On this day, 51 years ago, Kraftwerk released their self-titled debut studio album (1 December 1970). The album was produced by Konrad "Conny" Plank and is often refered to as 'Kraftwerk 1'.
On this album Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider used two drummers, Andreas Hohmann and Klaus Dinger. Their drumming provides the album a rock-ish edge, making it sound quite distinctive from Hütter and Schneider's previous work. The album contains instrumentals only.
The cover design, credited to Ralf Hütter, is a curious nod to the influence of Andy Warhol and the then contemporary pop art movement, featuring a fluorescent-coloured traffic cone drawn in a Warhol-esque manner.
No material from this album has been performed in the band's live set since the Autobahn tour of 1975 and, to date, the album has not been officially reissued. The band is seemingly reluctant to consider the album a part of its canon and in later interviews, Schneider referred to the first three Kraftwerk albums as "archaeology".
In 1971 the album peaked in the German album charts at position 30.
KRAFTWERK
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A1. Ruckzuck 7:47 |
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A2.Stratovarius 12:10 |
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B1. Megaherz 9:30 |
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B2. Vom Himmel hoch. 19:12 |
All tracks are written by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider-Esleben.
Kraftwerk (1970)
- Ralf Hütter – organ, guitar, tubon, cover design
- Florian Schneider-Esleben – flute, violin, percussion
- Andreas Hohmann – drums on "Ruckzuck" and "Stratovarius"
- Klaus Dinger – drums on "Vom Himmel hoch"
Darkwave Band, TIGERCIDE Brings Chaos & Harmony To Their Single, 'I Of Tiger'
Darkwave band, TIGERCIDE has just unveiled their new single, "I Of Tiger."
"I Of Tiger" taps the soul, a reminder to be aware of the chaos of one's external and internal world. It's a song of discernment and following one's true path regardless of the way the world moves. Mind and body in harmony, as no one can disarm the soul but one's own self.
TIGERCIDE brings the light into the dark, with a dirty synth hook and a grimy rhythm. Vocalist, Shexist sails above the electronic mayhem to deliver a transcending message.
"I Of Tiger" is available NOW on all digital platforms.
"Compromise Is Defeat" is the new full length solo album from Mirland and the first since "Mechanic" (released by Raumklang Music in 2017). The ten track is a collection of industrial techno / power noise / dark trance tracks initially composed from 2018 - 2021 while Mirland was mainly composing, remixing or producing for other acts.
Early versions and sketches were tested at various live performances during that period but none were actually produced or mixed as complete tracks. During the fall of 2021 the final tracks were chosen and given the full studio treatment.
"Compromise Is Defeat" is a statement for a time of turmoil. With a focus on hard beats and energy the album is full of complex yet compelling tracks for the dance floor.
And this is what they say about it:
The last couple of years have been a Dead Season for most of us.
We discovered that things we deemed important were, in fact, of no consequence, or things we took for granted, like handshakes, hugs, kisses…were all lost for an unforeseeable long time.
This Dead Season saw us changing the way we lived our music, too: once together, now apart; once playing, listening, dancing in the same room, now entrusting our notes to the Ether, like messages in bottles committed to the seas, in the hope whomever gets them, will understand their secret meaning.
These songs are the cries of our souls staring into the Abyss. The desperation, the frustration, the will not to break under extreme circumstances, but also the love, the hope to get soon back to a life we can look forward to.
We dedicate these feelings to all the brave souls who are still fighting to make it through this Dead Season, and to those who didn’t make it.
Today it's exactly 41 years since Siouxsie and the Banshees, released their Christmas single 'Israel'!
Today it's exactly 41 years since Siouxsie and the Banshees released 'Israel' (28.11.1980 / Polydor Records) as a stand-alone single in between the albums Kaleidoscope (1980) and Juju (1981). The track was written by the band while touring in Europe in the autumn of 1980. The band wanted to write a Christmas song to be released in time for December of that year.
It peaked at No. 41 on the UK Singles Chart and it was the band's first single to also be released on a 12-inch, although the tracks are identical on both releases.
Even though it reached No. 73 on the US National Disco Action Top 100 chart as an import, 'Israel' did not appear on a Siouxsie and the Banshees album until the release of the Once Upon a Time: The Singles compilation (1981).
In 2002 the song was remastered for the The Best of Siouxsie and the Banshees compilation CD album and in 2006 it was also featured as a bonus track on the Kaleidoscope reissue.
Israel (Track listing)
A. Israel
B. Red Over White
DISCOGS
Israel (Lyrics)
Little orphans in the snow
With nowhere to call a home
Start their singing, singing
Waiting through the summertime
To thaw your hearts in wintertime
That's why they're singing, singing
Waiting for a sign to turn blood into wine
The sweet taste in your mouth, turned bitter in its glass
Israel, in Israel
Israel, in Israel
Shattered fragments of the past
Meet in veins on the stained glass
Like the lifeline in your palm
Red and green reflects the scene
Of a long forgotten dream
There were princes and there were kings
Now hidden in disguise, cheap wrappings of lies
Keep your hearts alive with a song from inside
Even though we're all alone
We are never on our own when we're singing, singing
Home, home
There's a man who's looking in
And he smiles a toothless grin
Because he's singing, singing
See some people shine with glee
But their song is jealousy
Their hate is clanging, maddening
In Israel, will they sing Happy Noel
In Israel, in Israel
Israel, in Israel
In Israel, will they sing Happy Noel
Songwriters: Susan Ballion / Steven Severin / Peter Clarke / John McGeoch
© BMG Rights Management, Domino Publishing Company
