Heinrich Heine's texts are almost two centuries old, yet they seem so fresh, so modern, so astonishingly close to our contemporary attitude to life (his language is of such poetic directness and folk-song-like lightness) that the idea almost suggested itself: one should invent a specific music for these poems—ranging from deep sorrow to spiteful mockery—because each of these pieces has its own mood, its own unique blend of wit, anger, worldview, and melancholy. And so, a multitude of musical forms have emerged, from art song to chanson and world music to blues and rap.

Actor Uwe Neumann, a language-obsessed performer at home on numerous stages, and internationally acclaimed guitar virtuoso Ian Melrose, in their joyful debut, give Heine's poetry the groove it actually already contains. Melrose and Neumann have achieved a remarkably high sound quality: the album was recorded, mixed, and mastered by renowned sound engineer Jörg Surrey at the Surrealis Sounds Studio @ Teldex in Berlin. In addition to the main performers, top Berlin session musicians were invited to the studio for several songs to further deepen and refine the sound experience.