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viewing 1 To 15 of 15 items
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CD
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MORR 194CD
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Live recordings from the band's studio, the Alien Research Center, during lockdown times in 2021. The Notwist, centered around the core trio of Cico Beck and the Acher brothers Markus and Micha, usually takes its studio recordings as a mere starting point for their live performances, considering them to be possibilities that need to be explored further. This is especially true for Vertigo Days - Live from Alien Research Center, a live record made under unusual circumstances. The band members rearranged songs from their ambitious 2021 album Vertigo Days (MORR 180CD/LP/SUN-LP) in their studio in Weilheim to record and film a special performance. The songs took on a new life, becoming more psychedelic and intense when rearranged into a spontaneous, krautrock-esque collage. Vertigo Days was meant to transcend the conventional notion of a band as well as the creative and geographic boundaries inscribed into that concept. And even though life had other plans, this is precisely what the album did when it was released to both commercial success and critical acclaim in early 2021. Contributions by Tenniscoats singer Saya, Angel Bat Dawid, Ben LaMar Gay, Juana Molina, among others, as well as new member Theresa Loibl on bass clarinet, harmonium, and keyboard, expanded the band's sonic palette, stylistic range, and even lyrical focus through the addition of different instruments, artistic approaches, and languages. All of that was missing when the band retreated to their studio -- dubbed Alien Research Center in response to, and in spite of, a nearby church called Christian Outreach Center -- to further explore the possibilities of the source material. Vertigo Days - Live from Alien Research Center is at once a snapshot of a certain moment in the band's history and the quintessential Notwist live record: a unique performance that both explores the untapped potential of the Vertigo Days studio recordings while also serving as an inspiration for upcoming live shows. As with the studio album, the artwork for Vertigo Days - Live from Alien Research Center features photographs by Japanese artist Lieko Shiga, taken in the '00s.
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2LP
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MORR 180SUN-LP
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Transparent yellow, three-sided vinyl, heavy wide-spine outer sleeve, printed inners. On Vertigo Days, the first album in seven years for The Notwist, one of Germany's most iconic independent groups are alive to the possibilities of the moment. Their music has long been open-minded and exploratory, but from its engrossing structure, through its combination of melancholy pop, clangorous electronics, hypnotic krautrock, and driftwork ballads, to its international musical guests, Vertigo Days is both a new step for The Notwist. It's been seven years since The Notwist's last album, Close To The Glass (2014), and in that time the various members of the group have been busy with side projects (Spirit Fest, Hochzeitskapelle, Alien Ensemble, Joasihno), guest appearances, a record label (Alien Transistor), movie scoring, helping organize the Minna Miteru compilation of Japanese indie pop (MORR 168CD/LP), and running a festival (Alien Disko). Those divergent paths feed back into Vertigo Days in surprising ways, from its structure, built from group improvisations, with songs flowing and melting into one another in a collective haze, to its spirit, which feels refreshed and alive. There's something cinematic about Vertigo Days too, reflective of the group's time working on soundtracks. The album's lead single, "Ship", sees the group joined by Saya of Japanese pop duo Tenniscoats, her disarmingly hymnal voice sighing over a propulsive, krautrocking beat. American multi-instrumentalist Ben LaMar Gay sings on "Oh Sweet Fire", also contributing "a love lyric for these times". American jazz clarinetist and composer Angel Bat Dawid adds clarinet to the spaced-out dream-pop of "Into The Ice Age", while Argentinian electronica songwriter Juana Molina gifts some gorgeous singing and electronics to "Al Sur". Saya also reappears as a member of Japanese brass band Zayaendo, who guest on the album. Throughout, The Notwist also capture the openness of their live performances, too, where they mix and link their songs in unexpected ways. Vertigo Days sits together as one long, flowing suite, the album conceptualized as a whole entity. This is also captured by the album's lyrics, which Markus states, "feel more like one long poem." The dimensions of that poem are multi-faceted, something intensified by the geopolitical weirdness of its times. But it also works at a level of poetic abstraction, such that each song gestures in multiple directions -- the deeply private pans out to the global. Vertigo Days is an album that is brimming with life, with enthusiasm and love for music and for community, all wide-eyed and dreaming.
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LP
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MORR 194LP
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LP version. Includes printed inner sleeve; includes download code. Live recordings from the band's studio, the Alien Research Center, during lockdown times in 2021. The Notwist, centered around the core trio of Cico Beck and the Acher brothers Markus and Micha, usually takes its studio recordings as a mere starting point for their live performances, considering them to be possibilities that need to be explored further. This is especially true for Vertigo Days - Live from Alien Research Center, a live record made under unusual circumstances. The band members rearranged songs from their ambitious 2021 album Vertigo Days (MORR 180CD/LP/SUN-LP) in their studio in Weilheim to record and film a special performance. The songs took on a new life, becoming more psychedelic and intense when rearranged into a spontaneous, krautrock-esque collage. Vertigo Days was meant to transcend the conventional notion of a band as well as the creative and geographic boundaries inscribed into that concept. And even though life had other plans, this is precisely what the album did when it was released to both commercial success and critical acclaim in early 2021. Contributions by Tenniscoats singer Saya, Angel Bat Dawid, Ben LaMar Gay, Juana Molina, among others, as well as new member Theresa Loibl on bass clarinet, harmonium, and keyboard, expanded the band's sonic palette, stylistic range, and even lyrical focus through the addition of different instruments, artistic approaches, and languages. All of that was missing when the band retreated to their studio -- dubbed Alien Research Center in response to, and in spite of, a nearby church called Christian Outreach Center -- to further explore the possibilities of the source material. Vertigo Days - Live from Alien Research Center is at once a snapshot of a certain moment in the band's history and the quintessential Notwist live record: a unique performance that both explores the untapped potential of the Vertigo Days studio recordings while also serving as an inspiration for upcoming live shows. As with the studio album, the artwork for Vertigo Days - Live from Alien Research Center features photographs by Japanese artist Lieko Shiga, taken in the '00s.
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CD
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SRCD 2905CD
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Anniversary edition of the debut album from The Notwist, the most successful representatives of the true independent music in Germany, originally released in 1990. Remastered.
"... their 1990 self-titled debut paid homage to the American hardcore and grunge bands they fell in love with as kids..." --AllMusic
The Notwist, formed in 1989, then consisting of Martin Messerschmidt, and brothers Micha and Markus Acher -- released their self-titled debut album on Subway Records a good thirty years ago, a unique tightrope walk between melodic independent, metallic rock and explosive hardcore parts. The thirteen noisy songs only hinted at the beginning of a career that is as great as it is unusual and diverse: "A pretty heavy punk/hardcore/metal mix for long stretches, an early Notwist anthem nevertheless emerges at the end of the record: 'Nothing Like You'." --laut.de) The first step was taken, but probably no one thought of Top 10 & feuilleton at that time: "Hello! Laugh and sing, dance and jump... GROOOOOARRRR! It's Notwist but my twist! YES SIR!," written on the side fold of the LP: "...this record features a good helping of double bass drum action, consistent cymbal abuse, guitar fret squealing and wheedling, lots of chords chug-chug-chugging, and even a few spots where Markus Acher (he of the laconic Teutonic vocalizing) actually essays a few disgruntled ur-screamo barks." --Pitchfork
"I was a fan of yours when your music was still called Neil Young Hardcore . . . Metallica riffs, with Dinosaur Jr vocals in English with a Bavarian accent -- it's genius." --Thees Uhlmann (2021)
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LP
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SUBLP 511RB-LP
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LP version. Red/black vinyl; silk-screened cover; includes poster, Polaroid photos, and updated inner sleeve. Anniversary edition of the debut album from The Notwist, the most successful representatives of the true independent music in Germany, originally released in 1990. Remastered.
"... their 1990 self-titled debut paid homage to the American hardcore and grunge bands they fell in love with as kids..." --AllMusic
The Notwist, formed in 1989, then consisting of Martin Messerschmidt, and brothers Micha and Markus Acher -- released their self-titled debut album on Subway Records a good thirty years ago, a unique tightrope walk between melodic independent, metallic rock and explosive hardcore parts. The thirteen noisy songs only hinted at the beginning of a career that is as great as it is unusual and diverse: "A pretty heavy punk/hardcore/metal mix for long stretches, an early Notwist anthem nevertheless emerges at the end of the record: 'Nothing Like You'." --laut.de) The first step was taken, but probably no one thought of Top 10 & feuilleton at that time: "Hello! Laugh and sing, dance and jump... GROOOOOARRRR! It's Notwist but my twist! YES SIR!," written on the side fold of the LP: "...this record features a good helping of double bass drum action, consistent cymbal abuse, guitar fret squealing and wheedling, lots of chords chug-chug-chugging, and even a few spots where Markus Acher (he of the laconic Teutonic vocalizing) actually essays a few disgruntled ur-screamo barks." --Pitchfork
"I was a fan of yours when your music was still called Neil Young Hardcore . . . Metallica riffs, with Dinosaur Jr vocals in English with a Bavarian accent -- it's genius." --Thees Uhlmann (2021)
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2LP
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MORR 180LP
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Double LP version. Three-sided vinyl; includes printed inners and download code. On Vertigo Days, the first album in seven years for The Notwist, one of Germany's most iconic independent groups are alive to the possibilities of the moment. Their music has long been open-minded and exploratory, but from its engrossing structure, through its combination of melancholy pop, clangorous electronics, hypnotic krautrock, and driftwork ballads, to its international musical guests, Vertigo Days is both a new step for The Notwist. It's been seven years since The Notwist's last album, Close To The Glass (2014), and in that time the various members of the group have been busy with side projects (Spirit Fest, Hochzeitskapelle, Alien Ensemble, Joasihno), guest appearances, a record label (Alien Transistor), movie scoring, helping organize the Minna Miteru compilation of Japanese indie pop (MORR 168CD/LP), and running a festival (Alien Disko). Those divergent paths feed back into Vertigo Days in surprising ways, from its structure, built from group improvisations, with songs flowing and melting into one another in a collective haze, to its spirit, which feels refreshed and alive. There's something cinematic about Vertigo Days too, reflective of the group's time working on soundtracks. The album's lead single, "Ship", sees the group joined by Saya of Japanese pop duo Tenniscoats, her disarmingly hymnal voice sighing over a propulsive, krautrocking beat. American multi-instrumentalist Ben LaMar Gay sings on "Oh Sweet Fire", also contributing "a love lyric for these times". American jazz clarinetist and composer Angel Bat Dawid adds clarinet to the spaced-out dream-pop of "Into The Ice Age", while Argentinian electronica songwriter Juana Molina gifts some gorgeous singing and electronics to "Al Sur". Saya also reappears as a member of Japanese brass band Zayaendo, who guest on the album. Throughout, The Notwist also capture the openness of their live performances, too, where they mix and link their songs in unexpected ways. Vertigo Days sits together as one long, flowing suite, the album conceptualized as a whole entity. This is also captured by the album's lyrics, which Markus states, "feel more like one long poem." The dimensions of that poem are multi-faceted, something intensified by the geopolitical weirdness of its times. But it also works at a level of poetic abstraction, such that each song gestures in multiple directions -- the deeply private pans out to the global. Vertigo Days is an album that is brimming with life, with enthusiasm and love for music and for community, all wide-eyed and dreaming.
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CD
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MORR 180CD
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On Vertigo Days, the first album in seven years for The Notwist, one of Germany's most iconic independent groups are alive to the possibilities of the moment. Their music has long been open-minded and exploratory, but from its engrossing structure, through its combination of melancholy pop, clangorous electronics, hypnotic krautrock, and driftwork ballads, to its international musical guests, Vertigo Days is both a new step for The Notwist. It's been seven years since The Notwist's last album, Close To The Glass (2014), and in that time the various members of the group have been busy with side projects (Spirit Fest, Hochzeitskapelle, Alien Ensemble, Joasihno), guest appearances, a record label (Alien Transistor), movie scoring, helping organize the Minna Miteru compilation of Japanese indie pop (MORR 168CD/LP), and running a festival (Alien Disko). Those divergent paths feed back into Vertigo Days in surprising ways, from its structure, built from group improvisations, with songs flowing and melting into one another in a collective haze, to its spirit, which feels refreshed and alive. There's something cinematic about Vertigo Days too, reflective of the group's time working on soundtracks. The album's lead single, "Ship", sees the group joined by Saya of Japanese pop duo Tenniscoats, her disarmingly hymnal voice sighing over a propulsive, krautrocking beat. American multi-instrumentalist Ben LaMar Gay sings on "Oh Sweet Fire", also contributing "a love lyric for these times". American jazz clarinetist and composer Angel Bat Dawid adds clarinet to the spaced-out dream-pop of "Into The Ice Age", while Argentinian electronica songwriter Juana Molina gifts some gorgeous singing and electronics to "Al Sur". Saya also reappears as a member of Japanese brass band Zayaendo, who guest on the album. Throughout, The Notwist also capture the openness of their live performances, too, where they mix and link their songs in unexpected ways. Vertigo Days sits together as one long, flowing suite, the album conceptualized as a whole entity. This is also captured by the album's lyrics, which Markus states, "feel more like one long poem." The dimensions of that poem are multi-faceted, something intensified by the geopolitical weirdness of its times. But it also works at a level of poetic abstraction, such that each song gestures in multiple directions -- the deeply private pans out to the global. Vertigo Days is an album that is brimming with life, with enthusiasm and love for music and for community, all wide-eyed and dreaming.
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10"
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MORR 175EP
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After six years, The Notwist return with three new tracks on Morr Music. It's both an exposition of the band's musical variety and a prospect on a forthcoming album. Six years have passed since The Notwist released their last regular studio album, but that doesn't mean that the members of this outstanding band have been idle in the meantime. There have been side projects, movie scoring, and other activities, like programming four editions of Alien Disko, a festival taking place in Munich, Germany. One of that event's regular guests was the Japanese duo Tenniscoats -- and a lovely side effect from that was an evolving friendship between the two bands. It lead to various collaborations: most recently in a new album by international band -- Spirit Fest (featuring Tenniscoats singer Saya and The Notwist's Markus and Cico) and a deep digging compilation of Japanese indie music called Minna Miteru (MORR 168CD/LP). The title track of this new EP is another step in this collaboration -- and a first step to an upcoming album by The Notwist -- as it features Saya, who lends her voice to the percussive song. It is built around a slightly detuned synth line, which is contrasted by more pragmatic guitar work. "It neither sounds like The Notwist, Tenniscoats, nor Spirit Fest", tells Markus Acher. "Just like Saya is saying in the lyrics: 'I want to go outside, I want to meet people', 'Ship' is another chapter in what The Notwist always tries to do: redefining itself, exploring something new, integrating different styles of music and collaborating with musicians they admire." The second song "Loose Ends" is, in contrast, more classic Notwist material. A gently expanding ballad, this time featuring the distinctive voice of Markus Acher. The song came out of recording sessions for the soundtrack for One Of These Days, a movie by Bastian Günther. The EP then closes with "Avalanche" a carefully optimistic instrumental. With its variety of styles, "Ship" also serves as an outlook on an upcoming album, which will be influenced by the band's experiences from their detailed work of creating sounds and moods for film soundtracks, and it will include more collaborations with international guest musicians. Three exclusive tracks; 10"; includes download code; edition of 1000.
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2CD
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N 054CD
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The Notwist release their first ever official live recordings with Superheroes, Ghostvillains + Stuff. "Brothers Markus and Micha Acher have launched various musical vessels, bands and free-floating constellations over the past three decades - and yet: amid all these other speedboats and unlikely sonic barges, The Notwist has always remained the mother ship. This new album documents the latest live incarnation of this very band, which also features Andi Haberl, Max Punktezahl, Karl Ivar Refseth, and Cico Beck. Recorded on December 16, 2015 on the second of three consecutive, sold-out nights at UT Connewitz in Leipzig, Germany, Superheroes, Ghostvillains + Stuff indeed feels like a first-hand live experience. That's why it's the definitive album of The Notwist's career. Although there is one song that points to the early, 'louder years' of The Notwist, 'One Dark Love Poem' off the album Nook (1992), the rest of the night's set sees the band perform all the major hits off Neon Golden (2001), The Devil, You + Me (2008), and Close To The Glass (2014). However, these are different, organically enhanced versions, new interpretations and combinations that feel much more alive; thanks to Olaf Opal's incredible mix, they sometimes even outshine the original studio recordings. Listening to Superheroes, Ghostvillains + Stuff feels like watching these songs evolve and change, moving from one frame to the next, much like a baroque triptych. What starts out like 'wimmelbook' imagery, the music soon folds and unfolds like a Moebius strip: Sans bottom or top, sans inside or outside, the inside becomes the outside and vice versa. It's all about sonic interconnection, about music as entanglement, music as reconciliation. The rather majestic, cinematic (indie) pop and experimental, kraut-infused jazz, the spirit of the enlightenment and baroque playfulness, the traces of modernism and minimal music, dub leanings, hip-hop lessons, and even hints of house music: here is where they all come together, reconciled in a sound that's both melancholy and romantic. The crew's back at it, working the instruments, the rigging, with sails a-billow, launching the next voyage of discovery, assuming the east in the west and vice versa. And thus the adventure saga continues." -- Pico Be (Das Weiße Pferd). Comes as a double CD version, in a mini-gatefold, including printed inner sleeves.
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3LP
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N 054LP
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Triple LP version. Cover with large spine. Includes three printed inner sleeves. Includes download code. The Notwist release their first ever official live recordings with Superheroes, Ghostvillains + Stuff. "Brothers Markus and Micha Acher have launched various musical vessels, bands and free-floating constellations over the past three decades - and yet: amid all these other speedboats and unlikely sonic barges, The Notwist has always remained the mother ship. This new album documents the latest live incarnation of this very band, which also features Andi Haberl, Max Punktezahl, Karl Ivar Refseth, and Cico Beck. Recorded on December 16, 2015 on the second of three consecutive, sold-out nights at UT Connewitz in Leipzig, Germany, Superheroes, Ghostvillains + Stuff indeed feels like a first-hand live experience. That's why it's the definitive album of The Notwist's career. Although there is one song that points to the early, 'louder years' of The Notwist, 'One Dark Love Poem' off the album Nook (1992), the rest of the night's set sees the band perform all the major hits off Neon Golden (2001), The Devil, You + Me (2008), and Close To The Glass (2014). However, these are different, organically enhanced versions, new interpretations and combinations that feel much more alive; thanks to Olaf Opal's incredible mix, they sometimes even outshine the original studio recordings. Listening to Superheroes, Ghostvillains + Stuff feels like watching these songs evolve and change, moving from one frame to the next, much like a baroque triptych. What starts out like 'wimmelbook' imagery, the music soon folds and unfolds like a Moebius strip: Sans bottom or top, sans inside or outside, the inside becomes the outside and vice versa. It's all about sonic interconnection, about music as entanglement, music as reconciliation. The rather majestic, cinematic (indie) pop and experimental, kraut-infused jazz, the spirit of the enlightenment and baroque playfulness, the traces of modernism and minimal music, dub leanings, hip-hop lessons, and even hints of house music: here is where they all come together, reconciled in a sound that's both melancholy and romantic. The crew's back at it, working the instruments, the rigging, with sails a-billow, launching the next voyage of discovery, assuming the east in the west and vice versa. And thus the adventure saga continues." -- Pico Be (Das Weiße Pferd).
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2LP
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N 041LP
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2018 repress. When The Notwist returned with their acclaimed seventh studio album Close to the Glass in early 2014, many were enchanted by the epic instrumental track "Lineri." It was the only instrumental track featured on that album, but according to Markus Acher, the band's vocalist, instrumental works had an important role in the album. Indeed, while the band's members pursued solo projects between 2008's The Devil, You + Me and 2014's Close to the Glass, The Notwist also composed instrumental works for several theater productions and radio plays, some of which are compiled here as The Messier Objects. The collection obviously brings to mind the ghosts of library music and '70s soundtracks, but can also be heard as a summary of the band's ever-evolving musical cosmos. The 17 featured pieces range from sample-based electronic collages to the buoyant post-rock of "Das Spiel ist aus." Whether the band is experimenting with modular synthesizers, analog percussion, or even horn sections ("Object 11"), there remains a constant flow of gentle grooves that makes this open-minded collection more than just a companion piece to Close to the Glass. The double LP edition is presented in a screen-printed cover, features an etching on side D, includes a download code.
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CD
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N 041CD
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When The Notwist returned with their acclaimed seventh studio album Close to the Glass in early 2014, many were enchanted by the epic instrumental track "Lineri." It was the only instrumental track featured on that album, but according to Markus Acher, the band's vocalist, instrumental works had an important role in the album. Indeed, while the band's members pursued solo projects between 2008's The Devil, You + Me and 2014's Close to the Glass, The Notwist also composed instrumental works for several theater productions and radio plays, some of which are compiled here as The Messier Objects. The collection obviously brings to mind the ghosts of library music and '70s soundtracks, but can also be heard as a summary of the band's ever-evolving musical cosmos. The 17 featured pieces range from sample-based electronic collages to the buoyant post-rock of "Das Spiel ist aus." Whether the band is experimenting with modular synthesizers, analog percussion, or even horn sections ("Object 11"), there remains a constant flow of gentle grooves that makes this open-minded collection more than just a companion piece to Close to the Glass.
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7"
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N 022EP
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The Notwist releases a song on their own imprint Alien Transistor. "Blank Air" is a smooth song, reflective and haunting, featuring one of those typical, memorable Notwist hooklines. This track was composed for a movie by Jörg Adolph. The B-side features a cover version by Console of Brian Eno & Cluster's "By This River." Console has already released a vocal version of this, so here you'll find an alternate instrumental that has an even more ambient feel than the original.
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LP+CD
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N 020LP
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Germany's The Notwist compose the soundtrack to Sturm (2009), the motion-picture by Hans-Christian Schmid. The plot: Hannah Maynard, a prosecutor at the Tribunal in The Hague, manages to convince a young Bosnian woman to testify against an alleged war criminal. Amidst the inconsistency of political interests and threats coming from Bosnian Serb nationalists, she realizes that her opponents not only sit on the dock across from her, but are also found in her own ranks. For Sturm, The Notwist composed a soundtrack that creates a hypnotic, unreal ambiance with bowed xylophone, alienated glockenspiel, orchestra accordion and minimal electronics. All music composed and played by The Notwist, except "Vilina Kosa Version," composed by Daniel Glatzel and The Notwist, played by Andromeda Mega Express Orchestra and The Notwist. Silkscreen print cover, with a 24-page 21x21 cm photo booklet.
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CD
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CITY 8382CD
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"The Notwist have finished their long awaited fifth album Neon Golden, and it's big step further towards what they've been aiming towards for years: seamlessly unifying guitar driven music with modern electronica. Brimming with self confidence, they effortlessly move between both styles and ultimately make it something all their own. The Pilot single will be our first offering from the Neon Golden record. Pilot starts with an insistent 4/4 groove accentuated by Console's (Martin Gretschmann's) buzzes and stuttering electro beats and is underpinned by Micha Acher's unshakeable bass line."
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