Serenity (Prosumer and Murat Tepeli album)
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| Serenity | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Studio album by Prosumer and Murat Tepeli | |
| Released | 28 January 2008 |
| Recorded | 2007 |
| Studio | Panorama Bar (Berlin, Germany) |
| Genre | |
| Length | 72:39 |
| Label | Ostgut Ton |
| Producer | Prosumer, Murat Tepeli |
| Singles from Serenity | |
| |
| Alternate covers | |
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Serenity is a collaborative album by DJ Achim Brandenburg, known by his stage name as Prosumer, and producer Murat Tepeli. The record also features vocals from Elf Biçer on some tracks. It was released on the label Ostgut Ton in January 2008 to generally positive reviews from critics, who favored the duo for making use of their old Chicago house sound while still managing to sound contemporary.
Around ten years before Serenity, Achim Brandenburg and Murat Tepeli first met at a Hard Wax shop in Saarbrücken. But it wasn't until Brandenburg moved to Berlin and Murat moved to Cologne that they started making music together. Regarding Brandenburg's musical partnership with Tepeli, he said in an interview, "It’s a feeling of understanding. I hear his feelings in his music and that triggers something similar in me, so I can come up with vocals. He sings, representing what he’s doing and it all comes together — it fits."[5]
Unlike most other house and techno releases which often compile tracks, Serenity has more full-on songs and has an actual storyline. According to Brandenburg, "When were thinking about making an album, we thought the tracks we can put out on EPs; but if we do an album, we want to really do something that feels like an album that has a story to tell, that has a storyline in itself — something you would want to listen to at home. At home I listen to dance music, but a lot of stuff I play in the club while DJing I don’t listen to at home. It’s perfect for the dance floor, but at home, I go for something which is more song-based."[5] For the tracks Brandenburg and Tepeli together, they started with Murat sending instrumental ideas he had for years, occasionally with vocals, which were then rearranged or had additional parts like a 303 added to them. Brandenburg said, "A lot of it came together spontaneously while mixing the album. With “Butterfly,” we actually did the track the day before the mastering started."[5]
Brandenburg and Tepeli decided that the title track "Serenity" should be the first and last track of the album, and the rest of the tracks "just happened."[5] The first half of Serenity are mainly instrumental tracks, while the remaining half is more song-based and lyrical.[5] The opening title track involves Brandenburg singing about his depressions that he suffered through during the year he recorded the album, which is followed by "I Go Mad" where he sings about his boyfriend. The instrumental for the album's 54-second interlude “Drama Baby” had been performed live by Brandenburg and Tupeli for a while, but it wasn't until Elif Biçer started improvising over the track and singing "Drama, baby" that it was finished with vocals. According to Brandenburg, it was her idea to put "Drama Baby" on the LP. What follows is the more "happy, more dancey/party side" of the album.[5]
The songs "Lov" and "The Craze" were recorded live at Panorama Bar. Serenity was finally mastered by Loop-O at Dubplates & Mastering in Berlin.[6]
The music on Serenity falls in line with the works of ofter Chicago house artists and labels including Ron Trent, Chez Damier, Armando, Trax Records, DJ International, DJ Pierre, Cajmere, Fingers Inc., Dancemania and Matthew Herbert,[7][2] as well as microhouse labels including Kompakt and Mutek.[4]
Release and artwork
The release of Serenity was announced on 21 November 2007,[8] and leading up to the release, "Turn Around" was distributed as the album's lead single on 7 January 2008.[9] The record was issued by Ostgut Ton on 28 January 2008.[7] A double 12" vinyl release includes extended versions of what the press release the album's most danceable tracks, as well as three additional tracks.[7][10] Matthew Connors did the artwork for Serenity. Prosumer & Murat Tepeli did the photography, while Yusuf Etiman handled the layout.[6] According to Prosumer and Murat Tepeli, they originally planned the cover art for Serenity to be a recreation of the cover for Ike & Tina Turner's Outta Season, which depicts them eating watermelon in whiteface. However, they changed it to simply a plain cover with only the title on it, reasoning that, "We were told that it would upset people and we did not want to hurt anybody."[11]
