Uploaded December 2016 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
German cover artist NEO sings and plays one of his all-time favorite songs about friendship and stupid wars.
The background track is a carefully crafted playback with the original tempo changes. It was produced especially for the video. Piano and vocals are first-take live shots with no MIDI or overdubs. I often play this song during my concerts. It sounds just like that.
And remember, the Russians are our brothers not our enemies!
Update December 6, 2016:
Last night I sent out this new video to some of my friends. Among them one of the members and founders of the German Peace Movement. Today I received the following e-mail answer from him:
"Yesterday, 75 years ago the heroic Red Army stopped
the fascist German Wehrmacht 20 km before Moscow
(in the suburb Khimki) and started their counter offensive.
This was the beginning of the liberation from the fascism
of the time."
When I read this I was in awe because I had no notion about this historic date. I only know that I had been wanting to record Leningrad for a long time and yesterday I got up and felt the compelling urge to finally do it. And even though playing and singing only took a few minutes, the whole process of recording, mixing, cutting and editing the video kept me 14 hours in front of the computer until I uploaded it shortly after(!) midnight. Magically the Youtube upload date still clocked it for December 5, 2016!
I believe my grandfather partook in the pointless Siege of Leningrad. I was very connected to him...
Who knows, maybe he sent me a sign of guilt or remorse from somewhere over the rainbow to make up for him 75 years later... I'm still flabbergasted.
***
For some historic context read here:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khimki
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Leningrad
German cover artist NEO sings and plays one of his all-time favorite songs about friendship and stupid wars.
The background track is a carefully crafted playback with the original tempo changes. It was produced especially for the video. Piano and vocals are first-take live shots with no MIDI or overdubs. I often play this song during my concerts. It sounds just like that.
And remember, the Russians are our brothers not our enemies!
Update December 6, 2016:
Last night I sent out this new video to some of my friends. Among them one of the members and founders of the German Peace Movement. Today I received the following e-mail answer from him:
"Yesterday, 75 years ago the heroic Red Army stopped
the fascist German Wehrmacht 20 km before Moscow
(in the suburb Khimki) and started their counter offensive.
This was the beginning of the liberation from the fascism
of the time."
When I read this I was in awe because I had no notion about this historic date. I only know that I had been wanting to record Leningrad for a long time and yesterday I got up and felt the compelling urge to finally do it. And even though playing and singing only took a few minutes, the whole process of recording, mixing, cutting and editing the video kept me 14 hours in front of the computer until I uploaded it shortly after(!) midnight. Magically the Youtube upload date still clocked it for December 5, 2016!
I believe my grandfather partook in the pointless Siege of Leningrad. I was very connected to him...
Who knows, maybe he sent me a sign of guilt or remorse from somewhere over the rainbow to make up for him 75 years later... I'm still flabbergasted.
***
For some historic context read here:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khimki
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Leningrad
