“Sometimes the most powerful way of transforming a familiar song is to strip it all away and let the emotion do the talking.”
Cathrin Poschin makes a real impact with her debut cover single ‘Diamonds’ which is a very thoughtful reworking of the original. Instead of going for the full pop she’s so well known for, this version is incredibly pared back. It’s all about the space between the notes. It’s a much darker, more introspective take on the song and that’s where its power lies. There’s a real contrast between the song as we know it and the vulnerability of this new version and that’s what makes it so compelling. You really do hear it in a different light.
The vocal performance is absolutely key to that transformation. Poschin has made a very conscious decision not to use Auto-Tune at all and that really does give the recording a sense of warmth, a sense of imperfection and a very genuine character. The openness of the vocal really works with the bare bones of the arrangement and it’s that very openness which allows the emotional detail to come through. Originally the track was actually going to be a much more orchestral affair, but the decision to strip it right back to just double bass and rhythm is what gives it such a distinct feel. The theatricality of the piece doesn’t come from being over the top, it comes from the tension between the intimacy of the performance and the sheer drama of it. “Diamonds” is a perfect example of how much more power vulnerability can have than spectacle when every sound has a reason to be there.
Poschin is a contemporary composer and sound designer from Ulm, Germany with a very cinematic approach to her work. Her music is in the realm of atmospheric chamber pop, neoclassical and very much driven by emotion and sound design. Her influences are as diverse as Agnes Obel, Aurora, Kovacs, Sia and Rihanna which in turn is what gives her music such a balance of fragility, darkness and vocal intensity. “Diamonds” is the first piece in a wider project of re-working classic songs into something more personal and cinematic, with a full album in the works that will contain a further series of re-imaginings of the classics alongside her own original material. This is a cover in the truest sense of the word, a cover that you’re meant to stop and listen to and hear the song in a different way.
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