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‘How to Say 1981 in German‘ is a Musicophilia’s first “addendum mix” to the ‘1981’ box set (and is based on a mix I put together partially from tracks in the ‘1981 Briefcase‘ in 2005). It explores the tip of the iceberg of Deutsche Neue Welle and DNW-inflected music, and in terms of quality could well have been the 10th “main disc mix” in the box. If DNW is new to you, this should serve as a reasonable introduction, despite being limited to just one year: ’81 was as peak for Germanic-speaking synthy, dark, reassuringly non-virtuosic pop as it was for post-punk at large–though like Italo Disco, DNW seems to have carried on strong longer than non-New Wave/New Romantic post-punk in Britain and the U.S. did. Within basic parameters described above, this compilation reveals the considerable breadth within the DNW umbrella: songs of tuneful joy; sultry saxed-up rockers; dubby or D.A.F.-lite dance-pop; playful squelchy synth-funk silliness; sentimental romanticism; minimal ambient horror-shows; odes to evil robot CIA/KGB; precient proto-house (if Pole tackled house instead of dub); “dance-punk” that you’d swear came from 2003; and of course a good dash of pre-apocalyptic rumination, as expected from the front-lines of the cold war, but offset by an equal measure neo-kosmiche optimism.
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Few generally recognised names are found here (unless they’re better known in Germany): Neonbabies are sort of the German Bush Tetras; theres Absolute Body Control, Grauzone, Palais Schaumburg, Beranek, Geisterfahrer, Pyrolater (perhaps the best-known name here); Klopferbande, Sudenten Creche, Din a Testbild, Kitchen and the Plastic Spoons, Metro Pakt, Kosmonautentraum, Mythos, 1000 Ohm, Les Vampyrettes (actually Holger Czukay & Conny Plank, but which fits right in); and Deutsche Wertabeit, Matthais Schuster, Van Kaye & Ignit, Starter, Exkurs, and Weltklang. Not a great deal of this stuff is readily available, though there are a few scattered “best ofs” and the occasional CD reissue of some of them; others are still waiting for their due. As a couple of these tracks have been shared from the ‘1981 Briefcase‘ at Musicophilia Daily, I’ll stream them below as a preview of the mix. Full tracklist and download below the “more…” link. [This mix is presented in its original form, as individual tracks, non-mixed.]
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1 9 8 1 | How To Say 1981 In German
01 Neonbabies – “Profi” [3:51]
02 Absolute Body Control – “Is There an Exit” [4:09]
03 Grauzone – “Ich Lieb Sie” [3:16]
04 Palais Schaumburg – “Gute Luft” [2:38]
05 Beranek – “Crystal Dream” [3:23]
06 Geisterfahrer – “Himmel auf Erden” [1:56]
07 Pyrolator – “Elefantendisco” [3:10]
08 Klopferbande – “Am Hauptfelsen” [4:45]
09 Sudenten Creche – “Are Kisses Out of Fashion?” [3:19]
10 Din a Testbild – “Logischer Gefrierpunkt” [4:11]
11 Kitchen and The Plastic Spoons – “Filmen” [3:35]
12 Metro Pakt – “Neue Straßen” [2:40]
13 Kosmonautentraum – “Kosmonautentraum No. 6” [1:12]
14 Mythos – “Robot Secret Agents” [3:05]
15 1000 Ohm – “A.G.N.E.S.” [6:22]
16 Les Vampyrettes – “Biomutanten” [4:39]
17 Deutsche Wertarbeit – “Deutscher Wald” [4:01]
18 Matthias Schuster – “Schlaglichter” [2:38]
19 Van Kaye and Ignit – “Opera of Worms” [3:59]
20 Starter – “Part of You” [3:10]
21 Exkurs – “Fakten” [3:55]
22 Weltklang – “Veb Heimat” [2:26][Total Time 76:20]
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