The finest German Minimal / Synth from early 80's NDW Underground by V2 Schneider

For this release Jürgen Schweighart, alias V2 Schneider, sat down, saved and listened to
approximately 50 original master tapes, reels and cassettes from 1980 to 1985 including his
official tape releases "Vol. 1" (1981), "Blues" (1982), "Abgrund der Gefühle" (1984), "Nr.1 in
Hong Kong" (1985), "After A.I.D.S. Symphony" (1985) and many so far unreleased hidden
treasures, demos and out-takes.

At the request of Frank of VOD-Records, none of the tracks were remixed or edited and therefore
kept in their authentic original and charming form.

Going back to the sound and feeling of early cassette music is for the mature ear challenging
and rewarding at the same time. This music just cannot be done anymore in this time and age and for good reasons. The energy of youth and also NOT having the state of the art studio equipment makes one curious and excited.  Sometimes it is in those limitations that very interesting things are born, despite the factor that a lot of those old songs sound pretty noisy and amateurism. But that is the point and a lot of fun came out of it... ...and maybe we were some kind of pioneers...

A Short extract from V2 Schneiders Homepage http://www.juergenschweighart.de/

It all started in 1979 when the punk scene was in full bloom and we, the youthful dilletants believed that changing the world included a hit on a cooking pot, some weird strumming of a distorted acoustic guitar or screaming from the top of the lungs. We were anti Art, but Dadaists, hated politics but were political, anti-pretty but extremely vain, anti-Rock and anti-conformist.

Nevertheless we still had our roots based in 60's Rock`n Roll and Kraftwerk somehow, believing that Bowie`s HEROES was the most important album ever. Hence, the little pseudoneum of V2 Schneider - thank you David! A little later ( in 1980) we even dared to form a band, recording the fruits of our ecstasies, touring the whole south of Germany as the BLINDGÄNGER producing tapes and even a single Vinyl record, as if Pink Floyd had never happened....Well, we didn`t sell that much...

We held on to our own heroes, some of them still recording and of major cult status.    We are talking about the Cure,Ultravox, Pistols, ENO, Siouxsie, Costello, Wire, Roy Harper, Fripp and Peter Hammill. But we were neither Punk nor Goth. We needed our daytime jobs and used all our free time to hang out in clubs, concerts and our humble music rooms, located in local caverns and basements or even up in a tower. Touring was tough as was the recording.
Our tapes sounded better than the polished vinyl later on. We had a sound technician that had no idea what we were looking for. The tapes got nice reviews but the EP flopped. Now its presumed Cult and hard to get. We re-grouped to SOVETSKOE FOTO but soon I got tired of working within a band.

When I went solo in 1981 people thought I’ve totally lost it. But I did realise that I could work much better alone without the chaotic group energy and concentrated on my miniature pieces, bringing in guest musicians once in a while for good measure, like Dagi Bernhard, Walter Sterr, Georg and Jochen. I still shared the practicing room up in the tower (now a museum in Rosenheim) with Sovetskoe Foto.
Sometimes I played Drums, Keyboards, Bass and Trumpet all in one Song, recording 4 tracks each in one take onto reel, finishing off by putting vocals on top of it, improvising the lyrics as I went on. Now, 20 years on, I am most astonished as to what the hell I was  raving about and why was I singing it? By the way – all that music is still in its original version on 4 track reel and I cannot transfer it, bummer!
The late eighties found me in San Francisco/California USA, where I lived and spent  quite some time making a different kind of music. The scene has changed and so has thechnology. Now you got synthesizers that responded with the push of a button. No more KORG sequencer cable wires and way too much wasted time putting the gear together, no more damp basements or towers like we had as Blindgänger.

 

My music tended to become more orchestral and poetic and at times even ethno or house. Not so much new age but than it was the soundtrack to a different time. I even jammed with drummers from Santana in L.A., connected with the Thomas Dolby Clan and met numerous musicians. I even jammed with an Opera Singer! At one point I wrote the title song to a TV show and played live in small venues. It was in 1998 when I started to digitalize the old V2 Schneider Tapes and it got me very excited. But it took 5 more years to get it published......when Franck Punk of “Was Soll Das Schallplatten”, a “Fan” of my old cassettes dared to contact me to do some “Fuzzing with the past” and another 10 years to get this Biggie on its way.

 

 

Lp1A: " V2 Schneider 1" (1981)  22:50 Min
A1 Wilde Gier 3:33
A2 Wieder Gut Machung 4:31
A3 Masko 2:42
A4 Mein Herz 3:22
A5 München 82 3:43
A6 2nd Hand Heaven 4:56 (from 2nd Hand Heaven (Bonus)


Lp1B: Body Politix (1982)  22:40
B1 Body Politix Intro1:04
B2 Chanel No.5 3:06
B3 Pink Flamingos 2:29
B4 Fag Rag1:42
B5 Body Politics, (vocal) 2:42
B6 Montana Sacra 2:23
B7 Sexus 2 5:17
B8 Isabelle's Last Waltz 3:53

Lp2A: Blues (1984) 23:10
A1 Schizzo 3:36
A2 Cat in Glass 1:54
A3 Nexus 3:11
A4  Cog 4:16
A5 Cut the Air 3:10
A6 Dying under a Blue Sky 2:22
A7 Bonus:  Body Politics 2 4:18


Lp2B: Abgrund der Gefühle (1984) 21:00
B1 A Long Run 3:50
B2 The Choice 2:37
B3 De Soto 4:42
B4 Oedipus 0:52
B5 Pictures 0:35
B6 Katholik Sex 1:45
B7 Mr. Ö 3:15
B8 End Theme 3:35

Lp3A: Hong Kong Movements (1985) 22:30
A1  Countdown 1:05
A2  Bali No.1 0:41
A3  Blue Cafe 1:52
A4  Love in Slow Motion 3:06
A5  Reverse Life 1:03
A6  Love Zombies 3:02
A7  Dark Entry 1:08
A8  The Bali Prayer 2:03
A9  The Escape 2:34
A10 A Touch of Success 1:01
Bonus-Tracks: 

A11  Benjamin 2:57
A12  Human 2 1:56

Lp3B:Bonus: Demos & previously unreleased Tracks 23:29
B1 Sollen wir noch tanzen? 2:19
B2 The Strings of Love 2:22
B3 Human 2:42
B4 Als wärs das letze Mal (DAF-Cover-Version) 1:44
B5 Bolero 1:53
B6 LOST 4:59
B7 After A.I.D.S. 4:26
B8 A horse`s life 2:56