Thursday 28 January 2016

Laibach ‎– "Deutschland" (Self-released cassette 1985)

There have been a few groups who have drawn complaints from neighbours,girlfriends,or parents over the years. The stand-outs were, Suicide for "Frankie Teardrop", Whitehouse for everything they ever did,and  bizarrely, the Butthole Surfers "Locust Abortion Technician";which made one particular girlfriend livid,and convinced I was a satanist!?
One shining example of such an artist,who are largely misunderstood,in fact I don't think I understand them(?); are the hugely crushingly heavy Laibach,from the Former-Yugoslav republik of Solvenia.The only country from which I have been deported!.....a funny story involving me hiding my smack-head girlfriend's methadone pills,accidentally i may add, in my Passport(I know!).Which i unfortunately proceeded to present to a clued-up border guard.I said they were Headache pills,which usually worked, but he knew what they were. Gallantly, I blamed my Girlfriend,and she got grilled by the gestapo while i waited. Sent back into Croatia,the Cops there were more like the Nazi type's one imagines in the world of Laibach.....ironically,a lot more frightening than the reasonable chaps in Laibach's fatherland,Slovenia.Bare in mind that this was 1998 and the war had only just finished,so everyone were very twitchy,and looked as if they had something to hide. So, I never got to visit Ljubljana (aka Laibach in German),but managed to avoid jail. Many other bizarre incidents happened on that trip too numerous to mention,the best was being mistaken for UN peace keepers in a deserted Bosnian Hotel(where we were the only guests),as we were wearing military uniforms as a fashion item(really stupid in a war zone i know!); the staff panicked when they saw us, and laid on five star service.....then the real army arrived.Very funny,and a very cheap holiday in other peoples misery,as it says in the song,well....at least on the sleeve of "Holidays in the Sun", by the comparatively, very lame and inoffensive, Sex Pistols.
The 'Pistols' never got any complaints , their music never matched their image; just rock'n'roll.
Now Laibach had a huge frightening sound to match their huge frightening image ,with even more confusing politics than our loveable spikey-tops. Forget electric guitars, whip out yer Flugel Horns and Opera singers, then shit your pants!
I'm not alone, when I sense a underlying 'Humour' in Laibach's music,subtly threading through the Wagnerian Horror of this brutal music. Early Laibach,is especially wonderful and brutal, as showcased on this self-released Live cassette from post-Tito yogoslavia in 1985. They seemed to like Tito a lot,who, as a communist, contradicts their Fascistic imagery.'Are they Communists, or Nazi's(?)', was a common question. I prefer to think they are neither,but a representation of the Horror of mass political movements. Although,that said, both of these political dogma's do have some positive aspects, namely in their common "Socialist" roots. Its these aspects that are frequently promoted in Laibach's propaganda, amidst the humour and the horror. A very complex pop group indeed; just how we like it.
This cassette is a fine document,and shows the group at their very best;noisy, brutal, aggressive,and frightening. Guaranteed to draw complaints from the 'Normals' in your life,confronting them with uncomfortable feelings; as if dropped into the crowd of a Torch-lit Nuremberg Rally and they find themselves screaming 'sieg heil' enthusiastically.......Beware the 'Hive Mind'!

(the track listing on the insert didn't match the music,so i've tried my best at identifying the tunes,if i'm wrong .....keep it to yourself please).  

Track Listing:

01 Vier Personen
02 Vade Retro
03 Nova Akropola
04 Die Liebe
05 Ti, Ki Izzivas
06 Sredi Bojev
07 Vojna Poema
08 Drzava

DOWNLOAD this fine bunch of kunst HERE!

11 comments:

A. S. said...

Amazing stories. Love Laibach. A lot of ink has been spilled by hip "theorist" types about these guys but I'm still not sure I get it.

Cheers for uploading this!

Jonny Zchivago said...

Thanks.
I 'm a great believer in the old adage that if you have to explain art it isn't doing its job. There should always be an air of mystery about an art project; just like life.
I love Laibach too.

FiveGunsWest said...

This is the best blog post I have ever read in my life. Dude, you rule the school!

Jonny Zchivago said...

Fuckin' 'ell,thats a bit of an accolade,I don't know where to look!....Cheers....I remain your humble servant,and hope to keep up these high standards for you.

qwertyuiop said...

cheers jonny, don't always agree with you but I always admire you because you say what you mean and mean what you say - even after the paris attacks when even normally free thinking people suddenly transformed into brainwashed gummy bears. Fuck off records drew me to your site a couple of years ago, and I've stayed on for the ride. You've introduced me to Jah Wobbles invaders of the heart, unune, camberwell now, and many others. BTW don't you just love those eastern block countries, I went to chez republic in 94 without a passport, to the first teknoval. they hid me amidst the sound system LOL!

Jonny Zchivago said...

Free thinking people? Thats as big an illusion as Democracy.
the Fuck Off records site still hasn't updated the link to my new address after the plutocrat puppets closed me down.
I hope you didn't remain inside the sound system during the festival,thats a one way trip to the hearing aid centre.
Yeah, bring back the Iron Curtain I say.
And I most certainly ain't here to be agreed with;my politics/opinions are as ambiguous as Laibach's. But i definitely mean it.

Judas Vigilante said...

Hilarious fuckin' story. sorry i'm just getting this post now Jonny. Methadone pills and customs are a recipe for disaster, like drinking vodka and red bull if you have a heart condition!
Have you any more Laibach in your 'stores' or is there only one release? Have a good one and humble thanks, hugs and kisses as always.

Judas Vigilante said...

Holy f*ck there are a tonne of Laibach releases to get.
The wonders of a search engine.

Jonny Zchivago said...

Judas!!!!....you know not of Laibach!?
I got quite a bit of stuff.....i can recommend Nova Akropola, The Peel session,Opus Dei, and 'Ljubljana - Zagreb - Beograd'...thats a live one, where they are at their best.
I can upload some for you if you can't find any.
Saw them in Leicester in early ninties with the Michael Clark Dancers,like a punk rock wagner ballet.

Judas Vigilante said...

Sadly i'm well aware of Rammstein, but not Laibach. What does that say about my sad existence? !!!! A little point if I may, I looked up there discography on wikipedia (i know, not always anywhere near accurate) but it doesn't list this album at all) Maybe it's rare gem. If that's the case, many thanks and many thanks anyways. On an unrelated matter, could you reup the link to the Wet taxi's album. Dying to hear, but Mediafire is being a bitch. All the best from N. Ireland.

Jonny Zchivago said...

yeah Rammstein are kinda Laibach lite

ok as its the midwinter festival, i'll re-do The Wet Taxi's for ya.