In 2015 the duo began delving into the Taishô-era, a period in Japanese history exactly one hundred years ago that brought about an abundance of new democratic and anarchic movements led by numerous opposing protagonists. Now, 8 years later Hans’ novel Großes Spiel (Big gamble) about those historical struggles has been published (Zsolnay/Hanser) simultaneously with a collection of 10 new songs. Taishô Romantica sets Japanese texts from the early 20th century depicting the close proxemics of life, death and ideological belief in the dramatic Taishô years against an extravagant score mingling Muzak and electronica with theatrical elements and chamber music. Do open your doors and travel with us through time and space. Let in this new approach to an ancient and exotic bygone world. You’ll come across a startling number of similarities to the here and now.