Einstürzende Neubauten
Einstürzende Neubauten first performed on April 1, 1980 in Berlin. They’re generally considered an “industrial” band, and that is a reasonable description of their sound, although most people think of industrial music as having more of a techno beat, e.g. Nine Inch Nails or Skinny Puppy. I would be tempted to classify their music as being similar to the futurist style of Luigi Russolo, in which the music is inspired by the sounds of human industry.
EN employs wide array of instruments of their own construction, along with found objects and some traditional instruments. Their music has a complex compositional style and the band has invented its own notation system for internal use when arranging and recording. The band’s name Einstürzende Neubauten means “collapsing new buildings” or “new buildings falling down”. Their logo is reputed to be an ancient Toltec design, and it happens to be tattooed on my right arm.
Thought you might be interested in this show:
The US debut of Blixa Bargeld’s The Execution of Precious Memories stars Blixa himself, along with his collaborators Nanos Operetta and Yannis Adoniou’s KUNST-STOFF. Conceived and debuted in Berlin in 1994, the Einstürzende Neubauten founder and former Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds guitarist has performed the work in 9 cities worldwide—including Tokyo, London and Stockholm—with each performance based on treasured recollections of individuals living in that particular city.
The San Francisco edition is a high-wire fusion of music, dance and spoken word that contrasts manic energy with palpable tenderness as it elaborates on the idea that while memories are always regarded by the individual who has them as precious, memories themselves are vulnerable to being fictionalized. If “memory paints with a golden brush,” as the old Chinese proverb says, is it this golden brush that allows us to render them as precious in the first place?
This much anticipated music, dance and spoken word performance mixes its global lineage with local DNA and will be performed live by the collaborators for five nights only, November 19-23.
What: Blixa Bargeld’s Execution of Precious Memories, with Nanos Operetta and KUNST-STOFF
When: November 19-23
Time: All performances at 8pm, except Sunday the 23rd at 7pm
Where: Project Artaud Theater, 450 Florida Street, San Francisco, 94110
Tickets: $20.00 at http://www.brownpapertickets.com or http://www.kunst-stoff.org; available by phone at 415-863-9834
Bethanne,
This sounds very interesting. I *just* returned from California on Monday, and I won’t be able to return so soon for this show. I hope they produce a DVD from this performance! Thank you for the tip.