Record of the day: Einstürzende Neubauten, “Silence is Sexy”

Einstürzende Neubauten, “Silence Is Sexy” (2 CD Mute CDSTUMM 182)

These German musicians were among the pioneers of Industrial Music, which from Berlin also exerted a very strong influence on the world of Anglo-Saxon rock (just think of records like “Low” and “Heroes” by David Bowie). Made by mixing synthetic drums and electronic sounds with others produced by self-built instruments, often composed of metal parts, flexible tubes and electrically operated mechanical devices, this music was able to perfectly describe the brutality, the alienation of contemporary society and the monsters produced by industrial civilization.

Obsessive, pounding, crossed by livid flashes, apparently ruthless, the music of Einstürzende Neubauten requires strong nerves and a lot of patience to penetrate its bristly sound world, but the results are worth the effort given that it is one of the most important musical groups in activity, whose works are as uncomfortable as they are fundamental to understanding the music of our time. Superficially compared by some critics to the noise movement, Neubauten propose a completely different approach to the world of those sounds that the public hardly identifies as music; in now historic albums such as “Kollaps” (1981) and “Halber Mensch” (1985) the acoustic realization of a true metropolitan nightmare found its most complete realization, while in more recent albums such as this “Silence Is Sexy” and the following “Perpetuum mobile” there is an attempt to embrace the song form, albeit distorted and sometimes devastated, just like the human figurations in Bacon’s paintings.

Undoubtedly “Silence Is Sexy” is a much less radical record and can be an excellent introduction to the world of this exceptional group, especially for an audience who approaches it from the world of rock. The voice of leader Blixa Bargeld has dark tones, sometimes sounding like a cross between Nick Cave and Leonard Cohen, Alexander Hache’s bass draws pedal notes of dark insistence from very deep wells, the metallic percussions of NU Unruh and Rudi Moser relentlessly punctuate maniacal rhythms . The entire second CD is dedicated to the long song “Pelikanol”, where Einstürzende Neubauten return to the more claustrophobic and violent dimension of their production.

Carlo Boccadoro, composer and conductor, was born in Macerata in 1963. He lives and works in Milan. He collaborates with soloists and orchestras in different parts of the world. He is the author of numerous books on musical topics.

This text is taken from “Lunario della musica: A record for every day of the year” published by Einaudi, courtesy of the author and the publisher.