The Notwist - The Devil, You + Me (City Slang [Europe]/Domino [US] 2008)
‘It has that same slightly unnerved but ultimately comforting effect, and like Neon Golden, you might want to take it everywhere with you, even when you can only replay it in your mind.’
The Notwist - Bibliography from AMG:
Formed near Munich as a post-hardcore band, The Notwist gradually began to embrace a fusion of classic '80s indie pop songwriting and scruffy electronic backings indebted to Oval and Autechre. The quartet is comprised of brothers Markus and Micha Acher (on vocals/guitar and bass, respectively) plus programmer/keyboard player Martin Gretschmann and drummer Martin Messerschmid. Their self-titled 1989 debut and 1992's Nook were rough-and-tumble punk LPs. Third album 12 marked the group's first flirtation with electronics, though the chord structures and vocals of Markus Acher marked The Notwist more as an alternative band. The band then gained an American distribution deal with Zero Hour, and after 12 was reissued, fourth album Shrink — almost entirely abstract electronic in nature — appeared in 1998. Neon Golden (2002) and The Devil, You + Me (2008) were both song-oriented in nature, albeit with electronics continuing to play a significant role in the band's material.
The Notwist - Bibliography from AMG:
Formed near Munich as a post-hardcore band, The Notwist gradually began to embrace a fusion of classic '80s indie pop songwriting and scruffy electronic backings indebted to Oval and Autechre. The quartet is comprised of brothers Markus and Micha Acher (on vocals/guitar and bass, respectively) plus programmer/keyboard player Martin Gretschmann and drummer Martin Messerschmid. Their self-titled 1989 debut and 1992's Nook were rough-and-tumble punk LPs. Third album 12 marked the group's first flirtation with electronics, though the chord structures and vocals of Markus Acher marked The Notwist more as an alternative band. The band then gained an American distribution deal with Zero Hour, and after 12 was reissued, fourth album Shrink — almost entirely abstract electronic in nature — appeared in 1998. Neon Golden (2002) and The Devil, You + Me (2008) were both song-oriented in nature, albeit with electronics continuing to play a significant role in the band's material.
Bandsite: http://www.notwist.com/
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/thenotwistnow
Pitchfork: Interview:The Notwist 2008
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不知道从什么时候开始，已经很难认真把一张专辑从第一分钟听到最后一秒，在洗净尘埃的夜里，以声音为世界中心的状态。不是好听入耳的音乐变少了，而是耳朵被娇惯坏了，心态变了。就像看一部电影，只看一半或是只看高潮，感觉就像吃快餐面，速战速决，吃着味道肚子饱了有没有营养健不健康倒也无所谓了。所以当The Devil, You + Me最后一个音符在耳边轻轻划过时，心里出奇的平静。
1989年，在德国南部靠近慕尼黑的小城魏茵海姆(Weilheim)，Markus (吉他/主唱) 和Micha (贝司) Acher兄弟加上鼓手Martin Messerschmid (他后来被Andi Haberl取代)组建了这支叫做The Notwist的Post-Hardcore乐队。在电子乐专家Martin Gretschmann加入乐队之前，乐队的前两张专辑The Notwist (1990)和Nook (1992)是纯粹的Punk音乐，暴烈，粗糙。从12 (1995)开始，乐队开始尝试在音乐中加入适量的抽象实验电子元素 (类似于Oval和Autechre)。第四张专辑Shrink (1998) 是一张爵士电子摇滚实验，而The Notwist的独立电子流行化在Neon Golden (2002)发行后达到顶峰。这是一张让挑剔的英美媒体(当然不是主流媒体)也蛰伏的专辑，足以看作界定Indie Electronic这个近年来风行音乐类型的里程碑。Neon Golden虽然在City Slang发行，但其实质更接近于德国独立电子花园Morr Music宿以追求的境界。新专辑The Devil, You + Me终于在今年五月浮出水面。听第一遍并没有让人惊艳的感觉。但这正是其魅力所在，随着每一次的聆听，理解和共鸣就增加一分。因为The Notwist的音乐是复杂的，其随意的外衣下隐藏的是天才的矜持。和Andromeda Mega Express Orchestra的合作实现了他们一直想和管弦乐队合作的愿望。专辑的歌词里也更多地提及了mortality, planetary motion, gravity，这其中并没有很深奥的哲学意义。如Markus所说，‘I wanted the lyrics to be kind of like a broken mirror, so you could reflect on everything from different angles’。如果你期待的是另一张Neon Golden似的专辑，你肯定是失望的。欢快的实验电子节拍不见了，取而代之的是人到中年的深情与温柔，和对年轻时代叛逆与激情的怀念。这张专辑，我更愿意看作是他们对近20年音乐生涯的总结。
6年的时间，The Notwist交出了答案，一份略微出乎意料但令人满意的答案。看来很多乐队都喜欢玩时间游戏，Sparklehorse的Dreamt For Light Years In The Belly Of A Mountain让我们等了5年，Bark Psychosis隔了10年才磨出第2张专辑Codename:Dustsucker，更不用提My Bloody Valentine传说中的Loveless后续之作，18年后还是雾里看花。慢工出细活，大多数时间磨出来的，的确都是优之良品。不过等待是痛苦的。好在Micha Acher亲口告诉我，下张专辑应该不用再等6年了。
(Markus和Micha同时也是13 & God, Tied + Tickled Trio的主要成员；他们和父亲甚至仍旧是当地的爵士团体New Orleans Dixie Stompers的成员；Markus和老婆Valerie Trebeljahr还是Lali Puna的主创；Micha与Couch的女吉他/键盘Stefanie Böhm也有Ms. John Soda这个side-project；Martin Gretschmann也不闲者，他以Console的名义发行过多张实验电子专辑。)
1989年，在德国南部靠近慕尼黑的小城魏茵海姆(Weilheim)，Markus (吉他/主唱) 和Micha (贝司) Acher兄弟加上鼓手Martin Messerschmid (他后来被Andi Haberl取代)组建了这支叫做The Notwist的Post-Hardcore乐队。在电子乐专家Martin Gretschmann加入乐队之前，乐队的前两张专辑The Notwist (1990)和Nook (1992)是纯粹的Punk音乐，暴烈，粗糙。从12 (1995)开始，乐队开始尝试在音乐中加入适量的抽象实验电子元素 (类似于Oval和Autechre)。第四张专辑Shrink (1998) 是一张爵士电子摇滚实验，而The Notwist的独立电子流行化在Neon Golden (2002)发行后达到顶峰。这是一张让挑剔的英美媒体(当然不是主流媒体)也蛰伏的专辑，足以看作界定Indie Electronic这个近年来风行音乐类型的里程碑。Neon Golden虽然在City Slang发行，但其实质更接近于德国独立电子花园Morr Music宿以追求的境界。新专辑The Devil, You + Me终于在今年五月浮出水面。听第一遍并没有让人惊艳的感觉。但这正是其魅力所在，随着每一次的聆听，理解和共鸣就增加一分。因为The Notwist的音乐是复杂的，其随意的外衣下隐藏的是天才的矜持。和Andromeda Mega Express Orchestra的合作实现了他们一直想和管弦乐队合作的愿望。专辑的歌词里也更多地提及了mortality, planetary motion, gravity，这其中并没有很深奥的哲学意义。如Markus所说，‘I wanted the lyrics to be kind of like a broken mirror, so you could reflect on everything from different angles’。如果你期待的是另一张Neon Golden似的专辑，你肯定是失望的。欢快的实验电子节拍不见了，取而代之的是人到中年的深情与温柔，和对年轻时代叛逆与激情的怀念。这张专辑，我更愿意看作是他们对近20年音乐生涯的总结。
6年的时间，The Notwist交出了答案，一份略微出乎意料但令人满意的答案。看来很多乐队都喜欢玩时间游戏，Sparklehorse的Dreamt For Light Years In The Belly Of A Mountain让我们等了5年，Bark Psychosis隔了10年才磨出第2张专辑Codename:Dustsucker，更不用提My Bloody Valentine传说中的Loveless后续之作，18年后还是雾里看花。慢工出细活，大多数时间磨出来的，的确都是优之良品。不过等待是痛苦的。好在Micha Acher亲口告诉我，下张专辑应该不用再等6年了。
(Markus和Micha同时也是13 & God, Tied + Tickled Trio的主要成员；他们和父亲甚至仍旧是当地的爵士团体New Orleans Dixie Stompers的成员；Markus和老婆Valerie Trebeljahr还是Lali Puna的主创；Micha与Couch的女吉他/键盘Stefanie Böhm也有Ms. John Soda这个side-project；Martin Gretschmann也不闲者，他以Console的名义发行过多张实验电子专辑。)
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