Dagmar 41 is a multi-talented artist from Germany. She has produced two marvellous creations over the last eighteen months and is about to release an even better followup CD.

Born Dagmar Klein in 1973 in an unremarkable and mostly misspelt town in the north of Germany, she is now a chemistry teacher, postgrad student of English Literature, part-time ginger-in-chocolate hater as well as a genuine latecomer to the world of music. She started by teaching herself to play flute in 1991 (incidentally, the 41 stems from that period, being as it is a memory aid coined by fellow Jethro Tull fans who remember her as "Dagmar-For-One" as in the tune "Dharma For One") and promptly ended up in assorted local bands playing prog rock. Songwriting happened by chance in 1994 and hasn't stopped ever since. Live on stage, her preferred instrument is the piano and a voice that can go from bucolic sweetness to whisper to scream within seconds. Not surprisingly her heroes include Peter Hammill, An Pierle (another neurotic Belgian) and the inevitable Tori Amos. ivyation was her first label release, following a quick succession of six tapes of varied quality and title (gems such as Symphony For Facial Contortions or oops may never see the light of day again!) and the critically acclaimed CD, Ferric, in 1998.

As part of her English course at university, Dagmar also wrote a dissertation comparing Peter Hammill and Chris Judge Smith's operating version of Edgar Allan Poe's short tale The Fall of the House of Usher with the original story. This has since been published as a book, with the title The House is I (it's the lyric from one of the songs in the opera).

Dagmar then recorded Ferric, using a friend's recording equipment. For an amateur production, this is a sensational album! Dagmar is a big fan of Peter Hammil, and you will also find her on the ph7 chat list. This is obviously a big influence on the music, but she adds a charm and personality of her own that makes it really special.

Her followup CD, ivyation, is available on UK label A New Day Records, and a short MPEG3 clip from the admiral is seeing archangels can be heard on their site. A solid step onward after "Ferric"; again, the Hammill influence is very evident on both, especially in terms of the compositions and the intelligent lyrics.

A further live CD, Available Light, is now available from Dagmar, and her next CD unsailable is being released on German indie label Molecule Records.

Dagmar now runs her own official site at The 41 Zone, so you should now look there for the latest news and tour dates. This site will remain, on an unofficial basis, for historical interest and as a supplement to her own site, but probably won't get updated as often.

Contact Dagmar

Feel free to mail Dagmar with any comments.

What's new on this site

22 July 2000

This is now an unofficial site. Dagmar has now set up The 41 Zone, which she runs herself and which will carry future release and tour date information. I will keep this site going, but future updates are likely to be infrequent. But I'll preserve the existing pages here for historical interest and as a supplement to her own site.

 

16 April 2000

Tour dates added.

 

8 February 2000

Link to A New Day Records' new website added. There is also a short MPEG3 clip from the admiral is seeing archangels on their site.

 

25 January 2000

TV appearance details updated.

 

11 January 2000

Available Light details added.

ivyation track notes added.

News updated.

 

2 November 1999

ivyation release details added.

 

12 June 1999

ivyation page and release info added.

 

25 April 1999

Site created with Ferric and The House is I pages.

Coming soon...

• watch this space!