Guitars, synths, drums and a decent amount of distortion and interference are pulled and teased into an array of shapes. Think new wave, no wave, pop, punk and electronic experimentation rolled into one and then smoked.
[Listen | Purchase] Medical Records seem to like to do releases in pairs. After the recent re-issue of two Chrisma albums comes one of the founding groups of the Neu Deutsches Welle movement, Der Plan. This Düsseldorf group have had quite a bumpy career from the get go, but they did manage to create some pioneering sounds. Medical Records have once again reached into the dusty record crates of the past and plucked out Der Plan’s first two album offerings; Geri Reig and Normalette Surprise.
One things obvious on first looking at these records, Der Plan are not afraid of short tracks. Across the two LPs is some thirty pieces, most pushing around the three minute mark. As soon as the needle drops you’re on the Der Plan odyssey. To start the pot brewing is the frenetic pace of “Adrenalin Lässt Das Blut Kochen” with absurdity eclipsing next with the title track. This is short burst synth-pop, doused with a serious experimental edge. The listener is not on steady ground here, being lead around Der Plan’s carnival of sounds and styles. From cinematic slices into lands of abstraction there is no telling where things will go. “Gefährliche Clowns” is a terse piece of electro, with vocals merging into minimalist pangs. “Hans Und Gabi ” ends the A-Side. The track is a peculiar staccato work of lilting vocals with even a bit of a synth solo. The flipside offers the weaving and clever sounds of “Commerce Extérieur Mondial Sentimental” but eyes soon glaze over and experimentation returns. There’s a feeling on some of the tracks that Der Plan just turned on their machines and began noodling around with them, twisting nobs and recording the outcome. Some of the material reminds me of my misspent youth listening to the likes of V/Vm, silly organ sounds and even sillier vocals. In parts its hard to tell if Geri Reig is being serious or not, the LP plays with sounds like a child at a xylophone.
Normalette Surprise marks a progression in Der Plans sound. The levels of experimentation are still pretty high, but have been parred back a bit. “Leb Doch” has a recognisable beat pattern and the vocals are pretty decipherable, though there is a bit of abstraction thrown in for good measure. Melody is deconstructed by this group, turned upside down for “Meine Freunde.” The groups began to toy more with samples for this ’81 album, as in the sexual tones of “Kleine Schlager-Revue.” Der Plan turn their hand to Kraftwerk with “Ich bin ein Komputer.” The tracks are remarkably short, never broaching the three minute mark. As the record progresses the levels of distraction increase, with the group thumbing through instruments and styles. “Generäle Essen Erdbeereis” is a nice piece of minimal pop and stands out on the a-side. “Da Vorne Steht Ne Ampel” opens the flip and was a hit for Der Plan, a quirky upbeat piece of sparse electronics. But experimentation is never far around the corner, as in the isolated notes of “Rot-Grün-Tot.” The record is a dense and complex audio forest, one even less familiar now than when it was released some thirty years ago.
If Der Plan had a plan for these albums it is cleverly concealed. The structure is pretty higgledy piggledy, skipping across a variety of sounds and ideas. These are not as much LPs but compilations of material that sound like they were recorded at different times of the group’s development. Smart synth pop sits next to almost inaccessible abstraction. Guitars, synths, drums and a decent amount of distortion and interference are pulled and teased into an array of shapes. Think new wave, no wave, pop, punk and electronic experimentation rolled into one and then smoked. These LPs are not easy after dinner listening, but difficult works that helped spark the NDW movement. Welcome to a strange history lesson that makes DAF seem perfectly reasonable.
Geri Reig and Normalette Surprise are both out now on Medical. [Listen | Purchase]
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