New album

Martin Spengler: In the wine house there’s the Viennese song

Martin Spengler (2nd from right), one of the "foischn Wienerinnen", impresses with his new album about love and life.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Stephan Mussil)

"Ois vü leichta" promises the new album by Martin Spengler & the foischn Wienerinnen. Born in Linz, he once again successfully wallows in the regional and warms the heart with dark, bright stories about love and life. Soon also live across Austria.

If you don't move with the times, you move with the times. In keeping with this valid motto, Linz-born Martin Spengler has now gendered his band. Martin Spengler & Die foischn Wienerinnen is the chosen term now, although femininity in the musical corset was already an important feature before the new record. "Ois vü leichta" is the name of the brand new record by the rustic, but by no means rusty quartet, who once again indulge in musical delicacy to wallow between Viennese song, Schrammel culture, hints of jazz and bossa nova and deliberately avoid any direction that even smells of genre affiliation.

Love and life
The band has been making music in concert halls for well over a decade now, creating a Heurigen atmosphere without any of the stink of the traditional. "Ois vü leichta" can be taken as both a mandate and a recommendation - lightness is certainly one of the composer's core competencies, but he consciously distances himself from any form of naivety in his handmade songs. Nothing here seems contrived or designed on the drawing board, there is far too much love and passion in the individual song chapters, which generally revolve around the various facets of love and life, as is often experienced not only, but especially in Vienna.

They like to "Gschneizt & kampelt" for their counterparts, pay homage to the iconic Ottakringer wine house "Sittl" in an almost reverent manner and give tongue-in-cheek tips on how to make a living, "Waun i du waa". The dark abysses of existence reflect the light basic orientation of the songs. As is always the case when singing about and describing Austria in general and Vienna in particular, a heavy dose of melancholy is mixed into the lightness of existence. The stripped-down "Baba", for example, is a song chapter that gracefully creeps into the ear canals and evokes a variety of different emotions in the listener. Political issues are only touched upon in the "Buberl-Partie"-critical "Ollas geht", which almost seems like a memorial from the day before yesterday in view of the rapid pace of domestic political discord. In "Weida geh", it even becomes international, as it features the two grumpiest non-Viennese singers: the Gallaghers from Oasis.

Release concerts in Austria
Die foischn Wienerinnen make the double bass hum, the button accordion sing and the Rhodes piano languish - alongside Spengler, percussionist Bibiane Zimba provides a vocally interesting contrast that blends in wonderfully with the openly displayed leisureliness. Occasionally, one would wish for a little more tempo and the courage to break out, but that would possibly dilute the dreamy basic corset too much. You can see Martin Spengler & Die foischn Wienerinnen live at various release concerts. For example, on January 31 at the Brucknerhaus in Linz, on February 7 at the Stadtsaal Vienna or on February 14 at the Salzburg Oval. All further information about the concerts can be found at www.martingspengler.at.