Einstürzende Neubauten

Einstürzende Neubauten is an industrial band from Berlin, formed in 1980.

Members:

• Christian Emmerich, alias Blixa Bargeld
• Alexander von Borsig, alias Alexander Hacke
• Mark Chung
• Frank Martin Strauß, alias F. M. Einheit
• Andrew Chudy, alias N. U. Unruh
• Jochen Arbeit
• Rudi Moser

History of Einstürzende Neubaten

On the first of April in 1980 the "Einstürzenden Neubauten" (Collapsing New Buildings) had their first appearance in the "Moon Club" in Berlin. At that time the band was just a coincidental live set-up of the dadaistic musical movement the "Genialen Dilettanten". This line-up featured, beside Beate Bartel and Gudrun Gut, Blixa Bargeld (Christian Emmerlich) and N. U. Unruh (Andrew Chudy), who later went on to record music under the name of "Einstürzende Neubauten". The two female members Bartel and Gut left the band after a short period of performing.

In 1981 the percussionist Frank Martin Strauß joined the "Einstürzende Neubauten" and they recorded the first LP "Kollaps", a strange and new mixture of rough punk tunes and industrial noises by using obscure instruments such as metal plates, self-made music machines and various electronic sounds.

During their first German tour, Mark Chung from England joined the group of musicians and one year later the sound technician Alexander von Borsig also became a member of the band. This line-up lasted for the next ten years.

In 1982 the "Einstürzende Neubauten" recorded their second album "Zeichnungen des Patienten O.T.".

The band's next output "Halber Mensch" (1985) can be seen as the breakthrough of their musical career. For the first time "Einstürzende Neubauten" had a certain structure in their music, especially Bargeld`s lyrics and singing changed from only shouting out words and phrases into organised, poetic melodies.

The next two albums, "Fünf auf der nach oben offenen Richterskala"(1987) and "Haus der Lüge", were great successes in the United States and Japan.

In 1991 the band tried something completely new and recorded the soundtrack for Heiner Müller's[?] theatre play "Die Hamletmaschine" (The Hamletmachine).

The next album "Tabula Rasa"(1993) was an important turning point in the history of the "Einstürzenden Neubauten" because from their music was now softer and contained more electronic sounds. For that reason Mark Chung and Frank Martin Strauß decided to leave the band.

After a short time the band released the LP "Ende Neu"(1996) which became quite famous because of the great song "Stella Maris", a duet of Blixa Bargeld with the talented singer Meret Becker[?].

During their 1997 tour Jochen Arbeit and Rudi Moser joined the band.

In the year 2000 the "Einstürzenden Neubauten" released their 20-year-jubilee album "Silence is sexy". The title song is about tinnitus.

In 2002 Einstürzenden Neubauten began the work on their new album without the backing of a recording studio, relying instead upon their fans engaging in an experiment of a type of Street Performer Protocol. Hundreds of fans have signed up to support the production of the next album.

Discography

Albums

• Ende Neu[?] (1996)
• Fünf Auf der Nach Oben Offenen Richterskala[?] (1987)
• Halber Mensch[?] (1985)
• Haus der Lüge[?] (1989)
• Kollaps[?]
• Silence is Sexy[?] (2000)
• Strategies Against Architecture 80-83[?] (Strategien gegen Architekturen 80-83)
• Strategies Against Architecture II[?]
• Strategies Against Architecture III[?]
• Tabula Rasa[?] (1993)
• Zeichnungen des Patienten O. T.[?]

Singles

EPs

External Links

• Official Einstürzenden Neubauten webpage (http://www.neubauten.org)