Doing things differently is an omnipresent idea in the West-German music scene of the Eighties. Starting from scratch, and owing to a straightness rooted in punk, new things and personalities get invented everywhere and all the time, resulting in an infrastructure with magazines, record labels, and venues.
The corresponding adventurous lifestyle, its irony, artistic concepts, and some golden German humour are captured in this 53-minute mix with works by Freiwillige Selbstkontrolle, Holger Hiller, Ingrid Wiener & Chor, Martin Kippenberger and others.
Featured cover art: Die Tödliche Doris – ” “
Die Tödliche Doris – Fliegt schnell laut summend
Ingenious Dilletantes from West-Berlin, focussing on performance art and music (1982, Zickzack)
Freiwillige Selbstkontrolle – Move Ahead
avantgarde band from Munich that refused to have a drummer for the first ten years – due to aesthetic reasons (1983, Zickzack)
Der Plan – Kennen Sie Köln?
the electronic music group from Düsseldorf was among the first to release music on their own label (1987, Ata Tak)
Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft – Goldenes Spielzeug
minimalistic superstars from Düsseldorf, inspired by living in London (1981, Virgin)
Sternhagel – King Kong
the only original song on Xao Seffcheque’s spoof concept album Sehr gut kommt sehr gut (1981, Schallmauer)
Conrad Schnitzler – Das Tier
the Beuys student and living sound cloud was a seminal figure in West-Berlin’s music scene of the Seventies (1981, Sky Records)
Holger Hiller – Herzmuskel
early work, produced while studying at Hamburg’s Hochschule für bildende Künste (1980, Warning Records)
Santrra – Dao Dao
singer songwriter solo project with accordion by the later zen nun from West-Berlin (1985, Rebel Rec.)
Sentimentale Jugend & Einstürzende Neubauten – Wollt ihr die Totale Befriedigung
first collaboration between 16-year old Alexander Hacke and his later band Einstürzende Neubauten (1980, Zensor)
Die Dominas – Die Wespendomina
singer Rosi Müller and fashion designer Claudia Skoda playing with Manuel Göttsching in his studio in West-Berlin (1981, Fabrikneu)
Die Zimmermänner – Ich werde in der Sonne immer dicker
new wave project from Hamburg that started in school (1981, Zickzack)
Säurekeller – Hiroshima
protest song the Hamburg way (1985, Ulan Bator)
Max Müller – Sie ist aus Holland
the A-side of this 7“ was a hit in West-Berlin’s bohemian bar Kumpelnest 3000 (1989, Die Tödliche Doris Schallplatten)
Martin Kippenberger – Yuppi Du
dadaist humor meets italo-pop in West-Berlin (1984, Zickzack)
Andreas Dorau – Der lachende Papst
yet another record by a teenager (1981, Zickzack)
Ingrid Wiener & Chor – Vermutlich
choir of famous artists from West-Berlin reflecting about life (1985, Exil Schallplatte)
