From the Ratinger Hof into the world: Claudia Brücken is one of these German voices, which are probably also celebrated internationally because of their Germannress – think of Marlene Dietrich, Nico. Everything started with regular visits to the Ratinger Hof, the Düsseldorf artist and punk pub, without which Punk might not have made it to Germany.
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Then the synthpop came and she and her friend Susanne Freytag became vocalist of the avant-garde band Propaganda. Düsseldorf was too small, the band was signed by the legendary label ZTT in London, she founded various other projects, bands and repeatedly released solo albums, played gigs worldwide, lived in London and worked with Martin Gore, Paul Humphreys from Omd and Andy Bell from Erasure. Now her fourth solo album, Night Mirror, on which her voice continues to shine.
The songs, however,? For fans of her dreamy synth pop full of sound and sound ideas, it is certainly great fun, and danceable eighties bangs like “Shadow Dancer” are still worthwhile. You won’t find the sound of the future here – but maybe that’s perfectly fine.
This review was first published in the MusikExpress 08/2025.