Gossip - präsentiert von Rausgegangen

In the organizer's words:

Any queer punk band that makes it from the stages of basement clubs to big TV shows with an audience of millions without losing its standing in the scene is doing something right. But Gossip have always been special in this respect. Singer Beth Ditto, guitarist and bassist Nathan Howdeshell and drummer Hannah Blilie have been border crossers since 2006 at the latest, after their album "Standing In The Way Of Control" and the title track of the same name became hot sellers in England and their rousing concerts became bigger and bigger. The Rick Rubin-produced "Music For Men", released in 2009, and the lead single "Heavy Cross" finally turned Gossip into global stars and brought their last album for the time being, "A Joyful Noise" (2021), even higher chart positions. However, they split up in 2016 - partly because Beth Ditto wanted to gain a foothold in the fashion scene and go solo. This worked out well with her solo debut "Fake Sugar " (2017) and the single "Fire ", which oscillates between soul, blues and pop.

Nevertheless, there was great joy when Gossip returned as a band last year - in the line-up in which they celebrated their greatest successes. In their first appearances on two major German TV shows, the band, which was founded in Arkansas, Washington in 1999, showed that they still give their all live. And that they have strong new songs. The comeback single was "Crazy Again", sung almost tenderly at the beginning, in which Ditto sings about love, but promises: "And I might go crazy / Crazy over you / Again" to great "Who-who-who!" choruses and melancholy new wave guitars in the chorus. A line that can also be understood as a promise to the audience for the tour starting soon. The title track of their comeback album, which will be released on March 22, was released in mid-January: "Real Power". Here, Ditto's voice is combative, Howdeshell's riffs saw defiantly and Hannah Blilie drives the two forward with her tight drumbeat. The lyrics and the music video are a single declaration of love to the socially transformative power of music: "Music in my head, my ears are ringing / Always been like this and always will / Rhythm in my blood, my heart is pounding / Do you feel what I feel? (Do you feel what I feel?)." The accompanying clip shows Beth Ditto and her band, covered in sweat, giving their all and throwing themselves into the audience, playing in front of a colorful, queer crowd, just like the first Gossip shows.

The fact that this comeback will be a hit is also due to the album "Real Power", which, like "Music for Men", was produced by Rick Rubin. Thanks to his work for Johnny Cash, Beastie Boys, Slayer, Red Hot Chili Peppers and ZZ Top, he is one of the most revered producers on the planet. His calm manner, his Zen-like work philosophy, which he wrote down in the bestseller "Kreativ. The Art of Being" and, above all, his knowledge of human nature made him the perfect accomplice for Gossip.

According to the band, it is also thanks to Rubin that Nathan Howdeshell, Hannah Blilie and Beth Ditto were able to reconnect and make music together - at a time when their mood was rather subdued. All three had to mourn the deaths of friends and family, Ditto and Blilie had gone through a painful separation, and the political situation in America fucked them off. Rubin convinced Ditto to work with the band again instead of a solo album. A good idea, as Howdeshell confirms: "The work was a real joy. We had a kind of creative explosion - we were on fire and recorded day and night," he recalls. "It was like getting back on a bike. The creative juices were flowing."

The palpable "real power" that drives the entire album can be found in the combative lyrics on the one hand, but also in the three's newfound friendship on the other. "It doesn't feel like a reunion," says Ditto, "more like we're finally recording an album again. We started the band when I was 18, fresh out of Arkansas. As a 42-year-old, to have the chance to create something together again is really incredible. When you lose people, in whatever way, you know who the people are that really keep you going. And that's definitely the three of us." An attitude and a declaration of love that will also be felt at their upcoming concerts - because live, Gossip have always had what their album promises: "Real Power".

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