Die Krupps – “Wahre Arbeit, Wahrer Lohn” (October 1982): A Blueprint for Industrial Resistance

In October 1982, that is 43 years agao, German band Die Krupps released “Wahre Arbeit, Wahrer Lohn” (“True Work, True Pay”), a single that would come to define the early shape of industrial and EBM (Electronic Body Music). Emerging from Düsseldorf’s post-punk and avant-garde underground, Die Krupps — founded by Jürgen Engler and Bernward Malaka — fused metallic percussion, synthesizers, and political critique into a sound that was as mechanical as it was militant.

The title track’s pounding rhythm and relentless metallic clangs evoked the noise of factories and assembly lines, turning industrial labour itself into music. Its lyrics, delivered in German, drew attention to the alienation of modern work and the false promises of productivity and progress. The refrain, “Wahre Arbeit, Wahrer Lohn,” was both a slogan and a provocation — echoing socialist rhetoric while questioning its exploitation under capitalist systems.

Musically, the single marked a decisive shift from the band’s earlier experiments with steel percussion toward a more electronic sound, foreshadowing the emergence of EBM. It shared aesthetic territory with contemporaries like D.A.F. and Einstürzende Neubauten, yet Die Krupps’ approach was more disciplined and anthemic, laying the groundwork for the industrial dance sound that would later influence acts such as Front 242, Nitzer Ebb, and Ministry.

Released on the German label Schneeball, the single also featured a B-side instrumental version that amplified its hypnotic, machine-driven pulse. Over the years, “Wahre Arbeit, Wahrer Lohn” has remained one of Die Krupps’ most iconic works — not only a cornerstone of early industrial music but also a timeless statement on the mechanization of human life. Four decades later, its rhythm still pounds like a factory heart, unrelenting and defiant.

DISCOGS

The 7” single Baby Turns Blue, by Irish band Virgin Prunes, turns 43 ! It was released on 9 October 1982 and was the preliminary single for their iconic upcoming album … If I Die, I Die, also released by Rough Trade Records one month later. The single as well as the whole album were produced by Colin Newman of Wire. The remixed 12' version was retitled “The Faculties of a Broken Heart”.

Baby Turns Blue (UK 7' single RT 119)

1. 'Baby Turns Blue' – 3:43
2. 'Yeo' – 2:17

Baby Turns Blue (UK 12' single RT 119T)

1. 'The Faculties of a Broken Heart (What Should We Do If Baby Turns Blue)'
2. 'Chance of a Lifetime'
3. 'Yeo'

Baby Turns Blue

Mary be so proud, things like that are'nt allowed,
To take your own life, stab it with a knife.
They put you in a box, they send you to heaven, heaven.
Oh what to do, not to feel and who are you?
Oh what to do, not to feel and who are you?

Give me money, give me sex,
Give me food and cigarette.

Oh what to do, not to feel and who are you?
Oh what to do, not to feel and who are you?
What should we do if baby turns blue?

You broke my heart, it came in two.
The faculties of a broken heart.

I go out on Monday, looking for a Tuesday.
Nothing ever makes such sense.
You don't seem to make much sense.
Shooting out in someone's dream.
Shooting out in something else.
It was an accident, I didn't mean it.
It was an accident, I didn't mean it.

Oh what to do, not to feel and who are you?
Oh what to do, not to feel and who are you?
What should we do if baby turns blue?

John had a bomb and he lit his head,
Went to bed for seventeen weeks,
Took too many drugs, now he don't eat.
They put you in a box and send you up to heaven, heaven.

Oh what to do, not to feel and who are you?
Oh what to do, not to feel and who are you?

Give me money, give me sex,
Give me food and cigarette.

Oh what to do, not to feel and who are you?
Oh what to do, not to feel and who are you?

What should we do if baby turns blue?

DISCOGS

BIMFEST XXIII – 2026

Full Line-Up Announced!

St-Niklaas, Belgium — BodyBeats Productions proudly presents the complete line-up for BIMFEST 2026, taking place on 19 & 20 December 2026 at De Casino, St-Niklaas.

Since its start, BIMFEST has been a unique meeting ground for lovers of EBM, industrial, wave and dark electronics. The 2026 edition brings together international pioneers, cult favorites, and fresh underground talent for two nights of uncompromising beats and atmospheric soundscapes.

The BIMFEST 2026 line-up (alphabetical order):

• AKALOTZ (DE) – Crushing old-school EBM fused with modern dark electro, known for their raw live intensity and powerful albums like Angry Body Machine (2024).

• CAT RAPES DOG (SE) – Swedish electro-punk/industrial provocateurs, legends of KK Records, returning with chaotic, energetic live shows.

• CRYPTOCHROMA (BE) – Atmospheric Belgian wave/electro project blending analogue synth textures with dark moods; acclaimed release Ominous Clouds (2023). Selected 2025 Demo(n)!

• EMPATHY TEST (UK) – London’s cinematic synth-pop duo, praised for emotional, filmic soundscapes and worldwide fan devotion.

• EUFORIC EXISTENCE (BE) – Antwerp’s hard-hitting EBM/industrial powerhouse, chosen by the audience at Dark Demo(n)s 2025 for their ferocious live energy.

• FRETT (PL) – Experimental industrial from Maciej Frett (Job Karma), mixing IDM, tribal rhythms, noise, and retro synth atmospheres.

• HAUJOBB (DE) – Genre-defining pioneers of electro-industrial and IDM, celebrating three decades of innovation, including their acclaimed 2024 release The Machine in the Ghost.

• MAJESTOLUXE (SE) – Stockholm’s minimal EBM/industrial pop act, delivering stripped-down but intense retro-futurist soundscapes.

• NORDAR (DE) – Raw and analogue German EBM act, channeling rebellion and pure old-school body music energy.

• PROJECT-X (SE) – Cult electro/EBM band from Stockholm, notorious for their pounding beats and biting, ironic social commentary.

• THEY FEEL NOTHING (BE) – Dark analogue synth-wave project from Bruges, praised for brooding atmospheres and visceral stage presence. Selected by by the Dark Demo(n)s 2025 audience!

• ZWEITE JUGEND (DE) – Analogue-driven EBM duo from Osnabrück, Germany, known for their emotionally charged trilogy of albums.

Organizer Statement:

“With this year’s program, we proudly present a mix of underground legends and exciting newcomers. BIMFEST is not only about music — it’s about passion, energy, and the unique spirit of the scene. We can’t wait to welcome everyone to St-Niklaas in December for an edition that will be both uncompromising and unforgettable.”

• Tickets, Line-Up & Festival Info: bodybeats.be

Join us at BIMFEST 2026 for two nights of pounding beats, dark atmospheres, and pure underground spirit!

www.bodybeats.be/en/bimfest

The Dutch-language night orchestra De Delvers firmly established themselves with their second album Hart in Neonlicht.
Now they bring hopeful news: a third LP is expected in the course of 2026. It will be released on the idiosyncratic Ghent-based label Wagonmaniac Music.

As a preview, the first single will be released in November. With a short teaser, De Delvers already offer a small taste of the sound you can expect.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjErDsfgqkQ

Negative Gain Productions recording artist, CURSE MACKEY has just unveiled his highly-anticipated new album, Imaginary Enemies.

Curse's most intense and intimate album to date, Imaginary Enemies is a bleak, beautiful meditation on paranoia, grief, and the ghosts we conjure from within. Imaginary Enemies explores the liminal space between identity and illusion. A darkwave exorcism for the fractured self, it resonates with fans of Clan of Xymox, HEALTH, Skinny Puppy, Gary Numan, Twin Tribes & Cold.

CURSE MACKEY channels the ghosts of self-destruction, martyrdom, and revelation across tracks like "Doomed for Monday", "Time Comes Clean", and "The Kindness of Serpents". His voice drips with urgency, steeped in internal collapse and spiritual trespass. The grief-stricken ache of "Blood Like Love" serves as the album's aching heart: a poetic elegy rendered in grief-soaked melody and lyrical fire. Meanwhile, lead single, "Vertigo Ego" - a track of nocturnal paranoia, asks, “What monsters come after you when you are alone in the dark?”

Blending the raw aggression of early Wax Trax!/90’s era industrial music with cinematic darkwave atmospheres and hard-earned poetic insight, the album unfolds across gritty city streets and the shadowed corners of the mind, where desire blurs with danger and monsters move in silence.

Fueled by modular synths, jackhammer beats, spectral drones, and disembodied spoken word samples, Imaginary Enemies pulses with post-pandemic urgency and late-night mystery. Mackey’s ritualistic vocal delivery cuts like a psychic transmission, charting an intimate descent through fear, ecstasy, and invisible wars within. This is music for the haunted hours: seductive, volatile, and uncomfortably honest.

Imaginary Enemies concludes a trilogy that began with Instant Exorcism (2019) and deepened with Immoral Emporium (2022). Where Exorcism confronted internal chaos and Emporium explored societal decay, Enemies is a haunting culmination, mourning creative and personal losses while reaching for redemption in the wreckage.

Produced by Curse Mackey and longtime collaborator Chase Dobson, Imaginary Enemies features contributions from Jake Garcia (The Black Angels) and Rona Rougeheart (SINE), adding depth and tension to an already immersive soundscape. The result is intimate yet cinematic, insular yet explosively alive.

Imaginary Enemies is Mackey’s heaviest, most deliberate work yet. A fully realized vision carved from shadow and memory. It doesn’t just resonate with the pulse of darkwave, it haunts it. The album is a requiem, a ritual, and a rallying cry for those who live and create in the margins, carrying their ghosts with grace.

Imaginary Enemies is available on CD, vinyl LP and also on digital platforms everywhere including Spotify and Bandcamp.

open.spotify.com/artist/0usgY8btlTK2oA5B2nxaSC