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BB 420CD
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When the Welttraumforscher (world dream explorer) started their journey on July 14, 1981, it was not foreseeable that it would last so long. For over 40 years now, Christian Pfluger from Zurich has been working with drawings, texts and songs on the idiosyncratic and fascinating universe of the imaginary trio. This has resulted in numerous cassettes, LP and CD releases. Most recently, a two-part retrospective was released in the spring of 2021 on Hamburg's Bureau B (BB 353CD/LP and BB 354CD/LP), giving an insight into the wonderfully rapturous dream world of the project, which despite the continuous work remains something of an insider tip to this day. With their new collection Liederbuch, the Welttraumforscher are going on tour for the first time in many years. When the Welttraumforscher open their songbook, they are met, as in a pop-up book, by the fictional friends they have invented and sung to on their journey through 40 years: the captain to the soul Kip Eulenmeister (the owl master) and the crop circle researcher (iguana) Leguan Rätselmann, the insect twins Brtz and Brxl, the space travelers Lia and Mira from the Nordkristall (northern crystal), Ohm Olunde from the silent forests and the incredible dark pilots. In their distant worldroom, the two insect beings Brtz and Brxl open up the Welttraumforscher songbook. They find the songs, from A to O, sung by the Forscher on their albums dating back to the faraway year of 1981 -- on cassettes, vinyls, CDs and through digital communications kaleidoscopes. It's Sunday and, with plenty of downtime on their hands, Brtz and Brxl listen to all the songs; the one about the yellow wight in the moors, the one about Kip Eulenmeister, the Captain of Souls, one about Leguan Rätselmann, pursuing every riddle, and one about the dark things which sometimes happen around midnight. We want one too, say say Brtz and Brxl, a songbook of our own, all the songs we like to listen to the most, collected in one album. By now it is late on Sunday evening and the moon shines above them like a colorful paper lantern. The two insect beings ponder: what shall we call our songbook? The very name we gave it, songbook. So here it is and this is what it sounds like -- Brtz and Brxl wish you happy listening. As do the Welttraumforscher, whose quiet body of work turned out so well. So, without further ado: welcome! Welcome to the Welttraumforscher songbook!
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LP
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BB 420LP
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LP version. When the Welttraumforscher (world dream explorer) started their journey on July 14, 1981, it was not foreseeable that it would last so long. For over 40 years now, Christian Pfluger from Zurich has been working with drawings, texts and songs on the idiosyncratic and fascinating universe of the imaginary trio. This has resulted in numerous cassettes, LP and CD releases. Most recently, a two-part retrospective was released in the spring of 2021 on Hamburg's Bureau B (BB 353CD/LP and BB 354CD/LP), giving an insight into the wonderfully rapturous dream world of the project, which despite the continuous work remains something of an insider tip to this day. With their new collection Liederbuch, the Welttraumforscher are going on tour for the first time in many years. When the Welttraumforscher open their songbook, they are met, as in a pop-up book, by the fictional friends they have invented and sung to on their journey through 40 years: the captain to the soul Kip Eulenmeister (the owl master) and the crop circle researcher (iguana) Leguan Rätselmann, the insect twins Brtz and Brxl, the space travelers Lia and Mira from the Nordkristall (northern crystal), Ohm Olunde from the silent forests and the incredible dark pilots. In their distant worldroom, the two insect beings Brtz and Brxl open up the Welttraumforscher songbook. They find the songs, from A to O, sung by the Forscher on their albums dating back to the faraway year of 1981 -- on cassettes, vinyls, CDs and through digital communications kaleidoscopes. It's Sunday and, with plenty of downtime on their hands, Brtz and Brxl listen to all the songs; the one about the yellow wight in the moors, the one about Kip Eulenmeister, the Captain of Souls, one about Leguan Rätselmann, pursuing every riddle, and one about the dark things which sometimes happen around midnight. We want one too, say say Brtz and Brxl, a songbook of our own, all the songs we like to listen to the most, collected in one album. By now it is late on Sunday evening and the moon shines above them like a colorful paper lantern. The two insect beings ponder: what shall we call our songbook? The very name we gave it, songbook. So here it is and this is what it sounds like -- Brtz and Brxl wish you happy listening. As do the Welttraumforscher, whose quiet body of work turned out so well. So, without further ado: welcome! Welcome to the Welttraumforscher songbook!
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CD
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BB 353CD
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Flusch. Knirk. Finom! Since July 14th 1981, Die Welttraumforscher have been researching the dream of the world, becoming cassette creators in the process. A mission which has seen them seek out the folklore of outer space, visiting the continent of Binika and marveling at the metropolis of Darktown. In transit, they find support and succor in Bretzelberg pop, toytown tempests, a starman, bricoleurs, 4-track recorders and instant architecture. How elated they are when they happen upon a successful sound piece, taking clandestine delight in the return of genuine humanity. This first Bureau B retrospective devoted to Die Welttraumforscher covers the Swiss project's early creative period from 1981 to 1990. The eccentric, heartwarming pop songs now sound like documents from a parallel world, interwoven with idiosyncratic fantasy, surreal stories and dreamlike apparitions. Considering their continuous and prolific output over the past four decades, it is quite remarkable how Die Welttraumforscher have remained under the radar for so long -- that said, their cadre of admirers includes such illustrious artists as Mouse On Mars, Barbara Morgenstern, and Felix Kubin. It thus gives Bureau B immeasurable pleasure to offer a closer insight into the work of this incomparable project. All tracks have been remastered.
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LP
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BB 353LP
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LP version. Flusch. Knirk. Finom! Since July 14th 1981, Die Welttraumforscher have been researching the dream of the world, becoming cassette creators in the process. A mission which has seen them seek out the folklore of outer space, visiting the continent of Binika and marveling at the metropolis of Darktown. In transit, they find support and succor in Bretzelberg pop, toytown tempests, a starman, bricoleurs, 4-track recorders and instant architecture. How elated they are when they happen upon a successful sound piece, taking clandestine delight in the return of genuine humanity. This first Bureau B retrospective devoted to Die Welttraumforscher covers the Swiss project's early creative period from 1981 to 1990. The eccentric, heartwarming pop songs now sound like documents from a parallel world, interwoven with idiosyncratic fantasy, surreal stories and dreamlike apparitions. Considering their continuous and prolific output over the past four decades, it is quite remarkable how Die Welttraumforscher have remained under the radar for so long -- that said, their cadre of admirers includes such illustrious artists as Mouse On Mars, Barbara Morgenstern, and Felix Kubin. It thus gives Bureau B immeasurable pleasure to offer a closer insight into the work of this incomparable project. All tracks have been remastered.
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CD
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BB 354CD
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A triumvirate obsessed with riddles, triplets on a cosmic expedition, Die Welttraumforscher delving into the depths of the sonic universe. Their research, so they say, knows no limits -- from the living room to the workshops of Sideria, taking in the enchanting City of Water, Leguan Rätselmann's geometric songs, seeing their friends Kip Eulenmeister and Ohm Olunde. They gather up twinkling star sounds and forgotten noises from the attic. They also say: "Our work is for the world to come". The second collection sees Bureau B zoom in on the years 1992 to 2012 in the Welttraumforscher universe. A more pensive atmosphere of melancholy pervades the tracks documented herein, as if the more spherical musical journeys and expeditions undertaken by creator and sole member Christian Pfluger lead to increasingly enchanted worlds. It may be possible to trace pop-cultural references to artists like Andreas Dorau or The Residents, and yet the Welttraumforscher's music has a life all of its own which appears increasingly sui generis with every album.
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LP
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BB 354LP
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LP version. A triumvirate obsessed with riddles, triplets on a cosmic expedition, Die Welttraumforscher delving into the depths of the sonic universe. Their research, so they say, knows no limits -- from the living room to the workshops of Sideria, taking in the enchanting City of Water, Leguan Rätselmann's geometric songs, seeing their friends Kip Eulenmeister and Ohm Olunde. They gather up twinkling star sounds and forgotten noises from the attic. They also say: "Our work is for the world to come". The second collection sees Bureau B zoom in on the years 1992 to 2012 in the Welttraumforscher universe. A more pensive atmosphere of melancholy pervades the tracks documented herein, as if the more spherical musical journeys and expeditions undertaken by creator and sole member Christian Pfluger lead to increasingly enchanted worlds. It may be possible to trace pop-cultural references to artists like Andreas Dorau or The Residents, and yet the Welttraumforscher's music has a life all of its own which appears increasingly sui generis with every album.
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LP
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PLANAM 030LP
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Planam very proudly presents you Die singende Sternlaterne/Folklore des Weltalls 1982 by Die Welttraumforscher. This record includes the first-time LP edition of the mysterious Swiss electro-Dada artist's second cassette as well as previously-unreleased material. Issued in conjunction with Christian Pfluger's first comprehensive retrospective Ein Sommer in der Wirklichkeit (i.e. "A Summer in Reality") at Kunsthaus Langenthal and the corresponding monograph "Songs, Signs, Explorations" presenting drawings, music, lyrics, films and other rare material. When Die Welttraumforscher set out on July 14, 1981 no one could have realized that their journey would not be over soon. For more than 30 years now, Christian Pfluger has been working on drawings, texts, films and songs for the fascinating universe of the imaginary trio, which is well populated with figures like Leguan Rätselmann or Kip Eulenmeister and his astronauts of the spirit. In the course of that journey, among other things, over 35 music cassettes, LPs and CDs have been released, presenting minimal songs that the Welttraumforscher themselves call "Bretzelberg pop" and "space folklore." Planam now re-issues the Welttraumforscher's second cassette, including the previously-unreleased album Folklore des Weltalls 1982. Translator's note: The expression "Welttraum" in "Die Welttraumforscher" is a play on the words "Weltraum" (Universe), "Welt" (world) and "Traum" (dream). "Die Welttraumforscher" can both be read as "The Explorers of the Universe" as well as "The Explorers of the Dream of the World." Edition limited to 350 copies.
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PLANAM 020LP
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"Right on time for its 30th anniversary, Herzschlag Erde, cassette debut album of Die Welttraumforscher, is being re-released in a collaborative effort between the labels Planam and A Tree In A Field. The new, limited vinyl edition includes a large-format, 20-page booklet as well as the previously unreleased follow-up album, Verdunkelt die Sinne. Die Welttraumforscher is one of Switzerland's most enigmatic musical projects, with a catalog that not only spans more than 30 albums, but also films, stories and countless illustrations. These documents are the only proof that Die Welttraumforscher actually exists. Small creatures with big, gentle eyes, more reminiscent of friendly ghosts than of scientists (Forscher), are depicted with child-like innocence and painstaking attention to detail. Their universe also includes such characters as the 'Moon Pope', Kip Eulenmeister and Leguan Rätselmann. Together, they experience weird adventures with a touch of science fiction, metaphysics and dadaism. As Die Welttraumforscher themselves put it: 'We are working for the next world'. No wonder that those of us stuck in the here-and-now are not always able to make sense of it. The man behind this phantom band is only mentioned in the small print: 'Lyrics, music and illustrations by Christian Pfluger for Die Welttraum-forscher.' Not unlike musical kindred spirits The Residents, Pfluger remains in the shadows, creating a mystique. However, instead of concealing or disguising himself at shows, he just very rarely plays live at all. This veil of mystery, the borderline-esoteric mysticism, plus the fact that the lyrics are almost exclusively in German, might explain to some degree why Die Welttraumforscher have always led a niche existence. Among musicians, however, they have already gained cult status. Mouse on Mars, Neoangin, and Harald 'Sack' Ziegler are just a few known admirers. Together with other musicians, they released a remix LP on Felix Kubin's Gagarin label in 1999. Other well-known aficionados are Dieter Meier (Yello) and German astronaut Hans-Joachim Roloff. Herzschlag Erde sets a musical and artistic course that has remained largely unchanged in the following 30 years. New, affordable technology such as the 4-track-cassette home studio made it possible to record music alone and with simple equipment; 'We work with what we have, not with what we'd like to have.' Technological constraints are compensated by an unbounded imagination, yet the final result remains playful and intriguing. The opening track, 'Traum der Welt' (i.e. Dream of the World), is also a manifesto of sorts: '...they are [...] coming to us. Die Welttraumforscher, music from the far end of our thoughts, Neither-Nor sounds, and dance ambushes.' Edition limited to 350 copies including a large (20 page) booklet with sinister photos, surreal drawings and lyrics in German and English."
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2CD
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STAUB 057CD
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2CD release, for the price of one. "First things first: Staubgold are immensely proud to present this cooperation with one of Europe's most enduring avant garde pop groups ever. Since their formation in Zurich in 1978, the Welttraumforscher's music has been moving to and fro in a field marked by the cornerstones of the classic pop song as epitomized by Burt Bacharach or Simon and Garfunkel, the emotional barrenness of Nick Drake's compositions, the escapism of Syd Barrett and electronic home recording-miniatures of cinematic dimensions as [co-]developed by Der Plan and Cabaret Voltaire.
But this band never consciously flirted with the notion of 'being ahead of their time'. The Welttraumforscher have always been self-sufficient and completely independent -- and that goes for their musical as well as their lyrical content. In their unique way, they are working on everyday myths (complete with fantasy characters like Kip Eulenmeister and Leguan Rätselmann). This is not limited to their music but also comes out in the hand drawn cover art and comic strips. All this they do in their incomparable, unprejudiced and highly idiosyncratic style.
In the first 25 years of their existence the band created a body of work surrounded by a mystic aura similar to that of the Residents -- with the difference that Welttraumforscher-Mastermind Christian Pfluger has never tried to stay anonymous. At the beginning of the Eighties he started the band's own Monif label which henceforth released almost all of the band's output, at first exclusively on cassettes, and from the middle of the Eighties also on limited vinyl editions. Since 1993 the band has also issued their music on CD. 21 Weltraum-Standards does not lay claim to being a representative cross-section of the band's output over the last 25 years; the intention of this compilation is more one of presenting the Welttraumforscher from their friendliest and more accessible side, thus trying to introduce them to a larger audience.
The vinyl version of the 21 Weltraum-Standards will be released as a single LP while the digital version will appear in the form of a double CD (for the price of a normal CD). The latter will include the album '..remixen die Welttraumforscher', formerly released as a vinyl-only on Felix Kubin's label Gagarin Records and which has long sold out. This album contains remixes by Mouse on Mars, Barbara Morgenstern, FX Randomiz, Neoangin, Schlammpeitziger, Minitchev, Nova Huta, Harald 'Sack' Ziegler, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Joe Tabu and Klangwart. As a bonus the CD is augmented by two most charming (but then what of the Welttraumforscher's output could defy that adjective?) and hitherto unreleased videos of the band."
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STAUB 057LP
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