German Music:

Glashaus

Music style: Hip Hop
Band members: Cassandra Steen (vocals), Moses Pelham, Martin Haas
Name means: "Glass House"

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Glashaus is a unique musical trio of strongly talented individuals whose collaboration on the project Glashaus seems oddly fated.

Moses Pelham was introduced to hip hop at the age of 12 on a trip to the US, and he was so taken by it, he began to buy every hip hop record he could get his hands on. At 14, he set up a makeshift home studio and produced mixed tapes that he sold at school to finance his record purchases. Thereafter, he worked in various musical groups.

Martin Haas formally studied violin, and taught himself piano and voice. He produced and composed many pieces for ad spots, films, and television productions before meeting Pelham in 1989; they have worked together ever since. Hass has helped Pelham put out a series of solo albums and they have worked together producing succesful albums for Sabrina Setlur and Xavier Naidoo. With their debut production in 1994, Direkt aus Rödelheim, Pelham and Haas forged the way for a hip hop culture in Germany. Their LP -- that nobody had wanted to sign, incidentally - went on to sell 160.000 copies.

Cassandra Steen, born in 1980, liked to sing Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston songs as a young girl. At the age of 14, she began classical voice training. Steen worked with Freundekreis on a few songs from their Quadatur des Kreises album and accompanied them on their 98-99 tour. When Pelham and Haas met Steen for the first time in 2000, they immediately recognized her musical talent. They began work on what was to be Steen's solo album. The project morphed into a collaborative endeavor and Glashaus was born.

With their debut single "Wenn das Liebe ist" in 2001, the Glashaus trio were an overnight sensation. The following single releases kept their first album in the German media charts for over 30 weeks and got the band nominated for 3 German ECHO Awards, the most coveted prize in German music. Their artistic depth of their debut album Glashaus, which combines hip hop and soul, has been an inspiration to many German musicians. While their first album was shockingly direct, their second LP, Glashaus II (2002) was more spiritual in character. Their third collaboration, Drei (2005), is by comparison direct and uncomplicated, yet musically imaginative.

Each member brings a certain unique strength to the group. Pelham writes the lyrics, Haas provides the music, and Steen the vocals. Together, they create a unique sound with great depth and substance, yet they make it seem so artfully simple. The Glashaus collaboration has not meant an end to the personal and previous projects of the three artists. Pelham and Haas continue to produce records for some of the most recognized German artists and Pelham and Steen have continued to foster their solo careers.

Glashaus CDs
	Von Herzen - Das Beste (2007) \| LISTEN Buy CD at AMAZON
	Drei (2005) \| LISTEN Buy CD at AMAZON
	Live in Berlin (2002) \| LISTEN Buy CD at AMAZON
	Glashaus II (2002) \|\| LISTEN Buy CD at AMAZON
	Glashaus (2001) Buy CD at AMAZON