long distance calling

(9/10) And here comes the next band from Muenster, Germany, releasing a new album. This time it’s post-rock passionistas Long Distance Calling that unveils a new pearl.

The quartet, comprising of Jan Hoffmann (b), Dave Jordan (g), Florian Füntmann (g) and Janosch Rathmer (d), founded the band back in 2006 with a debut, entitled “Satellite Bay” being released in 2007.

Over time Long Distance Calling added five more records to their impressive discography with the newest strike being ready to be published. “Boundless” is the title of the seventh studio album, featuring eight formidable songs, celebrating the beauty of instrumental music. Long Distance Calling proves that good music doesn’t need words. Music is art and art is created, at least to a certain extent, based on emotions and it's these emotions and feel, that's transferred with each of the eight tracks on “Boundless”.

As with the predecessors also the new album contains music that is timeless, impressive, intense and to the point. In contrary to “Trips”, the new album is a pure instrumental adventure, which starts heavy. “Out There” comes with an extremely powerful riffing. To break the pattern of sound there’s a sphereful middle part embedded before the tune builds up again towards the end. Due to that, the song represents the album in a great fashion and stands strong as an opener.

Calmer tones are captured on the album too. “In the Clouds” is such a song. In general it’s an atmospheric track that includes a lot of passion and dedication. There are some noisy outbursts too, but it’s the ease that dominates.

With “Like a River” the band added a light-hearted tune to the album that includes a violin, before “The Far Side” starts roaring. Long Distance Calling found their own sound that can be immediately identified as being from the Muenster-based quartet. The pleasure that comes with “Boundless” is the variety of sounds and the unexpected twists that surprises. It takes a lot to keep the listener’s attention with a solely instrumental album. Long Distance Calling took this challenge already some years ago and “Boundless” shows again how easily they can handle it.

Next to the songs it’s amazing how tight the guys play on the album. The quartet performs as a rock solid unit, something you can experience on “Boundless” but also during their live shows.

“Skydivers” marks already the end of “Boundless” and is the Grand Finale of an almost 50 minutes long sound experience. There is no way to get around this album, at least not for fans of progressive post-rock that combines musical savvy, creativity and emotional depth to a terrific total. Don’t miss this longplayer.

(9/10)

Tracklist:

1. Out There
2. Ascending
3. In The Clouds
4. Like A River
5. The Far Side
6. On The Verge
7. Weightless
8. Skydivers

Label: InsideOut

Genre: Alternative Rock

Release Date EU: February 2^nd, 2018

New Year's Eve is an excellent moment in time to look back on the last 12 months and what's better than scrolling through photos made that year. I challenged myself in choosing my 12 favorites, which was not a too easy exercise. Anyhow, I've chosen these photos from various shows in 2016.

Have a good start in 2017 and keep on rocking. Thanks for all your support \m/

All photos by Markus Wiedenmann

Just in case you want to see them all - HERE they are.

It might become a tradition that Finnish Amorphis embark on a smaller winter tour around Christmas, celebrating the anniversary of milestone albums. It was two years ago when the guys played a few shows between Christmas and New Year’s Eve, focusing on the entire “Tales From the Thousand Lakes” album that was at that time released 20 years ago. This year the six-piece band puts another album into the spotlight. It was back in 2006 when Amorphis released with “Eclipse” another masterpiece, so a ten years anniversary party.

As in 2014 (it was Avantarium) also this year the support act for these shows was very well chosen. It’s Long Distance Calling from Germany that got the role as special guest for this tour, a package that at first glance seems to be quite different. However, after having seen the show I must say that both bands fit together very well which was also proven by the audience that filled-up the venue already during the set from the Muenster-based band.

Actually it was the second time this year that the four guys came to Tilburg. After having played a headliner show in the smaller out of the two rooms at the 013 the band came back this time with a six track opening show. It felt like the band’s growing their fan base since the venue was already quite packed when the quartet entered the stage at 20:00. Compared to last time, when they had singer Petter Carlsen joining them on tour, Long Distance Calling only played instrumental songs this time. However, I don’t think that anybody who was attending the show missed the ‘vocal songs’ since the band started a progressive rock firework that was highly appreciated be the crowd. Songs like the might “Trauma” are excellent and work perfect as being a part of a live show. The band unleashed a lot of energy that was immediately pick-up by the fans. Long Distance Calling was more than an opening act that night. They played an gorgeous show that night that asks for continuation. Hopefully they’re coming back to Holland in the not too far future.

After the standard 30 minutes break it was time for some Finnish metal by Amorphis. The scenery was kept simple and straight-forward. This wasn’t a too big of a surprise since space was limited, considering a six-piece band that had to fit on this quite small stage. However, the guys used every centimeter and obviously enjoyed themselves playing a 90 minutes show in Tilburg.

After an intro, “Kullervo”, the band from Helsinki started with “Two Moons”. This song is the opener of the “Eclipse” album followed by the other nine tracks in chronological order. Each of the ten tunes is a little highlight in itself with “Brother Moon” standing out even a bit more. Since “Eclipse” was released almost one decade after “Tales from the Thousand Lakes” hit the shelves, the entire set was less oldschool tha two years ago and reflected more the current Amorphis sound. The harsh death metal moments have been very limited since the band didn’t go too far back in history. “My Kantele” from 1996 was the ‘oldest’ tune performed that night – in an acoustic version.

And of course it has been two highlights at the end that closed this metallic evening. “Skyforger” and “Silver Bride” both belong to the best Amorphis songs and therefor act as a worthy grand finale.

Like said in the beginning, this kind of winter tours isn’t a tradition yet, but let’s see if things find a continuation next year. There would be a good reason since the debut “The Karelian Isthmus” faces its 25 years anniversary – so, why not….

Setlist Long Distance Calling:

1. Into the Black Wide Open
2. Black Paper Planes
3. Trauma
4. Momentum
5. Arecibo (Long Distance Calling)
6. Metulsky Curse Revise

Setlist Amorphis:

1. Two Moons
2. House of Sleep
3. Leaves Scar
4. Born from Fire
5. Under a Soil and Black Stone
6. Perkele (The God of Fire)
7. The Smoke
8. Same Flesh
9. Brother Moon
10. Empty Opening
11. Intermission (Piirpauke)
12. Enigma (acoustic version)
13. My Kantele (acoustic version)
14. From the Heaven of My Heart
15. Sampo
16. Skyforger (encore)
17. Silver Bride (encore)

Location: 013, Tilburg, The Netherlands

Date: December 1^st, 2016

A pretty interesting package of musicians and bands stopped at the 013 in Tilburg on this sunny summer evening in May. German post-rockers, or is it more prog rock, Long Distance Calling are on tour to promote their fabulous new album "Trips".

After having played several shows in Germany the band was supposed to play a show in Paris, followed by Tilburg and four UK gigs. Unfortunatelly the Paris show had to be cancelled due to technical problems with the tour bus, but luckily things could have been repaired and Long Distance Calling plus the support acts arrived in time at the great venue in Brabant.

Eventhough Long Distance Calling has been the main act, the evening started in one or another way with the presence of the band too. It was singer/guitarist Petter Carlsen, in the meantime also singer of the Long Distance Calling, who kicked-off this evening. It was a very silent and beautiful beginning of a great night. Carlsen filled the room with his voice and a gently singing guitar, playing some of the tunes of his solo material, partly with support from sixstringer David Jordan.

After having heard these silent tunes it was time for some more noisy stuff. And we could face a continuation of the Norwegian pattern since Rendezvous Point from Kristianstad, Norway was next. The five-piece played a set of appr. half an hour, a period that was full of energetic prog metal. The guys did a good job even though I must say that some of the material missed a bit of a flow. Anyhow, Rendezvous Point enjoyed the time being on stage, spread a good vibe and warmed-up the fans for the headliner: Long Distance Calling.

The guys from Muenster had a great start with the opener of their current album "Trips". "Getaway", the instrumental that perfectly combines 80's synth rock with modern post-rock, was well chosen. Even though more people could have joined the concert (all you guys who haven't been there missed something that night), there was an immediate high level of energy in the room since the fans got what they came for. It's Long Distance Calling's ability, by having many instrumentals in their setlist, showing all the musical virtuosity, while still keeping their live show (and records) exciting for a wider audience. The guys from Muenster are far away from endless solo escapades only showing what each of the musicians can do on their instruments. The guys embed their musical capabilities in songs that are complex and straight-forward, both in one.

The sound of the band got even more exciting by adding vocals to some of the tracks. This meant for the Tilburg-show another 'welcoming' to Petter Carlson. His interpretation of tunes like 'Rewind" and "Middleville" was fantastic and with the energy being included in these tracks they felt almost like a kind of counterpart to the silent sounds of Carlesen's solo performance. Not to forget that those moments have been the ones with three guitarists on stage, something that added to the density of Long Distance Calling's sound.

The band ignited a 90 minutes fireworks that was infectious and impressive. Massive riffs and a dense sound filled the 013, esp. when the guys started "Trauma" with this brutal Rammstein-like guitar sound. It was a pleasure to be part of this event. Fans have been very enthusiastic and it seemed like everybody, including myself, enjoyed every single minute of the show.

Long Distance Calling is one of these bands that merges complexity and 'easy to grasp' in an almost perfect way, something they have proven again in Tilburg on this summerly evening in May. And again, to all the ones who missed the show for whatever reason: Be there the next time when this quartert/quinet comes back the Holland.

Setlist:

1. Getaway
2. Arecibo (Long Distance Calling
3. Momentum
4. Invisible Giants
5. Reconnect
6. Welcome Change
7. Black Paper Planes
8. Trauma
9. Rewind
10. Middleville
11. The Very Last Day
12. Metulsky Curse Revisited
13. Beyond the Void (Encore)

Location: 013, Tilburg, The Netherlands

Date: 09.05.2016

(9/10) Münster, Germany is a city that has a rich cultural scene that generated bands like Black Space Riders, Eat The Gun and ... Long Distance Calling. All these bands have in common that they found their own style with their own trademarks. It's hard to put them into a certain box, label them and done.

In case of Long Distance Calling we can conclude that the guys found their own niche, consisting out of prog rock, avengarde, post-rock and indie-rock, sometimes even pop. The band combine these styles into an almost unique sound which they constantly developed since almost one decade.

What impresses me is the range of musical expressions the guys from Germany offer on their new masterpiece.

"Getaway" marks the beginning of an exciting journey through sounds. Imagine Barclay James Harvest meets Styx to interprete the title track of the cartoon series "Captain Future". This sound weird, indeed. But in the end all this fits together very well, ending up in a n instrumental song that comes with big keyboard-based soundscapes which are guiding you through a musical outerspace.

After such a beginning it's important to "Reconnect". The keyboards are still playing an important role while guitars get more to the forefront. And it's the first song on the album that includes vocals.

Let's jump a bit further on the tracklist. "Trauma" is the next level of Long Distance Calling's heavy sound escalation. It's again an instrumental that includes mighty guitars reminding of Rammstein. To make things even more exciting, the guys reduce this sound cocktail to a grooving bassline in the middle part of this track which is well done counterpart to the loud riffing from the start.

With "Presence" the new disc also included a short interlude, reflecting on the time machine that's part of each of us.

"Momentum" and "Plans" are next, tunes that can easily keep the high level of this longplayer. And they are a kind of prologue for the actually masterpiece entitled "Flux".

This is the grand finale on "Trips". It's a twelve minutes epos in which Long Distance Calling pulls out all the stops. Beautiful arcs of melody create a dreamful soundscape that surrounds you with warmth and comfort. The song builds up along the way and harder guitars make it to a powerful one, something that adds new variants to the tune. It's this correlation between beauty and heavy that is the main thrill of this wonderful composition, that is, by the way, another instrumental.

Long Distance Calling soothed my short distance flight. "Trips" is an album that shows an awesome band at it's best. "Trips" is so far the best album of Long Distance Calling, a record that has to be part of each serious record collection. My expectations has been high, but "Trips" is exceeding those.

(9/10)

Tracklist:

1. Getaway 
2. Reconnect 
3. Rewind 
4. Trauma 
5. Lines 
6. Presence 
7. Momentum 
8. Plans 
9. Flux 

Label: Inside Out

Genre: Prog Rock

Release Date EU: April 29th, 2016

"Getaway" is the new video of German rockers Long Distance Calling. The tune is taken from the upcoming album "Trips" that's coming via Inside Out Music later this month. The band could gain German actor Ralf Richter for playing a role in this clip. All together a good package of music and visual approach. Nothing else expected from these guys.

Long Distance Calling from Muenster, Germany posted the artwork for the upcoming album. This time it's an artwork teaser video that can be watch via the link below.

"Trips" will be published on April 29th, 2016 and comes via InsideOut. This is the tracklist:

1. Getaway
2. Reconnect
3. Rewind
4. Trauma
5. Lines
6. Presence
7. Momentum
8. Plans
9. Flux

To promote the new album the guys will be on tour too. Check out the dates:

28th April – Skater’s Palace, Münster, Germany
29th April – Uebel & Gefährlich, Hamburg, Germany
30th April – Mau Club, Rostock, Germany
2nd May – UT Connewitz, Leipzig, Germany
3rd May – Musik & Frieden, Berlin, Germany
4th May – Kulturkirche, Köln, Germany
5th May – Backstage Halle, München, Germany
6th May – Substage, Karlsruhe, Germany
7th May – KiFF, Aarau, Switzerland
9th May – 013, Tilburg, Netherlands
10th May – Boston Music Room, London, UK
11th May – Exchange, Bristol, UK
12th May – Brudenell Social Club, Leeds, UK
13th May – Craufurd Arms, Milton Keynes, UK

Münster-based Long Distance Calling embarks on a small tour end of this year. Here are the dates:

Beginning of January there are three special show taking place, with extra long sets:

03.01.14 (CH) Bern @ ISC (EXCLUSIVE "AN EVENING WITH LONG DISTANCE CALLING" show with an extra long set)

04.01.14 (NL) Tilburg @ 013 (EXCLUSIVE AN EVENING WITH LONG DISTANCE CALLING" show with an extra long set)

05.01.14 (D) Frankfurt @ Batschkapp (EXCLUSIVE "AN EVENING WITH LONG DISTANCE CALLING" show with an extra long set)

In february follows part 2 of the "The Flood Inside" tour and here are the dates:

LONG DISTANCE CALLING

Junius

Wolves Like Us

06.02.14 (NL) Zoetermeer / Boederij

07.02.14 (D) Dortmund / FZW

08.02.14 (UK) London / Barfly

09.02.14 (F) Paris / Glazart 

11.02.14 (E) Madrid / Shoko 

12.02.14 (E) Barcelona / Apolo 2

13.02.14 (CH) Zürich / Komplex

14.02.14 (A) Wien / Szene

15.02.14 (A) Innsbruck / Weekender

16.02.14 (D) Stuttgart / Wagenhallen

17.02.14 (D) München / Backstage

18.02.14 (D) Berlin / Lido 

19.02.14 (D) Dresden / Beatpol

20.02.14 (LUX) Esch-sur-Alzette / Rockhal