Seer

Austrian schlager outfit Die Seer first reached broad domestic recognition during the middle of the 2000s, when successive albums began landing inside the national Top Five and occasionally claiming the summit position. Although the group is most readily placed in the schlager category, its sound blends distinctive elements of Austro-pop and volksmusik, leading some observers to favor the more precise label volkstümlicher schlager. The ensemble was established in 1995 under the leadership of principal songwriter and guitarist Fred Jaklitsch, who also performs under the alias Alfred; the remaining members comprise vocalists Astrid Wirtenberger, Sabine Holzinger (performing as Sassy), and Friedrich Hampel (performing as Spitz), guitarists Thomas Eder and Manfred Temmel, accordionist Jürgen Leitner, keyboardist Alois Huber, bassist Dietmar Kastowsky, and drummer Wolfgang Luckner.

The band’s first long-form release, Über'n See, appeared on the independent Tyrolis imprint in 1996 and was succeeded two years later by Auf + der Gams Nach. Its third album, Baff! (1999), introduced the enduring fan favorite “Wild's Wasser,” which became the group’s initial hit. Gössl followed in 2000, after which Guats G'fühl arrived in 2001 and became the first Die Seer album to register on the charts, climbing to number 26 in its third week and ultimately accumulating sixteen weeks on the Austrian albums listing. That achievement prompted the 2002 Top 20 compilation Das Beste der Seer: Wild's Wasser, which gathered highlights from the band’s Tyrolis era.

One month later the group made its Sony Music bow with Junischnee (2002), featuring a newly recorded version of the earlier hit now titled “Wilds Wossa 2002.” The album entered the chart at number two and remained on the rankings for more than one hundred weeks, reappearing periodically through 2007. During the same surge in visibility the non-album holiday single Eiskristall was issued, with its title track reaching number 22 on the singles chart.

Momentum persisted in the years that followed. Aufwind, released in 2003, ascended to the top of the albums chart and yielded the number 13 single “Es Braucht 2,” while Tyrolis issued a second best-of collection, Das Beste der Seer, Vol. 2, which peaked at number 34. The chart-topping Über'n Berg appeared in 2004, followed by Lebensbaum (2005), which reached number two and produced the number three hit “Sun, Wind + Regen.” Another retrospective, the Top Five compilation S' Beste!, preceded the 2007 number one album 1 Tag, after which Hoffen, Glauben, Liab'n arrived in 2009.