The German rock band Einstürzende Neubauten from Berlin was formed in 1980.
Members:
- Christian Emmerich, alias Blixa Bargeld
- Alexander von Borsig, alias Alexander Hacke
- Mark Chung
- Frank Martin Strauß, alias F. M. Einheit
- Andrew Chudy, alias N. U. Unruh
- Jochen Arbeit
- Rudi Moser
History of Einstürzende Neubaten
On the first April in 1980 the "Einstürzenden Neubauten" (Collapsing New Buildings) had their first appearance in the "Moon Club" in Berlin. At that time the band was just a coincidental live set-up of the dadaistic musical movement the "Genialen Dilettanten". This line-up featured, beside Beate Bartel and Gudrun Gut, Blixa Bargeld (Christian Emmerlich) and N. U. Unruh (Andrew Chudy), who later went on to record music under the name of "Einstürzende Neubauten". The two female members Bartel and Gut left the band after a short period of performing.
In 1981 the percussionist Frank Martin Strauß joined the "Einstürzende Neubauten" and they recorded with him the first LP "Kollaps", a strange and new mixture of rough punk tunes and industrial noises by using obscure instruments such as metal plates, self-made music machines and various electronic sounds.
During their first German tour, Mark Chung from England joined the group of musicians and one year later the sound technician Alexander von Borsig also became a member of the band. This line-up lasted for the next ten years.
In 1982 the "Einstürzende Neubauten" recorded their second album "Zeichnungen des Patienten O.T.".
The band’s next output "Halber Mensch" (1985) can be seen as the breakthrough of their musical career. For the first time the "Einstürzende Neubauten" had a certain structure in their music, especially Bargeld`s lyrics and singing changed from only shouting out words and phrases into organised, poetic melodies.
The next two albums, "Fünf auf der nach oben offenen Richterskala"(1987) and "Haus der Lüge", had great success in the United States and in Japan.
In 1991 the band tried something completely new and recorded the soundtrack for Heiner Müller’s theatre play "Die Hamletmaschine".
The next album "Tabula Rasa"(1993) meant to be an important turning point in the history of the "Einstürzenden Neubauten" because from now on their music became softer and had more place for electronic sounds. For that reason Mark Chung and Frank Martin Strauß decided to leave the band.
After a short time the band released the LP "Ende Neu"(1996) which became quite famous because of the great song "Stella Maris", a duet with Blixa Bargeld and talented singer Meret Becker.
During the tour in 1997 Jochen Arbeit and Rudi Moser became the new members of the band.
In the year 2000 the "Einstürzenden Neubauten" released their 20-year-jubilee album "Silence is sexy". The title song is about tinnitus.