TRAUM

track-list:
Shoeshine
Tuesday’s Lover
Electric Blue
Illusion

Traum are:
Helen Lichter – vocals, guitar, production
Thereyoughost – bass
Christoph Guschlbauer – drums, percussion, vocals

With a classic power trio line-up and stone solid dedication to the cream of 1960s psych-pop sounds, Traum (German for Dream) draw their inspiration from the bands that originally defined the psychedelic aesthetic.
New self-titled Traum EP will be out 27 September 2024 on Tonzonen Records/ Believe.
The trio released single ‘Shoeshine’ on Psychedelic Baby.
The band tells us about the track:
“With ‘Shoeshine’ our attempt was to put everything we love about sixtiesque rave drumming, psyched up vintage UK pop, garagey fuzz leads and sun-soaked Barabarella-meets-Pepperland-in-a-Technicolor-Paris lyrics into one big tour-de-force, slightly bending the classic 2-3 minute radio single format with its excursions. It’s a bit of a calling card saying ‘this is where we’re coming from and that is the kind of energy we want to convey’. Shoeshine is going to be the opener of our upcoming four-track EP on Tonzonen Records for which we took the decision of mixing everything outside the computer, not starring at a screen but using an old semi-professional mixing console with a bunch of outboard gear, including vintage tape delays, reverbs and analogue echo devices. This has given the pieces a certain edge, which we consider to be very vital for that style of music.”
Irretrievably subscribed to the credo ‘born too late’, Traum explore the technical limits of time travel with their music, creating a naive alternative to the here and now in oscillating technicolor.
The trio’s sound sparks reminiscences of the origins of psychedelia, acid rockand glam, carried by an escapist tunnel vision of decades of mind-expanding hedonism long gone.
The band’s first recordings promptly aroused the interest of the Californian, Los Angeles-based psychedelic connoisseur label Hynpotic Bridge, which released two of Traum’s songs on 7″ vinyl in early 2024, writing:
“Traum present an ode to the mystified daze of a Technicolor dream. Supercharged by vintage tape echoes and bursts of fuzz guitar, their songs are made to spiral deep into the double-helix matrix of multi-mirrored minds.”
The renowned English music magazine Shindig! wrote:
“German three-piece Traum’s inaugural release leaves no doubt as to where their hearts lie…The vocals are dreamy and distant; the guitars snaky and sinuous.”
and drew numerous comparisons to obscure representatives of psychedelic pop from the late 1960s in Great Britain.
In spring 2024, the band went back into their own studio to record four more tracks, which were mixed completely analogue by frontman Helen Lichter and seamlessly continue the vibe of the first release with their purist, dreamy sound.
This bundle of songs will be published by the Tonzonen Records label in September 2024 in the form of an EP.
It will be released as a limited edition 12″ record on white vinyl as well as digitally and via streaming.
The band comments:
“We are delighted to have found a label in Tonzonen that understands, supports and appreciates our music and is willing to make it accessible to a wider audience. The artistic freedom that we are granted here is not necessarily a given and we really appreciate that.”
As far as their future is concerned, Traum are relaxed:
“We are sitting on a huge mountain of musical ideas and demos with which, if you were to break them down to the best ones, you could fill several more records. In this respect, however, we don’t feel the pressure to deliver and are taking a relaxed approach in the name of quality and inner peace. The world is already turning fast enough and hardly anyone can complain about a lack of music these days.”
Nevertheless, it has been announced that further recordings are already being planned:
“After this EP, our priority is to present Traum live for the first time. Experience has shown each of us that the drive and tightness of a few live shows makes it easier to play in the studio. We would like to fully capture as much of this energy as possible for our next release in early 2025.”