Pop star: Andreas Dorau: Always children’s songs

Children’s song records are one of the most strenuous inventions in the culture industry. Chords and words from the test tube, one, two, three – done, and all over again. There’s only one thing that helps: a musical consensus between adults and children.

Sounds impossible, but it’s not at all. Because there is Andreas Dorau. He began his musical career with the NDW hit “Fred vom Jupiter”. A children’s song that is not only annoying, but also entertaining and, above all, funny, composed by a child. Dorau was actually just 15 years old when he wrote the song during a school project week. At an age when others, following in the footsteps of Hermann Hesse, tried desperately and unsuccessfully to conceal their age with pompous, pretentious lyrics, with this song he aggressively expressed a carefree naivety to the outside world in an almost endearing way.

With “Fred vom Jupiter” the commercial peak of his career was reached and Dorau was forever branded as a one-hit wonder (thanks, culture industry!). Sounds kind of sad, but it’s not at all. Because the Hamburger never set out to be successful. He also earned his living early on through other activities, for example as a video consultant. Music, on the other hand, remained his passion, to which he has remained true to this day despite recurring breaks.

Dorau turned 60 in January. For some artists, this would be a reason to hold a showcase. Not so Andreas Dorau, who always reassembles his records as a thoroughbred dilettante and maintains an undisguised, youthful view of the world. “Im Gebüsch” is his new, 13th album. Like its predecessors, this record can get young and old dancing.

This was already announced in the preliminary single “Das ist nur Musik”, which already has the potential to become a Dorau evergreen. “These are just words and notes / This is just music / Written by idiots / But it’s just music,” sings Dorau in his usual nasal manner, implicitly turning against idealization and celebrity cult, even if his friend Bernd Begemann recently called him “Germany’s “only true pop star” explained.

But the always modest son of a Protestant pastor would probably only acknowledge such praise with a discreet grin. Another highlight on “Im Gebüsch” is the song “Auf der Weidenallee”. In it, Dorau sings to driving synth beats in a cheerful and carefree way: “A drunk man/Looks at me strangely/Am I a problem?/I can’t see anything.” Simple words that every child can understand and that will make all adults laugh. If not, then – one thing is certain – they are undoubtedly the problem.

And so after the 13 songs on “Im Gebüsch” you can twist and turn it however you want: Even 43 years after “Fred vom Jupiter”, Andreas Dorau still writes the most beautiful electro-pop hits in this country. Only very few people know that today.

Andreas Dorau: “In the Bushes” (wallpaper)