’Roman’ – In the early 90ties, Bertram Ernst, singer and composer, used this pseudonym during his musical career with the label WEA Germany.

Both of his albums - ‘Blue Moonbeam’ and ‘Naked Stories’ - present an artful and sophisticated melange of funk, chanson and folklore (Cosmopolitan) – perceived as Pop avant-garde at that time.

Roman’s songs are like a misty gate to unselfconsciousness, encountering the soul of an artist keen on making new experiences and breaking new grounds.

His unique manner of storytelling, sometimes playfully, sometimes explosively arranged, led to an unanimous press opinion: “Roman – the figurehead of the German scene.“ (New Mag)

Well-known guest musicians such as Simon Phillips, Pino Palladino, Phil Palmer, Manfred Mann or Peter Weihe supported a lot of his harmonically rich songs.

Most important for the real charm and recognisability of his music were his musical companions Olaf Scherf (guitars) and Cornelius Borgolte (clarinet, sax).

“Looking back, the time as ‘Roman’ was a quite important part in and of my life. I experienced the industries’ mechanisms directly and face to face – and this affects my work even today. With an absolutely non-nostalgic smile I often remember odds and ends – my first autograph session, interviews for music magazines, rotation lists on VIVA and MTV and the fight for a high chart positions.”, says Bertram Ernst today.

Today, 18 years after signing his first major record deal, his ambitions as well as his musical ideas have changed – but the passion for music has still remained. Bertram Ernst’s productions from his Moenchspfeffer sound studio still feature his distinctive hand-writing which was already perceptible in the songs of ‘Roman’.

„ I’ll stick to my principles in the future. Roman won’t celebrate a comeback on stage, but beside my current project ‘White Orange’, I am planning on a quite non-commercial solo-project called ‘Stern’”

Distinctive huk-lines based on chilling electro-grooves. Live performed with a minimum of musicians in interplay with active sequencers. A transparent but nonetheless subtly interwoven basic sound experience with enough room for intuitive plays – these are the guidelines for ‘Stern’ – pending over the tracks of the art character ‘Roman’.