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ARTIST
TITLE
Stahlwerkrequiem
FORMAT
CD
LABEL
CATALOG #
BB 213CD
BB 213CD
GENRE
RELEASE DATE
6/24/2016
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In 1981 the Düsseldorf band Die Krupps (Jürgen Engler, Bernward Malaka, Ralf Dörper) released the Stahlwerksynfonie (Steelworks Symphony), a near-30-minute musical monolith of metal and guitar sounds with scattergun saxophone and shouts, held together by a monotonic bass line and stoic beat. The Stahlwerksynfonie proved a worldwide sensation as a nucleus of EBM and industrial rock. It stood as a direct descendent of Cluster's early works, although Die Krupps mastermind Jürgen Engler was as yet unfamiliar with the output of his purported antecedents. The Stahlwerkrequiem is a 2016 version of this landmark work, recorded with Engler's kindred spirits Mani Neumeier (Guru Guru), Jean-Hervé Peron and Zappi Diermaier (Faust), Pyrolator (Der Plan), and US post-rock musician Scott Telles. Jürgen Engler picks up the tale: "Listening to Lou Reed's Metal Machine Music almost every day, the Stahlwerksinfonie turned out as unconventional, radical and dark as intended, with the shows usually ending in total chaos. Mission accomplished. As I started digging deeper into the past of early 70s German Underground music in the late 80s, I discovered that there were bands who had also tried to break away from the musical past and explore the possibilities of ambience and noise, like Cluster. Their song 'Live in der Fabrik' from the 1972 album Cluster II can be called the forerunner of what was to become Industrial in the early 1980s. Had I been aware of the track in 1980, I would have probably stepped back from the idea of doing the Stahlwerksinfonie. Fortunately I did not. Many years later, in the meantime having produced records and become friends with some of the original Krautrock artists, like Mani Neumeier of Guru Guru, Jean-Hervé Peron and Zappi Diermaier of Faust, Dieter Moebius of Cluster, Chris Karrer of Amon Düül, the idea grew on me to record an all new version of the Stahlwerksinfonie. What could be more inspiring than bringing together some of those free spirited minds? . . . The sessions had the same intensity as the recording session at Can's Inner Space studio in 1981, where the original Stahlwerksinfonie was recorded. After the tracks were mixed, we brainstormed over who would be the perfect addition to the project. We immediately thought of Jean- Hervé and Zappi of Faust, and also of an old friend from early Düsseldorf Punk days, Pyrolator. He would be the missing link between early avant-garde and the later electronic Die Krupps. Full circle."
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