How did it come about that the Toni Erdmann star Sandra Hüller played the main role in Daniel Freitag’s music video? We’re not quite sure. What do we think of the fact that she waits in a Berlin apartment near-desperately for a call (from an ex-lover, we’d suspect) only to impulsively pull the phone plug out of the socket (a change of heart, we’d guess), immediately put on a Superwoman- style mirror costume, dance across the parking lot, and finally take off into the sky (a camera trick, we’d suspect)? We think it’s fantastic. Empowerment over self-pity! “Don’t throw it all away,” sings Daniel Freitag both heartbreakingly and reassuringly, and it feels a bit as if the song were written for the video rather than the other way around. This feeling is further justified with the knowledge that Daniel Freitag is a “theater man.” After years of making music for international theater productions, he now returns to his singing & songwriting roots. And it’s not only his voice and his sentiment that are distinctively pleasant, familiar, and comfortable—Freitag also displays a real knack for sure-footed instrumentals. He’ll present his songs at Torstraßen Festival with old drum machines, trumpet, and Italo synths in tow. Thank God it’s Freitag!

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