Populäre Mechanik

Berlin-based drummer Wolfgang Seidel left influential '70s German band <a href="spotify:artist:6qt7HAbdjQ4a2B0sYAjySO">Ton Steine Scherben</a> after becoming disillusioned with rock & roll. He collaborated with <a href="spotify:artist:79f49kyfxgPm1WF8EHz2vf">Conrad Schnitzler</a> at his Zodiak Free Arts Lab, and sought out musicians who were similarly interested in a free approach to creating music. The group, dubbed Populäre Mechanik, took inspiration from new wave bands such as <a href="spotify:artist:0UKfenbZb15sqhfPC6zbt3">Devo</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:2qT62DYO8Ajb276vUJmvhz">XTC</a>, and weren't interested in punk's aggressiveness. Instead, they created abstract post-punk heavily influenced by jazz and dub reggae, and released two cassettes and a 7" single in the early '80s. The group's material finally saw widespread CD and vinyl release in 2015, when <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Bureau+B%22">Bureau B</a> released Kollektion 03, a compilation of the group's material chosen by <a href="spotify:artist:4yr28XHlxD78C3diMbOsTs">Holger Hiller</a> of <a href="spotify:artist:29VcQUPD3y6atruSOiNEbL">Palais Schaumburg</a>. ~ Paul Simpson, Rovi