A Military Base

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Rettward von Doernberg – A Military Base

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Press Release

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Contact: Rettward von Doernberg, rvd@thecaravel.net, https://rettward.com

The Very First Atomic Bomb Was Dropped On A Military Base?

Berlin - June 9th, 2023

After his first four releases which have been played by a multitude of radios, broadcasts, podcasts and YouTube channels from all over the world, Berlin-based composer Rettward von Doernberg has just released his fifth single. For the first time he addresses a political topic.

“After the first draft of the piece was finished, I needed a voice,” von Doernberg recalls. “I searched for famous speeches and found one by the then president of the United States on the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. When he spoke of Hiroshima as a military base instead of a city, I knew I had found what I needed.”

Von Doernberg notes that “Under today’s law, this bombing is a war crime. At that time, unfortunately, a common practice. First the German regime started with the targeted killing of civilians by air raids on Warsaw and London. Then the British regime followed on a grand scale with Hamburg, Dresden and Berlin. But the American regime became the world champions by razing a third of Tokyo to the ground in a single night. Previously, 1.5 million men, women and children had lived there. And finally, the dropping of the two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, originally intended for German cities and German civilians.”

But that wasn’t von Doernberg’s only concern “As frightening as it is what we humans do to each other – and anyone who opens their eyes realizes that it goes on just as much today – what I was concerned with in this piece was something else: I was concerned with the fact that, amazingly enough, we allow ourselves to be lied to again and again by politicians, even in the most important matters. And that we practically never hold these liars to account. Instead of firing them in disgrace (with punishment?), we shower them with money, adoration and recognition as if the last lies were long enough ago. Do we have to put up with the stereotype of the lying politician forever? Don’t we deserve better people at our helm? What kind of light does it shed on us if we keep letting people like this get to the top over and over again?”

 
THE STORY

Rettward von Doernberg’s background is film music and this is particularly evident in the way he approached this piece: “All the numbers of how many people were killed are – as sad as they are – very abstract for me. I find it helpful to imagine a very discrete, single fate. So, I imagined an American man married to a Japanese woman. Their daughter is staying in Hiroshima at the time. He then hears the speech of the American president on the radio and hears that the city where his daughter is has been destroyed with a new kind of bomb. Of course, he immediately sees through the brazen lie when they talk about a military base, instead of a city. What would be going on in his mind?”

 
THE VIDEO

This is the first time von Doernberg depicts a story in one of his music videos: “Having a real story for the video very early on made working on it easy. I grabbed a bunch of public domain video clips and got started. What was interesting this time was that I kept switching between music and video as I worked. So, the two media influenced each other – for the better, it seemed to me. I found working on the video almost as fulfilling as working on the music. For me, this was a new experience.”

 
THE BASS

Also, for the first time, a guest musician was involved: “Originally I programmed a bass. But I realized that it wasn’t quite right yet. I also wasn’t sure if I could do it better next time. That’s when it hit me: Why didn’t I just ask my old friend Helge Marx if he wanted to play the bass? He did, and the bass is now so much better than I ever could have made it.“

 
The single “A Military Base” is available since June 9th, 2023 from Bandcamp.

Bio

Rettward von Doernberg has many years of experience in writing, recording and performing music. His music has been featured on radio, TV, in movies and in video games. In addition, smaller as well as larger ensembles have played his music where he gained experience as a conductor.

He studied at the Musicians Institute and at the University of California, Los Angeles. He also had the opportunity to learn from acclaimed film composers and Academy Award winners such as James Newton Howard, Alan Silvestri and Hans Zimmer.

Rettward is also the creator of the free music recommendation service INDIEFIND.FM. It helps you discover indie music gems released right now. Just listen to the music and request more info on the tracks you like.

Contact

Rettward von Doernberg
PF 23561
10127 Berlin
Germany
rvd@thecaravel.net
https://rettward.com