featuring David Rothenberg and Volker Lankow
The Constellation is the second release in my ongoing musical-poetic project. It traces an inner map between the Dreamer, the One Who Doesn’t Want to Dream, and Me. This piece inhabits the liminal space between waking and sleeping. Grief drifts inward — into dream logic, hidden interiors, and the fragile balance between remembering and forgetting. It is less a song than a constellation: a moment of permission, a recognition of protection, an invitation to step toward what has been guarded.
For this piece, I had the honor to work with Bernhard Wöstheinrich, David Rothenberg, and Volker …. It was recorded as an impromptu improvisation, guided by intuition and listening. To my surprise, it only had to be worked on slightly before we felt like it was ready to release.
credits
Hanna Mattes: Voice
Bernhard Wöstheinrich: Piano, and Keyboards
David Rothenberg: Clarinet, Bass clarinet, and iPad
Volker Lankow: Percussions
Produced by Hanna Mattes and Bernhard Wöstheinrich
Recorded by Jan Brauer
Mastered by Markus Reuter
lyrics
The Constellation between the dreamer, the one who doesn’t want to dream and me.
I am heavy. There is a shiny hole in my middle. I look out from a hidden place. I smell like dirt or earth. I want to be smelled, I want to be held and looked at – marvel at my complexity! I am bright and gnarly; I have crystals and creases.
I have an unknown twin-sister – a second half – I don’t know where she is. We don’t need to look for her – just know that she exists. She may well be many parts, not just one.
I am a seeker and a finder, a shapeshifter.
This is the constellation between the dreamer, the one who doesn’t want to dream and me
The dreamer looks like a hand but does nothing.
The dreamer looks like they are funny, yet they are very straight.
The dreamer’s sound is hollow.
The dreamer is too big – they don’t fit.
The dreamer is from the past; they have no job but to lie around.
At times they hold other things.
They don’t seem to have much to say.
This is the constellation between the dreamer, the one who doesn’t want to dream and me
The one who doesn’t want to dream is a vessel for something alive.
Here she speaks: “My insight, my inside, my inside is smooth and shiny, reflecting blues and purple, gold and mint green. I form wave patterns on the inside and I also look burnt. You’d overlook me if you only saw my outside. I am almost the same color as the floor, I camouflage and hide my inside; and hide my insight. I am hard and spiky. I scream “don’t touch”!
This is the constellation between the dreamer, the one who doesn’t want to dream and me
Hi Dreamer, it’s ok to do nothing. It’s not your time to speak. By just lying around, you are protecting the one who doesn’t want to speak. You are doing a great job.
Hi, the one who doesn’t want to dream, the dreamer is protecting you. We are not going to look or touch. We are leaving you turned around and camouflaged. You are unseen and protected.
And me – I am ready to dream.
