Friday, March 27th, 2009

Peter Fox – Schwarz zu Blau

Third solo single for the idiosyncratic Seeed frontman…



[Video][Website]
[5.71]

Edward Okulicz: German is often a poor language for rap just because of how it sounds – mechanical and with too many of those soft “ch” sounds that make it stick in the back of the throat a little much. But it’s hard to argue with the stalking backbeat and dark-alley-whistling here.
[7]

Martin Skidmore: I loved Adam F’s productions with US hip hop stars: the huge and dramatic orchestral combinations with potent beats. This German single is aiming at similar territory, I think, but seems a little underpowered, though the strings do give a moody atmosphere. It’s in German, so I have no idea if the sense of darkness fits whatever he is rasping at us – I want it to be something between “Ghost Town” and Skinnyman’s “Council Estate of Mind”, which would make this work well. The mark is based on my imagining that is the case…
[8]

Martin Kavka: Over minor-key horn chords and strings, Peter Fox raps about the skill that Berlin has to alienate its residents, as a result of its drug culture, uncleanlines and general ugliness. This isn’t exactly a new theme either for rap or for treatments of Berlin. But why is his answer to go to bed and wait for the sun to rise? Is social action that impossible? In other words, Bertolt Brecht this isn’t.
[4]

Hillary Brown: If you think “Gasolina” would have been much better if it were just a whole heck of a lot more Teutonic and less fun, Peter Fox has you covered.
[4]

Ian Mathers: It’s weird – the big stonking beat and those far-off, majestic horns both work tremendously well on their own terms, but they seem to be getting in each other’s way. I kind of want this either to go totally beat-crazy or else turn into something really imperious, but it’s stranded in the slightly awkward middle ground between the two. Still, German – what a great language to rap in, eh?
[6]

Additional Scores

Dave Moore: [4]
Hazel Robinson : [7]

2 Responses to “Peter Fox – Schwarz zu Blau”

  1. Ah, thanks to Martin K for more or less confirming what I wanted it to be about!

  2. Yeah — “schwarz zu blau” (“black to blue”) is the transition from scary latenight Berlin to the dawn of a new shiny happy Berlin … until the night comes again.