It's about the big questions on Love or Emptiness. What has happened to our emotional lives since the Big Bang? Why do people behave in the same way as they do to each other? It is the singer and pianist Johanna Borchert's third solo album, her second as a songwriter, and her first one with her "Working Band", the Berlin quartet with which she has been touring for four years. An electrifying mixture of pop and experimental, skillful, but not thoughtful, catchy, but not superficial. A concept album that would never claim to be a concept album. Again there are ten songs, on "Love or Emptiness", again the sequence seems to be inevitable, as if it was a long 40-minute piece. Borchert builds up sublime moods with alienated synthesizers, powerful drums and her floating voice, reaching almost cinematic heights in the choruses, and then immediately withdrawing completely. Love or Emptiness "may remind us of Feist or Joan as Police Woman, classic, precisely balanced pop songwriting, with plenty of room for emotions. The only thing that is jazz in my music is the attitude,"said Johanna Borchert. She is interested in improvisation, but she didn't want to distinguish herself as the jazz pianist she is. Borchert co-produced the album with Olaf Opal, who became famous for his work with sports fans Stiller, Juli and Die Sterne. These five days in February 2016 were a great success,"says the singer about the recordings. "It was very fruitful to work as a jazz musician with a pop musician. "He also improvises, spins the wheels without knowing what comes out of it." Borchert took over the post-production on his own, but arranged the songs together with her quartet. Uncompromising. "We live for music. That means that the music comes first, then the money,"says the band leader about the collaboration with Moritz Baumg?rtner, drums, and Peter Meyer, guitar, both also a member of the Melt Trio, as well as Jonas Westergaard on bass
