Einsturzende Neubauten Biography
Formed out of the Berlin arts conglomerate Die Geniale Dilletanten, Einstürzende Neubauten (inspired by the collapse of the Kongresshalle) made their live debut on April 1 1980 at the Moon. The line-up comprised Blixa Bargeld (Christian Emmerich, 12 January 1959, Berlin, Germany), N.U. Unruh (b. Andrew Chudy, 9 June 1957, New York, USA), Beate Bartel and Gudrun Gut, the latter two from the punk band Mania D. Alexander Van Borsig (b. Alexander Hacke, 11 October 1965, Berlin, Germany), an occasional contributor, joined in time for the band's first single, "Für Den Untergang". When Bartel and Gut departed to form Malaria and Matador they were replaced by F.M. Einheit (b. Frank Strauss, 18 December 1958, Dortmund, Germany; ex-Abwärts). Einheit and Unruh formed the band's rhythmic backbone, experimenting with a variety of percussive effects, while Bargeld provided discordant vocals and guitar.
The band's first official album (there were previously many tapes available) was Kollaps, a collage of sounds created by unusual rhythmic instruments ranging from breaking glass and steel girders to pipes and canisters. Their 1982 12-inch single, "Durstiges Tier', involved contributions from the Birthday Party's Rowland S. Howard and Lydia Lunch, at which point Hacke had joined the band permanently as guitarist alongside new bass player Marc Chung (b. 3 June 1957, Leeds, England; ex-Abwärts). A UK tour with the Birthday Party introduced them to Some Bizzare Records, which released 1983"s Die Zeichnungen Des Patienten O.T. The following year's Strategien Gegen Architekturen 80=83 was compiled with the help of Jim Thirlwell of Foetus, while the band performed live at the ICA in London. Joined by Genesis P. Orridge (Psychic TV), Frank Tovey (Fad Gadget) and Stevo (Some Bizzare), the gig ended violently and attracted heated debate in the press. Bargeld spent the rest of the year touring as bass player for Nick Cave, going on to record several studio albums as a member of Cave's backing band, the Bad Seeds. He returned to the Einstürzende Neubauten set-up for the more structured Halber Mensch. Following the release of this enthralling album the band temporarily broke-up, but reunited in 1987 to perform the soundtrack for Andi, a play at the Hamburg Schauspielhaus, and record Fünf Auf Der Nach Oben Offenen Richterskala. This was intended as a farewell album, but they, nevertheless, continued after its release. Bargeld's part-time career with the Bad Seeds continued, and in 1987 he featured alongside them in Wim Wenders' movie Der Himmel Über Berlin. Hacke, ironically, was now contributing to the work of Crime And The City Solution, featuring Cave's old Birthday Party colleagues. Einheit restarted the Abwärts and inaugurated his solo project, Stein, while Chung formed Freibank, the band's own publishing company. The various members reunited, however, in time for 1989's Haus Der Lüge, which included the sounds of riots around the Berlin Wall as a backdrop. They also signed a contract with Mute Records and set up their own Ego subsidiary to house their soundtrack work, which has included the music for the radio play Die Hamletmaschine and Faustmusik. Their 1993 album Tabula Rasa was another politically inclined collection exploring the reunification of Germany. It also demonstrated the band's growing commitment to conventional musical structure, with their trademark industrial sound effects now used to accentuate the atmosphere of a piece rather than just being a case of art for art's sake. Ende Neu, with the departed Chung replaced by Andrew Chudy, completed Einstürzende Neubauten's gradual transition to atmospheric rock band. Jochen Arbeit and Rudi Moser were added to the line-up for 2000's sparse, melodic Silence Is Sexy, a title that would have been untenable at the start of the band's career.
Source: The Encyclopedia of Popular Music by Colin Larkin. Licensed from Muze.
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