Commuters by Dagmar Krause, Harold Schellinx, Ronald Heiloo

"Commuters, a one-time collaboration between Slapp Happy vocalist Dagmar Krause and Amsterdam avant-garde composers Harold Schelinx and Ronald Heiloo, was first released as a limited pressing on Amphibious Records in 1983. Soon deleted, it quickly became the Holy Grail fans of Krause were all after. The album was reissued in 2000 on La Cooka Ratcha (a Voiceprint imprint). Although it runs for only 16 minutes, Commuters contains ten songs and really should be perceived as a full album. Schellinx's short stories are set to dense piano pieces taking elements from Erik Satie, Charles Ives, and Kurt Weill. Krause's voice delivers the text in angular melodies in a way similar to her work with News From Babel (on Work Resumed on the Tower). These 60- to 120-second half-cabaret/half-atonal pieces are as complete as can be and the listener comes out of them as if the experience had taken an hour. The simplicity of the piano/voice setting is constantly challenged by the obscurity of the lyrics, the complexity of the melodies, and the sparse but very concentrated piano parts."

*François Couture - All Music Guide

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“One of the strangest records to hit the market in the past year. Commuters is an album that is decidedly outside the box. The music could be called classical, although the approach is certainly pop, in a modern sense of the word. You can't avoid Satie, but also post-World War II composers made their influences felt. Yet, the music sounds completely original and commands involuntary respect. Krause's measured, dogged voice holds your attention, just like the minimal piano sounds won't let you go. On closer inspection, the lyrics too are exemplary in content and command of language. A wonderful record.”

*Kees Polling - Muziekkrant OOR

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The Japanese magazine Fool’s Mate in its 26th issue (April 1983), referring to Dagmar as “the Lotte Lenya of the rock scene”, praised the “ten short pieces that emphasize the contrast between piano accompaniment and solo singing”, and Dagmar’s force as a soloist, with a fine balance between “ego and charm”. The recordings, the critic (塩田) writes, “convey an astonishing sense of closeness and sharp expression. The breadth of insight, which also includes technical elements of ragtime jazz, gives us high hopes for future activities.”

Strangeness and hope, these are the words to remember.

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A detailed history of the short-lived Amphibious Records can be found in ‘The second Annual‘, published by Korm P¨lastics (Nijmegen, the Netherlands) in 2024, pages 152-187. A pdf of the article is included with a download of the album.

Tracklist

1.	The Ventriloquist	1:45

2.	The Young Lieutenant	0:54

3.	The Architect	1:59

4.	The Poet	1:57

5.	The Man On The Island	1:39

6.	The Acrobat	1:40

7.	The Organist	1:19

8.	The Philosopher	1:42

9.	The Gentleman On The Stairs	1:14

10.	The Priest	2:13

Credits

released February 12, 1983

Originally realesed on Amphibious Records, A 009
Re-release on CD: fall 2000 by the VOICEPRINT Group of Companies, cat.no. LCVP127CD.
Lyrics: Harold Schellinx - Music: Ronald Heiloo & Harold Schellinx
Dagmar Krause: vocals - Ronald Heiloo: piano
Recorded: 1982 on 8-track, Kingston-upon-Thames, september 28th - october 1st ++ mixed: october 5th

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