is the most personal thing he has ever brought to the stage. Never before has the ECHO award-winning singer, guitarist, composer and lyricist, who wrote music history with the Puhdys, been more approachable. As a listener/viewer, you are rarely closer than with Maschine's "Songs for Generations".
At his side: Uwe Hassbecker, a Silly musician for over three decades and also a member of Maschine's band for several years. With his virtuoso playing on guitar, violin and mandolin, he enriches the "Songs for Generations" like no other. It's as if what belongs together is now growing together.
As a duo, they take themselves to a new level of quality and deliver a musical exchange of blows at the highest level. Although the musical careers of Birr and Hassbecker are different, they have the same common denominator: passion and musical skill. The brilliant duo has long since ceased to have to prove anything to anyone, and yet the two have retained the fighting spirit and energy of newcomers.
And they draw from the full: the 47-year success story of the Puhdys (in figures: over 22 million records sold and more than 4500 concerts) is peppered with cross-generational hits, most of which have cult status. "Songs for Generations" spans the spectrum from Puhdys classics to more recent songs from Maschine's Top 20 solo albums and the odd cover song. And that's not all the surprises.
The songs are reduced to the essentials and yet nothing is missing. No note has the chance to weaken, to hide behind a drum break or a keyboard pad. In the supposedly slimmed-down versions, the familiar songs unfold a whole new magic, the old familiar surprises with new approaches and approaches. As is so often the case, less is sometimes more, and the "Songs for Generations" promise magical concert evenings. Musically, the journey continues in 2022: an album with new songs will be released at the end of the year, for which Maschine is currently working in the studio. The single "Bessere Tage" has already been released as a foretaste.
