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LP
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A 043LP
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$31.50
PREORDER
RELEASE DATE: 8/28/2026
Following the first two singles by Freiwillige Selbstkontrolle from 1980 and 1981, as well as their debut LP Stürmer and the 1982 EP Magic Moments, a-Musik is now releasing Ça c'est le Blues, another of their early works, all of which were released on Alfred Hilsberg's legendary Zickzack label and have long since become rarities. Ça c'est le Blues was originally released in 1984 and marks nothing less than a milestone in F.S.K.'s already impressive discography. While numerous bands from the West German underground of the early 1980s, following the Summer of Pop of 1982 and the associated breakthrough of the Neue Deutsche Welle, either moved toward the mainstream or began singing in English, Justin Hoffmann, Thomas Meinecke, Michaela Melián, and Wilfried Petzi took a different path. The songs became more elaborate, the production -- influenced by bands like Gang of Four and Dexys Midnight Runners -- more opulent, and the instrumentation now included wind instruments for the first time, which have since become an integral part of F.S.K.'s sound. At the same time, the Munich-based band's music-historically motivated focus was directed more toward the US than was typical of the bands in the West German scene of that era. To their signature blend of post-punk and experimental music, as already evident on Stürmer, they now incorporated funk (on the opener "Faire Le Chicken") and jazz (on the heartbreaking cover version of "My Funny Valentine"). From then on, this "transatlantic feedback" was an essential component of F.S.K.'s musical practice. The discursive twists and turns, the incorporation of references, and the insistence on German lyrics would influence bands in the coming decades, not just those of the "Hamburg School." At the same time, the album features legendary hits by Freiwillige Selbstkontrolle which are still played at every concert to this day. With this reissue of Ça c'est le Blues, one of the most impressive releases in 20th-century German avant-pop history is finally available again. The reissue includes a comprehensive booklet featuring an in-depth interview about the album with all band members, as well as numerous previously unpublished photos.
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LP
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A 036LP
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Originally released in 1981 on the legendary ZickZack label, the debut LP by Munich's Freiwillige Selbstkontrolle soon reached cult status and became one of the most important NDW/German postpunk releases ever. F.S.K. were one of John Peel's all-time favorites and actually did more Peel Sessions than any other band besides The Fall. For quite a while it was almost impossible to grab a copy of Stürmer, but right on time for its 30th anniversary this seminal LP finally is reissued, accompanied by an eight-page booklet with lots of unpublished photos and extensive liner notes by NDW-historiograph Frank Apunkt Schneider (in German).
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12"
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12BACH 007EP
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F.S.K. plays "Ein Haufen Scheiß Und Ein Zertrümmertes Klavier" live at Haus der Kulturen der Welt in Berlin, October 3rd, 2015; Mixed by Marcel Dettmann. F.S.K. (Freiwillige Selbstkontrolle) is an art school band from Munich that formed in 1980 and issued disturbing slogans of a new dissidence. The futuristic development of so-called noisemakers carried a key moment of deviant pop music into its emerging discourse. "Ein Haufen Scheiß Und Ein Zertrümmertes Klavier" (a pile of crap and a shattered piano), developed for Berlin's HKW, explores productive axes between destruction and deconstruction (paying tribute to Luigi Russolo).
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