16 Apr 2024
Jan Hellriegel - Because You Single Review
28 May 2014 // A review by mciver29
I've been guilty of instantly cringing when hearing of artists that usually have guitars in front of them decide to delve into electronic music but as we all know many of these artists have come out the other side with an expansive body of work that transcends them into a new plain of song writing. My first memory of Jan Hellriegel was from Rip It Up magazine in the mid 90's while I was at High School, I always thought she had a underlying darkness to her and her music but some where along the line she stopped releasing music to have a family and settle down for a while.
I've been guilty of instantly cringing when hearing of artists that usually have guitars in front of them decide to delve into electronic music but as we all know many of these artists have come out the other side with an expansive body of work that transcends them into a new plain of song writing. My first memory of Jan Hellriegel was from Rip It Up magazine in the mid 90's while I was at High School, I always thought she had a underlying darkness to her and her music but some where along the line she stopped releasing music to have a family and settle down for a while.
Jan has since made a comeback with her 2009 album All Grown Up and reintroduced us to a more mature side of her writing. It's been almost 5 years since All Grown Up was released and Jan's latest offering sees her embracing collaboration and successfully furthering her musical boundaries with co-writer and producer Wayne Bell. The pair have a genuine chemistry within the song as both parties compliment each other in beautiful and subtle ways. Jan sings mostly in her lower register throughout the song which is beautifully captured by Bell in a very natural sounding performance. Jan states of her collaboration, “When you co-write with someone you have the benefit of someone else’s perspective and what is concocted can be a hybrid of styles. In this instance I really like what Wayne and I came up with”.
I like to think that fans grow and mature along with artists, and eventually as they have children it is shared with the next generation, which gives the music new life. This is certain to to be the case with Jan Hellriegel's work.
About Jan Hellriegel
Jan moved to Dunedin to attend Otago University, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts, and met up with the friends who would later become Cassandra's Ears. Jan also took vocal training in Speech and Singing at Sister Mary Leo.
At this point she joined her brother Rob's band, Working With Walt, and sang on their 1985 EP '4 Sides', even writing one song, 'Christina', and playing guitars. Between 1989 and 1991 Cassandra's Ears formed to record a song for a Dunedin rock compilation, 'Weird Culture Weird Custom'. Their song The Replacements was released by National Student Radio. The band played local gigs, wrote more material, and eventually released two popular records, 'Private Wasteland' and 'Your Estimation'.
Visit the muzic.net.nz Profile for Jan Hellriegel
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