Wearing eyeball helmets is the trademark of the Californian artist collective The Residents. Inspired by avantgarde and pop, the band anticipated the idea of audio piracy and developed groundbreaking multimedia projects. 42-minute mix with some of the group’s conceptional thematic compositions and deconstructions of Western popular music.
Most artists involved in what critics called no wave in 1978 shared a nihilistic mindset as they explored realms ranging from abrasive noise to mutant disco in New York City. 44-minute mix featuring tracks by Boris Policeband, Bush Tetras, Jill Kroesen, Konk and others.
Equally at home in the art world and the artists’ pub, Ata Tak‘s proprietors manage their label from a nice office in Düsseldorf; in the adjoining music studio, they pursue the idea of a world rebellion with sound – as Der Plan. 32 minutes with Holger Hiller, Minus Delta T, Picky Picnic, Wirtschaftswunder and others.
The stoic, almost machine like drumming of many West-German tunes from the early Seventies became the hallmark of a new sound – different from British pop or American rock, and in no way related to the country's horrible Nazi past. 45 minutes with Cluster, Faust, Harmonia 76, Wolfgang Riechmann and others.
Future Japan – Technopop (1979-86)
- 10. August 2021
- Tagged as: Apogee & Perigee, Dolette McDonald, Friends Of Earth, Haruomi Hosono, Imitation, James Brown, Japan, Jun Togawa, Keiichi Suzuki, Maceo Parker, Masumi Hara, Miharu Koshi, Non-Standard, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Steve Scales, technopop, Testpattern, The Beatniks, The Kakutougi Session, wave, Yasuaki Shimizu, Yellow Magic Orchestra, Yen Records, Yukihiro Takahashi
Yellow Magic Orchestra’s concept of connecting pop, dance music, and Far Eastern folklore quickly becomes synonymous with technopop in Japan. The band’s members also occur in each others solo recordings and cooperate with other musicians. 49 minutes with Apogee & Perigee, Friends Of Earth, Miharu Koshi, Ryuichi Sakamoto & The Kakutougi Session and others.
After years of increasing harshness on the dancefloor culminating in Gabber, round 1992 the time has come for more friendly grounds. 55 minutes from the advent of personal computers and internet for everyone – with tracks by Acid Jesus, The Black Dog, Cylob, Like A Tim and others.
Aware of musical traditions and eager to incorporate the latest technology in his productions, Haruomi Hosono is one of the most versatile and influential figures in Japanese popular culture. 44 minutes with various collaborations and solo works by the co-founder of Yellow Magic Orchestra.
Sekt oder Karies – West-Germany in the 80s
- 21. August 2020
- Tagged as: Alexander Hacke, Andreas Dorau, Claudia Skoda, Conrad Schnitzler, DAF, Der Plan, Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft, Die Dominas, Die Tödliche Doris, Die Zimmermänner, Düsseldorf, Einstürzende Neubauten, Freiwillige Selbstkontrolle, Hamburg, Holger Hiller, Ingrid Wiener, Ingrid Wiener & Chor, Kumpelnest 3000, Manuel Göttsching, Martin Kippenberger, Max Müller, München, Rosi Müller, Santrra, Säurekeller, Sentimentale Jugend, Sternhagel, Xao Seffcheque, Zickzack
Owing to a straightness rooted in punk, new things and personalities get invented everywhere and all the time in West-Germany’s music scene of the Eighties. 53 minutes with Freiwillige Selbstkontrolle, Holger Hiller, Ingrid Wiener & Chor, Martin Kippenberger and others.