gustav -- rettet die wale.
There is a rather cool tendency amongst singer-songwriters to being modest with their real names; Feist, Annie, Beirut and M.I.A. are only a few of many one-name international acts. So Gustav, similarly, is not the blond, square-shouldered son of a Viennese butcher that you may have imagined but rather a 26 year old fine arts student from Graz; a girl called Eva Jantschitsch . The reason behind the alias ‘Gustav’? ‘My father always wanted a boy,’ she explains, ‘so he used to call me 'Gustav' until I was at least three.’
The 9 track début album, listed no. 005 in the Mosz catalogue - a new Austrian label founded in 2003 to be 'located at the borderline between analogue and digital concepts in music' - is every bit as interesting and unpredictable as a rollercoaster ride. Sung half in German and half in English, 'Rettet Die Wale' is an album that samples a very diverse spectrum of music. From the restless, keep-up-or-die punk-rock tunes of 'Da, Am MonopØl' to the glacial ambient sounds of 'Genua', Rettet Die Wale will have your full attention from the first song to the last.
The album’s title, 'Rettet Die Wale', translates to ‘Save The Wales’ in English. Gustav’s music may be politically charged but this does not mean that the album is a constant rant about environmentalism and human rights. Eva Jantschitsch is simply too intricate for that. Instead, the songs are written poetically and with a good sense of humour. An odd combination of instruments is used - lush strings, woodwinds, the accordion and synthetic IDM - but they work in a perfect harmony we didn’t think was possible.
'Rettet Die Wale' is an ambitious, intimate and overall hugely personal album that will no doubt spark your interest on the very first listen. Sung in different languages - sometimes English, sometimes German, sometimes French - the appeal is completely universal.
Listen:
Gustav -- We Shall Overcome
Gustav -- Genua