LOTHAR JAHN
“Dreams of ‘75” 2xCD”
Lothar
Jahn’s "February '75”
single was released by
the German label Sound
Records in 1977. It was
a very unusual record,
somewhere between
psychedelic, folk, and
Krautrock. It was
reviewed thus on
Discogs: “A mysterious
journey through Cosmic
Psych Folk Kraut,
whatever you may call
it. Fantastic, from
beginning to end.
Another Kraut on 45
milestone.” The newly
recorded album, “Dreams
of ’75,” is an
extended riff on the
original single, taking
that smaller vision as a
starting point and then
launching into a weirder
and wilder
psychedelic/progressive
stereoscopic headspace
than was evident (or
possible) on the
original single. Both
the rare single and the
new album are included
in this very limited
2xCD digipack edition.
So, who is Lothar Jahn?
he is a
singer/songwriter,
presenter and
multi-instrumentalist
who has been active in
the German music scene
since the early
1970s. Since 2020,
Jahn has his own
television
show, Lothar's
Liedertreff. He was
in German rock band
PTHR, and later, in the
folk band Jaw-Bone. His
musical spectrum ranges
from rock to folk to
chanson to historical
music performance. He is
considered a specialist
in the field of medieval
music, and has been
responsible for the
web platform Minnesang.com
for many years.
And what were Jahn's
dreams of '75? "They
were wistful dreams of
boundless love,
community and peace,
boundless sex, boundless
freedom and a lot
of wonderful music. Only
the last dream came true
without limits — it was
the middle of the
seventies… a time when
everyone longed for
complicated song
structures, clever
lyrics, melodic fantasy
and intricate works of
art full of
emotionality. What
better time to grow up
than back then, in the
middle of works
like Oldfield's
“Ommadawn” and Pink Floyd's
“Wish You Were Here”?”
says Jahn.
On this record, Jahn
plays virtually every
instrument known to
humanity. Ok, that’s not
true, but he does play
an alphabet of
instruments: accordion,
acoustic guitar, bass
guitar, bodhran, cister,
chimes, crwth, dobro,
dommel (very small
guitar), double speed
guitar, double speed
harp, dulcimer, e-drum,
electric guitar,
electric piano, frame
drum,
fiddle, glockenspiel,
grand piano, geyerleier,
Hammond organ,
harmonica, jukebox,
lyre, marimba-phone,
mandolin, melodica,
Moorish lute, one string
lute, percussion, noises
and voices, reed organ,
sampled bagpipes and
bourdons, sampled
Mellotron, Spanish
guitar,
synthesizers, twelve-string
guitar, vibraphone,
telephone bell, tubular
bells, and xylophone.
All of these are
combined into an odd and
highly idiosyncratic mix
of Jahn's medieval music
interests and his love
of the strange, and the
psychedelic and
progressive. This LP
version of "Dreams of
75” includes the bonus
track ‘Merseburger,’
recorded with Olaf
Casalich, the singer of
famed German band Ougenweide.
It also comes with an
8-page booklet giving
Jahn’s thoughts on his
life and the dreams
which provoked this
album.
•Limited edition, with
only 125x copies
available outside of
Germany.
•Six bonus tracks not on
the forthcoming
LP version of
“Dreams of ’75"!
•Includes the February
'75 single, originally
released by the German
label Sound Records in
1977.
2xCD edition:
Catalogue
number: LION 693
UPC: 4170000012719
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