MAGNETBAND - EXPERIMENTELLER ELEKTRONIK-UNDERGROUND

Inspired by Punk and Post Punk, vibrant scenes dedicated to
independent self-actualisation by means of sound circulated on self distributed
cassettes, then the cheapest and fastest medium, were
developing on each side of the Cold War's confrontational line. Albeit
under quite different circumstances. While there was a DIY euphoria
in the West, which would also have had ideological motives,
subcultures in the East simply had no other means at their disposal.
Even the first act of replication meant moving into illegal territory,
since every duplication was strictly sanctioned and had to be
authorised by state authorities. Just like anything else, whether in
print or where live shows were concerned. The artefacts from that era tell of a stance of refusal in practice, and
of the possibility to charge up on a high level, in spite of everything.
Between being excluded and self-exclusion, truly wayward (twice
literally) sounds and means of expression were developed.
"Congruent with the absurdity of real existence", as lyricist and scene
node Bert Papenfu put it. Papenfu , together with Ronald Lippok,
Bernd Jestram and Bo Kondren, themselves active musicians then
and now, compiled two companion CDs accompanying the long soldout
Zonic special edition "Spannung. Leistung. Widerstand.
Magnetbanduntergrund DDR 1979-1990", released by Verbrecher
Verlag/ZickZack in 2006, of which the more experimental-electronic
pieces are herewith available on the music market for the first time.