me & mrs bee are
laura braun, lyrics, vocals and programming
me raabenstein, lyrics, keyboards and programming
guests
sebastian schreiber, keybords and programming on track 03, 04, 07, 08, 10 and 11
volker meitz, keyboards on track 05 and 06
sven hauesler and brian levin, production of track 12
dj honesty, production of track 15, rmx of track 09
andreas koslik, additional drumprogramming on track 13
phat fred, breathtaking inspiration on track 07 and14
tracklist
01 ravenhill soundscapes
02 one’o’one
03 leonard scrunch
04 hush hush
05 bee me
06 timeless teenage boredom
07 rat pack
08 good men
09 the …monger (dj honesty rmx)
10 poopoo
11 toothsome coburn
12 agent frank
13 ben
14 dad rising
15 the sea
9 questions concerning me & mrs bee / questionnaire
1 mrs bee?
laura braun, born in stuttgart, studies media arts at central st. martins college in london, winning collaboration with me raabenstein for his project the!she. in the last two years, to be heard i.e. on fragments, the!she./burgundy or
me raabenstein/swimmin´with friends. questionnaire is their first long player
> pragmatic romanticism/ demure wistfulness/ cool dreams
2 and me raabenstein?
me raabenstein, born in karlsruhe, studied graphic designer and long standing painter (more drawer), label pursuer (no.nine)
> personal abnormality/ surprising punctuations/ commas without subordinate clause/ 1000 ideas every day
3 serious friends? (in the age of synergy)
- sebastian schreiber, the craftsman, new partner of me at the!she., the ear, namely the mixing and mastering one of no.nine
- phat fred, irrational authority and good friend of the house, rare-groove dj, also releases with me at no.nine and crippled dick hot wax, the omitting one (does he think so?!?).
- volker meitz, well known through his releases at sonarkollektiv as the infamous jack-o´-lantern at the piano, the groove leaseholder.
- sven haeusler (here together with his pal brian levin), ex big light and cam-era, first and very successful collaboration with the former spirit of the berlin hit troupe
- dj honesty, together with daniel paul part of slope, also sonarkollektiv, adds the ambitious dance floor with his remix and the multiparty song „the sea“.
> without friends no music (without music no friends?)/ the mutual stimulation with a diversity of musicians has always been the most important propulsive power for me
4 parallel worlds? (laptop instrumentals sung at the camp-fire)
me has created many interestingly intertwined instrumentals. this pace is now being transfixed around lauras voice in manifold variations questionaire is no instrumental album with vocals and definitely no musical plane with singer/songwriter attitude. questionaire lives with and for the conflict to play every single musical nuance between laura´s singing and me´sample ideas
> song in music, song next to music or song with/on/by music?
5 the big trip-hop negation? (count bpm)
if trip-hop was merely slow hip-hop without rap, the question is if the post-modern trip-hop of the post-underground-generation wasn´t lounge-house…../ …. and if the modern approach to this topic isn´t bpm-independent after all…
> moody / pragmatic romanticism / sit straight or better lay down? / call it "fast-forward (not)-lounge house"
6 the post techno adult generation? (eno did have long hair)
anyone over 18 (i mean: who wants to be under) knows from experience what the additional value beyond the shake in the body could be. me. & mrs bee get to this between the lines (..and the more the merrier!!!)
> ...and still danceable? life is no dancefloor-free space / the scabby herpes is itching already / berlin is not chicago (and schoeneberg not bristol?)”
7 listen in or pay attention? (the bass is worn higher again)
"almost band character at fast listening" observe the ones with the big ears...,
"warm and cuddly" the others. above all the small (and grand) ideas and the many surprising raabenstein- typical soundlets improve health...
> music & sound = maintenance for the ear?
8 does the sung word prevail? (don´t we all have problems?)
all of us enjoy listening to the odd story (especially if it is told well....) laura is good at that, and the stories are odd to say the least. so very importantly also pay attention in the section “word”
> poopoolala / the intellectual effusion infers with pleasure/ girl vs. boy in new version
9 and?
do we add the 8 points above, shake them vigorously, and listen to the release again?
liner notes by phat fred
feedback
the fascinating thing about this combination of instrument and voice is doubtlessly the construction of me raabenstein's sounds around the mysterious vocals of laura braun, which are flowing through the album like a fresh early morning fog. me is not only highly creative a guy, effervescing of ideas, but he also has the right touch for the sound far from humdrum, often very relaxed but not at any time boring. questionnaire has to be listened to with ones wits. if you approach the album this way you’ll most likely win a new jewel for your cd shelf. i, for one, recommend questionnaire to all friends of sophisticated electronic music.
partysan.net 08/03, germany
questionnaire is floating, a very convenient cd with good music. raabenstein's style becomes more and more true and subtle. the voice is very beautiful (there’s not really a wealth of good voices, but this is one of them). one track stroke me more than the rest: dad rising, something for the dance floor.
scheibosan, vienna, austria
if there's such a thing like sweet prog in german electronic music, me raabenstein is its apostle ... always looking for special algorithms, connecting harmony and research with an equals sign. ...raabenstein devises fundaments of sounds and grooves, some restrainedly pulsating, some marching straightforward, others somewhere in between, to which miss bee respectively braun sentimentally confides and which she upgrades with an additional emotional level on the search for musical truth an passion – the hidden motto of the album, which is illustrated with a changing variety of details.
frankfurter rundschau online 07/03, germany
the best release on this really excellent label. big up & maxxximum respect to me and above all to mrs. bee, whose voice is really beautiful. i'm quite sure that the album will dumbfound some people.
herbert bachhofer, vienna, austria
questionnaire is an opus coming along in a lugubrious and bearing manner. influences of the electro and trip hop genres are audible. the record is not for fun but calls for examination.
musikexpress.de 07/03, germany
this is release #8 of no.nine and a well composed album, which acts out the multiple musical potentialities.
a silver disc on which the sound always keeps the final say. one that appears on the horizon and says: hello, will you rephrase your question? please repeat.
beam me up 07/03, germany
what begins with poignant soundscapes almost suddenly receives an affirmative groove.
such different worlds like the one of archive’s londinium or even of the contemplative tricky meet guests like volker meitz and dj honesty.
de:bug 06/03, germany