Music

"Guten Morgen Freiheit" by Yvonne Catterfeld: Independence suits her well

10/03/2017 written by Michel Imhof
Yvonne Catterfeld is releasing her seventh album today, the first under her own label. It shows: Artistic freedom is good for her.

The artist

Yvonne Catterfeld (37) became famous through her role in the RTL series "Gute Zeiten - Schlechte Zeiten". She proved herself as a singer with her German megahit "Für dich", which was produced by Dieter Bohlen and covered by Vanessa Mai, among others. Since then, 14 years have passed and Catterfeld released an album every year from 2003 to 2006. After that, the intervals between releases became longer and she changed record company several times.

The new album

The seventh album is a small new beginning for Catterfeld. She has founded her own record label, Veritable Records (which translates as "real", "true", "independent"). "The idea came to me during 'Sing meinen Song'. The producers there told us that we could do whatever we wanted. I found that very impressive and liberating," she says. Good Morning Freedom" is probably also inspired by this.

Grounded: Yvonne Catterfeld has found the meaning of life in her child.
It is Catterfeld's first album as a mother, which is sometimes reflected in the lyrics. "Was Bleibt" is entirely dedicated to her son: "Very quietly I hear you breathing next to me and I'm at home", it says. Catterfeld presents herself as a soul-pop singer, she worked with the German producer team Beatgees, who are responsible for Namika's "Lieblingsmensch", MoTrip's "So wie du bist" and Tim Bendzko's "Wenn Worte meine Sprache wären". MoTrip can also be heard on one of the 15 album tracks.

Recommended tracks

The title track "Guten Morgen Freiheit" gives you an idea of what to expect from the album right from the start: Cozy, soulful pop mixed with Catterfeld's gentle yet impressive voice. The creative time-out and artistic freedom suit Catterfeld well. The album also offers experiments such as the 90-second song "Naftali".

Verdict

The days of Catterfeld's pop songs are definitely over: "Guten Morgen Freiheit" is a real insider tip for fans of Tim Bendzko, Namika or Sarah Connor's German records. However, Catterfeld differs from the latter with her more soulful voice. The collaborations with MoTrip, Chima, Bengio and Teesy are also good for the album. It's worth listening to the lyrics: The songs "Irgendwas" and "Besser werden" criticize capitalism: "Does everything really have to get better to be good enough? Further, faster, higher, so that it's finally enough," they say.

Yvonne Catterfeld on "Guten Morgen Freiheit"

At the beginning of the album production, there was nothing, says Catterfeld: "My record contract expired, I didn't know what to do because I'd never been in this situation before." But founding her own label gave her the chance to take the helm herself. Many expected melancholic sounds from her: "But I'm actually very positive. I'm someone who pushes forward and I think that's now very much reflected in the music." With the new label, she was also able to take a risk: "I often thought that I would also like to have hip-hop beats on the album. And the reactions were always negative, but I just went for it. Afterwards, everyone realized that it worked. I might have had to discuss such a step beforehand." After all, the producers of the album, the Beatgees, come from hip-hop. "They symbolize what I've always liked," says Catterfeld. "After all, I studied music. I mainly spent my time with Erykah Badu and Lauryn Hill. I'm returning to my roots with this album."

Live

Yvonne Catterfeld will be performing at Theater 11 Zurich on March 30. It is her first tour in eleven years.

YVONNE CATTERFELD
Thu 30 March 2017, Theater 11 Zurich
TICKETS

Translated with DeepL