{"title":"Dunkelziffer","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"colours-and-soul","title":"Colours and Soul","description":"\u003cp\u003eWelcome to the world of Dunkelziffer - a hip hive mind who buzzed away in the post-industrial decay of Köln's Stollwerck complex. Taking a radical approach to sound, style and group dynamics, this loose collective of musicians and artists blazed an experimental trail through the 80s, offering an alternative vision of German pop fit for a decade of constant change. Emerging in the wake of Can's late seventies supernova, Dunkelziffer became the centre of gravity for a new era of creativity in Köln. Embracing the stylistic freedom of this fresh start alongside the time and space offered by their residency in the Palazzo Schoko, their jam sessions, often including associates from the Food Band, Phantom Band and Catalans Dream Band as well as anyone passing through, soon segued into a (slightly) more formal ensemble, though free-thinking and free-movement remained central ideologies. Leaving egos well outside the door, Dunkelziffer wrote and recorded with no hierarchy, offering each member an equal stake in songwriting and sonics. Unsurprisingly the result is a wild stylistic fusion, equal parts art-rock, dub, soul, and jazz which, to the eternal credit of the collective comes together with an unconventional brilliance.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOn their 1983 debut, \u003ci\u003eColours And Soul\u003c\/i\u003e, Dunkelziffer offered an hour long odyssey through the fringes of the pop landscape, creating a kaleidoscopic journey through sun-kissed skank, coastal funk, demented drum circles and tachycardic new wave.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAppearing from the chaos of an outboard explosion, opener 'Kedema' lays the foundations for the seductive strangeness which follows, rewiring a lilting dub rhythm with skewed synth tones and curious percussion as late-Can man Rebop Kwaku Baah's unique vocals form a lopsided melody. Island undulations give way to angular excitations on 'Bleib Night So Lang Im Schatten Stehn', a propulsive piece of new wave alive with Wolfgang Schubert's skronking horns and some poised female vocals. From there the group bask in the light of their own miracle, surrendered to the seven minute groove of 'This is How You Came', a sublime psychedelic blend of hypnotic bass, frazzled guitars and jazz-rock interludes. 'Keine Python' signposts the way to Babylon by autobahn before tribal electronic trio 'Dark Number', 'Stil Der Neuen Zeit' and 'Zufall In Der Wirklichkeit' take us to the midpoint in a polyrhythmic trance.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'S.O. 36' opens the B-side with an overload of adrenaline as a lurching AKAI-ready half time transforms into the fast paced motorik stomp of a jazz-punk freakout. The dance-floor friendly 'Strom' follows, embracing a similar strain of sticky industrial funk as Unknown Cases' anthemic 'Masimba Bele', while 'Free' leads us back into the light, riding the thermals over a sparkling shoreline as the cannabis psychosis gives way to the purest reggae high. The playful 'Colours And Soul' serves some hip and horizontal diy-dub on the B4, beachballs splashing into the surf before interlude 'Arche Noah' nudges into the highlife heat beat of 'Don't Ask Me'. Finally it falls to 'Beside The Light' to close out the set, a hazy piece of ecstatic pop equally informed by each of the diverse influences which came before. In some ways this is the story of the LP in a song; experimental ideas in accessible form, delivered by a group free to enjoy their journey without worrying about the destination.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Bureau B","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":50417387045195,"sku":"1123916","price":13.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"LP","offer_id":50417387241803,"sku":"1123917","price":27.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/be01f003-666c-4c60-97b7-2e501c1e44ad_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1726728257"},{"product_id":"songs-for-everyone","title":"Songs For Everyone","description":"\u003cp\u003eAfter Bureau B started its Dunkelziffer retrospective with the albums \u003cem\u003eColors And Soul\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eIn The Night\u003c\/em\u003e, they are excited to make the band's last studio album \u003cem\u003eSongs For Everyone\u003c\/em\u003e, which was released in 1989, finally available again.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eDisplaced from their spiritual home (the Stollwerck complex had been leveled in 1987) and robbed of the collaborative exchange it facilitated, Dunkelziffer took a different tack on \u003cem\u003eSongs For Everyone\u003c\/em\u003e, slimming down to a sextet with a newly streamlined sound.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOlek Gelba\u003c\/strong\u003e and \u003cstrong\u003eReiner Linke\u003c\/strong\u003e remained in the percussive pocket, laying the foundation for \u003cstrong\u003eVon Senger\u003c\/strong\u003e and \u003cstrong\u003eSchubert\u003c\/strong\u003e's melodic prowess, with newcomers \u003cstrong\u003eJorge Guarin Quintaro\u003c\/strong\u003e and \u003cstrong\u003eIrene Lorenz\u003c\/strong\u003e breathing fresh air into keys and vocals respectively.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe reduced line-up may have diminished the chaotic brilliance of their earlier work, but the sparing palette allowed room for each member to shine brighter than ever before.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eMost notably, \u003cstrong\u003eDominik Von Senger\u003c\/strong\u003e, often restricted to rhythm guitar in the past, populated the newfound space with a bounty of rhapsodic solos.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eStylistically, the Jamaican riddims, gnarly new wave, and Eastern tonality of previous albums were supplanted by the smoothest jazz imbued with Latin flavors and a Mediterranean mindset.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eArriving amid a ripple of taut timbales and spritely trumpet, opener \"\u003cem\u003eSongs For Everyone\u003c\/em\u003e\" sounds like it's been playing somewhere forever, just waiting for its moment of discovery.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLorenz\u003c\/strong\u003e' stretched and subdued vocal seems to be a transmission from another time or place, meaning stripped but emotion enhanced by the time we receive it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe rounded sound of guest \u003cstrong\u003eXavier Padilla\u003c\/strong\u003e's double bass dominates the bottom end, a familiar anchor as the mariachi keys and incendiary guitar try to spirit us away.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eLight-footed and heavily syncopated, \"\u003cem\u003eSee It\u003c\/em\u003e\" sashays along the shoreline, inviting us to dance wherever blue seas kiss white sand.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eEach instrument is crisp, clear, and accomplished, while \u003cstrong\u003eLorenz\u003c\/strong\u003e's voice swells from a sultry whisper into a rich rasping fullness.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eOptimistic and melancholic in equal measure, \"\u003cem\u003eIlluminate\u003c\/em\u003e\" closes the A-side with a triumph of pure pop sincerity.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eTaut guitar and trilling oboe leap above the swaying bossa to pull at your heartstrings, capturing the precise moment when love overtakes you.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe smooth jazz sophistication continues on the B-side with \"\u003cem\u003eFriends\u003c\/em\u003e\", a gorgeous Balearic torch song for a rose that's never been kissed.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eEchoes of 'Lucky Star' and reverb-soaked drums cascade through a DX7 dreamscape as the plangent woodwind plays an elegy for summer fling.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eOn \"\u003cem\u003eSpell It\u003c\/em\u003e\", the cowbells, congas, timbales, and toms of \u003cstrong\u003eGelba\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong\u003eLinke\u003c\/strong\u003e, and sessionist \u003cstrong\u003eDaniel Basanta\u003c\/strong\u003e form an intricate rhythmic tapestry, transformed into a hip-flexing mambo by the addition of \u003cstrong\u003eGuarin Quintaro\u003c\/strong\u003e's piano.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSchubert\u003c\/strong\u003e and \u003cstrong\u003eVon Senger\u003c\/strong\u003e form a gorgeous melodic counterpoint throughout much of the track, before \u003cstrong\u003eVon Senger\u003c\/strong\u003e soars into a show-stealing solo in the last minute.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eDunkelziffer close the LP with Jamaican flavor, though \"\u003cem\u003eInside\u003c\/em\u003e\" is a much more atmospheric creature than the sun-kissed skanks of their previous releases.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eLargely stripped back to a core of dubby bass, sparse rhythm, and subdued piano, this evocative swan-song splits the difference between Compass Point and the Wild Bunch, its muted vocals and distorted guitar anticipating the trip-hoppers who would soundtrack the decade to come.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAs the 80s came to a close, Dunkelziffer signed off, their various members continuing to explore the backstreets of the musical map with the curiosity, creativity, and freedom which makes their story so unique.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Bureau B","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":50463771918667,"sku":"1134770","price":13.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"LP","offer_id":50463772541259,"sku":"1134774","price":27.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/318aaec8-fbd8-4142-a354-bf23cefbecb3_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727266342"},{"product_id":"in-the-night","title":"In the Night","description":"\u003cp\u003eBarely pausing for breath after 1983's \u003cem\u003eColours And Soul\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cstrong\u003eDunkelziffer\u003c\/strong\u003e delivered \u003cem\u003eIn The Night\u003c\/em\u003e the following year, their revolving line-up prompting an evolving sound.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThough the playful elements of their debut remained through a trio of sun-blushed dubbers, the album also housed the ensemble's most dense, intense, and serious tracks to date.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe core septet of Zerlett, Linke, Krachten, Von Senger, Keul, Gelba, and Schubert returned as well as the new bassist Rike Gratt, each in their own flow state on this seven-track LP.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBut it was all change behind the mic for \u003cem\u003eIn The Night\u003c\/em\u003e, as Coco Claus and Josefa Martens moved on, while Rebop Kwaku Baah, whose deep and rhythmic vocals decorated most of their debut, had sadly passed away while on tour with Jimmy Cliff the previous year.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eLuckily a perfect reinforcement was waiting in the wings, and the unmistakable Damo Suzuki led the charge with Helmut Zerlett taking double duties on backing vocals.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe loose-limbed reggae of \"\u003cem\u003eWatch On My Head\u003c\/em\u003e\" offers the warmest of welcomes on the A1, a swaying bassline underpinning breezy woodwind and synthetic fanfares with Suzuki's treated vocals forming the final instrumental layer.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThings take a jazzier turn on \"\u003cem\u003eSunday Morning\u003c\/em\u003e\", in which cascading harps and glistening arps clear the way for a snaking rhythm piano to take the lead.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eTwisting and turning through its four-minute runtime, the track sees Wolfgang Schubert's sax sparkle while Suzuki's voice has never sounded so tender.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eShifting through the gears as we approach the midpoint, \u003cstrong\u003eDunkelziffer\u003c\/strong\u003e drop into \"\u003cem\u003eRetrospection\u003c\/em\u003e\", thirteen whole minutes of pulsating and powerful psych-rock retooled for the new wave era.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eLeaving the fuzzbox back in Haight-Ashbury, the group layers chorus-drenched guitars and bright keyboards into a sky-scraping groove.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eYelped mantras and untamed horns add a newfound intensity balanced by the limber bassline and nuanced percussion which steals the spotlight during the final quarter.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe B-side brings a moment of breezy beachfront cool via \"\u003cem\u003eQ\u003c\/em\u003e\", a sun-kissed stroll from Methaniac fusion into ska-tinged art rock before plunging headfirst into the abrasive psychobilly of \"\u003cem\u003e(Do Watch What You Can) Prof.\u003c\/em\u003e\", a sub-three-minute headfuck of atonal horns, off-kilter percussion, and overlapping vocals from Suzuki and Zerlett.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eInvigorated after that short sharp shock, the group lays a love song on us, the sweet nothings of \"\u003cem\u003eI See Your Smile\u003c\/em\u003e\" bobbing on a Caribbean tide.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003ePure, playful, and hard to resist, this moment of pop perfection was the ideal candidate for the album's single.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThere's room for one more mood swing as we reach the finale, closing cut \"\u003cem\u003eOriental Cafe\u003c\/em\u003e\" upping the intensity to deliver ten minutes of tribal percussion and Eastern influence in the same vein as \"\u003cem\u003eStill Der Neuen Zeit\u003c\/em\u003e\" on their debut.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eSlashing wah-guitars and tumbling toms form a dislocated rhythm beneath the haunting trio of eerie oboe, warped electronics, and shamanic vocals, sustaining the tension until the mutant funk monster cometh.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFurther than far out, this freaky and frazzled jam drops the curtain on a varied and vital second album from Köln's commune-pop trailblazers.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Bureau 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