Sterilization/Gesamtkunswerk

Which is difficult or perhaps not so as the sole lyric goes, "We had to sterilise the population." I feel a strong urge to put an exclamation point at the end of that line, as if it was being said ironically or for shock value but really it's a hard one to call and I don't personally believe that the author would agree so I will leave it's intent hanging ambiguously. Luckily they expand somewhat on this theme with the line ‘Racial Hygiene and Selective Breeding’ on the label. Of course it’s a Nazi thing, sadly, laid bare this time with nothing else to balance it out. I have it on very good authority that the original artwork for this 12” also featured a prominent swastika on the label which were even printed up but left unattached when it was realised that this is a banned symbol in Germany which was one of Dopplereffekts biggest markets at the time. Some evidence of this change of mind can be seen in the choice of apparel sported by Gerald Donald's very Kraftwerk-esq robot pose, the blacked out square on his brown shirt collar hides an SS insignia to match his brown shirt and tie.

The persona’s they take on for this release are predictably Germanic, Rudolf Fisher for Donald, Helena Eichmann for Kim Karli but their most enigmatic member, William Scott, is the exception being listed as himself. Special thanks is given to Doug Wagner which I am hoping is his real name and not a reference to Hitler’s favourite composer and the more innocuous sounding Sana Schuton(actually Sara Scruton, a DJ/promoter/music writer from Toronto). If you think you’ve seen the female mannequin pictured beside Donald on the label before well it bears a striking resemblance to the one on the label for Ultradyne’s 2004 12“ ‘The Privilege of Sacrifice’. I’m sure they won’t thank me for dragging them into such confusing waters but check out the likeness, if it is the same then these friends don’t mind sharing their mannequins! Perhaps this image would have fitted better on the previous 'Fascist State' EP and its infamous mannequin themed track 'Plasiphilia'. Musically 'Sterilization' itself is a strong and memorable track but also short at just under the 2 and a half minute mark, but of course it's quality not quantity that counts. Mix 2 is such a slight variation it is no wonder it was not included on the standard CD version of the 1999 ‘Gesamtkunswerk’ compilation which is our next port of call. There was however a bonus 7" on Gigolo's original double vinyl edition which contains both versions of 'Sterilization' for good measure.


I’ve written before about the identity of the female who does not seem to match up with the girl seen in artwork previously but she does seem to be the same girl featured on the next Dopplereffekt album, 2003's ‘Linear Accelerator’. The identity of the girl who played live with Arpanet in Paris in June 2006 would also be interesting to know, the same? Personnel credits here read in lower case as Rudolf Klorzeiger and To Nhan Le Thi, the latter being Vietnamese, which also nicely refers to a Communist backed country, the northern half anyway. The black and white photo of the group make them look like members of a clandestine political party where the individual, both male and female, is nothing. They both wear black suit, shirt and tie, their faces dramatically illuminated from below, which at a glance makes Donald appear weirdly caucasian. The Russian and Chinese flags which hover above their heads dominate however and what they symbolise in this context is brought into focus. The ideology is all, it’s adherents anonymous, only working for the good of the collective.
I've written previously about the sole new unreleased track here, 'Gesamtkunswerk,' and how it prefigures the future experimental Dopplereffekt sound which they explored more fully on 'Linear Accelerator' and beyond. This slowly uncoiling 6 minutes of sound is evidence that they knew exactly where they were going next with this project, even if the first fruits of this thinking would only be revealed to the public 4 years later.
Again as already discussed the music here stands up so well today never mind four years later, this is well ahead of the curve and set the standards for a time, helping to inspire more than a few musicians and even genre’s along the way. The revival must be just around the corner! It must be creatively, not to mention financially, reassuring that this small but influential body of work is money in the bank (no doubt in small amounts) for its creators for years to come. For evidence of this check out the huge on-going list of compilations this stuff has been licensed to at their Discogs page.
An old email address for Dataphysix is listed here, telecom@scientist.com, of course telecom would very much turn out to be a key word in the years to come as both his debut Arpanet project and also the name of the soon to be Japanese Telecom.
The period of Dopplereffekt so neatly and conveniently compiled on ‘Gesamtkunswerk’ is so different from what came next that with hindsight it was essential to separate it as distinct and now extinct. It can certainly be said that they really achieved something laudable and impressive in this compact body of work which a lot of other artists could take a lesson from. They could have signed a major deal and possibly cleaned up if they had wanted to pursue money and fame, but of course this does not appear to be in their nature. I see The Hacker and Miss Kitten as having travelled further along this road, check out their ‘First Album’, itself on Gigolo, to see how this template would become more mainstream if still largely remaining underground. Their choice to take a break and change direction did not happen overnight and this is where my gradual approach to the work of Gerald Donald will hopefully spotlight and help us to better understand the essential twists and turns he takes which lead up to today, as we have seen by this time he was already on his way.
A slight return to the beginning of Der Zyklus and Heinrich Mueller will be our next stop on this journey.
5 Comments:
Check this link http://www.doepfer.de on some of the pictures in the gallery you'll find a certain Douglas Wagner (who works for Enport, the US distibutor for Doepfer). He might have something to do with the actual sound of Dopplereffekt.
Well spotted, interesting site,that's some serious equipment, anyone for doepfereffekt.
Just found this blog. Keep up the good work!
All the best,
pHinn
"To Nhan Le Thi" isn't Japanese, it's Vietnamese.
nice work, though. fascinating.
thanks, will up date that, was'nt sure.
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home