In these troubling times we need music that engulfs us like a warming coat.

Tender and touching, melancholic and vulnerable, poetic and at the same time quite simple are the songs the Austrian singer/songwriter Clemens Bäre has written and released as his debut record. “by design” is a stunning collection of musical stories, told in a classical way like Bob Dylan and Neil Diamond do, when listening to the wonderful “a place to go”.

doppelfingers power lies in the authentic, delicate expression of his feelings, on musical and lyrical level. While we get absorbed in the soundscapes of acoustic guitar picking, soft and relaxed rhythms, fading harmonica melodies, the gentle cello played by Lukas Lauermann and heartwarming backing vocals of singer OSKA, Clemens Bäre sings about his agonizing thoughts of being alone and disconnected in the impressive fist single “trouble”. Or he talks about his seasonal affective disorder in the equally named song.

Despite these dark themes there is always brightness and hope in the songs, since doppelfinger is facing his emotions and looking deep into his fears and his heart.

While expressing his feelings, the music serves as a solid ground and at the same time as an resonance chamber for all our worries, wishes and hopes. In this way Clemens Bäre manages to make us feel his basic emotions and at the same time to identify with the global moods which we are all entangled in.

Maybe the greatest gift of “by design” is that this music serves to (re)connect to our deepest emotions. With his pure songs doppelfinger teaches us that despite insecurity we still can open up our heart and see all the wonderful things in life.

So even if this record is the perfect soundtrack for current times of big changes, it is also a timeless masterpiece of mature songwriting that will last for a long time. (Andreas Gstettner-Brugger, Radio FM4)

Stream “by design” LP on Spotify.