Alanas Chosnau
Alanas Chosnau, although currently unknown in the West, is quite an enigma, with a very interesting background story.
Alanas was born to a Lithuanian mother and Iraqi-Kurdish father in Vilnius, the Capital of Lithuania, when it was still part of the Soviet Union. He spent his early childhood in Baghdad, Iraq until his mother died in 1983. It is a historical fact, that during the long-lasting Iran-Iraq war of the 1980’s, Saddam Hussein started gassing his own Kurdish villagers, it was under such circumstances that his parents decided to send Alanas to safety.
As an 8 year old child, Alanas returned to Lithuania to be raised by his grandparents. Initially, he only spoke Arabic, but later learned Lithuanian, Russian and eventually, English. Sadly, the war separated Alanas from his father and sister for almost a decade. If that wasn’t traumatic enough, the political upheaval resulting in the collapse of communism in the late 80s and early 90s presented further unparalleled uncertainty. Alanas however, was optimistic and he saw Lithuania’s newly found independence as an opportunity to fulfil his dreams and wishes, to be a performer.
Alanas became interested in music at an early age. Only the fall of the Soviet Union probably prevented him from a life in the factories. From listening to Soviet pop songs, and despite all the personal difficulties, Alanas eventually managed to establish what would become the most famous Lithuanian pop group Naktinės Personos in 1992, a musical project that lasted until 2001, after which, he embarked upon a solo career in 2001.
During this early solo period, Alanas achieved huge popularity and he has meanwhile become the most successful artist in Lithuania. His continued presence on National Television has catapulted him to celebrity status. However, that is not the only goal of his career. The driving force is to push his own boundaries and the decision to work with Mark Reeder was just one of those opportunities to go one step beyond.
Mark Reeder first met Alanas at the Lithuanian International film festival in 2015, where Mark was screening his documentary film B-Movie (Lust & Sound in West Berlin). Alanas liked the movie and the sound of Mark’s previous work and voiced his ambition to make an album in English. They decided to work together. Over the past few months, Mark and Alanas have crafted together an album of retro-modern sounding love songs, which almost feel prophetic when the current Coronacrisis is considered.
All Alone is just one of those songs. Here is the official music video.
“We had no idea what was to come, but it seems we touched on a frequency from the future and the song appears to have been derived from a deep, inner-feeling we both had at the time,” said Alanas.
It was that feeling of being stuck at home, all alone, in what is seemingly an empty apartment. The song recalls the memory of a better time but dwells on the mental frustration of someone who is currently feeling lost and lonely, and reaching out to anyone who is in the same situation.
All Alone, a song dedicated to all those currently isolated at home. The single was digitally released on 15th May.
MFS released the latest album Children of Nature (MFS 7179-1) by ALANAS CHOSNAU & MARK REEDER.
Children of Nature was produced by Mark Reeder and Micha Adam in Berlin, and is released on MFS, digitally distributed Worldwide by Believe Digital and is available on all digital platforms from 26th May 2020.