Mysterious Art
Mysterious Art was a German dance floor house act founded in 1988. The group became famous for its hit singles "Omen I", "Omen II" and "Omen III".
History
Mysterious Art was founded in 1988 by Michael Krautter (keyboards and mouse), who composed and produced the instrumental of "Das Omen" in September 1988. By December 1988, copies of this instrumental were played throughout the whole German club scene, and sparked the interest of DJ Mike Staab and the record label CBS. Vocals for the debut single "Das Omen - Teil 1" were added and recorded at Cream Studios in Frankfurt in January 1989. The single saw its first release on May 13th 1989. The song quickly reached the #1 position of the official German Media Control singles charts, where it remained for nine weeks straight. The song sold over 490,000 singles in Germany alone and has since remained the most successful published work under CBS Publishing GmbH.
Mysterious Art also toured as the opening act for Madonna's Blonde Ambition Tour in Germany.
Their second single, "Carma - Omen 2" reached #9 on the German charts and remained there for three weeks.
It was followed up by the album Omen - The Story in the fall of 1989.
In 1991, the band published their second album, Mystic Mountains.
In 1993, M.A. released the song "Omen 3" under the band name Magic Affair which once again hit the top position of the German charts under the record label EMI.
In 2004, the motion picture Eternal was published in the US and Canada by Columbia Pictures, with music by Mysterious Art.
Members
- Michael Krautter, keyboards & mouse
- Nicole Boeúf, vocals
- Stephanie Trautmann, backing vocals
- Tillmann Uhrmacher, bass
Life after the band
Michael Krautter moved to Canada and continues to work as a composer and producer for music and film.
Tillmann Uhrmacher became a famous DJ (RPR Maximal) and released a great number of remixes and original tracks. He used to hold the record for the longest non-stop radio hosting (80 hours in 1994). He died in 2011.
Nicole Kolb (née Boeúf) released an unsuccessful single under the name of Viva and is singing in a band called Chicahlgo.
Stephanie Trautmann returned to classical music and lives in the Taunus.
Mike Staab, the producer of the band Mysterious Art, died on May 11, 2009, due to a heart attack.
Discography
Albums
- 1989: Omen - The Story
- 1991: Mystic Mountains
- 2008: 20th Century Complete Works (Box-Set including their two albums with bonus tracks - even though this album was called "Complete Works", this release was not authorized and does not contain the whole works of Mysterious Art)
Singles
- 1989: "Das Omen (Teil 1)" (D #1, A #2, CH #2)
- 1989: "Das Omen (Teil 1)" (Remix)
- 1989: "Carma (Omen 2)" (D #9, A #17, CH #10)
- 1989: "Carma (Omen 2)" (Remix)
- 1990: "Requiem"
- 1990: "Requiem" (Remix)
- 1991: "High On Mystic Mountain"
- 1991: "Lovin' You"
- 1991: "Lovin' You" (Remix) (cover)
- 1993: "Omen III M.A." (The original authorized title)