Description
From Berlin to The Blue Mountains, it’s been quite a ride
by Robert Rayner
TN175 Feb 26
When we left our apartment in wintry Berlin in January 2020 for our annual Australian tour, we had no idea that we would be leaving it for the last time.
The catastrophic bushfires of that Australian summer were a portent of things to come, and come they did.
But not as we, nor anybody else, expected.
And soon after, our tour rudely interrupted, we locked down in Katoomba with our Beez friend and colleague, the supremely talented singer, guitarist, banjo player and songwriter, Peter D’Elia.
But Pete’s return flight to Berlin, unlike ours, hadn’t been cancelled.
The spookily empty departures hall at Sydney airport on a rainy autumn night six weeks later was the unofficial end of The Beez as we knew them.
We exchanged a jaunty “Tschüss!”, despite our collective apprehension of what might come to be.
Five years later, that apprehension has long given way to gratitude for our extraordinary good fortune of being “stranded” in Australia.
For the countless kindnesses shown to us by so many people: family, friends, and strangers.
Our heartfelt thanks to you all for sharing the love!
What began as a Stephen King scenario became something of a Mills and Boon happy ending.
It was also a new and unexpected beginning, courtesy of the wonderful (take note, Australia!) German Tenants’ Rights legislation which protected us from the real estate vultures circling our rented flat, our home for 25 years.
In return for our lease, said vultures made us an offer they imagined we couldn’t refuse.
They were wrong.
Canny, poker faced, Deta C. Rayner turned them down and countered with “Double or Nothing!”.
The “nothing” in this case being us exercising our right to stay indefinitely in our flat without fear of eviction.
Several tense weeks ensued, and finally, an answer.
They wouldn’t double, but they’d pay as near as damn it, thereby providing us with the means to finance the tiny house in which we now live, camping on a good friend’s top paddock in Katoomba, in perpetuity.
Which, finally, brings us to the matter of The Beez and this new album, “Fahrradkette”.
Ah yes, The Beez, our lifeblood for nigh on twenty eight years, now slimmed down to a duo.
Yeah, we played with the idea of recruiting new Beez, but for five years and over one thousand shows, we had been spoilt rotten in the percussion department by the unstoppable Annette Kluge.
Annette knew every note and nuance of The Beez’ repertoire thus rendering herself irreplaceable.
Time to rethink.
When I started playing music professionally in the early 80s, my constant companion was the then novel and somewhat dinky, but now revered, Roland TR606 Drumatix drum machine.
Coupled with a synthesiser and a four track cassette recorder, I was ready to conquer the world.
Aside from the New Wave style songs I was writing, I also dabbled in electronic dance music.
Programming a drum machine and a synthesiser became a passion.
Little did I know that, some years later, I would forsake my rock’n’roll roots for a career in music with an accordionist and, with her, the attendant musical u-turn.
Now, drummerless in Australia, it was time not only to refresh those programming skills, but also to return to some of those euphoric moments of experimenting with new and exciting genres.
This album reflects what The Beez have always been, music fans and followers, like most of us, of the bewildering multitude of music styles to which we have almost unlimited access.
We are musical magpies, and the ever multitasking Deta has begun to incorporate keyboard with her right hand, while still playing the bass and chords on accordion with her left!
After years of acoustic guitar, I’m back to my first love, the electric guitar, programming beats and fiddling with synthesisers.
This collection of brand new original songs has been thoroughly road tested.
A two month odyssey through the eastern states of Australia in autumn 2025 followed by a three month tour of Germany did the job.
The latter was augmented by the fabulous Sarah Busuttil (violin and vocals) and Silas Palmer (keyboards and vocals), and judged to be righteously danceable.
To quote Berliner music critic and producer, Warner Poland: “What appears at first glance to be a significant departure for The (Berlin/Katoomba) Beez reveals, on closer inspection, the attributes that made them so appealing in the first place.
“Their superlative, genre hopping songwriting and the dry, self ironic humour, underpinned, as ever, by Deta C.Rayner’s extraordinary bass baritone accordion and Rob Rayner’s retro guitar stylings, coupled with gorgeous harmonies.
“But the recent addition of keyboards and grooves catapults this offering into another dimension.
“Added to that, the tasteful and virtuoso contributions of guest musicians Sarah Busuttil and Silas Palmer (The Royal Hijinx, The Bushwackers) on violins and vocals, it’s an irresistible combination.
“There’s an added depth and maturity in this brace of original material.
“Although “Fahrradkette”‘s songs veer wildly from the sublime psychedelia of “Moodini Bluff” and the wistful, aching “Sydney”, to the ridiculous but infectiously danceable “What’s Not to Like About German?” (native Berliner Deta’s paean to the German language) or the conspiracy theory hilarity of “Roos Loose in the Top Paddock, it’s a cohesive collection which rewards the listener with repeated plays.
“The sole German language eponymous song of the album is “Fahrradkette”.
“To quote Deta, “What’s not to like about German?
“Its eroticism rocks us!
“It’s a language everybody should be learning, `cause it’s ticking all the boxes!’ and indeed, “Fahrradkette” does just that.”
