KLAR!80 - Ein Kassettenlabel aus Düsseldorf 1980-1982

Various Artists

KLAR!80 - Ein Kassettenlabel aus Düsseldorf 1980-1982
Released 7/14/23
bureau b

I’ve spent a heavy portion of the last month absorbing the KLAR!80 - Ein Kassettenlabel aus Düsseldorf 1980-1982 compilation, named for the cassette label (and Düsseldorf-located store) whose two-year lifespan produced a fascinating trove of analog-soaked electronics, crudely structured loops, thudding grooves, and ambient noise. Released by bureau b, this compilation offers a varying cross-section of KLAR!80’s output, which was culled from the label’s 18 releases. What you hear is part of a global conversation, a conversation that offered weight to a number of artists whose capabilities were enabled by technology, the influence of DIY culture, and the compact cassette. The collection was pulled together by musician and producer Stefan Schneider, who’d also curated SAMMLUNG - Elektronische Kassettenmusik Düsseldorf 1982–1989, which focuses on a different period.

Germany had served as ground zero for the cultivation of what I consider to be one of its greatest exports: kosmische musik (or, “Krautrock” if you’re mean). Since the progenitors of kosmische musik had carved itself an existence outside of the heavy influence of American and British guitar rock—and granted many artists new territory to explore—it makes sense that the movement’s progeny would exhibit a similar level of self-sufficiency. Hardcore subculture in the U.S. built itself a system of travel and music distribution as well as design aesthetics and DIY ethics. KLAR!80, founded by Rainer Rabowski, did the same, capitalizing on the benefits of cassettes to capture its sonic and visual identity. Every tape was dressed in yellow and black artwork.

The listenability of this music is irrelevant next to the proliferation of ideas at work, which becomes clear as you work through the compilation. As a curated product of independent experimentalism and art, KLAR!80 is a tech showcase that celebrates the loosened constraints of the “band” dynamic in favor of something more challenging. The compilation opens with Strafe Für Rebellion’s “Blaue Mig”, which is a little more than a minute of shapeless and atonal sounds. As an intro, it’s almost a test for the listener that one could easily deem indicative of what’s to expect throughout the album’s runtime. Following that minute, though, a thick pulse and flat electronic snare follows with Roter Stern Belgrad’s “Ta Ku Sey”, which is more of a structured song than what could be perceived as an act of abstract self-indulgence. The same artist also has a sound experiment called “alpha waves” and “Bias dean Knie ein”, which sets recorded and mixed dial tone and phone responses to aggressive and high-paced percussion.

The unsettling eponymous noise piece by Ralph & Ernie, heavy percussive rattling and insectoid-level staccato infestation of “OT” by Eraserhead, and static-laden ambience of “M4” by P. Projekta / G. Ranzz also deliver much in terms of tension and experimentation and further demonstrate the then-potential of acquired technology to create and perform outside of conventionally accepted or academically sound musical spaces.

While the music’s existence obviously doesn’t require validation, I did find some anyway with the compilation’s third track: “Umsturz” by Und Piloten, which consists of a loosely composed drum pattern that anchors an array of composed electronic stabs, arbitrary sound elements, and a flat bass melody. It’s funky and for me drew some structural similarities to “America Is Waiting”, the opening track on My Life In The Bush of Ghosts by Brian Eno and David Byrne. Eno is no stranger to kosmische musik having collaborated with genre pioneers Cluster and then used the lessons he’d gleaned from them to repackage post-Ziggy David Bowie.

Musicians oftentimes hear what audiences don’t.

That said, both New and No Wave touchstones are met with another relatively funky offering called “Dein Zauber” by Europa, which features a series of quivering, erupting and watery sounds piercing through the track’s otherwise minimalist and echoing background. The sugary bounce and scribbling sax work in “Mir fehlen die Worte” by Xao Seffcheque Und Der Rest and the distant, goth-tinged vocals of the eponymous track by Rara, Axel & Ralph also connect well to some of the era’s signature sounds, the more venturesome acts of early-80s post-punk seeming to pay respects to a similar muse.

And of course it’s difficult to find any musical collection of this type that doesn’t reference Einstürzende Neubauten. The members of CHBB would eventually become known as Liaisons Dangereuses and was composed of Chrislo Haas (D.A.F., Der Plan) and Beate Bartel, who is a founding member of the aforementioned Neubauten. Their track “Mau-Mau” is a slow-paced and minimalist mood piece that’s both synth driven and eerie. I recommend headphones for this one as there’s a remarkable amount of space present, some floating sounds set adrift against the track’s persistent strut.

The album’s final track is performed by Blässe (group member Alexander Hacke yet another early member of Einstürzende Neubauten) and is evocative of both Faust and Sun Ra in terms of its unpolished, percussive approach and debt to free-form jazz ending the compilation with some appropriate turbulence.

Tracklist:

1. Strafe für Rebellion - Blaue Mig

2. Roter Stern Belgrad - Ta Ku Sey

3. Und Piloten - Umsturz

4. Roter Stern Belgrad - alpha waves

5. Europa - Dein Zauber

6. Ralph & Ernie - Ralph & Ernie

7. Xao Seffcheque und der Rest - Mir fehlen die Worte

8. Rara, Axel & Ralph - Rara, Axel & Ralph

9. Eraserhead - OT

10. P.Projekta / G.Ranzz - M4

11. CHBB - Mau-Mau

12. Roter Stern Belgrad - Blas dein Knie ein

13. BLÄSSE - Taktlose Klapperschlangen

Sincerely,
Letters From A Tapehead