meike koester

singer | songwriter | rock | pop

meike’s new album rocks! ”live love travel free“ is an exciting first class road trip. Via broad, sunny rock-boulevards it leads to country-pop freeways and takes the listener with short folky stops sometimes sinisterly, sometimes longingly thru the night. The lyrics tell of searching and finding—in oneself and in others—, of being on the road in life and love, and of simply being happy.
koester blends her colorful musical ideas and lyrics into an idiosyncratic and ingenious mixture. Some songs immediately snuggle up to the listener’s hearts and ears, while others unfold their profound charm only upon deeper listening.
For her third band album meike koester worked closely together with Olaf Reitmeier (Bosse, Hyper Child), who not only furnished her songs with groovy impulses on the electric guitar, but also as producer bestowed a fresh modern sound on the whole album.

The result is a versatile record that offers intelligent lyrics with catchy hooks among poppy road songs, harder rock tracks and three wonderful ballads.

The attractively designed 16-page color CD booklet by the team Kempka / Ammerpohl / Schade evokes wanderlust and renders the CD a popular collector’s item among meike’s fans.

“live love travel free” is not only a big step in meike’s musical career, it also marks a turning point in her band constellation. The masterful performances of Helge Adam (piano) and meike’s musical companions of many years, Robert Hunecke-Rizzo (drums) and Lars Lehmann (bass), mark a transition for the group, as the musicians turn their attentions to their own musical projects. The new man on the drums, Christian Prescher, is featured on two tracks on this album. Peter Stoschus now grooves on the bass. Although this is indeed a sad farewell, the change brings with it an exciting new beginning—and the absolute joy with which this new band plays is clear to see.

But there’s also a lot going on at meike’s solo concerts. The audience is encouraged to “sigh collectively,” might have to “headbang” when koester puts a distortion effect on one of her acoustic guitars, and is sooner or later drawn into the spell of koester’s intimate concert realm. There the Little Prince, Cinderella and pink bubbles, as well as grumpy Sunday afternoons and deserted casinos have their place. Still, caution is advised, as one newspaper reporter writes after one of meike’s concerts: “because koester can be cheeky too, if necessary”!

In addition to her own solo concerts, meike koester has performed as a warm-up act with Marc Cohn (“Walking In Memphis”), Alannah Myles (“Black Velvet”), Dakota Moon and Toto, (all in Germany) and in 2001 was awarded the Young Artists' Prize of Lower Saxony, Germany for her musical talent. This prize honors the artistic abilities of young musicians, painters, writers and performers.

In June 2000 she performed as one of 21 participants (from LA, Chicago, NY, Boston, etc.) in the semi-annual singer-songwriter contest at Eddie's Attic in Decatur/Atlanta, Georgia. Eddie’s is an acoustic club known for being the place where musicians like Shawn Mullins and the Indigo Girls got their start; meike koester was awarded Second Prize. In April 2004 meike played the ”Atlanta Dogwood Festival” with her trio. As a solo performer she opened concerts for Eric Taylor, Caroline Aiken and Pierce Pettis during her 2004 U.S. tour.

“She’s got what it takes to be a star!” raved the ORF (Austrian Public Broadcasting Service) about meike koester’s Austria debut. That meike koester has a charismatic stage presence, writes excellent songs and gives great concerts is now becoming known in further corners of the world. In addition to being on the road for solo concerts in the USA again in fall and winter of 2005, meike included on that journey concerts in Italy and, for the first time, in Austria.


Discography: “angel” (1998), “soap for dirty girls” (2002), “live love travel free” (2006). All CDs published on meike’s own label eve’s apple music production.