Headed by Blixa Bargeld, this mostly-German group has produced hundreds of songs ranging from the earsplitting to the lullabic. Over the past few years, they have abandoned the usual record-contract route (having been screwed multiple times by various labels) and taken to the net. Their last three albums have been produced with money raised by selling subscriptions to their listeners. They have also financed a small, and perhaps final, US tour.
It seems, in talking to Mr Bargeld backstage after their Washington, DC show in 2004, that they are encountering increasing financial barriers to touring in the States. Large cuts are taken by the venues, and often the band will lose money even on a sold-out house, if they do not sell enough merchandise during the show. On that tour, they also had to pay a fee to clear channel in order to use the technology which enabled them to sell cds of the shows to the audience members at the show.
Though they maintain a steadfastly close-mouthed on exactly where their political allegiances lie, Blixa was heard to remark, in reference to the possibility of this being their final tour, "This is the problem with capitalism." Most of their supporters seem to have leftish leanings of various sorts, and it is argued that one song, Sabrina, alludes to a wish for anarchy (the colours of the German flag are dismissed one by one until only black remains as the colour Blixa's voice wishes "would be your colour").
I made a number of attempts to get an interview with Herr Bargeld on his recent solo rede/speke tour. I was unsuccesful, and wonder if the prospect of being interviewed for a socialist publication was the reason. Oddly, I am not inclined to hold it against him if this is the case, given the band's dedication to their music and maintaining their artistic freedom.
The method they have chosen is an unusual one, in that they both retain the right to mix and produce as they see fit (and in their own time, at that; it can take years for the records to reach the supporters) and allow the supporters to see and hear works in progress and give opinions and suggestions. The band checks in on the forum from time to time, yet is not a slave to it- there are very few times when advance warning is given as to when they will be online.
Their latest production- released to supporters only- is Grundstuek, which uses everything from television noise, feedback and the ubiquitous springs to dropped objects and voices either solo or en masse. From the openings of Good Morning, in which a teacher's voice (in English) and that of her class are heard and then give way to the bass and bass spring and Blixa (in German), to the close of Tagelange Weisse, with its eerily comforting digitalness, the whole work is one of unity not often heard. Their earlier works were heavy on the clang, and this still shows through on a number of tracks, but they have, over these twenty-odd years, mellowed a bit as well. Unlike many acts of equal or longer duration, they have not lost the excitement at creation- rather, they have learned to use many voices, loud and soft, to greater effect than the sustained and desperately juvenile screeches and subject matters of a Rolling Stones or an Arrowsmith.
To say they have re-invented themselves would be inaccurate, as they are still, despite the changes in lineup, Einsturzende Neubauten. They differ only in that they have grown and learned, they have not gotten stuck- they have retained the freedom to use sound. They are unconstrained.
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