Detailed Reviews [Melanie Mau & Martin Schnella - 2020 - "Crowdless Sessions"]

Prolusion. German duo Melanie Mau and Martin Schnella have been working together for a few years by now, releasing original material as well as cover material at a steady pace. Among their more recent productions is the CD/DVD set "Crowdless Sessions", which was released towards the end of 2020.

Analysis. The music explored by this creative duo and their backing musicians is one that sticks out a bit in a progressive rock landscape, as the main and dominant aspects of the material are vocals and the acoustic guitar. They do not follow any of the main set traditions for music using these two elements as the main driving force either, but by choice or accident instead manages to combine elements in a compelling and interesting manner. On this occasion we get the music from two live sets, performed without a live audience present, with the material either being originals made by this duo or material made for the band Flaming Row which they are both members of. In both cases acoustic rock, albeit with an electric bass present if I'm not much mistaken, is the dominant aspect of the music performed. The Flaming Row songs in particular are closer tied to rock music than anything else, which is natural given that Flaming Row is a progressive metal band. That the songs are enthralling also in a more acoustic arrangement should be regarded as a testament to quality songwriting for starters. What this duo also brings to the table are the vocals of course. The instrumentation delivers acoustic rock, with some additions of elements from folk music as well as jazz on occasion, but the vocals adds a bit more of that folk music vibe, mainly by way of vocal melodies but also in the vocal style: Melodic and flowing rather than dramatic and impact-oriented. That both Schnella and Mau have compelling voices is a factor that undeniably is a factor here too, and the same goes for the later addition of vocalist Mathias Ruck. I suspect that quite a few listeners will fall for this music based on the vocals more than any other elements present, and for some I suspect at a core and primal level somewhere. The DVD section consists of two live in studio performances by slightly different incarnations of the band. Both of them are fine performances by a band that from what I can see here are performers rather than entertainers. The lack of a live audience will probably have had an impact here of course, performers who are also entertainers tend to need an audience to interact with. The bonus section of the DVD, apart from assembling the promo videos made for this venture as of December 2020, also contains a fairly long interview. Which will be of substantial interest for fans of the band. In this case primarily German speaking fans though. Parts of the interview have been summarized in English text, but this is a case where Mau and Schnella should have used some external aid I think. In a perfect world to transcribe and translate the entire interview, but at minimum go over the translated summaries to iron out spelling mistakes, typos and a few obvious translation mistakes. I'd guesstimate that about 40% of the total interview have been given this summarized English translation though, and obviously that is better than nothing. But a bit better quality control would have made this section come across a whole lot better, and without too much effort this interview could have been a proper highlight for all fans of the band too. I'm one of those persons who tend to focus on the music, and the music here is accomplished, well made and well performed, and for my sake at least with the vocals as the main ingredient in terms of making a greater impact. And in that context this is a solid production.

Conclusion. For my sake, I do not find that the DVD part of this production will have much of an appeal beyond the existing fan base. The footage of the live in studio environments doesn't add all that much to the total experience for those who have a more casual relation with the artists. Existing fans will obviously find the same footage to be much more interesting, and as the footage is of a high quality on image as well as sound, fans will most likely find it quite interesting to see and hear these musicians perform. The bonus section collects the band's promo videos, which might be handy, and a long interview that for stated reasons will be much more of interest for those who understand the German language and a bit less interesting for those who have to resort to the summarized English translation. The total package is a treat for German speaking fans, a nice addition to the collection for fans elsewhere, and a solid product overall - albeit one that for me at least lacks some elements to make the CD/DVD combo a tempting acquisition beyond the existing and future fanbase of Mau and Schnella.

Progmessor: January 2022
The Rating Room