AG Geige's second cassette (get first here!) was actually,eventually, released on the DDR state label for such low brow popular musics such as this, Amiga. The signs were that the state was losing control with all this Glasnost and Perestroika nonsense.
There were several versions of this album,so the first 16 tracks come from the CD version released in 1990, and all the bonus tracks come from the original cassette release on KlangFarBe.
I dunno if the Stasi were keeping notes,so maybe the files at Stasi HQ could help with the track listing.
A fine album, or double album this is. An avant-abstract electronic rock post-punk collage of the highest proportions that should,in an ideal world, find its way into many a good boy or girls christmas stocking this yuletide. After all, Santa Claus is nothing more than a glorified member of the supernatural Stasi,with his sinister elves spying on our kids,taking notes as to who's been naughty and who's been nice.
Christmas was,after all invented in Germany,alongside Industrial Genocide,Methadone,Crystal Meth,National Socialism,protestant Christianity and,yes Indeed, the perfect Police State in the form of the DDR.They should be prooooouuuuuddddd!
Tracklist:
1 Das Möbiusband / Zeychen Und Wunder 2:04
2 Triebwerk 1:16
3 Felix 1:34
4 Kosmonauten 2:42
5 Fingerwalze 2:58
6 So Sollte Es Nicht Sein! 2:30
7 Küchenlied 5:53
8 Das Scheusal 3:29
9 Déjà Vu (Snap Mix #2) 2:51
10 Hasensong 1:35
11 Schöner Leben 3:43
12 Rohleder's 2:10
13 Maximale Gier 3:13
14 Nach Hause (Instr.) 1:35
15 Gesichter 3:02
16 Stadt-Fisch 1:46
Bonus Tracks:(not necessarily in this order)
Paß Gut Auf! 3:01
Wir Lebenden 1:08
Teufel-Trompke 1:23
Kuechenlied 5:58
Das Scheusal 3:33
Dirigent 2:15
Perfekte Welt 3:24
Untitled 1,2,3,4,&5
Nasenwalzer 2:23
Echo-Strand 2:32
Dicker Junge 1:35
Déjà Vu 2:51
Hasensong 1:30
Fischleim 2:09
Mammut 2:14
Nachts Unterwegs 5:04
Astronauten 2:05
Mondauge 2:34
We can easily slag off the German Democratic Republic from the western political and intelligence service angle,but, the previous regime to that one would have had Heinz and Franz publically beheaded for making this tape. It seems the Socialist Unity Party of Germany,as they were called, turned a blind eye to this underground music scene.Which is a far more liberal approach to subversive art than you would have found in many other Soviet satellites,such as Czechoslavakia for example, where musicians were frequently imprisoned and constantly hassled.The most famous of which were the Plastic People Of The Universe (coming up when we finally leave the DDR behind), whose Zappa inspired lunacy was rather unpalatable for the local authorities.
I can sort of understand the intrusive methods of The East German state.In their eyes they were trying to protect their socialist untopia from the insideous influence of the outside world.And one of the most effective ways to undermine any kind of political philosophy is through art,especially Pop Music.Not that Frank Bretscheider made pop music however,but the roots were certainly anchored in the forbidden world of anglo-american pop culture.
This split tape,shared between Frank Bretschneider and Heinz Havemeister, and Frank Bretschneider as A.F.Moebius,is yet another minimal electronic rock mash-up of the kind you frequently found in West Berlin's underground music.It would have been relatively easy to tune into west German radio, which I'm sure was illegal, but forbidding it was not exactly enforceable.
Listening to this excellent cassette,its evident that Bretscheider and friends may have incriminated themselves.Luckily the Stasi were far too unhip to notice.
Tracklist:
Side A: Heinz & Franz - Alle Aufnahmen
1–Heinz & Franz Beim Docteur 1:12
2–Heinz & Franz Kochkäse 1:44
3–Heinz & Franz Leitungsmasten 2:44
4–Heinz & Franz Blutrausch 1:37
5–Heinz & Franz Forellen Fischen! 3:07
6–Heinz & Franz Der Budder 1:26
7–Heinz & Franz Replik Des Druiden 3:01
8–Heinz & Franz Jemand 0:57
9–Heinz & Franz Mein Junge Niest 2:15
10–Heinz & Franz Blinde Liebe 1:30
11–Heinz & Franz Schlafen 3:56
12–Heinz & Franz Verflixter Raoul 1:27
13–Heinz & Franz Lubminer Nächte 2:31
14–Heinz & Franz Drachen Steigen Immer 2:13
Side B: A.F. Moebius - Eine Auswahl (1985-1987)
15–A.F. Moebius Laura 2:29
16–A.F. Moebius Art-Mart 2:08
17–A.F. Moebius Da & Weg 1:25
18–A.F. Moebius Antipoden 1:50
19–A.F. Moebius Blau 1:42
20–A.F. Moebius Erika 2:34
21–A.F. Moebius Das Ei 1:55
22–A.F. Moebius Industrial 2:21
23–A.F. Moebius Im Kopf 2:23
24–A.F. Moebius Böser Traum 1:47
25–A.F. Moebius Jhö-A-Bäh's 2:26
26–A.F. Moebius Elektro 2:21
27–A.F. Moebius Das Nämliche 1:54
28–A.F. Moebius Na Uhle ? 1:16
Frank Bretscheider's mangled electronica, assisted by the text of Christian Heckel, and the voices of the 'Kummers',last seen in AG Geige;delivered as a collage in the tradition of "Lumpy Gravy",L. Voag and "Canaxis".
The Berlin by night bit,or,rather, East Berlin by night,probably refers to the time of day it was recommended to make subversive sounds like this without attracting the attentions of the more unsavory sectors of DDR society.
Studio Sonnenklang,where all these KlanFarBe tapes were made, was highly likely to have been bugged by the Stasi anyway.So the Karl-Marx-Stadt branch of the Secret Police wasn't so bad after all it seems.Maybe Bretschneider could claim the Stasi tapes and make a volume two,or an extra collage for the deluxe reissue whenever it appears?
DOWNLOAD bretscheider bei nacht HERE!
AG Geige were an East German experimental band, formed in 1985 in that hotbed of underground musical activity,Karl-Marx-Stadt. They were kind of German new-wave gone correctly wrong, mixing together elements of Floh De Cologne and Der Plan with all sorts of electro-pop and Krauty underground styles.
Any group who has members called Olaf Bender, plus Jan and Ina Kummer has to be worth a listen....surely?
Naturally Frank Bretscheider was a member too,so musically one has a reliable reference,and its a experimental as fuck.
If Olaf Bender isn't the perect name for an East German gay porn star then I don't know what is!?.....as for Jan Kummer,i'll leave that one up to your own filthy, filthy imaginations to contrive.
Tracklist:
A1 Eine Frikadelle 2:55
A2 Glückliche Reise 4:39
A3 Papagei Der Jungen Leute 3:49
A4 Elektrische Banane 2:54
A5 America 4:30
A6 Melodie & Harmonie 1:42
A7 Schnitz 2:13
A8 Die Vier Söhne Der Frau Fanghänel 3:07
A9 Frühstart Erlaubt 3:52
B1 Beklagenswertes Los Einer Waise 3:57
B2 Die Waldschleiereule 2:53
B3 Das Grauen Der Geige 5:31
B4 Zick-Zack 2:39
B5 Zwölf Trombonen 2:22
B6 Yachtclub & Buchteln 5:09
B7 Stadt-Elegie 2:29
B8 Bruder+Schwester 4:08
Wow! What a band name!?
A big rival to the Friedrich Engels Political Myth Orchestra no doubt(I made that one up). The Karl Marx Stadt Studio Big Band were the closest the DDR got to a UK DIY equivalent.Sounding not too dissimilar to The Instant Automatons,or Danny and the Dressmakers, the KMSSBB,comprised of nearly all of the participants in the Karl-Marx-Stadt underground,yes even Claus Loser was in it!.
Don't you just wish you were in a band called 'The Karl Marx Stadt Studio Big Band'?...I know I do....in fact i'm thinking of stealing 'Schlimmer Finger' for my next conceptual music project.Dunno what it means but i think it may be rather rude?
In 1989,the wall was coming down and the authorities were losing control,so Punk Rock could finally come out from under the floorboards,and the true oppresion of freedom was to take over.
A lot of former East Germans struggled with the tyranny of choice when they crossed check-point Charlie only to return a few days later, traumatized by the capitalist jungle.
It ain't easy in the west y'know.Every man for himself stuff.No nice man in a uniform to tell where you're living and working.No guarantees of a Job or a home.A dog eat dog nightmare which makes communism seem like the loving arms of a Nanny in comparison.Sometimes you get what you ask for......like Donald Trump.
Tracklist:
A1 Sambalita 2:20
A2 Aussenposten 4:20
A3 Stülpnertraum 3:20
A4 Highway Song 2:55
A5 Hutzenjagd 2:55
A6 Karlsberg Elegie 6:20
A7 Katerle Im Wunderland 2:25
A8 Downtown Boogie 2:40
B1 Übergang 8:30
B2 Damals War's 3:00
B3 Ich Bin Blues 5:30
B4 Ausbrand 4:30
B5 Bataille Gewidmet 2:55
B6 Selterknall 3:25
B7 Für Die Geschichte 1:00
I always thought that 'Vater' was spelt F-a-r-t-e-r,....oh how we laughed,and kept up the fine English tradition of childish purile humour and an almost total ignorance of foreign languages.
Travelling down the autobahn I could often be heard pointing out the Ausfahrt signs at the exit junctions, shouting in a German/English accent not unlike Franz Liebkind from The Producers,"AUSFAHRT VERBOTEN JA!".......ahh come oooonnnnnn,its hilarious,and always will be......unless you're German,when virtually nothing funny is hilarious.
Especially unhilarious was life in soviet puppet state the Deutsche Democratic Republik, when 'Jokes' were especially thin on the ground.What could Communist Comediens possibly find to take the piss out of without blurring equality red lines;although I'm sure Anti-American jokes were allowed for sure and the joke teller in line for another Karl Marx comedy award.
Yeah, I know there'll be plenty of ex-inmates of the DDR ready to tell us what jolly japes they got up to in the Stasi social club raffle before the curfew;...just let me enjoy myself at your expense,i'm well aware that Germans,both east and west, do indeed have a sense of Humour.....its just very,VERY, subtle.
Oh Yeah...the music.
Stein and Brett were the Hall and Oates of Abstract Iron Curtain Electronica.Matthias Stein and Frank Bretschneider(again!)are the exact opposite to Hall and Oates' frankly despicable blue eyed soul,and exist, surely, to rebalance the physics of reality and cancell out the horrors of "I Can't Go For That (No Can Do)".
Well mr Hall and Oates, I can't go for you,no can do!
Bretschneider and Stein, yes can do.
DOWNLOAD and smell my farters ausfahrts HERE!
Another project involving KlangFarBe maestro Herr Bretscheider is the minimal abstract electronica of Kriminelle Tanzkapelle.Every track is a dark monotonous symphony of foggy oppression that only living somewhere like Karl-Marx-Stadt in cold war DDR could create. This makes the industrial musings of those in the West sound like the spoilt bleatings of ungrateful brats in comparison.
I notice a mention of the late and beyond great Alan Vega on the insert.This stuff is yet another offpring given birth by Frankie Teardrop....so of course I exempt Suicide from any accusations of being spoilt brats.
I suppose we all live in our own personal East Germanys in our minds...."we're ALL Frankies, we're All burin' in Hell"(A.Vega 1977)
DOWNLOAD the sound of your own personal communist satellite state HERE!
Frank Bretschnieder was the East German equivalent of Alain Neffe,if not in profile, but in the amount of significantly weird and scrambled up musiks that he managed to squeeze onto the medium of ferric-oxide coated tape.
This,for all intents and purposes, was Frank's debut album,on his own frankly(pun intended) superb cassette label 'klangFarBe', from the lovely DDR town of Karl-Marx-Stadt,with its delightful post war Soviet architecture and a horrifying disembodied monument to the great man himself......check this postcard as if taken directly from a line in the Pistols' "Holidays In The Sun" pop hit.
Hmmmm, lovely ain't it?
There are places like that all over Europe,but at least they had the excuse of being bombed to fuck .There are also towns like this in the USA and the only bomb attack they ever had was on 9/11,Anything over 50 years old gets demolished and a post modern brutalist skyscraper gets erected in its place. Hmmmm,sounds like what actually happened to the Twin Towers;demolition then erect an immense human-free edifice in its place. That said, The World Trade Centers were one of thee worst examples of brutalist architecture and deserved a couple of passenger jets crashing into them if you ask me....which you ain't,but I gotta write something irrelevant for the recording I'm writing about or I wouldn't be me would I?
Frank gives us a bunch of what can only be described as 'Experimental Electronica" at its abstract best. Its amazing that Frank was never arrested for making music like this,just like it was amazing that The Eagles were never arrested in the west for their crimes against western culture.Not that Bretschneider was guilty of such heinous crimes as 'Hotel California',but one had to be careful in Democratic Republic not to stray too close to decandence or a bohemion lifestyle,or you may find yourself pencilled in for a re-education program.
DOWNLOAD a postcard from Karl-Marx-Stadt HERE!
Not all the music in the DDR was released on the State labels,but if you wanna to put your own challenging,politically unacceptable work, you had to...yup......Do It Yourself. Behold the liberation of the audio cassette.Even more so than in the west, where the people were oppressed by the need for profit rather than by an ideological totalitarian regime. Thoughts were repressed in this gloomy remanent of the reich,and if you wanted to express them without a lurking Policeman taking notes in the corner,then you had to escape to the west which usually ended up in an east german cemetary.
An easier way to escape this enclave was to smuggle cassettes into the west.This was,somewhat, less risky.
Behold the KlangFarbe label from Karl Marx Stadt,founded by Franck Bretschneider.Of course you can't call anything after Karl Marx anymore,so the town was charmingly renamed Chemnitz after the collapse of the regime.
So here's a taster of the Karl Marx Stadt underground from 1986.This is what the real East Germany sounded like.Gloomy,abstract,miserable and minimal.Not the kind of thing that would have been state approved....no-one was officially 'miserable' in the glorious DDR.
DOWNLOAD your own personal berlin wall HERE!
