Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Die Rote Fabrik: Incident EP

Here is a piece of Belgian darkwave from 1986 that has been long, long forgotten. Self-released and hand-stamped for an underground DIY feel, this is a record that is sure to please the hardened goth and DIY post-punk fan.
The record starts with the song “Murder”, which grows quickly from a few samples to a barrage of scratchy guitars and synth-drums start up, backed by a steady bassline. It’s a lo-fi but blistering goth track falls squarely between Screams for Tina and Section 25. “Give Me Your Love” is a much slower song that wallows in gloom and self-pity as the singer desperately pleads and begs for companionship. The song starts with a barebones structure of metronomic drums, single-note-bass, and lazy guitars until the last minute, when the guitar picks up, synths kick in, echoing the urgency in the singer’s voice. Side B starts with Pain, which features syncopated drum machines and layers of noisy guitars. Finally, the record closes with “Fast Living”, which is all stuttering drums and yelling vocals that compete futilely with a sheer wall of tinny no-chord guitar noise.
Two of the three members of Die Rote Fabrik later would later form Starfish Enterprises and add more electronics to their barrage of noise; later that group broke up when one of the members went on to record (quite prolifically) under the moniker Starfish Pool. The record is the one remnant of Die Rote Fabrik’s existence that I know of. It’s one of those records that feels a bit out of place – when it was released in 1986 it was too late to find an audience amongst its kindred spirits in the early post-punk scene; it was a bit too noisy to be popular in goth clubs, and it certainly was not poppy enough to garner any radio play. Hopefully people out there like this one… it has certainly grown on me. As an added bonus, a few copies can currently be found on discogs for relatively cheap!

Die Rote Fabrik: Incident EP

1986, self-released

A1 Murder
A2 Give Me Your Love
B1 Pain
B2 Fast Living



1 comment:

Anonymous said...

This is good! Thank u:)