Barbara Morgenstern

One of the primary producers on Gudrun Gut’s Berlin-based electronic-pop label Monika Enterprise, Barbara Morgenstern creates pretty, intimate synth-pop often marked by blippy melodies, primitive drum machines, and her own German-language vocals. Following a self-released cassette and mini-album, Plastikreport (both released in 1997), she made her full-length debut in 1998 with the Vermona ET 6-1 album. Through 2000′s Fjorden (which featured production by Thomas Fehlmann and Pole) and 2003′s Nichts Muss, her melodic sense became more pronounced, and with time she also began fielding remix requests for the likes of Dntel, Station 17, Ellen Allien, Malaria!, and Smash TV. In 2014, Morgenstern collaborated with Bill Wells, Stefan Schneider, and Annie Whitehead on a more abstract, jazzy album on Leaf titled Pick Up Sticks. Tesri, a collaborative release with To Rococo Rot’s Robert Lippok, came out in mid-2005. The Grass Is Always Greener followed in 2006. BM, released two years later, featured a collaboration with Robert Wyatt, as well as an increased prominence of piano melodies. Paper of Pins, a 2009 release on Karaoke Kalk, reprised her collaboration with Wells, Schneider, and Whitehead. 2010′s Fan No. 2 gathered stray tracks while also functioning as something of a career overview. In 2012, Morgenstern released Sweet Silence, her first album sung entirely in English. This was followed three years later by the collaboration-heavy Doppelstern, which featured guest appearances by Hauschka, Justus Köhncke, Julia Kent, and many others. ~ Andy Kellman