Dagobert - The Tour with Band

Gentle, yearning, and sacred - this is the sound of the new Dagobert album "Rama Kalala." On his eighth studio album, the Swiss pop innovator focuses on his core competency: the love song. And there is much love on "Rama Kalala," so much that one might blush at all the honest feelings that touch you in these 34 minutes, making them feel like a warm embrace.

It all begins with the song "Hör auf dein Herz," a grand pop song and an immediate Dagobert classic, in which love remains as unheard as hope is immortal, without any sense of despair creeping in, because love is far too pure and hope is far too much the essence of life itself.

It becomes spiritual time and again, as in the next song "Das innere Licht," where Dagobert sings about a telepathic connection that could not be more moving. "I see how you shine / I see you / I see the inner light / I stand in your love / It fulfills me / It is the inner light."

Dagobert also surprises us once again with ethnological influences, as he has consistently developed his sound over the years, giving his listeners much more than what is expected. This is also true in his homeland song "Komm zu mir in die Berge," which lightens the reflective sentimentality of the album a bit.

"Lady Kalala" is then the first English-language Dagobert song ever, featuring a delightful indie beat and a magnificent saxophone solo by Swiss jazz legend Christoph Gallio. Despite its sad lyrics, it comes with a buoyant lightness that is a lot of fun.

"Rama Kalala" is the fifth collaboration with producer Konrad Betcher, who mostly presents Dagobert's songs in an intimate and reduced manner. The influence of Alice Coltrane's Hindu late work is ever-present in the form of ethereal synths, mantra-like choirs, and the reduction of rhythmic elements to tambourine and hand claps, which also explains the album title.

Overall, "Rama Kalala" is infused with a charming lo-fi indie sound that beautifully conveys the emotionality of Dagobert's lyrics. Dagobert dedicates a particularly impressive love song to his demented mother, finding words in this situation that act like a balm for the soul: "You have now overcome reason / And need no more language / You have found love / Your river now flows into the sea."