Where others drown in melancholy, the pop band Anshelle always draws new confidence. Their eighth album «This Is Us» is no exception. Even if the album is more personal than ever.
No one, really no one, puts melancholy to music with as much confidence as Anshelle has done for more than 20 years. Since the turn of the millennium, they have been «proud to be dreamers», as they sing in «Dreamers», the title track of their new album «This Is Us». Back then, Michèle Anne Bachmann, Phil Küffer and Sandro Marretta spent nights working on new song ideas. And when the drudgery became too much – or as a reward for a successful stroke of genius – they sometimes went out on the streets late at night. The trio celebrated where life pulsated and music was at the center. And together they shared the dream of a great career that would take them across the country and abroad, their suitcases full of first-class pop songs and great, honest emotions.
More than 20 years later, the three friends who have been through so many ups and downs together can look back proudly. Anshelle have won numerous national and international awards, the band has performed in Switzerland and abroad, at various major festivals, and they are still one of the most played Bernese bands on the radio. Michèle, Phil and Sandro have worked with producers who have been trusted by Depeche Mode, Christina Aguilera, or Rea Garvey.
But Anshelle are not the kind of people who peddle such merits. It is much more important to them that they have always stuck to their «Dream»; without compromise, without looking left and right, without conforming for the sake of success. Anshelle write music that moves them personally and are happy when they captivate people and trigger emotions. So it happens that practically after every concert fans report how certain songs have touched them so much that they had tears in their eyes. Others say that Anshelle's songs give them confidence and strength in difficult times. Logically, such feedback leaves the three open-hearted musicians with the incredibly good feeling that they are making a difference with their music and reaching people.
The album title «This Is Us» is not marketing, it is program. A unity, a work with heart and soul. Ten songs in which Michèle Anne Bachmann, Phil Küffer and Sandro Marretta present themselves more personally than ever before. Of course, Anshelle look back wistfully and wonder what remains «After All This Time»; the «Sorry» is an audibly bitter one, and so the protagonist of the same-titled song sometimes wishes for «Another Face», or notes that the good old days are «So, So Far Away». But where others drown in nostalgia and melancholy, Anshelle do not let themselves get down. They know: «I Will Love Again» because there is someone who «Keeps The Fire Burning». Power becomes tangible and sensible, you feel «Alive Again» – for example «Down By The River» at this place that sparkles pure joy. Just as «Carolina» gets up again and sings – like the «Dreamers» that Anshelle obviously are themselves, always were and always will be.
