 About ten years ago Diorama started, being just a pictrure shot by Torben Wendt, and with the years became a movie, with so far five albums being the soundtrack to it.
What's in a name? On their site can be read: “Diorama call themselves Diorama because they understand music at first instance as a medium for expression, illustration and vision which may be defined by borders beyond truth, reality and logic. Like a world within a world”.
With a new album and single 'Synthesize me', as well as a Torben Wendt remix of 'Wreckage' on the new Angels & Agony release 'Unison' 2007 will be another good harvest year for Diorama.
Listening to Diorama's music it's hard to imagine founder Torben Wendt started in a punkband called Drinking Beer. On his way to his own project, Torben also contributed to Nexus, a trance project, while working on his own material. Even though Torben studied piano, he started as a drummer (drinking Beer), meanwhile recording demos, which got more serious in the second half of the ninetees.
Torben managed to get Adrian Hates (Diary of Dreams) interested and got involved by recording for Adrian's band as the chance to work on an album as well. In fact, Torben was given the opportinity to take all the time he needed and after two years of work the debut 'Pale' was released in september 1999. In those days Diorama often was compared to Diary of Dreams; the debut was produced by Adrian Hates who also sang along on 'Masquerades and faces', but Adrian declared: “You should just listen to Torben, playing the paino, and you will know for sure he's far more than a copy”. You can even say Torben and Adrian are inspirations to each other, and so Torben was given time to record his own material and create the sound which has been on his mind for some years. Torben also contributed on keyboard and backing vocals on stage with Diary of Dreams. A collaboration as well as a friendship was born between two passionate individuals.
Diorama was signed by Adrian's label Accession Records, where they still feel at home; a small label where people know each other and everyone is involved, as well with the music and the artwork and promotion as well.
                
Pale (1999)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Her liquid arms (2001)
In 2001 Torbens long time friend Felix Marc (who had been working with Torben in Nexus as well) joined the Diorama forces on keyboards and backing vocals and the duo line-up played at the XT Reactor festival in Willemeen (Armhem) their first gig in the Netherlands. For those who saw them perform it was clear that Diorama was one of those bands you have to see live; expression in a very impressive and passionate way, which gave the songs something special and after seeing them more often perform you know for sure a Diorama show is never the same, while they do not only variate the setlist, but with the years they let the songs evolve as well.
On the Summer Darkness festival, august 2006, were five members on stage (besides keyboards, also guitar, bass and drums) and it must have been the dream, behind the perspective of Torben when he started to work on his own material, coming alive for real, complete with a nostalgic kind of encore with just Torben and Felix on stage; the passion of 'those good old days' still there, with the joy of expressing the dream to be real without losing the charm of being artificial as well. The world within a world called Diorama.
Torben Wendt, Ekko, 2005 (Picture: Marieke Tukker)
Thanks to such live performances and the clubhit 'Advance', more eyes were pointed at the band with their second album 'Her liquid arms' in 2001. Less dark in sound than the debut, but still melancholic, with darkwave and ebm influences. Dancefloorfillers like 'Advanced', 'E Minor', 'Hydro drugs' and the titletrack share the same expression with ballads like 'Photo', the German 'Das meer' and the midtempo 'Times galore'.
With Diorama, it's not only the music, but also the lyrics to create such a typical atmosphere and it's no wonder those two expresssions come together in the writing process. “My experience is that just music or just lyrics won't create a song”, declared Torben. Most of the Diorama songs are in English, but sometimes there's 'a German feeling' which can't be described or explained. Most of the time the ideas just 'come in English', and it sure helps Torben spend some years living and working in Canada, so English has become his second language, in thoughts as well.
But sometimes words are nearly necessary to express, like the song 'Klarheit' (2003) with minimal words used, or 'The girls'(2005) in which the sound tells at least as much as the lyrical enumeration. In the lyrics several influences come together; films seen, stories heard as well as some more personal experiences. In fact the lyrics for 'The girls' are at least as important as the music, but kept simple to fill in and to be supportive to express the right feeling to be heard listening to the song.
'Device' was the first single release in 2001, with also 'Panes of glass' and remixes of 'Advance' and 'E minor' and should remain the only single release by the band untill february 2007, when 'Synthesize me' (a song they played for the first time live on their Summer Darkness performance in Utrecht) will be realeased.
“We are not exactly hit-orientated”, Torben says, “so we're more focussed on albums to reach out to our audience than just with a single song”.
Even though Diorama reached at the top of the German underground charts with 'The pulse of life' from the third Accession Records sampler in 2006, so it's kind of logic a single will be released as an apperative for the new album.
On the third album 'The art of creating confusing spirits' (A summary of different titles they had in mind for this release) bass player Bernard le Sigue has joined the band, which could make one wonder if each new Diorama release would bring the band an extra member. “I like to play with other musicians”, Torben explained, “but it's no plan or whatever, just that we had the idea we could use some bass guitar on this album”. Bernard was a former studymate of Torben and Felix, so a bass player was found easily. “Some day I would have live drums on stage”, Torben said and three years later it was realised with drummer Marquess joining Diorama.
Unfortunately Bernard left the band, but with a replacement found there will be a five piece line-up with the fifth studio album (not counting the seme-remix cd 'Re-Pale') in march 2007.
Sash Fiddler, Ekko, 2005 (Picture: Marieke Tukker)
With the album 'Amaroid' and the first tour as headliner, Torben decided to give up jobs as a waiter to concentrate on his musical carreer: “I have a good education in science, so when needed, I would be able to found myself a good job, but being young I wanted to grab my chances to be a fulltime musician”.
Besides Diorama he made some remixes for Klangstabil, Davos and Frozen Plasma (the collaboration of Felix Marc with former Namnambulu mastermind Vasi Vallis) and perform guest vocals on 'Torn' on the third Painbastard album 'No need to worrry', as well as being a kind of permanent guest on keyboards and backing vocals with Diary of Dreams, which is more than just a job: “It's not just playing along, but I also have the opportunity to put in something of my own vision when I'm on stage with Diary of Dreams”, tells Torben, “It was a well decided choice to perform with DoD as well, because it gives me the chance to work fulltime as a musician, but I know I need to express myself anyway, even though not working on my own material. It feels good to know that your influences are appreciated, which makes it far more than just another job”.
Like it could have been expected Diorama has four members playing on 'Amaroid'; Sash Fiddler on guitar has joined the band. Even though Torben managed to express the Diorama sound with just vocals and piano on 'Unzetstört', which is one of the best Diorama ballads so far. 'The girls' is another clubhit for the band and one of their most admired features in their liveshow.
Also Felix Marc has some other musical activites besides Diorama. From halfway the ninetees he's been working on his own material as well, and on his website some can be heard, like several snippets of demo recordings which became Diorama songs.
April 2005 Diorama was touring as support for VNV Nation, for which Vasi was playing live keyboards and when Vasi and Felix met the idea of working together came along, while Vasi was looking for a singer to perform with him for a new project after Namnambulu and soon they started to record, resulting in the single 'Hypocrite' (november 2005), followed by the debut album 'Artificial', a year after they met. Torben remixed 'Hypocrite' for the EP release 'Emphasize', on which is also a cover of the Pet Shop Boys b-side track 'I get excited'. “Being a fan of the Pet Shop Boys in the eightees, it was a long time wish to record this song, which is not a very famous track of the band, and my ideas for this recording matched perfectly with Vasi's feeling to it”, declared Felix.
Besides their own performance they both had another show on the Summer Darkness festival; Felix playing with Diorama and Vasi going on stage with his Reaper project. “Busy times, but I'm glad I manage to combine the two bands”, says Felix, who has also plans for a solo release.
Felix Marc (Picture: Silke Jochum)
Mentioned how the songs grow along with the band during liveshows, you wonder when it will be about time to release a live album, but in 2005 Torben declared: “I think a band should have done more headliner tours before releasing a live album. It surely has been on my mind, but it's not the right time for it yet”.
Torben first wanted to release a remix album, which he did with 'Re-Pale' in late 2005. Most of the tracks are remixed by Torben, with contributions from Klangstabil, Kartagon and Frozen Plasma and a few new songs with 'Drowned' as the most striking one.
Also the debut album was re-released in 2005 with the bonustracks 'Don't be there', 'Crop of illusions' and 'You and ice' (fragile version), the original of this song, featuring the acoustic guitar of Katrin, can be found on the first Accesson Records sampler (2001).
These days Diorama has played nearly 100 concerts in 17 countries, four of their albums reached the Top 5 of the German underground charts and several alternative chart clubhits, from which 'The pulse of life' peaked at the German charts.
All kind of succes is appreciated by Torben Wendt, but the biggest effort certainly is the way how he managed to build up this world called Diorama, existing of such a typical atmosphere, how these snapshots on his mind are projected on the outside world, evolving into a story on screen which must be seen, heard, but also felt to become the soundtrack of a story which is still moving on strong, being a world within a world, being Diorama, a band you sure must have seen perform live.
Diorama official site
Felix Marc official site
[Nick]
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