An introduction to Resonator

Resonator is a duo from Münster, Germany, who makes some of the most unique and creative music you can find. Kai typically writes music for theater and works on film soundtracks, while Anja is a formally trained musician who plays the accordion for the Resonator project. Ambient electronic music mixed with accordions is certainly not a common combination of sounds, but I can assure you it’s something very special when you hear it.

Enter the Red Room Diner

Red Room Diner is Resonator’s first full length album, originally released in 2003. It starts out with the mysterious sounding intro “Avis De Securite”. Coming in at under a minute in length, the song doesn’t really give you much of a clue about what you’re in for. This could be the introduction for anything, it’s very abstract. What’s to come? It might surprise you…

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Fragile as a flower of ice and equally beautiful. That’s how one could summarize Unter dem Eis, Eisblume’s very first release, which hit the stores on 16th May. And boy, what a first release! With just four tracks, one of which is actually a remix of the title song, and clocking in at just under 17 minutes it can only barely be considered an EP, but then again, not a single minute of those is wasted.

This is achieved by alternating between grandiose, orchestral walls of sound and distant, fragile pianoes and utilizing some carefully picked pop elements and most importantly, Ria’s incredible voice. Although the aforementioned elements aren’t the most innovative things you can imagine, with the help of Ria it holds Eisblume’s music together and makes it stand out. Excellent production values all over just accentuate the amount of thought and work has been put into this project.

The title track begins by treating the listener to some tender, distant sounds before the angel-like voice of the real iceflower herself, the singer Ria, takes over. Then the song crescendoes into the chorus… It’s frail, it’s emotional and it’s melancholic but at the same time it’s surprisingly massive and epic. Almost the same goes for the rest of the EP. Track number three, Zeit zu gehen, is as powerful as Unter dem Eis, whereas in the last track Louise Ria is accompanied by just a piano for a large part of the song. Even the remix of Unter dem Eis doesn’t feel like filler. It sounds more like the alternative direction Eisblume could’ve taken by bringing in a lot more guitars and being a lot heavier overall.

All in all, Unter dem Eis is absolutely fantastic, probably one of the very best debut releases ever and one of the best releases this year. Is it groundbreaking? Well, no, but damned if it doesn’t sound great and leave you wanting more. All the songs stand out on their own, and are just as single-class material as the title song, and even the remix of the latter earns its place with its substantially differnet take on it. I’m eager to find out if the forces behind this project are able to conjure up a whole album that’s as complete and thorough as Unter dem Eis. For all you who don’t mind a touch of pop in your gothic rock and enjoy an expertly produced piece of music, Eisblume is something you should not miss.

Check out our previous coverage on Eisblume and Unter dem Eis for tracklisting, a video and more.

Last friday I picked up a large parcel from my local post office. Guess what it contained?

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Yep, the limited box edition of the electro-industrial legend :Wumpscut:’s record for 2008. It was one of those “well, why the hell not”, spur-of-the-moment impulse buys, the first :W: box I’ve bought. What wonders could await inside?

Find out just what, a review of the album and more behind the link!
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Now, Eisschock is a bit of an unusual EBM project in that the sole member is a self-trained psychologist and also a woman. It’s not that women making music is weird, mind you, but it’s definitely a rarity in the EBM scene. What makes Eisschock even more worth having a look at is that the music is pretty good as well. Sure, it has issues and it’s not anything totally revolutionary, but it’s got a bit of a different touch than most testosterone-driven bursts of hate and anger most EBM bands tend to be.

Therapie (released in 2006) is thus far the only record by Eisschock. The music here is mostly very old-school EBM, and there’s also a couple of softer, more synthpop-like tracks thrown into the mix as well. To each their own, but I find the mellower material on Therapie downright embarrassing when compared to the vastly superior EBM cuts. There’s a number of goofy or just bad choices of sounds, run-of-the-mill compositions and it doesn’t help that the singer’s voice just doesn’t work that well when actually singing either. On the other hand, the aggressive EBM tracks are really great, incredibly old-school and the sounds are also suitably cold and clean, with the singer whispering menacingly on top of the deep bass lines and hard percussions.

Therapie is NOT a bad record, no. On the contrary, there’s a number of wonderful ideas and some extremely strong songs like the opener Sag Mir Nicht and Panic Attack. However, it’s a real shame that about half of the album falls into the category of mediocre synth-pop that’s almost hard to listen to after the awesome faster tracks. Alright, alright, debut albums are very rarely great as a whole, but Eisschock’s first is just so promising that it’s frustrating it’s not any better. I believe that if our psychologist focuses more on her stronger aspects the next time around, she might just blow our minds. Definitely check Therapie out if you dig old-school EBM like Nitzer Ebb or Front 242, or if you’re craving for a slightly different take on an otherwise somewhat stagnant genre. It’s surely not perfect, but makes you want to hear just what Eisschock is capable of.

You can listen to samples of each song on Eisschock’s site, and you can also buy the album there.

Eisschock - Therapie tracklisting
01. Sag Mir Nicht
02. Loveseeker
03. Sex Sells
04. P.B.
05. Nameless
06. Stupide
07. Panic Attack
08. Our Party
09. Narcissism
10. In Deinem Kopf

There are many bands that undoubtedly are great overall, but on every record amongst the masterpieces there’s a bunch of a lot inferior or even downright bad songs. A prime German example of such a band would be KMFDM. Every album has its fair share of instant classics, yet to counter them there’s always a couple of really insignificant and inane tracks that don’t do anything to justify their existence. But what does this have to do with Unheilig?

Yeah, nothing at all, because Unheilig isn’t like that. On Unheilig’s latest offering Puppenspiel (released February 22nd) Der Graf shows yet again his nearly unreal talent in songwriting and manages to churn out a full 14 tracks (16 if you’ve got the limited edition, like yours truly), every single one of which are enjoyable. Yes, the previous albums Moderne Zeiten and Zelluloid were both very solid and the same could’ve been said about them, but Puppenspiel is bordering perfection. To be quite honest, I was kind of skeptical when the first three samples of the album (Der Vorhang fällt, An deiner Seite and Kleine Puppe) were revealed. They were good, but they didn’t predict that many changes to the sound and formula that proved to be a winning combination on the last two CDs. However, when the urgent intro Vorhang auf exploded perfectly into Puppenspieler, it grabbed me by the throat and didn’t let go until I’d listened the CD straight through.

Most of the album is darker and notably more furious than the almost overly sluggish and romantic Moderne Zeiten, especially Lampenfieber is a surprisingly brutal cut for Unheilig, while the ballads Feuerengel, An deiner Seite and Der Vorhäng fällt are no slouches either, as they are genuinely touching and powerful. Guitars seem to have more of a driving role here than electronics making for a heavier sound than before, although synths, pianos and strings are still a large part of the band’s sound. Der Graf also uses his voice in ways we haven’t heard before. Too bad the limited edition is already completely sold out, as the two bonus songs are also terrific additions to the core experience. Probably the only song that doesn’t stand out as much as everything else is Wie viele Jahre, which seems more like filler with its weird, out-of-place Gregorian sample and is grudgingly slow.

In other words, Puppenspiel is tougher, catchier, more epic and simply put better than anything Der Graf has created before. It’s chock-full of songs that’ve been composed and produced so excellently that it’s almost ridiculous, a brilliant, expert combination of both familiar and new Unheilig elements. For fans it’s automatically a must-have, and if you’re not a fan of Unheilig yet, Puppenspiel proves that you bloody well should be, it’s that damn good. Get it and see for yourself.

Check out samples for each track on Nilaihah’s website, where you can also order it if you’re in the US. When you’ve got the album, don’t forget to vote for your favourite title on the German side of Unheilig’s website.

Where to get Puppenspiel
In the USA/Canada direct from Nilaihah Records
In the UK at MusicNonStop.co.uk
In Germany/Europe at AlphaMusic.de

Hello everyone. I’m Valtteri, a fellow reader of Germaniac, and I’ll be helping Greg run the website by writing some articles now and then. For my first contribution I’ve decided to review Painbastard’s latest album Borderline, which was released on the 28th of September last year. Painbastard is a one-man industrial EBM project by Alex P., and he’s been recording as Painbastard since 1998. I discovered the band just recently when surfing Germaniac and was really impressed right away by the samples on Painbastard’s MySpace, so I decided to get the album.

Borderline is divided into two parts, Rage (tracks 1 – 9) and Melancholy (tracks 10 – 14), with Rage featuring fast-tempo killer tracks and Melancholy moving into somewhat calmer waters. The album’s opener, the crushing title track Borderline shows pretty much what to expect from the rest of the album: thumping beats, harsh industrial synth melodies, a bunch of well-used samples and distorted, screaming vocals. However, although the album is comprised mostly of these main building blocks, there’s enough variety so you shouldn’t get bored.

Part I is, as already stated, the faster and more aggressive part of the CD. In addition to the great opener, the highest points of Part I are definitely Hope Dies Last, which features a catchy melody and Nemrod of Dementi guest singing to great effect, Madhouse Earth, a powerful comment on the state of humanity today, and, interestingly, a remix of Borderline, which ends the otherwise dark and angsty part in a brighter and more hopeful mood. The other songs range from good to great as well, but tend to be overshadowed by the well-placed catchier cuts. Part II is more melodic, epic and down-tempo and two of its songs, are actually based on Ludwig van Beethoven’s composition Mondscheinsonate. The most memorable tracks here are the two based on Beethoven (Mondscheinsonate and Liebe, die verbrennt) as well as Parting From You. I think the latter should’ve been the last song on the album, as the nearly eight-minute long Beyond All Borders is just a bit of a stretch, although it’s not bad either.

All in all, Borderline is a great record. Sure, it might not be very easy to listen to if you don’t dig the overall hateful and aggressive tone and the constant assault of industrial bombardment, but those who don’t mind that are in for a ride. The change of pace between the parts definitely helps keep the record interesting. If you’re a fan of harsh industrial electro like early :Wumpscut:, Borderline might just be what you’ve been looking for. I know I like it!

Check out our previous coverage on Painbastard including the track listing for Borderline, and don’t forget to visit the MySpace site as well to hear a couple of samples here.

If you’d like to comment on my first article for Germaniac, feel free! Criticism, constructive or not, is always very much welcome.

Now that I have fully recovered from last night’s And One concert, I’ll write up a little review of the show here for anyone who may be interested in seeing them on the rest of their first ever US tour. I arrived at The Madison in New York with my friend Nadja and we met Jen in the line waiting to get in. After going through what seemed to be a rather intense security search, we entered the building and checked the place out. It was kind of small but the setup was pretty decent.

Cervello Elettronico was the first opening band. They were okay, but honestly some people (myself included) didn’t even realize that these 2 guys were a band. It sounded more like they were just double DJs entertaining the crowd before the show began. Obviously it was nothing noteworthy. Life Cried was the second opening band and was much better. It was actually a real band and they put on a pretty good show. Their music was pretty dark, kind of like Wumpscut or bands like that. The only thing that was a bit annoying was the screaming vocals combined with an echo effect on the microphone. It fits the music pretty well, but it was a bit much.

A short time after they went off stage, the two synth players for And One stepped up and began to play (wearing their suits, of course). Then, Steve Naghavi burst onto the stage out of nowhere and started singing a few minutes into the intro to officially begin their show. He is easily one of the best frontmen I have ever seen live. He’s extremely enthusiastic and crowd-oriented. His charisma, dancing and spinning around, and still poses definitely made him the center of attention, too. Now I understand exactly why they dropped out as a support band for VNV Nation’s tour last year. And One is a band that absolutely needs to be the headliner, there’s no question about it.

During And One’s set, they played lots of their biggest hits, as you might imagine. My favorites have always been older songs like “Deutschmaschine” and “Panzermensch” and they played both. They also played plenty of newer songs like “Traumfrau” and “Military Fashion Show”. There was also a fantastic cover of Project Pitchfork’s song “Timekiller” since Naghavi performed vocals with the band. And One later performed another cover of “The Walk” by The Cure, as well as a mini-cover of Depeche Mode’s “Personal Jesus” in the middle of one song. Every other song was performed really well also, making And One’s entire show just wonderful. This was just a great experience overall and I would really recommend everyone to go to one of their concerts if they are coming anywhere near where you live.

The best news of the night: At the end of their set, Naghavi announced that this was just the first American tour And One is playing. They are planning on returning to the States for a second tour in the Autumn! I am really looking forward to a second tour. I’ll definitely be seeing them again (but hopefully they will find a different venue in New York next time).

The new Die Krupps anthology Too Much History is being released this Friday, October 26th, and I thought I would share my review so you know what to expect.

Too Much History is divided into two separate sections, each one on a disc of its own. All of the songs on both discs have been re-recorded (not just partially remastered) to sound in tune with the last few Die Krupps albums, Odyssey of the Mind and Paradise Now. This method reminds me a lot of what Joachim Witt did recently with his new best of album Auf Ewig, and the result is just amazing.

The first CD, The Electro Years, dives deep into the Die Krupps discography and sheds new light on some of the band’s oldest recordings. The song selection is excellent, highlighting their most famous songs from the 1980s when they were at the forefront of the electro-industrial scene. But once the first track “Machineries of Joy” started up, you immediately notice something is very different. You are hearing guitars!

Rather than simply regurgitating their early songs, Die Krupps recorded all new tracks (most with guitars) for every song on the CD. Soon, it becomes very clear that this is far more than just an ordinary best-of album. The Electro Years is like what Die Krupps would have sounded like if they had just started using guitars earlier in their career. And you can hear exactly why they eventually did start using them, too. They just blend in perfectly, as if they were always meant to be there. Every single song is just phenomenal! I haven’t stopped smiling yet.

The Metal Years is the second disc on Too Much History. It spotlights the best Die Krupps songs from the ’90s when they pioneered the industrial metal genre. Once again, Jurgen Engler couldn’t leave the songs untouched, so he touched up the songs on this CD also. The changes here aren’t nearly as radical as those of The Electro Years, but any good Die Krupps fan will notice the differences. And they will like what they hear.

Both discs are sprinkled with a few extra little treats. The Electro Years has a bonus track called “Fünf Millionen” which originally appeared on the compilation Advanced Electronics Vol. 5 which has a melody similar to “Machineries of Joy.” There is also a cover (not the remix Die Krupps previously did) of Pop Will Eat Itself’s “Ich Bin Ein Ausländer” on The Metal Years disc. And both have the brand new song “The Great Divide.”

I am absolutely in love with Too Much History. Die Krupps fans like myself have been waiting for this compilation for years now, and I can honestly tell you that it has been well worth the wait. Bottom line: You need to hear this.

Check out my earlier news post with the album tracklist and links to song samples

I originally ordered 4 tickets in advance to see Ulrich Schnauss last night at the Bowery Ballroom in New York City, expecting 3 of my friends and I to go, and possibly one more who might join and pay at the door. As it turned out, our little group ended up becoming 10 people by the time we were in the venue and enjoying the show. Dinner in the city took a bit longer than expected, so we finally showed up a little after 9 PM (doors opened at 8, first opener went on at 9) and hung out in the downstairs lounge for a while telling stories of old memories. Unfortunately, we missed Soundpool, the first band to play.

We headed upstairs to where the concert was around 10. After wandering around for a bit trying to find a good spot, we ended up right in front on the right side of the stage. The other 2 opening bands, Elika and Mahogany, were both pretty good, combining guitar-driven indie rock with electronic ambient music. I happened to turn to my side for a moment and noticed that Ulrich Schnauss was standing almost directly behind me wearing an Atari Teenage Riot shirt. I always like it when the main act is in the audience appreciating the openers.

Mahogany ended at around 11:30 and Ulrich disappeared up the backstage stairs to go get ready. His setup basically consisted of a keyboard, a laptop computer running Ableton Live, a few synthesizer racks, and about a million miles of wiring. There was also a single guitarist that set up on the other side of Ulrich’s table.

Ulrich Schnauss formally took the stage at exactly midnight to huge applause. He sat down in front of his equipment and began playing while psycahdelic film clips were projected from the soundbooth in the back of the room, casting a perfect silhouette of him and his electronics on the screen behind the stage. The entire crowd seemed to go silent as the first ethereal tones surged through the miles of wire, out the speakers, and filled the air. Then as the songs got louder and more intense, everyone started moving around and really enjoying themselves.

For the first part of the set, the songs flowed continually from one to the next without breaking in between. Some songs were louder and crazier than others, but there was always some kind of sound eminating from somewhere. Ulrich Schnauss played probably a half dozen songs or so before he paused to bring out his guitarist before playing “Shine”, the second song on his current album Goodbye. This was an absolutely stunning performance. The combination of acoustic guitar and ambient electronics sounded just beautiful, it’s no wonder the ongoing sounds came to a stop for this. It really set the song apart. “Shine” was also the only song that had vocals the entire show, provided superbly by the guitarist.

The set continued with a few more songs, each one getting a little bit faster and a little bit louder than the one before, until “Medusa” when the guitarist came back. But this time, he was playing an electric guitar over Ulrich’s infinitely layered soundscape. The music grew louder and louder, converging into solid walls of sound that came out at you. By the end of “Medusa”, Ulrich was frantically twisting knobs and pounding wildly on the keyboard while his guitarist was on the ground grinding the strings across every surface he could find. I’ve seen and heard bands do all they could to create the most distorted sounds possible, but this was like all of the sonic chaos and distortion in the universe came together and struck the stage in a thunderous roar. I have never heard such a disturbingly awesome sound before, and I don’t think I ever will again. Ulrich gave the keyboard one last swipe, probably hitting every key on it, and the guitarist dropped his guitar and they walked off stage. The sound continued.

After a minute or two, Ulrich Schnauss re-appeared on stage. In a single Godlike push of a button he shut off the thunder. He spoke for a moment, thanking the crowd and his opening bands, and then returned to his seat at the keyboard. The last few songs were much more calm. He played my favorite song from his album A Strangely Isolated Place, “Clear Day” and a few others. After these last few songs, he walked off stage without a word. As I walked down the side stairway back to the lounge below, I noticed him standing in the corner so I talked with him for a minute and thanked him for such an amazing show. Not only is Ulrich a phenomenal musician, he’s also a really nice guy.

If you haven’t had the chance to see Ulrich Schnauss live in concert yet, I strongly recommend that you go take the opportunity to do so. He’s still on tour in the United States and Canada until the beginning of October, so check out his tourdates to see when he will be in your area. You won’t be disappointed.

I’m not really a lonely type of guy. I prefer to spend my time around people even if I don’t know them yet. But I do my best thinking when I’m alone. Except I’m only good for a while until boredom sets in. I’ve got to occupy my mind and focus on something. That something has always been music. I write, but I don’t do it to fight boredom. (I’ve always had to queue up six or seven CDs before my writing sessions.) Music keeps me busy, but most of all, it makes me feel like I’m not alone.

Part of not feeling alone means belonging to something bigger than yourself. A lot of people look to the church. In my late teens, I looked to punk music. I fell in love with a band called The Dropkick Murphys. To this day, I can pop in their live CD and seconds later, I’m in the bar, enjoying a pint of the good stuff, listening to them play with a raucous crowd around me. Is it the best music I’ve ever heard? Maybe, maybe not. My point is that is doesn’t matter – it makes me smile. It makes me feel something great.

When Greg told me he was checking out a band called Fiddler’s Green a while ago, I’d swore I’d heard of them. I mean, I had to. That was the sort of shit I listened to. He listened to Wumpscut while I skanked around the room next door. And as much as I love the stuff, a lot of punk (and Irish folk) bands sound the same when you remove the vocals. It’s easy for the mainstream music fan to brush aside this type of music as a rehash. I can’t tell you how many iPods I’ve seen with mislabeled tracks. To them, it’s just another band from Ireland. Except Fiddler’s Green isn’t from Ireland.

They’re a bunch of dudes from Germany, that for some reason, wanted to do something different. When I tried to find out via their website, I was faced with something I’ve seen a hundred times before. A press release covering their newest album instead of an actual history of the band or hell, just an explanation on why the fuck anyone in Germany would play Irish music. (Although, I’d say almost all of my Irish friends are actually half German, half Irish. Maybe two great tastes that go great together?) So, I did all I could do. I got my hands on their new album.

Drive Me Mad is fucking amazing. To start, I picked two tracks, Long Gone and Captain Song, at random. I didn’t even make it through both songs. I knew that I didn’t have to. I was already sitting there in that bar in my head listening to the band. And I had a magical pint of stout that never spilled when I danced amongst the crowd. Oh, Fiddler’s Green. You guys really know how to make me smile. The album is good to the last track. It’s got that diverse range you expect when you pop in a CD like this one. I won’t go into detail, but I will issue an apology. That aforementioned press release, while cheesy, was spot-fucking-on.

So, here’s the bad news: They’re another German band that isn’t on the road to US popularity. There are lots of bands over in the States that do what Fiddler’s Green does, if only a fraction as well. If I hand their CD to a friend (like I already have), I have to explain that we’ll never be able to see them in concert. And trust me, this is a band I can’t wait to see live. If their entire catalog is half as rocking as this new album, they could easily headline a bar tour over here in the US in an ideal world. But it’s a hard sell – try getting a bunch of Americans to listen to any German band. In that ideal world, you would Radio Raheem it and walk up the street with a boom box blasting Fiddler’s Green. But due to America’s public disturbance laws (drafted after New Kids on the Block rose to popularity), you can’t do that. You’ve got to find another way to spread the good word. And you should, as the guys of Fiddler’s Green have done all they needed to do by making a kick ass album. It’s time to… well, you know.

Bottom Line: Hand someone the CD and don’t tell them a damn thing about it until they’re smiling. (Which will be about one minute and thirty four seconds after they decide on a track.)