LEBEN UND ARBEITEN: Selftitled EP

Here is the selftitled 12" EP release by the German band Leben Und Arbeiten. They played an angular, aggressive form of Neue Deutsche Welle. There is often a concentration on the rhythm and drums (especially on Der Letzte Mohikaner, which sounds like a different version of Artery's "The Slide", with howls and screams in place of vocals). In fact, these guys seem to owe as much to the UK early-80s post punk bands as they do their Zickzack labelmates. Bands like Artery, This Heat, Fire Engines, and Ludus figure heavily in their sound. Discogs has them listed as "industrial" and "electro"... they really aren't. Maybe there are some industrial touches, but this is pure NDW by way of the UK. Great stuff. I don't think they released anything else beside a track or two on various compilations.

You can see a couple live songs on youtube here:



Leben Und Arbeiten: Selftitled EP
1982, ZickZack Records
A1 - Gefühl Nix Gut
A2 - Krank Mann / Krank Frau
A3 - Amanita
B1 - Der Letzte Mohikaner
B2 - Ein Tag Ist Nicht Genug

Click here to download this EP!

MC²: Selftitled LP

It seems like there is an endless supply of German new wave bands. There was a huge
underground tape culture, and many blogs (most notably Mutant Sounds) have posted countless
NDW tapes and private releases. Personally, it's a genre that's hit-or-miss. There's almost always an element of silliness and quikiness in German new wave. Some releases are quirky and fun, and sometimes the silliness is detrimental, to the point of just being stupid.
Fortunately, this album falls square in the former - almost every song is a bouncy classic, with loads and loads of synths, choppy guitars, and German vocals that I can't understand. This is up there with Palais Schaumburg, Croox, Malaria!, Zero Zero, 1.Futurologischer Congress and others who combined their silliness with a bit of gloom and loads of straight- ahead electro-pop.

MC²: Selftitled LP

1982, Gulp Records

A1 Stadt Aus Stahl

A2 Gen-X

A3 Keimfrei

A4 E = MC²

A5 Kleine Königinnen

B1 007

B2 Erde

B3 Ufos

B4 Schutzlos

B5 Du Willst Nur Mich

Click here to download this album!