Frieder Butzmann - Vertrauensmann des Volkes (1981)

First released on the label Zensor in 1981 and reissued 20 years later as a limited-edition LP by 90% Wasser, Frieder Butzmann's "Vertrauensmann des Volkes" is a minor gem from the burgeoning German experimental/industrial scene. 

The composer's twisted vocal and electronic pieces make a worthy album on their own, but fans of the genre will want to track this item down for the appearances of Einstürzende Neubauten's Alex Hacke (on "Zivilisation," a striking minimal piece driven by the repetitive "whack" of a hammer) and Throbbing Gristle's Genesis P-Orridge (on "Just Drifting/Tales of Death," delivering a glacial narration). 

Other highlights include the dark "Hibakuscha" -- which almost crosses over to musique concrète -- and "Sadismus und Konkurenz," a fake crooner duet with Angelika Maisch that includes lines like "Sadism and competition/That is the German mechanism." Butzmann pushed electronic music into strange new places filled with cynicism. His systematic refusal to employ dance beats or standard melodies helps retain much of this LP's freshness. Some tracks sound dated, like the two versions of "Tonights Music" -- a crude cut-up (or early sampling) of a single sentence -- that close side one and open side two, and the bleakness is definitely early '80s.

Frieder Butzmann - Vertrauensmann des Volkes (1981)

(224 kbps, cover art included)