The Open Lane
Florian Allgayer
„The Open Lane“, Florian Allgayer’s first solo album, is a timeless document of a long musical creative process.
The German singer, composer and multi-instrumentalist has written the songs on „The Open Lane“ over the course of the last 40 years.
Complex melodies and harmonies of timeless validity, soulful lyrics, inspiring timbres of acoustic instruments: The multifaceted, emotionally powerful compositions on „The Open Lane“ are inspired by the atmosphere and music of the late 1970s and early 1980s – and also by the unique landscape in which Florian Allgayer spent the formative years of his youth, the scenic area around the town of Pirmasens in the German region of Pfalz.
A central musical source for the local musicians back then was the regional program of the US military radio station AFN, which could be heard on AM. Florian’s music and playing style are – to this day – strongly influenced by the important blues and rock guitarists of the 1960s to 1980s and by the American singer-songwriter tradition.
In mid-2022, Florian Allgayer decided to record a professional documentation of his own favorite compositions from the past four decades. Apart from drums and percussion, he played almost all the instruments himself. Florian Allgayer was able to convince the experienced Munich drummer and producer Evert van der Wal to do the recordings and to produce „The Open Lane“ album.
Music & Lyrics: Florian Allgayer. Producer: Evert van der Wal. Recording & Mixing: Evert van der Wal. Recorded between fall 2022 and summer 2023 at Deep West Studio, Munich. Mastering: Alex Klier, LXK Studios. Cover Artwork: Michael Gollong.
Florian Allgayer: Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals, 6-String & 12-String Acoustic Guitars, Electric Guitars, Bass, Piano, Organ, Mandola, Violin. Evert van der Wal: Backing Vocals, Drums, Percussion, Acoustic Guitars, Keyboards.
All the music on this album is handmade in the traditional way. No artificial intelligence, autotune or similar aids were used in the recording of this album.
Florian Allgayer came into contact with a wide range of song genres at an early age – in the 1960s in his hometown of Pirmasens – through his father and his friends, folk singers and songwriters Hein & Oss Kröher, with folk songs, workers‘ songs, Bertolt Brecht adaptations, cowboy songs, sailor songs and songs from the time of the German revolution in 1848/49.
From the age of six, he received classical piano and violin lessons. At the age of 15, Florian learned the guitar as an autodidact and gained his first experience as a singer and guitarist in local live bands. In the 1980s, Florian Allgayer worked as a professional live and studio guitarist with international and national acts such as the Munich hard rock band Railway, alongside his studies in musicology.
In addition to his solo activities, he has been musically involved in a wide variety of formations in recent years, for example with the power rock trio Carlman, as a composer, singer and guitarist.