Stahlmusik (Steel Music)

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Courtesy Studio !K7/Freibank Musikverlag

The Berlin band Einstürzende Neubauten called its earliest sound experiments Stahlmusik (Eng.: Steel Music). Their decidedly atonal style was based on metallic percussion instruments, mostly made from industrial scrap, and declamatory sprechgesang that heralded the imminent downfall of the cities. The group, founded in 1980, was constantly on the lookout for ideal locations to produce and perform its music. In April 1981, the then duo (Blixa Bargeld and N.U. Unruh) recorded an approximately 20-minute long session inside a pillar of the Berlin City Highway; the session was also filmed. The two musicians bend and kneel in the narrow shaft; scratching and pounding, they practice the sound of post-apocalyptic coldness. Listen with pain are the programmatic lyrics in one of the pieces, which perfectly matches the concrete-gray, reverberant surroundings.



 

Workdetails
  • original Title: Stahlmusik
  • Date: 1980 (?)
  • Genre: Music

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