Nessi Tausendschoen is an up-and-coming German artist. Her new EP was created with Canadian guitar player William MacKenzie, which was the first collaboration between the two artists in their respective careers. To add even more to the mix, they teamed up with various guest muscians like Harry Manx and Kevin Breit. The teamwork behind this EP resulted in a fantastic piece of work, described as a ‘minimalistic blend of jazzy, folky, rootsy tunes’. When listening to it for the first time I found all of these qualities and more; a beautifully mellow vibe with an almost dreamlike feeling to the blend of voice and guitar. I have to admit that heartfelt, acoustic music is not usually my cup of tea, but despite the inevitable cliche, ‘Nessi’ contradicts that completely. ‘Twenty Three Years’ is an EP I could listen to repeatedly, particularly when in a chilled-out mood as her vocals have such a calm and soothing feel. On the flip side, the tracks don’t get boring at all as the tempo changes intermittently especially in ‘just a line’ or ‘you’, keeping your attention with more upbeat moments between the gentle parts.
So far in her career, Nessi has been compared to the likes of Ellie Goulding or Paloma Faith but she has also been congratulated on not resorting to the ‘thoughtless lyrics’ or ‘high pitched trilling’ that modern female singers are frequently accused of. Overall the EP has been highly praised, especially for ‘Hush Hush’, her biggest single yet which is included. Personally I’m in complete agreement as it’s my favorite track on the EP: a perfect summary of her feminine yet powerful voice and collaboration of acoustic and upbeat elements.
~ Natasha Barrett