专辑简介

An old Korean proverb says: "One can build a mountain by collecting specks of dust". Maximilian Hecker has been collecting dust and building a mountain of greatness and sheer beauty that has not yet reached its peak. His newest album, ONE DAY is yet another step up from the valley of small-town-Germany into the heights of the endless sky. After a long journey around the world – east, west, down south and back home again; after compiling pop songs of a perfection seldom crafted in Germany before on the album "Infinite Love Songs"; after mastering the art of composing songs of sumptuousness on "Rose" and of aloof, angelic beauty on "Lady Sleep"; after discovering heroes like Bob Dylan on "I'll Be a Virgin, I'll Be a Mountain", Maximilian Hecker is returning to pop on his new album ONE DAY. Matured and more experienced, strengthened from the long way up that lies behind him, a clear-headed and more forceful and focused Maximilian Hecker than ever before is ready to close his eyes and let experience and wisdom run through the veins of his music. For the first time, Maximilian Hecker's faithful band – Johannes Feige on electric guitar, Sebastian Vogel on bass guitar and Snorre Schwarz on drums – undertook 13 intense rehearsals and five studio sessions in the creative recording process that made ONE DAY. Noting how much the band members had bonded on their tours of Europe and Asia, Maximilian saw that it was time to benefit from these roots of trust and friendship, the pillars of constant success and artistic growth. On the new album – that is produced by Guy Sternberg – who had already done that job for "Lady Sleep" and "I'll Be a Virgin, I'll Be a Mountain" – Maximilian Hecker's voice is still haunted by Bob Dylan's tone of singing in songs like "The End of Longing", and even the distant Oasis seem to have left a fading imprint on "Misery". The French band Air left invisible footprints on the beautiful pearl "Miss Underwater," and even Ryan Adams in his country phase has left an impression noticeable in songs like "This Poison Called Love (Home In a Town That Has Sunk)". Still, ONE DAY is everything but an echo. It is Maximilian Hecker returning and, at the same time, moving up, facing the top of the mountain he built with his dreams and his music, one step further up on his extraordinary path. Fifteen years ago, somewhere in the vastness of western German provincial towns and villages, the young Maximilian Hecker found the gift of writing and making music. From that day on, he dreamt of singing his songs to other people, taking them to the nation, the continent and, maybe, even beyond – in short, a dream of sharing this gift with other people. For a small town boy, the foggy path to pop stardom seemed almost hopeless. When Maximilian moved to Berlin in 1998, he aspired to a more common goal: to study. But he never gave up dreaming, and thus his free time was dedicated to his true passion of making music. It almost felt as though his music needed to find a way out of him. Seeking instant gratification of this need, Maximilian simply created an "instant stage" by performing on the street at Hackescher Markt where he knew he would reach people who could appreciate and understand his music. One day, a man stopped by and listened to the fragile beauty of Maximilian's voice and music. The man happened to be one of the owners of the famous Berlin-based Kitty-yo record label. Bewildered by Maximilian's craft, Kitty-yo released his debut record "Infinite Love Songs" in October 2001 to instant success in Germany and throughout Europe. Starting that day, it was clear that Maximilian Hecker had far outgrown the pavements of Berlin, and he began touring his music to venues all over the continent. There was no turning back after that. What was once nothing but a dream became a destination, as if Maximilian Hecker was sent out to fulfil a promise made a long time ago. He next created "Rose", an album filled with sumptuous and intoxicating sounds reflecting his "Sturm und Drang"-phase in May 2003. This rose in bloom reached further depths in songwriting and arrangement and attracted interest from a place far east of Maximilian's Berlin home. The South Korean record label Pastel Music noticed the uniqueness of both, "Infinite Love Songs" and "Rose" and released both of them in South Korea. It was around this time that the call that Maximilian had heard years ago to rise up and write songs for the invisible ghosts of consolation, asked for a broader range. The German cultural institution Goethe Institut took him on a long journey that carried him all over South America to the Cape of Africa; from Tel Aviv via Ankara back to mainland Europe, from the UK through Scandinavia, to the United States, to Japan, Korea, China and finally to the Land of Oz. After returning home to Berlin, Maximilian continued down his path by exploring the craft of composing. He conceived his third album, the ethereal "Lady Sleep" and released it in Europe in January and in South Korea in April 2005, followed by a European tour and two very well acclaimed concerts in Seoul, South Korea. Then, in August 2005, the Taiwanese record label Avant Garden Records decided to offer Maximilian yet another home in Asia. His first spectacular two concerts in Taipei took place in June 2006, and Avant Garden Records expressed their pride in releasing his records in Taiwan – in the past, present and future. Maximilian left the elusive grounds of "Lady Sleep" and returned to the art of songwriting on his fourth album "I'll Be a Virgin, I'll Be a Mountain" that he recorded in order of his new German record label V2 Records. The album hit the shelves in Europe, South Korea and Taiwan in September 2006. Never one to rest on his laurels, Maximilian got back to touring, visiting Europe, Taiwan and South Korea, and in early 2007, he recorded cover versions of some of his favourite songs exclusively for the Asian market which ended up on the album "Once I Was" that was released in South Korea and Taiwan in the summer of that year. Then, in May 2007, Maximilian Hecker even reached out to China. There, Pocket Records released his Best-of compilation "I Am Falling Now", and in July 2007, his most extensive and succesful tour of Asia to date took him to Taipei, Taichung, Kaohsiung, Seoul, Beijing, Shenzhen and Shanghai. There is an old Chinese proverb that says: "On this world there exists no such impossible tasks, they fear only those with perseverance." A true seeker, a patient emissary, Maximilian Hecker has created an artistic body, that continues to shine on.