Einstürzende Neubauten
Einstürzende Neubauten (German pronunciation: [ˈaɪnˌʃtʏʁtsn̩də ˈnɔyˌbaʊtn̩], lit. 'Collapsing New Buildings') is a German experimental music group, formed in West Berlin in 1980. The group is currently composed of founding members Blixa Bargeld (lead vocals, guitar, keyboard) and N.U. Unruh (custom-made instruments, percussion, vocals), long-time contributor Alexander Hacke (bass, vocals), plus Jochen Arbeit (guitar, vocals), and Rudolph Moser (custom-built instruments, percussion, vocals), who both joined the line-up in 1997.
Einstürzende Neubauten | |
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Einstürzende Neubauten in 2008 | |
Background information | |
Origin | West Berlin, West Germany |
Genres |
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Years active | 1980–present |
Labels |
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Members | Blixa Bargeld Alexander Hacke N.U. Unruh Jochen Arbeit Rudolph Moser |
Past members | Beate Bartel Gudrun Gut F.M. Einheit Mark Chung Roland Wolf |
Website | neubauten |
One of their trademarks is the use of custom-built instruments, predominantly made out of scrap metal and building tools, and noises, in addition to standard musical instruments. Their early albums were unremittingly harsh, with Bargeld's vocals shouted and screamed above a din of banging and scraping metal percussion. Subsequent recordings found the group's sound growing somewhat more conventional, yet still containing many unorthodox elements.