Manuela Krause + Pole "Mein Freund Der Baum" 7" Monika Enterprise Monika08 LCO1806 2002 (8:36)
Mein Freund Der Baum (4:46)
Balalaika Dub (3:50)Manuela Krause is a Berlin-based club DJ and vocalist for Copenenhagen's electro/jazz group Electrazz. Here she teams up with Stefan Betke, aka Pole, for this seriously thick 7" from Monika Enterprise. The A-Side is a cover of Alexandra's 1968 cult hit "Mein Freund Der Baum" (My Friend The Tree), a tune I'm sure Germans are infinitely more familiar with than I am. It's a pretty pop poem presented here by Krause's husky yet feminine vocal and Pole's elegantly refined production. Betke does a wonderful job of recreating the song with bass pulses and hi-hat, tastefully accentuated by dub melodica and effects. He really should consider a parallel career path in electro-pop. The "Balalaika" dub on the B-Side delves deeper and adds a bit of piano but isn't nearly as satisfying minus the vocal. A lovely little record well worth the five bucks ...
Where did I get this 7"? - Forced Exposure