Formed in late 2006, when already established solo musician and producer Michel van Dyke overheard his recreational soccer teammate Konrad Wißmann singing, Ruben Cossani ultimately became a fully functional trio soon after with the addition of drummer and singer Leonard Lazar (replaced in 2010 by Alexander Jezdinsky). Their first single, Mitgefühl appeared in early 2008, after a year of writing songs and honing their sound in the clubs of Hamburg.
Perhaps influenced by their development in many of the same clubs where the Beatles appeared during their early years, or by listening to early Kinks albums, with a hint of Burt Bacharach, Ruben Cossani has a sound that is reminiscent of early 60s pop. While Ruben Cossani's look and musical roots are decidedly retro, their richly conceived songs of love and longing, accompanied by achingly beautiful music, carry them beyond simply being a novelty act. Certainly their ability to write catchy music that speaks directly to the listener helped them to place 8th in the 2009 Bundesvision Song Contest with Bis auf letzte Nacht.
So far, Ruben Cossani has released two albums: 2008's Tägliche Landschaft, and 2009's Alles auf einmal, and can most recently be heard in their 2010 single, Raus. Unfortunately, none of these is available either on American Amazon.com or American iTunes, but relatively inexpensive CDs can be purchased from Obsessed Music in Germany.
Typically, I am not one to enjoy really mellow music. But, to my ears, Ruben Cossani is not your typical band. I typically tire very quickly of songs and bands, but the more I listen to Ruben Cossani, the more I like them. They refer to the past, while speaking to the present; they play to emotions, without self-consciously manipulating them; they are stirring, without being cloying. Finally, they can even be more than a little fun when they want to be with songs like Besser Jetzt.
