Peter von Poehl

Peter von Poehl
Going to where the tea trees are
Date of release: 03-30-07
Distribution: edel contraire
HER 901004

Songs are like public transportation for all. They take us places. But some suddenly run off the rails that we have built for them, heading for an unexpected adventure. This is what happened with Going to where the tea trees are, a modest 45 (yes, a 45) recorded by an almost unknown Swede, Peter von Poehl. A cosy song which sounds like it was recorded in an igloo, it began to get play on French radio last year. Sudden developments followed; listeners bombarding the radio switchboard for information; an influential Los Angeles producer being the next to succumb; then sales flowing through Peter's website. Word of mouth and blog to blog, a persistent and affectionate rumour about the single grew into a modern-day legend.

Today, now that this famous song has given its name to and given rise to Peter von Poehl's first album; now that its infectious charm is about to increase the toll of victims tenfold; now, then, it's time to know more about Peter, a man whom certain people in the French music scene may have had occasion to cross paths with over the past few years, in dark venue corners or in the background of certain photographs. His golden hair and wide, youthful smile haven't failed to catch certain eyes, either, especially female ones.

• Press material more information and pics for download.  
• www.petervonpoehl.com Going to where the Websites are...  

Thirty-three year-old Peter, Swedish by his mother and German by his father, arrived in France in 1998. A musician in search of adventure, he quickly hooked up with Bertrand Burgalat, who hired him to play guitar in a determinedly left-of-centre boy band which Burgalat was putting together to serve the various needs of his Tricatel label. Booked on concert tours and studio album recordings for Michel Houellebecq, Alain Chamfort and Burgalat, Peter turned the eclecticism of these projects into an intense apprenticeship in all areas of music, from song writing to studio recording and live performance. When the group's backing band decided to take a stance and become a real group called AS Dragon, Peter chose freedom instead, deciding that his personal and very delicate approach didn't dissolve well within the chemistry of a rock group. Encouraged by Burgalat, he composed and wrote, giving himself time to mature and to let his style settle, making serious work friendships along the way thanks in no small part to his happy nature. These friendships included a partnership with Doriand, co-writing and co-producing his third album. They later resurfaced together on Lio's graceful return, Dites au prince charmant. Resident since 2004 mostly in Berlin, Peter acted as producer for German musician Florian Horwath while putting the finishing touches to the fragile and noble material that now makes up his first album.

Recorded partially in the Swedish countryside (in the AGM studio of co-producer, Christoffer Lundquist in Vallarum) and in Peter's Berlin apartment, Going to where...shows no signs of the shiny shell or overblown workings of ordinary pop productions. Instead, the music took advantage of the basic surroundings it was recorded in to emerge as a lively, vibrant recording, lacking artifice but loaded with inspiration. As we know all too well from Syd Barrett and the best Beck recordings, the ultra-sensitive never profit most from too much good fortune, giving their best in surroundings of discomfort.      [download and read more in press material]

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