SPAT-EUROPA (180G)

While Asmus Tietchens planned to head off into the future (In die Zukunft)?with Biotop (1981), Spat-Europa witnesses his arrival. Released on Sky Records in?1982, the second album in the Zeitzeichen phase not only continued in the style?of its predecessor, it managed to refine it a little more precisely. Spat-Europa also?conveys a banefully distorted pseudo-pop soundscape of disjointed rhythms and?oblique melodies, defined by nervous pulses, cool alacrity and croaking toots;?tongue-in-cheek it most certainly is, but the musical arrangement again affirms its?own identity. Here, shadowy, rumbling industrial elements cut into the neoncolored?pieces, indicative of the artist's parallel lines of development. What is new?on Spat-Europa is a greater concentration of form, concise and pointed in the?sense of musical economy. Tietchens sought to accentuate this aspect even more?acutely, but lacked the technical means to ensure that each of the miniatures?lasted exactly two minutes. Nevertheless, he only missed his ideal target by a few?seconds here and there. The concept of Biotop as an album of 20 tracks two?minutes long recalls the Residents' Commercial Album (1980) which contains 40?tracks, each a minute in length -- although these were designed to be played in?groups of three in order to create a regular pop song. Tietchens does not go that?far, but he shares the musical, metatextual and humorous sensibilities of the?American band, having organized crusades for their albums at this time. Traces?of their influence may be discernible, but Tietchens has placed them in an entirely?new context. Like Biotop, Spat-Europa finishes with an emphatically unwieldy?piece, the artist passing comment on himself perhaps. Epitaph introduces a shrill?warning tone, joined by nerve-shattering, serrating sounds and ominous screams;?piano tones subsequently soften the impact as quiet approaches. But the headstone?etched in readiness to mark his musical career proved unnecessary -- before the?year was out, Gunter Korber had requested a further album for his Sky label.?This would be the opus entitled In die Nacht.?TRACKLISTING?01. Spat-Europa?02. Frautod Graffito?03. Mythos und Gummibarchen?04. Lourdes Extra?05. Poanpo?06. Nervenfalls?07. Gro'enwarnung?08. Bescheidenes Vergnugen?09. Schone Dritte Welt?10. Herrmannstrohm?11. Erloschene Herzen?12. Endspannung?13. Betablocker?14. Tretboot zum Schafott?15. Ausverkauf?16. Bockwurst a la Maitresse?17. Passaukontrolle?18. Wein aus Wien?19. Stille Hafen?20. Epitaph