An apposite musical moment

Klaus Nomi - Cold Song [Purcell]

What Power art thou,
Who from below,
Hast made me rise,
Unwillingly and slow,
From beds of everlasting snow?

See'st thou not how stiff,
And wondrous old,
Far unfit to bear the bitter cold.

I can scarcely move,
Or draw my breath,
I can scarcely move,
Or draw my breath.

Let me, let me, Let me,
let me, Freeze again...
Let me, let me, Freeze
again to death!

Indeed.

Art tart

Who would ever have thought it?

In addition to being a spectacular performance artist, counter-tenor vocalist and 80s icon, the wonderful Klaus Nomi was a fully-qualified pastry chef!



And (of course) the faboo people over at Dangerous Minds have located one of his recipes for Lime Cheesecake, which he once demonstrated on Cable TV...

• Step 1. The crust. It needs a 9-inch pie pan to make the tart in. Take 1 1/4 cups fine 'Graham cracker' [that's 'Digestive biscuits' to us Brits!] crumbs, 1/3rd cup brown sugar, and 1/4 melted butter to make crust. Mix the ingredients together and shape the crust into the pie pan. (Klaus Nomi mentions that it may not seem like the crust will hold together, but if it is packed tightly enough and when it sits overnight, it should hold). The artist also cautions about making the crust too sweet; you may not need to use as much brown sugar.
• Step 2. The filling. It needs 4 eggs, 1 can sweetened condensed milk, and 1/2 cup lime juice. First the eggs have to be separated; placing yolks in one bowl and whites in the other one. Klaus uses the egg shell to actually separate the whites from the yolk by putting the yolk on one side of the cracked shell and letting the whites drip into a separate bowl. Take the bowl with the egg yolks and add the sweetened condensed milk and lime juice. Mix together. Then, in the bowl with the egg whites, whip them until the whites are very, very stiff. Once the whites are stiff it dramatically increases in volume. Slowly fold the whites into the other bowl. Once mixed together, place the filling into the crust.
• Step 3. Take lime peel and cut it into thin strips. Place the lime peel on top of the pie. This has two purposes; a beautiful presentation but also the flavour. The zest really adds a punch to the taste and is meant to be eaten. Then place the tart into the refrigerator for at least several hours, but overnight is recommended in order to firm the tart, make it easier to cut and better consistency.

In this montage scored to Nomi’s version of “You Don’t Own Me,” you can see him baking the recipe starting at the 0:52 mark:

Klaus Nomi - You Don't Own Me

Tasty.

An absolute outsider

Olga Neuwirth - Andrew Watts - Hommage à Klaus Nomi

"Pastry chef turned rule-breaking cabaret act. Backing singer turned striking solo artist. Visionary pop star Klaus Nomi took New York's East Village by storm in the 1980s. Reacting against the ordinariness of punk and disco, Nomi produced a never before seen brand of entertainment with synthesized covers of music from Henry Purcell to Marlene Dietrich."

Klaus Nomi was unique, that is certain. On his emergence into the more-than-embracing Blitz Kids/New Romantic scene in the UK in 1981, he caused a storm of acclaim, awe, and downright confusion. His talents were recognised early on by the likes of David Bowie and, following his sad and untimely death of AIDS-related complications in '83, his legacy lived on with tributes from such geniuses as Man Parrish, Morrissey, Nina Hagen and Marc Almond, and more recently Ana Matronic (of the Scissor Sisters).

I adore him.

The latest panegyric to Mr Nomi's music is an orchestral treatment arranged by composer Olga Neuwirth - "to recreate the spirit of this groundbreaking artist and the times in which he lived" - with the London Sinfonietta and countertenor Andrew Watts. This fascinating concept (an extract of which is in the video above) premieres in London at Queen Elizabeth Hall on the Southbank on 11th February 2012. I may well get a ticket...

Here is the late, dearly departed Klaus Nomi himself, with the most chilling rendition of Dido's Lament you will ever need to hear:

Klaus Nomi - Death (Dido's Lament) [Purcell]

His classic Total Eclipse:

Klaus Nomi - Total Eclipse

And here, rare early footage of his appearance on French TV performing Cold Song:

Klaus Nomi - Cold Song [Purcell]

"I approach everything as an absolute outsider. It is the only way I can break so many rules."

Klaus Nomi (24th January, 1944 – 6th August, 1983)

The Nomi Song, a brilliant documentary feature film devoted to the life of Klaus Nomi.