Question: What is it that all those “mixed duos” of recent musical history, acts like Eurythmics, Everything But The Girl, The White Stripes or The Dresden Dolls have in common?
Answer: They all have clear roles within the band. In the case of Berlin-based duo It’s A Musical, things are a little different though: Ella Blixt aka Bobby Blumm and Robert Kretzschmar don’t have these clear roles; instead they go for a decidedly more open and democratic approach.
They write their songs together, they decide who plays which instrument for any given song (in concert, they repeatedly switch between various instruments), and when recording, they keep things DIY (Norman Nitzsche, who mixed the latest album by The Whitest Boy Alive, was the only additional person to help out with mixing in the studio).
It’s A Musical | Ball Of Joy
httpv://https://youtube.com/watch?v=vHy7BU3thuw&feature=player_embedded
And then there is, of course, the band’s unique way to layer the vocals – two voices in unison, frequently singing together throughout both the verse and the chorus. However, the resulting new LP – and those familiar with It’s A Musical’s first album “The Music Makes Me Sick” know this –, does NOT sound like it follows a political concept.
Apart from the euphoric choruses, a hidden sense of humor remains another trademark of this band – and this sense of humor is in large part owed to sharing the microphone.
Both Ella and Robert are actually trained multi-instrumentalists, and busy with lots of other projects: Robert also plays drums for Masha Qrella, and Ella, who recently worked with Peaches, is involved with popkollo.se and
rubytuesdaymusic.de. Furthermore, both members of It’s A Musical help organize special rock camps for young teenage girls.
Mind you, these activities have nothing in common with Disney Musical Films or the Jonas Brothers: instead, these camps are about keeping the original Riot-Grrrl vibe alive. Which means we’re back to politics. A topic rarely treated and presented so smartly as in this case.
Guest musicians for this show will be: Masha Qrella, Justine Elektra, Jolly Goods, Noel. ________________________________________________________________
It’s A Musical with guests: Masha Qrella, Justine Elektra, Jolly Goods, Noel – LIVE
Thursday, 29 March 2012 | 20:00 CET
Ballhaus Ost | Pappelallee 15 | 10437 Berlin/Prenzlauer Berg
itsamusical.com | ballhausost.de
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