VA - Fall Of Man - Calypsos On The Human Condition 1935-1941

"The human condition is a popular component in Trinidad calypsos.  Philosophy, superstition, life, death, money, status, and male female relations all receive attention in their lyrics."
- from the back cover.

If your conception of calypso is rooted in the sanitized version of "The Banana Boat Song" that hit the charts back in the ’50s, then this album is bound to be a wake-up call. Calypso music, as in any music of the underclass — be it blues, rebetica or rai — originally dealt with gut-level human interactions.

Behind a seemingly happy-go-lucky beat, calypso kings such as Attila the Hun, Lord Beginner and King Radio told tales that their Trinidadian audience could relate to. There were man-woman stories about sex, love and cheating, mixed in with standard paeans to mother, unhappy riffs on politics, complaints about taxes and colorful gossip about murderers and thieves. In short, nothing that ain’t been talked about in other cultures and times.

What makes this all different, however, are the same things that make all forms of popular music vary from the highbrow arts: culture and its incestuous relationship with language. Slang and its cousin, patois, enrich the possibilities of commentary, but they only do it for people aware of code phrases and how they relate to a shared vision of everyday life.

"Fall Of Man" is a compilation of classic Trinidadian calypso, from the point at which it began to achieve international popularity. Indeed, most of these 25 tracks were actually recorded in New York City, although a few actually were cut in Trinidad. Atilla the Hun (aka Raymond Quevedo) is featured especially heavily, performing or co-performing on ten selections; other notable figures including Neville Marcano (aka the Tiger) and the Lion. The sound, remastered for compact disc, is very good considering the age of the source material.


Tracklist:

1 –The Tiger  Sadu Man 3:02
2 –Lord Beginner, Atilla The Hun Young Girl's Touch 3:03
3 –Atilla The Hun Women Will Rule The World 2:58
4 –Atilla The Hun Vagaries Of Women 3:17
5 –King Radio Ribs 3:01
6 –Lord Beginner, Atilla The Hun Women Are Good And Women Are Bad 2:57
7 –The Lion Fall Of Man 2:53

8 –King Radio, The Lion (2), The Tiger Monkey 2:51
9 –King Radio Radio Fifty Wives 3:05
10 –King Radio Warning The Children Towards Mother 2:49
11 –The Executor Hold Up Black Bird Hold Up 2:52
12 –Atilla The Hun Friends 2:34
13 –Atilla The Hun Martiniquen 2:39
14 –The Lion , Atilla The Hun I Will String Along With You 2:59
15 –The Caresser Exploring 2:51
16 –The Growler Calypso Behind The Wall 2:53
17 –Atilla The Hun Not Me With Matrimony 3:07
18 –The Growler Only Foreigners 2:52
19 –The Lion  Malicious Neighbors 2:29
20 –Atilla The Hun Woman Is Not The Weaker Sex 2:53
21 –The Lion  Death 2:52
22 –The Growler Don't Hide Him Behind The Door 2:41
23 –Atilla The Hun If I Won A Sweepstake 3:03
24 –Mighty Destroyer Mother's Love 3:05
25 –King Radio Man Smart, Woman Smarter 3:03

VA - Fall Of Man - Calypsos On The Human Condition 1935-1941

(320 kbps, front cover included)

Karsten Troyke - Grüne Blätter

Karsten Troyke (born Karsten Bertolt Sellhorn on 14 August 1960 in Berlin) is a German singer of Jewish songs, as well as an actor and speaker.

Troyke was born to a non-Jewish mother and a Jewish father. He worked in various jobs: as a gardener and with cognitively challenged children. He studied singing (with Leonore Gendries) as well as drama and speaking, performing on stage since 1982.

In 1990 he gave up work to dedicate himself full-time to musical performance and theater. Troyke participated in radio plays, worked as a voice actor (dubbing), and appeared in various stage plays.
As a singer, his album Yiddish Anders (1992) received the praise of German record critics. Jidische vergessene Lieder (1997) contained previously unpublished songs of Sara Bialas Tenenberg, who became his mentor for the Yiddish language.

In his performances, Troyke worked with Bettina Wegner, Suzanna and the Trio Scho. His interpretations of the songs of Georg Kreisler received mention in the writer-musician's 2005 biography. In 2006, two documentaries, Yiddish Soul and Concert Yiddish Soul, featured Troyke, Shura Lipovsky, Myriam Fuks, and The KlezRoym.


Troyke holds workshops on interpretating Yiddish songs and teaches rare songs from his collection. He was a guest professor at the Jewish Music Institute of School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), London, at Carleton College Northfield (Minnesota) and at the summer school of Centre Medem, Paris.


Tracklist:

1	Furn Furt Men		2:05
2	Dus Kelbl		2:18
3	Unter Grattes		3:35
4	Grine Bletter		4:02
5	Shir Hanoded		3:46
6	Yiddisher Tango		4:15
7	Di Kurt		3:28
8	Hora Für Franka		4:42
9	La Casuta Dintre Gârle		3:03
10	Di Mesinke Oysgegebn		2:36
11	Gehat Hob Ich A Heym		3:53
12	Separacíon		2:07
13	I'm Crazy Far She		3:13
14	Abi Gesint		3:38
15	Di Necht Fîn Amul		2:08
16	A Retenish		3:57

Karsten Troyke - Grüne Blätter

(320 kbps, front cover included)

Malaria! - Emotion (1982, vinyl rip)

Malaria was a great postwave band from berlin, founded by five German women, making music together from 1981-1983.

"In the depths of January 1981, BETTINA KOESTER and GUDRUN GUT stepped from the smoldering ashes of their previous band MANIA D shouldering the yoke of a feverish new project they called MALARIA!. And with the release of the maxi EP "Malaria!" in April that year, the fever spread. The band filled out to include MANON P. DUURSMA, NL ("O.U.T." an early Nina Hagen project), CHRISTINE HAHN, USA (Static, Glen Branca) and SUSANNE KUHNKE, BRD (Die Haut) absorbing their diverse backgrounds and personalities and grew. A first European tour followed during which they appeared on a John Peel session for the BBC and later recorded the single "How do you like my new dog?" for the Belgium label Les Disques du Crepuscule. Malaria toured the US next appearing with The Birthday Party, John Cale, and one unforgettable gig together with Nina Hagen in New York's infamous Studio 54 night club. This tour was the first that promoted New German Music in the United States. Meanwhile Malaria recorded the 12" "New York Passage (Your turn to run)" for Cachalot records which went on to reach the independent top 10 in the U.S. as well as in Europe. During another tour of Europe the band gave birth to "White Water" a 12" long player including "Kaltes Klares Wasser" which went on to become an Indi-classic. In 1982 Malaria released to critical acclaim their first album, "Emotion". It was licensed to Nippon Columbia in Japan and the video "Geld/Money" (directed by B.Buehler and D.Hormel) won prizes for its innovative editing style. Tours of England, France, Benelux, Italy and Scandinavia followed." (from: http://www.myspace.com/malariaberlin)


Tracklisting:

A1. Geld - Money (4:00)
A2. Leidenschaft - Passion (3:55)
A3. Eifersucht - Jealousy (3:09)
A4. Einsam - Lonesome (2:55)
A5. Macht - Power (3:30)

B1. Tod - Death (3:55)
B2. Mensch (2:40)
B3. Slave (3:33)
B4. Traum - Dream (3:55)
B5. Gewissen (3:10)

Malaria - Emotion (1982)
(192 kbps, cover art included)

John Prine - Sweet Revenge (1973)

John Prine's third album is louder and more jaded than his first efforts, a set of rowdy country-rockers that tear along at a reckless speed. Sympathy takes a back seat to cynicism here, and while that strips the record of some depth, Prine's irreverence is consistently thrilling, making this one of his best. 

It's not as uniformly brilliant as the debut, but it did steer his music in a new direction -- where that record is often hallmarked for its rich sensitivity, "Sweet Revenge" established cynicism as Prine's dominant voice once and for all. Although he could still crank out a great ballad when he felt like it, from now on his records largely followed a more conventional rock & roll muse, a choice that eventually gained him more mainstream attention. "Please Don't Bury Me," "Christmas in Prison," "Blue Umbrella," and "A Good Time" are a few of the jewels on this one.

The album cover is a far cry from the somewhat naive portraits of the singer on his first two LPs: a bearded, denim-clad Prine - wearing sunglasses and pointy-toed cowboy boots, a cigarette jutting from his lips - sprawls across the leather front seats of a 1959 Porsche convertible, the "first toy" the singer purchased with his record company money.

Tracklist:

Sweet Revenge 2:58

Please Don't Bury Me 2:47

Christmas In Prison 3:09

Dear Abby 4:10

Blue Umbrella 3:01

Often Is A Word I Seldom Use

Onomatopoeia 2:18

Grandpa Was A Carpenter 2:11

The Accident (Things Could Be Worse) 3:22

Mexican Home 4:39

A  Good Time 3:30

Nine Pound Hammer 3:07

John Prine - Sweet Revenge (1973)

(320 kbps, cover art included)

Joni Mitchell - Philadelphia Folk Festival 1968 (Bootleg)

On August 1968 Joni Mitchell played at the Philadelphia Folk Festival at Old Pool Farm, Upper Salford Township.

"PHILADELPHIA - Folk artists Odetta, Phil Ochs, Oscar Brand, Bonnie Dobson, Doc Watson, Joni Mitchell, the Beers Family, Bill Monroe and the Bluegrass Boys will appear with more than 25 other acts at the seventh annual Philadelphia Folk Festival, Aug. 23 to 25.

The festival is held out-of-doors at Old Pool Farm, Upper Salford Township, Montgomery County, PA. There major concerts, one each evening, highlight the festival which also includes daytime workshops, seminars, contests, dance sessions and a children's concert.

The festival, staged annually by the Philadelphia Folksong Society, also lists such attractions as Henry Crowdog, and American Indian dancer; Son House, one of the last of the authentic Mississippi Delta singers; Irish balladeer Joe Heaney; Norman Kennedy, a Scots balladeer and one of the weavers in colonial Williamsburg; Hedge and Donna, an inter-racial singing duet; the Young Adult Choir of the First Baptist Church in Darby, PA; and the Young Tradition, a mod English group singing updated traditional music." - from Camden Courier-Post, July 20, 1968    

Tracklist:

01. That Song About The Midway
02. Cactus Tree
03. Chelsea Morning
04. Both Sides Now
05. Circle Game / Little Green

Joni Mitchell - Philadelphia Folk Festival 1968 (Bootleg)
(320 kbps, front cover included)

Malaria! - Beat The Distance (1984)

This all-woman quintet from the early 80s Berlin cranked out some of the most innovative, catchy and experimental dark wave gothic electronica ever made. "Malaria!" was founded after the demise of "Mania D" by Bettina Koester and Gudrun Gut along with several others from the scene. Fans of "Cocteau Twins" and early industrial projects such as "Cabaret Voltaire", "Throbbing Gristle" and "Suicide" should at least like some if not all of what "Malaria!" has to offer.

The Malaria! 12" EP "Beat The Distance!" with 7 tracks was produced by Michael Hönig (Berlin) and John Hanti (New York). It was released on Rebel Rec. in 1984.

"You You" (A1) was recorded in New York at Song Shop Studio, 1983, "Jealousy" live at Washington D.C. "You You" (B1), "Meeting Place" and "Thrash Me" were recorded at Hansa Studio, Berlin. "Lone Some" was recorded live at Sektor, Berlin 1982 and "Tod" live at the Berlin Atonal Festival  1982, SO36.

Malaria! - Beat The Distance (1984) (192 kbps, cover art included)

Joan Baez - Gracias A La Vida (1974)

Despite her Latin heritage, Joan Baez probably wouldn't have been encouraged by her 1960s record label, the New York-based independent Vanguard, to sing an entire album in Spanish. At A&M Records, the Los Angeles firm co-founded by Herb Alpert that she joined in the early '70s, however, it would have been a different story, and it was A&M that released "Gracias a la Vida" ("Here's to Life") in 1974.

Baez demonstrates an affinity for Mexican folk music on such obvious choices as "Cucurrucucu Paloma," but it's no surprise that, a year after the assassination of leading nueva canción folksinger Victor Jara in a military coup in Chile, an atrocity that shocked the American folk community, she has not backed away from her political commitments. There is "Guantanamera," a song that may have been a Top Ten U.S. hit for the Sandpipers in 1966, but that has political implications, as Pete Seeger has been reminding listeners for more than a decade. There is a Spanish version of "We Shall Not Be Moved" ("No Nos Moveran") with a lengthy spoken introduction. There are songs like "El Preso Numero Nueve" ("Prisoner Number Nine"; repeated from 1960's "Joan Baez") and "Esquinazo del Guerrillero" ("The Guerillas Serenade"). And, inevitably, there is a song of Jara's, "Te Recuerdo Amanda" ("I Remember You Amanda"), which the slain singer wrote for his mother. But then there is also "Dida," a wordless duet with Joni Mitchell. Throughout, 

Baez demonstrates her mastery of Spanish singing over authentic arrangements while attempting to stir up her Spanish-speaking listeners just as she does their English-speaking compatriots.


Tracklist:

"Gracias a la Vida" (Here's to Life) (Violeta Parra)
"Llegó Con Tres Heridas" (He Came with Three Wounds) (From a poem by Miguel Hernández, musicalized by Joan Manuel Serrat)
"La Llorona" (The Weeping Woman) (Traditional)
"El Preso Número Nueve" (Prisoner Number Nine) (Los Hermanos Cantoral)
"Guantanamera" (Joseíto Fernández, José Martí, adapted by Julián Orbón)
"Te Recuerdo Amanda" (I Remember You Amanda) (Víctor Jara)
"Dida" (Joan Baez)
"Cucurrucucú Paloma" (T. Méndez)
"Paso Río" (I Pass a River) (Traditional)
"El Rossinyol" (The Nightingale) (Traditional Catalan song)
"De Colores" (In Colors) (Traditional)
"Las Madres Cansadas" (All the Weary Mothers of the Earth) (J. Baez)
"No Nos Moverán" (We Shall Not Be Moved) (Traditional)
"Esquinazo Del Guerrillero" (Guerilla Warrior's Serenade) (Rolando Alarcón/Fernando Alegría)

Joan Baez - Gracias A La Vida (1974)
(320 kbps, cover art included)

Malaria! - New York Passage (1982, 12" )

Malaria was a group of five German women, together from 1981-1983: Bettina Köster, Christine Hahn, Gudrun Gut, Manon Duursma and Susanne Kuhnke. This art-punk band from Berlin featues ex- members of MANIA D, DIN-A-TESTBILD, LIEBESGIER, EINSTÜRZENDE NEUBAUTEN, LUXUS and O.U.T.

In 1982, Malaria toured the US next appearing with The Birthday Party, John Cale, and one unforgettable gig together with Nina Hagen in New York's infamous Studio 54 night club. This tour was the first that promoted New German Music in the United States. Meanwhile Malaria recorded their second 12" "New York Passage (Your turn to run)" for Cachalot records which went on to reach the independent top 10 in the U.S. as well as in Europe.


Tracklist:

A	Your Turn To Run (I WIll Be Your Only One)	4:11
B1	Zarah	3:20
B2	Duschen	4:14

 


Malaria! - New York Passage (1982, 12")
(320 kbps, cover art included)

Anne Briggs - Classic Anne Briggs - The Complete Topic Recordings (1990)

A painfully shy person in front of an audience, Anne's singing was hypnotic and from all accounts had a profound influence on other UK folk notables such as June Tabor, Maddy Prior and Sandy Denny. Sandy's song The Pond and the Stream (track 7, Fotheringay album) was inspired by Anne Briggs:
Annie wanders on the land
She loves the freedom of the air....

Anne was shy of her own recordings. She "delayed" the release of her 1974 recordings with the impromptu group Ragged Robin for a mere 22 years. (Sing a Song For You - 1996).

"Classic Anne Briggs" is the Anne Briggs motherlode, encompassing her four original 1963-1971 EPs and sole LP recorded for the Topic label. This music is mainly a capella, though some tracks have sparse instrumental arrangements.

Tracks
1 The Recruited Collier
2 The Doffing Mistress
3 Lowlands Away
4 My Bonny Boy
5 Polly Vaughan
6 Rosemary Lane
7 Gathering Rushes
8 The Whirly Whorl
9 The Stonecutter Boy
10 Martinmas Time
11 Blackwaterside
12 The Snow It Melts the Soonest
13 Willie O' Winsbury
14 Go Your Way
15 Thorneymoor Woods
16 The Cuckoo
17 Reynardine
18 Young Tambling
19 Living by the Water
20 My Bonny Lad

Anne Briggs - Classic Anne Briggs
(320 kbps, cover art included)

Here is the link to a rare interview, in which Anne Briggs talks to Alexis Petridis about her 'lost classic' folk album - and why she has hardly sung a note for 34 years

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2007/aug/03/folk.shopping1

Grace Slick & The Great Society ‎– Collector's Item From The San Francisco Scene / Live At The Matrix

Before joining Jefferson Airplane, Grace Slick sang lead and played various instruments for the Great Society, who were nearly as popular as Jefferson Airplane in the early days of the San Francisco psychedelic scene. Instrumentally, the Great Society were not as disciplined as Airplane. But they were at least their equals in imagination, infusing their probing songwriting with Indian influences, minor key melodic shifts, and groundbreaking, reverb-soaked psychedelic guitar by Slick's brother-in-law, Darby Slick. Darby was also responsible for penning "Somebody to Love," which Grace brought with her to Airplane, who took it into the Top Five in 1967. The Great Society broke up in late 1966 after recording only one locally released single; after Jefferson Airplane became stars, Columbia issued this stunning live album of the Great Society performing at San Francisco's Matrix Club in 1966 (also released as "Collector´s Edition").

This album did not break any sales-records, but it contains splendid and psychedelic performances of the later hits "White Rabbit" and "Somebody To Love". Grace Slick proved herself a talented singer: She attempted to imitate the sound of an electric guitar and developed a unique and forceful singing style. "Sally Go Round The Roses" with it's extended instrumental-passage, is an example of what would later come from groups like Iron Butterfly.

Grace has always said that "White Rabbit" was intended as a slap toward parents who read their children stories such as Alice in Wonderland (in which Alice uses several drug-like substances in order to change herself) and then wondered why their children grew up to do drugs. For Grace and others in the '60s, drugs were an inevitable part of mind-expanding and social experimentation. With its enigmatic lyrics, "White Rabbit" became one of the first songs to sneak drug references past censors on the radio. Even Marty Balin, Grace's eventual rival in the Airplane, regarded the song as a "masterpiece."

The historical importance of this genuine live-document can´t be overestimated.


Tracklist:

Sally Go 'Round The Roses 6:32
Didn't Think So 3:23
Grimly Forming 3:54
Somebody To Love 4:28
Father Bruce 3:31
Outlaw Blues 2:28
Often As I May 3:43
Arbitration 4:59
White Rabbit 6:15
That's How It Is 2:39
Darkly Smiling 3:08
Nature Boy 3:10
You Can't Cry 2:58
Daydream Nightmare 4:34
Everybody Knows 2:37
Born To Be Burned 3:13
Father 6:35


Grace Slick & The Great Society ‎– Collector's Item From The San Francisco Scene / Live At The Matrix
(320 kbps, cover art included)

Schmetterlinge - Verdrängte Jahre - Jura Soyfer (Eigelstein, 1981)

Jura Soyfer (December 8, 1912. Kharkov, Russian Empire – February 15/16, 1939, Buchenwald concentration camp, Germany) was an important Austrian political journalist, socialist and cabaret writer.

Jura Soyfer was the son of the industrialist Vladimir Soyfer and his wife Lyubov. In 1921, the family fled from the Bolshevist revolution and arrived in the town of Baden near Vienna. They later moved to Vienna. At the age of 15, Soyfer began studying socialist writings and became a staunch Marxist. In 1927, he joined the Verband der Sozialistischen Mittelschüler. His early experience with languages meant that Soyfer soon developed a feeling and love for language and wordplay. In 1929, this led to his becoming a member of the Politischen Kabarett der Sozialdemokraten (Political Cabaret of the Social Democrats) where he gained his first experience in writing for the stage.
From December 1931, Soyfer wrote two weekly political satires, one in the Arbeiter-Zeitung (Workers' Newspaper) and the other in the social-democratic weekly Der Kuckuck (The Cuckoo). He also wrote two articles for the Politische Bühne (Political Stage, a socialist newspaper connected to the Red Players group of actors). These demanded that theatre become more politicised, and that it should stop producing mere distraction and entertainment. In this respect Soyfer approaches Bertolt Brecht's "epic theatre".
Soyfer also satirised the key authoritarian figures of the Austrofascist (1933/4 to 1938) period like Engelbert Dollfuß,, Ernst Rüdiger Starhemberg and Kurt Schuschnigg.
In August 1935, through the writer and theatre critic Hans Weigel, Soyfer was introduced to Leon Askin, an actor and director at Vienna's popular "ABC Theatre", a political cabaret. This is where most of Soyfer's pieces were later performed.
In 1937, Soyfer was mistaken for Franz Marek (a leader of the Communist Party of Austria) and arrested. When it was discovered that Soyfer himself had also written incriminatory pieces, he was imprisoned for three months. On February 17, 1938, he was freed as part of an amnesty for political prisoners. He remained freed for only 26 days. On March 13, 1938, he was arrested as he tried to cross the Austrian border at St. Antonien Joch above Gargellen into Switzerland. He was later transported to Dachau concentration camp. Here, Soyfer met the composer Herbert Zipper, and together they wrote the famous Dachaulied, the "Dachau song", which cynically took up the Nazi motto "Arbeit macht frei" ("work liberates"), written above the entrance to such camps.
In the autumn of that year, Soyfer was transferred to Buchenwald concentration camp where he died of typhus the day after his release was granted, February 16, 1939.
His remains were sent to the United States and are buried at the Hebrew Free Burial Association's Mount Richmond Cemetery.

Soyfer's first work, Der Weltuntergang oder Die Welt steht auf kein' Fall mehr lang ("The End of the World", or "The world is certainly not going to last much longer") was first performed in the early summer of 1936; the last performance took place only a short time later on 11 July 1936. It shows humanity before the Apocalypse, the destruction of the world by a comet - the violent repression of the revolutionary masses and the blindness of the people waiting for the end of the world. In the end, the comet does not find the heart to destroy the world, which gives the play a positive ending, but also underlines the frustrating incorrigibility and stupidity of human beings.
His second work, Der Lechner Edi schaut ins Paradies (translated into English as "Journey to Paradise") depicts an unemployed person who sets off to find those guilty for his distress in the past, with the help of a time machine. Eventually he discovers that the cause for his condition is the creation of humanity. The play ends, however, with a call to people to make decisions, including political ones. In this way, Soyfer connects pathos with the typical element of cabaret, political criticism.
Soyfer's third play is Astoria, a reaction to the problematic use of the word Vaterland which had been discussed in Austria since 1918. "Astoria" is a non-existent land which is the focus of the hopes and aspirations of the characters in the play. Their utopic dreams are constantly destroyed by reality. This point is made clearly at the end of the play by a song of praise the actors sing about the country when they are actually being sent to prison.
In 1937 Soyfer wrote Vineta. In this piece he leaves behind traditional Austrian theatre and portrays absurd actions and speech which lead irretrievably to downfall and destruction. The protest against facts which are seen as unchangeable, and the idea of "not wanting to know" are both themes of the play. Vineta is a warning against war and against illusions which are created to suppress people.
Soyfer also wrote Broadway Melodie 1942 for the "ABC Theatre". It is an adaptation of Columbus by Kurt Tucholsky and Walter Hasenclever. Soyfer kept the original satire of the clergy and court society, but his political criticism of society is far more radical. The way the play sees events from the point of view of the lower classes makes it a classic piece of Volkstheater Wien (Austrian popular theatre); it becomes clear that, in the imagination of the playwright, the lower classes of society are actually superior to the upper classes (or at least should be).
During his imprisonment from 1937-1938, Soyfer began writing another play which was to be about Adolf Hitler. Nothing has survived of these drafts.

The first verse of the Dachaulied, the "Dachau song":

Stacheldraht, mit Tod geladen, ist um unsre Welt gespannt. Drauf ein Himmel ohne Gnaden sendet Frost und Sonnenbrand. Fern von uns sind alle Freuden, fern die Heimat, fern die Fraun, wenn wir stumm zur Arbeit schreiten, Tausende im Morgengraun. Doch wir haben die Losung von Dachau gelernt und wurden stahlhart dabei: Sei ein Mann, Kamerad, bleib ein Mensch, Kamerad, mach ganze Arbeit, pack an, Kamerad, denn Arbeit, Arbeit macht frei!

Barbed wire, loaded with death is drawn around our world. Above a sky without mercy sends frost and sunburn. Far from us are all joys, far away our home, far away our wives, when we march to work in silence thousands of us at the break of day. But we have learned the motto of Dachau and it made us as hard as steel: Be a man, mate, stay a man, mate, do a good job, get to it, mate, for work, work makes you free!

Jura Soyfer's intent was not to present any complete solutions or conclusions: he believed that the problems he presented could only be solved in real life, in actual protest. His plays destroy illusions and call upon us to change society in its present form. He himself saw his own plays as a means for propaganda with a direct connection to the times in which he lived.
Soyfer's plays were published as a collection for the first time in 1974 thanks to the work of members of the organisation of exiled Austrians in England, "Young Austria". This took his works out of their original context and gave them a larger application: they were presented, for example, as timeless criticisms of the society of the communist GDR.
The "Schmetterlinge" was an Austro-pop band with politically-critical lyrics, formed in 1969. In the year 1980 they created "Verdrängte Jahre", a production for the festival "Wiener Festwochen" with lyrics by Jura Soyfer. The album with the same titel was recorded in 1981 and released on the "Eigelstein" label.

Tracks:
1 Lied von der Ordnung 2:14
2 Die Mühlen der Gerechtigkeit / Lied der Justiz 3:06
3 Vertrauenskundgebung für Herrn Fey 3:02
4 Kapitalistischer Segensspruch 2:30
5 Wenn der Himmel grau wird 2:10
6 Zeitungsmeldungen 3:05
7 Matuska spricht 1:23
8 Geh 'ma halt a bisserl unter 1:26
9 Uralte Silversterlegende / 10 Tage Neues Jahr 2:13
10 Sturmzeit 2:47
11 Song des Guck 2:06
12 Wanderlied 2:26
13 Schlaflied für ein Ungeborenes 1:41
14 Galgenfrist bewilligt 1:52
15 Lied des einfachen Menschen 2:19
16 Dachau-Lied 3:45 

Schmetterlinge - Verdrängte Jahre - Jura Soyfer (1981)
(192 kbps, cover art included)

VA - Folklore International - X. Weltfestspiel der Jugend 1973 (Eterna)

Scholars often depict the 1973 World Festival of Youth and Students - or, more colloquially, the Red Woodstock- as a momentary “departure” or “break” from everyday life, when the German Democratic Republic (GDR) briefly opened its borders to the youth of the world. Similarly, they suggest that, when the festival's nine days of festivities came to an end, the “pathos of revolution” disappeared just as quickly as it had come about, resulting in a return to the restraints of everyday life behind the “Iron Curtain.” By contrast we can reconceptualize the Red Woodstock as a moment of globalized influences and youth engagement that not only reflected shifting societal norms, but also the East German state's commitment to international socialist solidarity. Soviet theorist Mikhail Bakhtin’s work on the “upside-down” nature of the carnival, as well as on society’s “grotesque body,” is useful in this regard, as it sets in sharp relief the extent to which one of the East German state’s greatest challenges resulted from its own embrace of international socialism. This was the case as young people from the GDR and beyond transformed the East German capital through a subtle appropriation, transformation, and even subversion of the state-generated discourse on international solidarity, in ways that had a lasting effect during the late socialist period.

"Folklore International" is a compilation with recordings by Miriam Makeba, Inti-Illimani, Quinteto Tiempo and others.


VA - Folklore International - X. Weltfestspiel der Jugend 1973 (Eterna)

(192 kbps, cover art included)

Miriam Makeba - The Voice Of Africa (1964)

Throughout her time as a concert singer in 1960s America Miriam Makeba was promoted as the embodied voice of a sonic, imagined Africa. Where her white audiences were attracted to the complete ‘‘otherness’’ of her African blackness, her black American audiences saw themselves – or imagined versions of themselves – put on stage, and built solidarities between their own struggle and the struggle against apartheid.

The Voice of Africa is the 1964 fourth album of Miriam Makeba issued by RCA Victor. It charted at #122 on the US album chart.


Tracklist:

A1 Nomthini 1:51
A2 Willow Song 2:45
A3 Langa More 2:20
A4 Shihibolet 1:49
A5 Tuson 1:58
A6 Qhude 2:40
B1 Mayibuye 2:45
B2 Lovely Lies 2:42
B3 Uyadela 2:30
B4 Mamoriri 1:40
B5 Le Fleuve 2:00
B6 Come To Glory 2:30


Miriam Makeba - The Voice Of Africa (1964)
(320 kbps, cover art included)

Huah! - Scheiß Kapitalismus

Some years ago Huah! entitled their debut-album "Was machen Huah! jetzt?" ("What are Huah! doing now?“). The band, including the singer Knarf Rellöm und Bernadette La Hengst, who both had solo careers since the end of Huah!, saw a reunion and a re-release of their albums in the last year.

Huah! were found in the early 1990s by Frank Möller aka Knarf Rellöm, maybe the smartest clown of the inherently smart music scene in Hamburg. They are legends and were pace-setters for the Hamburger Schule musical current, but they dissolved fairly early and are only now becoming popular again.

Huah!s blend of punk and soul, of heart and blood, of dialectics and infatuation was and is everfresh anyway.

As a little anti-capitalist contribution here´s "Scheiß Kapitalismus" by Huah!

Tracklist:

1	Bauer auf dem Parkdeck	4:30
2	Ohne Titel	3:01
3	Mein Baby verließ mich	5:27
4	Hallo Paul	2:58
5	Eine Rockband fällt über eine Kleinstadt her	4:49
6	Etwas Besseres	6:45
7	Ich war dein Auto	4:01
8	Sigmund-Freud-Song	4:32
9	Fremder Planet	3:59
10	Lied vom ins Kino Gehen	2:48
11	Bonus Track	4:26

Huah! - Scheiß Kapitalismus
(256 kbps, cover art included)

VA - Politische Lieder - X. Weltfestspiele Der Jugend Und Studenten · Berlin 1973 · Hauptstadt Der DDR (Eterna, 1973)

In the summer of 1973, East Germany hosted a much anticipated socialist youth festival, the tenth World Festival of Youth and Students, which many subsequently referred to more simply as the Red Woodstock. Under the banner of “anti-imperialist solidarity, peace, and friendship,” the festival in East Berlin convened twenty-five thousand international participants, as well as hundreds of thousands of East German youths and guests, for nine days of music performances, art exhibitions, sports events, and political seminars—all in the name of international socialism. 

Yet, in looking back at the events, participants and scholars alike would cast the festival as a “break” or momentary rupture from the everyday realities of really existing socialism.

Ina Merkel, a young attendee who became a scholar of East German cultural studies, later reflected: “I think that afterwards everything was as before … I believe that, for the young people who had taken part in it, it had been a very important experience in their lives. And, for them, a return to normality meant an awakening, also back to the restrictive situation. So they woke up again; they became depathologized again, i.e., the pathos of the revolution was gone.” In recognizing the Red Woodstock as a singular moment embodying young people's international revolutionary zeal, Merkel points to its significance as an aberration rather than as a reflection of East German everyday life. Her comment reflects a common sentiment—namely, that the “revolutionary pathos” that the festival engendered might be understood as antithetical to the state socialist project.

"Politische Lieder" is a collection of original live recordings from the Weltfestspiel in Berlin.

Tracklist:

A1 –Quinteto Tiempo / Agitprop / Oktoberklub Berlin - El Pueblo Unido
A2 –Oktoberklub Berlin - Wir sind überall
A3 –Quinteto Tiempo - El Rio Está Llamando
A4 –Avantis - Ruce
A5 –Agitprop und Trio des KOM-Theaters - Väliamerikka
A6 –Agitprop - Olen Kommunisti
A7 –Pesnjari - Ballade Vvm Komsomolzenausweis
B1 –Inti Illimani - Venceremos (Hymne der Unidad Popular)
B2 –Il Contemporaneo - Bella Ciao
B3 –Dieter Süverkrüp - Konzertierte Aktion
B4 –Claude Reva - Paris - La Provence
B5 –Fria Proteatern - Hoch soll sie leben, die werte freie Forschung
B6 –Renft - Lied auf den Weg (sorry, missing!)

VA - Politische Lieder - X. Weltfestspiele Der Jugend Und Studenten · Berlin 1973 · Hauptstadt Der DDR (Eterna, 1973)

(ca. 192 kbps, cover art included, B6 is missing)

VA - Umsonst & Draussen - Vlotho 1977

This album features live recordings from the "Umsonst & Draußen Festival 1977" in the German city Vlotho. The festival took place July 1 - 3, 1977.

Tracklist:

1. Molle - The Joker 4:30
2. Hammerfest - Jung Siegfried 5:35
3. ES - Today 5:15
4. Checkpoint Charlie - Ausschnitt aus der Geschichte von Herrn Müller 3:55
5. Julius Schittenhelm - Drei Orchideen 3:30
6. Munju - Patscha Menga Underground 8:48
7. Moira - Improvisationen 6:15
8. Funky Bone & The Gang - Higher 7:30
9. Embryo - Getalongwithasong 6:40
10. Real Ax Band - Move Your Ass in Time 5:40
11. Skyline - The Journey 7:49
12. Sadja - Daka Dhin 2:30
13. Einhorn - Einhorn Thema 5:55
14. ES - Fee Forever 1:30
15. Missus Beastly - For Flü 7:28
16. Release Music Orchestra - Sonntag 6:25
17. Ihr - Give Peace a Chance 1:27

"1) Gets things off on the wrong foot with an awful cover of the Steve Miller Band classic complete with harmonica leads. Don't know Molle and don't need to. OK, looks like they managed an album called "Kotten". Next...

2) Hammerfest are obviously a core band of the festival, and the April/Schneeball kollektiv. This group has proven hit and miss so far, and I'm ignorant of their actual albums, so what do we get this time? We get the good Hammerfest, where music comes first. Here they show their hand at a more sophisticated progressive blues rock style, with some nice organ and guitar work. Even the vocals are soft focused and not offensive as would normally be the case. Hey, the crowd liked it too!

3) Well, lookee here. I've got a copy of ES' "Wham Bang" album, which is actually not bad at all. ES is made up of members of Tomorrow's Gift and their follow-on group Release Music Orchestra (who are also at this festival). With the funky fusion sounds and female vocals, it appears ES are heavily influenced by Embryo's "Bad Heads and Bad Cats" album as well as The Real Ax Band. 14) is a short thrown in, a harmless female vocal lead piece. Not sure why they felt obligated to toss this in.

4) Checkpoint Charlie are the very definition of politrock. I've had a couple of their albums in the past and they mix complex aggressive punk rock with virulent lyrics. Similar to fellow Germans Oktober. Almost like the Cardiacs but even more angry. Here we pretty much have a spoken word (in German) entry with some nice fusion moves underneath. It would be interesting to hear Checkpoint Charlie with an instrumental album. But that's not what they're about...

5) Features the former Ohr record producer. Even before Dieter Dirks was doing the insane knob twiddling in Berlin, Schittenhelm was phasing bands like Annexus Quam through the hazy fields of madness. As an artist, Schittenhelm is a folk singer - hey, gotta throw a bone to the masters once in awhile and keep them happy.

6) Second year in a row for one of Schneeball's most stalwart bands. As with the '76 concert, Munju covers another track from their debut "High Speed Kindergarten". Here they add an extended percussion sequence as a prequel. Munju were near the top tier of Kraut fusion bands of the era, perhaps slightly behind only Embryo, Missus Beastly and Moira.

7) And speaking of Moira, here's their first appearance on one of these compilations. No points for figuring out this is a loose jam. A quite good one with freaky guitar, flute solos and a driving rhythm. Both of their albums are well worth seeking out. Hopefully one of the great German labels will see fit to reissue them in the near future.

8) Funky Bone & the Gang. I wonder what style of music they'll play? This is their only appearance and not sure if they're related to 1975's The Jack Bone Group. Well they don't sound like they are anyway. Despite the funky disposition, this is pretty tight, with some good sax charts and a little wailing as well. Plenty of guitar soloing thrown in for good measure. Another band I'd like to hear more of.

9) Is the requisite Embryo appearance. They are certainly the "name" band in these festivals and they let absolutely no one down. This is a track that would show up on "Apo Calypso" but in an extended 14 minutes form at that point. Garden of Delights has announced their intention to release Embryo's entire Umsonst concert on CD.

10) Is the title track to Real Ax Band's sole album. They catch a groove early and run with it. If you're unfamiliar with this band, I highly recommend the CD that came out about a decade ago. Definitely recommended to fans of Embryo's "Bad Heads and Bad Cats" and both feature Maria Archer, a superb female vocalist from Ghana.

11) Skyline is back for their second appearance in a row. Again, their live material is far superior to their rather static studio LP. Like the '76 song, this track was also added by GoD on the CD release of "Louise For One Night". I would love hearing these concerts in full, rather than these two snippets.

12) Sadja are an Indian acoustic offshoot of Embryo, and foreshadows their later world fusion efforts that they would pursue more steadfastly in the 1980 and beyond.

13) For me, Einhorn was the big revelation of the 1976 concert. Here, they get a bit more fast and loose with the structure, and there's plenty of unhinged free blow. Though I was a bit unimpressed with this piece, I'd still be most curious if the group has any tapes in storage waiting to be reissued.

15) The other big hitter in the Schneeball lineup along with Embryo, is of course my pet fave group Missus Beastly. This is a track that would show up on their superb "Spaceguerilla",and is a fine representation of their infectious and complex progressive fusion sound.

16) Release Music Orchestra is a relative big name, and this is their first appearance for the free concerts. Only Kraan is missing at this point! Here, they offer a slow and atmospheric jazz piece.

17) is a crowd chant to close the album out.

This set features more released material than prior ones, but overall is still quite good!"

(Review from: http://unencumberedmusicreviews.blogspot.com - thanks a lot!)

VA - Umsonst & Draussen - Vlotho 1977 
(320 kbps, cover art included)

VA - Vorwärts, nicht vergessen - Solidarität! (ETERNA, 1985)

Posted in March 2016:

The coming weekend will see elections to the state legislatures in three of Germany's 16 states - Baden-Württemberg, Rheinland-Pfalz and Sachsen-Anhalt.

Actual surveys suggest that the xenophobic party "AfD" may become the third strongest party in these elections.

The "AfD" is a dangerous party, promising "easy solutions" for "complex situations" - solutions that obviously don´t work.  Along with dissatisfied conservatives, the "AfD" has also become a catchment basin for right-wing extremists and anti-refugee, Islamophobic rabble-rousers. Increasingly, the party's existence, and growing popularity, is raising questions as to whether Germany has truly learned the lessons of World War II and the Nazi dictatorship. Lessons such as: xenophobia has no place in democracies; European values and laws are binding; the right to asylum is non-negotiable; and even people who cross borders illegally should not be shot at. The "AfD" is slowly becoming Germany's answer to the Front National in France: a xenophobic, chauvinistic, anti-European party.

The growing popularity of the AfD will change Germany´s political landscape and the political debate significantly - sadly not to the better! Many people in this country are worried about what will happen in the next months...

With this in mind we want to share a compilation with songs in a good democratic tradtion:

VA - Vorwärts, nicht vergessen - Solidarität! (ETERNA, 1985)
(192 kbps, cover art included)

VA - April ist Schneeball (1977)

Embryo, Missus Beastly, Sparifankal, Ton Steine Scherben and Julius Schittenhelm decided to take their fate into their own hands in 1976. Setting themselves clearly apart from the phonograph industry, they founded their own record company (APRIL Records) and cooperatively organized the distribution. “Music distributed by the musicians” was the primary guiding principle.
There were no European models to imitate, although the Filmverlag der Autoren [Authors’ Film Publishing Company] was surely groundbreaking at the beginning. Established several years previously, it had succeeded in marginally pushing back the market power of the Anglo-American media flood so the filmmakers who belonged to it could make a living for themselves.
The start of APRIL Records was extraordinarily successful and attracted much attention. After CBS threatened to take legal action, its name was changed to “Schneeball” [“Snowball”] in 1977. The situation was quite difficult, but samplers entitled “April ist Schneeball” [“April is Snowball”] enabled it to remain recognizable in the music and media landscapes. The name was chosen to express the energy in the center of the music spectrum and the expansion and development along its margins. Many others subsequently used APRIL Records as a model. Within a short time, numerous bands wanted to be part of it. (Other artists who published at Schneeball are Real Ax Band, Munju, Checkpoint Charlie, Moira, and Hammerfest.) An important cooperating partner for distribution via bookstores was the Trikont label “Unsere Stimme” [“Our Voice”], which had sprouted from Trikont Buchverlag [Trikont Book Publishing Company]. At the same time, the “Umsonst und draußen” [“Free and Outdoors”] festival movement developed as an organizational form for noncommercial music festivals. New labels were founded, including, for example, NO FUN, Zickzack, Eigelstein, Subup, and Trikont.

The distribution was taken over by EfA  (Energie für Alle) [Energy for Everyone] at the beginning of the 1980s. Schneeball Oper 1 und 2 [Snowball Operas 1 and 2] were developed as a new cooperative project by the musicians from the various bands. This showed that a mutual willingness existed to collaborate beyond the horizons of each individual band. The distribution structure became increasingly independent, but this autonomy unfortunately proved detrimental to the interests of the producing artists. Consequently, Efa and INDIGO Musikvertrieb [INDIGO Music Distribution] separated in 1992.

Schneeball’s most productive era was already over by the mid 1980s. The reasons were manifold. Ton Stein Scherben broke up. Rio Reiser began a solo career at Sony. At EMBRYO too, many years of collaboration among the musicians and composers Christian Burchard, Roman Bunka and Uve Müllrich came to an end after a trip to India – but not before the releases of the double LP “EMBRYO’s Reise” [“EMBRYO’s Trip”], a road movie, and a music documentary film “Vagabundenkarawane” [“Caravan of Vagabonds”] by Werner Penzel and Nico Humpert.
EMBRYO’s dissidents hived off, joined forces with Hartmut Bremer, and co-founded the EXIL [EXILE] label, likewise at INDIGO. Christian Burchard formed EMBRYO anew with different personnel. Sparifankal switched to a new label and a new distributor. A great die-off of the pioneering German bands began, and no one wept to see the trailblazers disappear. Punk, Neue deutsche Welle, disco: the audience’s orientations had changed.

Othmar Schreckeneder, EMBRYO’s producer since 1972, continued to publish audio recordings until the mid 1990s on the Schneeball label with EMBRYO and its guest musicians from diverse cultures and countries. He also published radio plays for Bayerischer Rundfunk [Bavarian Radio] (Ernst Jandl, Grace Yoon) and works by artists such as Eugen de Ryck, Chris Karrer, and Amon Düül II.
EMBRYO switched to Trikont, thus remaining under Indigo’s distribution. Only Schreckeneder continued to use the label for occasional new releases, e.g. Charlie Mariano with Rama Mani in 2005 or Peter Michael Hamel with Thomas Gundermann in 2014.

Schneeball was the trailblazer of the “Independent Label” movement, which conquered its place in the global music industry.

First issues of April/Schneeball:

• (0000) : Sparifankal - Bayernrock
• (0001) : Missus Beastly - Dr. Aftershave And The Mixed Pickles
• (0002) : Ton Steine Scherben - Wenn die Nacht am tiefsten ...
• (0003) : Embryo - Live
• (0004) : Julius Schittenhelm - Aristoteles
• (0005) : Embryo - Bad Heads And Bad Cats
• (0006) : Brühwarm Theater / Ton Steine Scherben - Mannstoll
• (0007) : Ton Steine Scherben - Keine Macht für Niemand
• (0008) : Ton Steine Scherben - Warum geht es mir so dreckig?
• (0009) : The Real Ax Band - nicht stehen bleiben, move your ass in time
• (0010) : Embryo - Apo Calypso
• (0011) : Missus Beastly - Space Guerrillia
• (0013) : APRIL ist SCHNEEBALL // sampler
• (0018) : Sparifankal - Huraxdax Drudnhax
• (0020) : Embryo - Embryo's Reise
• (0021) : Julius Schittenheim - Müllmutanten
• (0023) : Embryo - Live
• (2012) : Munju - Highspeed Kindergarten
• (2014) : Moira - Crazy Count Down
• (2015) : Checkpoint Charlie - Frühling, der Krüppel
• [2017) : Munju - Moon You
• (2019) : Checkpoint Charly - Die Durchsichtige
• (2022) : Munju - Brot & Spiele
• (2024) : Checkpoint Charly - Kravall im Schweinestall
• (3025) : Hammerfest - Hier bei uns
• (3026) : Hammerfest - Schleudertest
• (12-1035): Hammerfest - Dezente Elemente
• (ST-HFOO 1) : Hammerfest - An einem schönen Tag in Mai / Wir jagen diese Irren aus unserem Land
• (ASS1) : Elastic Rock Band - Faruks Traum
• (ASS3) : Unsonst und Draussen (sampler Vlotho' 76
• (ASS5) : Embryo - Anthology
• (ASS9) : Gebärväterli - In Tal der Emmen
• (MC-1) Dissident of Embryo (Compact Cassette)
• (nnnn) = historical distribution number
• additional : three live samplers : Vlotho - umsonst und draussen 1975 / 1976 / 1977
• (LC 5372) : Hammerfest - Schöne Grüße aus Hammerfest (first Schneeball CD (1991))

Here´s the sampler "April ist Schneeball" from 1977.

Tracklist:

01. Missus Beastly - Miles all along the watchtower
02. Munju - Kirschsuppe
03. Julius Schittenheim - Mondviecher
04. Checkpoint Charlie - Smogalarm
05. Embryo - Knast-Funk
06. Sparifankal - De Groskopfadn
07. Brühwarm-Theater - Ach müder Mann
08. Real Ax Band - Madwurszth gwiasda
09. Moira - Crazy count down
10. Ton, Steine, Scherben - Keine Macht für Niemand
11. Brühwarm-Theater - Tango

VA - April ist Schneeball (1977)

(256 kbps, cover art included)

Umsonst & Draußen - Vlotho 1975 (Maulschnauz MOL 0001, vinyl rip)

"Umsonst und Draussen" can be literally translated to "for free and outdoor". It was the starting point for uncounted festivals taking place in Germany furthermore provided with a self-organized, non-commercial and open-minded approach. Stylistically the 1970s were dominated by prog and prog-related bands, mainly offering a blend of jazz, psych and folk, which had a special experimental attitude. They questioned all conventions - today often categorized as krautrock. This represented those restless and rebellious times drawing from the former student uprisings and protests against the Vietnam War.

Surely inspired by the famous Woodstock festival the first ideas to offer music self-determined and free from any commercial goals came up around 1972 in the Herford/East Westphalia region and manifested in a one day event at Bünde. It is said that Norbert Hähnel (Der Wahre Heino) is responsible for the original label which is quite prominent nowadays.

Three years later (1975. 25th June) the first official "Umsonst und Draussen" festival took place at a stone quarry in Vlotho-Winterberg and developed to a German wide trademark during the following years. Up to now lots of festivals have been organized all over in Germany under this moniker trying to hold up the spirit of the past - based on donations and sponsoring.

It all began when HAMMERFEST, a young local blues rock band, searched for an easy way to offer their music to a wider audience. The idea to organize a (little) festival came up and they invited MISSUS BEASTLY and EMBRYO who already beared a quite famous name in the german alternative music scene.

A truck trailer was turned into a stage and surprisingly nearly 2.000 spectators came to this one day event. Other local matadors like JACK BONE GROUP (with Marlon Klein on drums) and JOHANNISLUST ORCHESTER contributed as well as ATZEN WEHMEYER, known as a former member of Missus Beastly.

In order to meet some costs a vinyl sampler was self-released (as for all following events until 1978 in the same way - today much sought-after items).

Tracklist:
01. HAMMERFEST - Lokomotive
02. MISSUS BEASTLY - Vloflutho
03. JACK BONE GROUP - Himalaya Erdbeernuss
04. EMBRYO - Sidetrack
05. ATZEN WEHMEYER - Arbeiterjugendblues
06. HAMMERFEST - That’s What I Say
07. BUTTERGASSE - Sonny
08. JOHANNISLUST ORCHESTER - In The Beginning

Umsonst & Draußen - Vlotho 1975
(256 kbps, cover art included)

VA - Rote Lieder - 13. Festival des politischen Liedes (1983)

This weekend we will have this years "Festival Musik und Politik".

So this gives cause for sharing the recordings from the 13th festival of political songs, which happened in february, 1983.

This album is a collection of live recordings by artist like Dick Gaughan, Sands Family, Letta M`Bulu, Inti-Illimani, Mikis Theodorakis and many more. The festival ended with a manifestation against the "NATO-Doppelbeschluss".

The "NATO Double-Track Decision" was a NATO strategie to offer the Warsaw Pact a mutual limitation of medium-range ballistic missiles and intermediate-range ballistic missiles combined with the threat that in case of disagreement NATO would deploy more middle-range nuclear weapons in Western Europe. This strategie was criticized by the strong peace movement of these years.

VA - 13. Festival des politischen Liedes (1983)
(256 kbps, cover art included)

VA - Umsonst & Draussen - Porta Westvlothica 1978

This album features recordings from the "Umsonst & Draussen" festival, which happenend August 25. to 27, 1978, at the Kiesgrupe in Porta Westfalica.

Here´s a track-by-track review from http://unencumberedmusicreviews.blogspot.com:

"1) No better way to open than with some electric sax in the Xhol Caravan, "Hot Rats" era Zappa sort of way. Excellent opener. This track came from Munju's "Moon You" album.

2) Out of Focus make their first festival appearance. One of the legendary bands from the early Krautrock era of 1970-1974. Out of Focus proved to have quite a bit of archival material as they have not only one, but two full CDs of studio music plus one live concert. But none of it extends as far as 1978, where the band was about to become Kontrast. And here they prove to be the veterans they are, with a superb piece, complete with a beautiful melody driven by the flute. I want to hear more of Out of Focus from this era!

3) is an unreleased track by the Embryo offshoot group Real Ax Band. This one is a slow burn, with a deep funk groove and wah wah guitar solos. The Barry White vocal attempt was.... not a good idea. Where's Ms. Archer? Vocals aside, I'd love to hear more of this session.

4) Don't know who Good Food is, but this is a really swell primarily instrumental Latin inspired fusion piece driven by some great rhythm work and Rhodes piano leads the solo and melody lines. At 7 minutes, this is also the longest piece on the entire 2 LP set. Definitely a band I'd like to know more about.

5) Schneeball/April heroes Embryo weigh in with a deep funk piece, also a bit of a slow burn similar to the Real Ax Band, with almost scat like vocals. A different sound from Embryo, but one I found highly appealing. Amazing guitar solo from Bunka. Maybe I'd be interested in Garden of Delights releasing this concert first - rather the '77 one!

6) Well, it was about time Aera showed up! Another "name" band, and by 1978, a group who already had a couple of albums under their belt. Oddly, they only featured a primarily percussion piece (excepting a few ensemble seconds at the end). Hardly representative of the band, who are fine progenitors of jazz fusion.

7) Mathea Wlömsk is another new name for me. I suppose it should be no surprise they are yet another fusion band. The driving bass and phased guitar solos recall the excellent obscure group Mosaik. I definitely want to hear more from this band!

8) Yet again, we hear a new group - High Crack. They are a bit more in the typical funky fusion genre that was all the rage in Germany at this time. A bit more generic than their festival peers - at least on this one piece. I'd still like to hear what else they have to offer.

10) Das Dritte Ohr have a few albums, of which I know nothing about. Here they provide an old time got-the-blues-real-bad-oh-yea-I-do complete with amplified harmonica. It's awful... next!

11) Hammerfest, as mentioned before, are one of the sponsors of the festival - so they of course get their space. They're a bit eclectic, and here they offer yet another got-the-blues-real-bad track - though at a faster pace than Das Dritte Ohr. OK, so they're a mover and shaker of the scene, what are you going to do? Next...

12) And here we have Molle, who started the 1977 album off inauspiciously. Contrary to that piece, the music here is quite good, dominated by a nice flute line and an excellent guitar solo. There's quite a bit of German vocals, which I suspect is politically motivated, but not sure.

13) And now for Germany's most prolific polit-rocker Checkpoint Charlie. Apparently an hilarious song about ecological destruction. And what says funny like left wing political Germans? OK, no fair, I'm not German (well, I am actually - but 3rd generation American...), so let's move on... next!

9) & 14) The Porta All-Stars is obviously a collective gathered for the concert. On the first track they present a sort of acoustic blues, with some nice flute, acoustic guitar and wordless voice. No Power for Nobody is what the second title translates to. IIRC, Ton Steine Scherben also had an album by that name. Yea, baby, ANARCHY RULES! Apparently we're in the midst of the hardcore polit-rock section of the LP. Next!

15) Uli Trepte's Spacebox is a big fave with my more avant minded music friends. For me, they leave a lot be desired. 'Tape Talk' is a track from their self-titled 1979 album. Pretty much mindless drivel as far as I'm concerned. OK, NEXT!!!

16) Producer and folk busker Schittenhelm pushed through another irrelevant track. NEXT!!

17) OK, back on solid ground with Airbreak, a funky fusion band with wah wah rhythm guitar driving the sax & guitar leads. A typical tropical and sunny sound dominates here. Probably not a group that would be overly special on LP, though I'd be interested in hearing more anyway. Not that much different than the High Crack group earlier in the album.

18) UMR's favorite Missus Beastly contributes an unreleased track, that if we were to go by name only would appear to be background music for a, ahem, "blue" film. In reality it's pretty much in the genre of all of MB's work, with a solid groove and great instrumentals provided by electric piano, guitar and flute. Definitely one of the highlight of the entire set.

19) The less said about Brühwarm the better.

Despite a great opening, the festival has clearly taken a turn for the political, at least on vinyl. My least favorite set of the 1975-1978 festivals.

Unfortunately this was the end of the classic era of the Umsonst and Draussen festivals on vinyl. The festival itself continues on to this day. There was one more album released in 1983, but it's a huge drop off in quality. Not only musically, at least for fans of the classic Kraut fusion sound like myself, but primarily the sound quality is awful. Which seems inexcusable, given the date - but alas it is what it is." 

Tracklist:

01. Munju - I feel so blue without you
02. Out of Focus - Sommer 58
03. Real Ax Band - Never never again
04. Good Food - Take it
05. Embryo - Wir sind alle politische Gefangene
06. Aera - Herr Siebert & die sieben Siebe
07. Mathea Wlömsk - Bahama Mama
08. Porta Westfalica Allstars -
09. Das Dritte Ohr - Don't use your spray
10. Hammerfest - Wilde Zeit
11. Molle & Co - Bildertraum
12. Checkpoint Charlie - Smogalarm
13. Porta Allstars - Keine Macht für Niemand
14. Spacebox - Tape talk
15. Julius Schlittenheim - Er dreht sich hinein ins Gehirn
16. Airbreak - Crossover
17. Missus Beastly - Porto Erotica
18. Brühwarm - Tango
19. Brühwarm - Fummelrock

VA - Umsonst & Draussen - Porta Westvlothica 1978 
(320 kbps, cover art included)

VA - Für antiimperialistische Solidarität, Frieden und Freundschaft - X. Weltfestspiele der Jugend und Studenten 1973 Berlin, Hauptstadt der DDR

Between July 28 and August, 5, 1973 the 10th World Festival of Youth and Students took place in East Berlin.

Under the motto "For Anti-Imperialist Solidarity, Peace and Friendship" over 25.000 international participants from 140 countries - including delegations from West Germany and West Berlin - visited the festival.

A claimed 750,000 young people from all over the world descend colourfully on the German Democratic Republic to show solidarity with those fighting imperialism in Vietnam, Palestine, Chile and elsewhere.

 As well as a lot of parades, music and dancing,  a visit to the memorial at the Buchenwald concentration camp, a tribute ceremony to Soviet soldiers killed liberating Europe from Fascism, and a lot of discussion events were elements of the fetival schedule.

For many former-East Germans who were teenagers or young adults at the time of the festival, the event is recalled as a time of real openness in which the stringent social controls normally in place were suspended, if only briefly. Participants’ reminiscences are filled with stories of partial nakedness in public fountains, camping at the foot of the Berlin TV tower and trysts with exotic visitors in city parks. These sorts of behaviours would normally not have garnered just a wink and a nod from the "Volkspolizei", but the accounts of the event suggest that authorities, eager to leave a good impression, largely left participants to themselves.

You can watch a documentary film in english languag about the festival on http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/services/library/mrc/explorefurther/filmvideo/worldfestival/.

The album "Für antiimperialistische Solidarität, Frieden und Freundschaft - X. Weltfestspiele der Jugend und Studenten 1973 Berlin, Hauptstadt der DDR" features tracks by Franz Josef Degenard,
Hanns Dieter Hüsch, Fasia Jansen, Dietrich Kittner, Dieter Süverkrüp, Hanns Ernst Jäger, Floh De Cologe and others.

VA - Für antiimperialistische Solidarität, Frieden und Freundschaft - X. Weltfestspiele der Jugend und Studenten 1973 Berlin, Hauptstadt der DDR
(192 kbps, cover art included)

VA - Rote Lieder - 9. Festival des politischen Liedes (1979)

Looking forward to this years "Festival Musik & Politik". So it is time for another volume of recordings done at the "Festival des politischen Liedes".

The album "Rote Lieder - 9. Festival des politischen Liedes" was recorded in February, 1979 in East Berlin. It features artists like Amparo Ochoa, Macchina Maccheronica, Carlos Mejía Godoy, Schicht, Oktoberklub, Maria Farandour and many more.

VA - Rote Lieder - 9. Festival des politischen Liedes (1979)
(256 kbps, cover art included)