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05/31/2026

The dual legacy of the pioneering German electronic band Liaisons Dangereuses:

While their 1981 breakout hit ‘Los Niños Del Parque’ established the funky, syncopated groove of EBM, ‘Dias Cortas’ used synths as blunt force weapons, forging the raw, punishing blueprint for industrial techno.

If you pitch ‘Dias Cortas’ down just slightly, it shares the DNA of a dark, warehouse techno track by artists like Perc, Surgeon, or Ancient Methods…mechanized hypnosis.

While the track was famously performed during this iconic 1982 live concert at The Haçienda in Manchester, it wasn’t on their definitive 1981 self-titled studio album. It remained a sought-after live rarity until its official archival release on the compilation album Artificial Dancers - Waves of Synth.

05/20/2026

After establishing the aggressive, raw blueprint for Electronic Body Music, German electronic pioneers DAF dropped this unexpected gem in 1985. ‘Absolute Body Control’ swaps their signature driving rhythm and sweat-soaked vocals for bright, melodic synth-pop hooks and a traditional dance groove. A catchy detour from one of industrial music’s most uncompromising duos.

“Delgado and Görl reunited in 1985 to record 1st Step to Heaven, their only album in English, which achieved one week in the Swedish album chart at no. 46. Delgado later noted: “So we wanted to break our own rules and said: OK, so now we sing in English, now we don’t wear black. (laughing) With purpose. Because we wanted to break our own rules.”

The songs title ‘Absolute Body Control’ was something of a meta reference. Named after the influential Belgian minimal-synth band Absolute Body Control as the Belgian band originally named themselves after the 1981 DAF song called ‘Absolute Körperkontrolle’.

05/04/2026

In 1988, Holger Hiller of Palais Schaumburg created an audio visual project in collaboration with video artist Akiko Hada.

The project is considered a pioneering effort in blending video editing with music sampling. Only 10 years later, the idea of transferring sampling techniques from music to video got popular with ‘Timber’ by Coldcut, who used custom-made software to create it.

Hiller primarily used the E-mu Emulator II, a legendary 8-bit sampler that was a staple for experimental and industrial artists in the late 1980s. He was one of the first musicians in Europe to treat the sampler as his primary instrument rather than just a playback device.

04/28/2026

When Soviet folk melodies met German New Beat. Kreml Flyers (later known as Go East) flipped a wartime melody into a rhythmic, spoken-word New Beat banger.

‘Ka-Ka-Kasatschok’ is just one example of the late-80s New Beat trend of blending traditional “Eastern Bloc” motifs, specifically the 1938 Russian melody “Katyusha,” with industrial electronic production.

The track reimagines the traditional Cossack “squat dance” (Kasatschok) through an EBM framework, creating a culturally resonant yet subversive, “re-interpolated” sound for European dance floors.

Liner notes: 110 BPM
Special thanks for Heike for rapping and speaking russian

04/23/2026

“Palais Schaumburg played with Dadaism in their lyrics and was seen as the intellectual and super cool dance band in the German punk scene. Originally founded in Hamburg most of the band members moved later in the 80’s to West Berlin and became pioneers of the electronic music scene.

Holger Hiller is now a teacher, but Thomas Fehlmann became very well known as one part of The Orb and Moritz Von Oswald as the founder of Hardwax records and Basic Channel.”

🎥: ‘Deutsche Welle’ 1981 by Michael Bentele & Thomas Merker

04/16/2026

Kino was a Soviet-era post-punk rock band founded by Viktor Tsoi (black hair) and beloved in their homeland of Russia.

When Viktor died in a car crash at 28, the largest Soviet newspaper was quick to commemorate him and honor his legacy in an open, and very un-Soviet way: “Tsoi means more to the young people of our nation than any politician, celebrity or writer. This is because Tsoi never lied and never sold out. He was and remains himself. It’s impossible not to believe him... Tsoi is the only rocker who has no difference between his image and his real life, he lived the way he sang... Tsoi is the last hero of rock.”

Kino’s catalogue is deep and rewarding, and the gravity of the aforementioned tribute will sink in once you dig a little deeper.

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