Deutsch-Amerikanischen Freundschaft

Deutsch-Amerikanischen Freundschaft (or known as D-A-F for short) were a late-70's band born out of the scene of young Düsseldorfers inspired by the likes of Kraftwerk and Can. They were pioneers of the more experimental edge of the Neue Deutsche Welle. Interconnected with the more eccentric Der Plan, D-A-F were the first German new-wave band to get noticed outside their homeland. Their debut album PRODUCT DER... showed strong influences of weirder works by Can, Amon Düül II, etc., like an instrumental haphazard patchwork of ideas that amounted to a Kraut twist on Chrome, in a new angst ridden punky setting, with clattering drums against brash guitars and bass, backed up by warbling electronics. After becoming known in the UK, the partly live in London DIE KLEINEN UND DIE BÖSEN presented them as a more outlandish new-wave industrial act, with wild songs, manic electronic mayhem, and lots of rough unrestrained angst. Admittedly their most experimental album, and more in tune with the era, it was also a mite too schizophrenic. Due to musical differences apparently, most of the band split after this, gradually reducing D-A-F to a duo of just Gabi Delgado-Lopez and Robert Görl. Thus, on subsequent albums (which are much too crap to be listed here) the duo version of D-A-F went on to do trendy Kraftwerk-like techno-electro and vocal music of little merit.

Robert Görl (drums), Wolfgang Spelmans (guitar), Kurt Dahlke (synthesizers), Michael Kemner (bass)

PRODUKT DER... (2-4/79)
LP Warning WR 001 (1979)

Kebabtraume / Gewalt
7" Mute 005 (UK, 1980)

DIE KLEINEN UND DIE BÖSEN (3/80)
LP Mute STUMM 1 (UK, 1980)

Tanz Mit Mir / Der Rauber Und Die Prinz
7" Mute 011 (UK, 1981)

Diabolus

Technically these were a British band, who, like Nektar, were established and based in Germany, and also coincidentally were signed up by Bellaphon. On their sole album (which featured a German drummer), they played an inventive mixture of hard-rock and folk, in the realms of early Message and Nektar, with a touch of Jethro Tull (notably because of the flute).

John Hadfield (guitars, vocals), Anthony Hadfield (bass, vocals), Philip Howard (flute, tenor sax, organ, piano, vocals), Ellwood von Siebold (drums, percussion)

DIABOLUS
LP Bellaphon BLPS 19068 (1971)

Dies Irae

Very little is known about Dies Irae, except that it is rumoured that Manfred von Bohr started his career with them. They were hardly typical of bands on the Pilz label, with a heavy brand of Krautrock, blending in jazz, blues and psychedelic touches. Mostly they used straight rock structures, with much psychedelic spice, and good songs. All creatively and imaginatively played, and inter-cut with all sorts of surprising twists and turns. Maybe less distinctive than most Krautrock of the era, Dies Irae were nonetheless excellent!

Rainer Gerd Wahlmann (harmonica, vocals), Robert J. Schiff (bass), Harald H.G. Thomas (guitar, vocals), Andreas F. Cornelius (drums)

FIRST (3-4/6/71)
LP Pilz 20 20114-7 (1971)

featured on: HEAVY CHRISTMAS

Diez & Bischof

The spiritual successor to Emergency in a sense, in that Peter Bischof became the front-man of Emergency on their later Brain releases. Also with the final Emergency was former Armaggedon guitarist Frank Diez. Thus for the Diez & Bischof LP project they sought the aid of Passport members and session musicians for a mixed blend of songs and an instrumental. Nothing remarkable resulted however!

DAYBREAK
LP Atlantic ATL 50156 (1975)

Frank Diez (guitar, bass, organ, Mellotron), Peter Bischof (vocals),
+ Curt Cress (drums, percussion), Kristian Schultze (piano, clavinet, organ), Tato Gomez (bass), Dave King (bass), Linda Fields (vocals), Jackie Diez (vocals)

Din A Testbild

Originally Din A Testbild were one of the most experimental of the new-wave bands in Germany, in parallel with Einsturzende Neubauten, SYPH, D-A-F, et al., and part of the fertile late-70's Berlin scene with avant-gardist Frieder Butzmann in their ranks, creating a weird and wild music with much electronics. Later, when down to just a duo, they were signed up to IC as a token "weird new-wave" band, creating a synth-spiced music akin to D-A-F and mid-70's Kraftwerk on PROGRAMM 1. The later releases were not really group albums, but were sessions of IC in-house musicians fronted by Marc Eins.

Nutty Norman (bass, guitar, vocals), Ian Wright (synthesizer), Mark Eins (vocals, guitar, bass), Ralf Z. (drums), Jurgen Rommeis (guitar, vocals), Frank u.d.B. (guitar, synthesizer)

Glas Konkav / Abfall
7" Marat 04794 (1979)

PROGRAMM 1 (9/80)
LP IC KS 80.002 (1980)

PROGRAMM 2 (1981)
LP IC KS 80.011 (1981)

PROGRAMM 3 (3-4/83)
LP IC KS 80.045 (1983)

TV JUNK AND NEW BEAT FUNK
LP IC 80.079 (1989) «retrospective with original material»

Date: 2015-12-18; view: 1503