something in the hills

Chances are you haven't ever heard of Sibylle Baier. Don't feel uncool though, most everyone has not. Her only recordings were made in the early 70s in Germany and have never seen the light of day. Sibylle was depressed, as young adults often are. Her friend Claudine took her on a perspective-changing road trip across the Alps. Upon arriving home Sibylle was refreshed and had her spirits lifted. She wrote her first song.

Baier's songs are gentle and intimate. A soft lullaby of simple guitar and soothing voice. Sibylle reclines under a willow tree in the summer, across the way a young couple rolls in the grass. Look the other direction and a rugged and drunk Leonard Cohen weeps. A voice so pure, songs so simple in their elegance, she could have brought loud bars to complete silence with just one of her fragile refrains.

If you are a true trainspotter maybe you will recognize her name or voice, as she did appear briefly in Wim Wenders' 1974 film Alice in den Städten. Thanks go to Orange Twin for resurrecting this new lost classic. Out in early 2006.

Colour Green is a gem of an album that will blow your mind. You will ask yourself how it is possible you have never heard this before? Sibylle is a star who chose to shine for her friends and family instead of the whole world. An un-crowned queen of the 70's underground folk scene - Nico meets a female Jim Croce.

Sibylle Baier - The End
Sibylle Baier - Forget About
Sibylle Baier - Colour Green