Faust and Dälek

Ed Howard

Pitchfork, May 2003

Faust to Record with Dälek on Forthcoming Album

Goethe historians stunned by this late-breaking development in the tragic saga

In what seems to be one of the unlikeliest pairings imaginable, the legendary reunited Krautrock band Faust will be collaborating this year with unconventional New Jersey hip-hop trio Dä for an album and live appearances. The two bands recorded most of the album last summer, with new studio sessions set to take place this summer. The finished product is scheduled for release in November.

Faust's current label, Klangbad, which is owned by founding member Hans Joachim Irmler, has already released the double vinyl edition of Dälek's recent From Filthy Tongue of Gods and Griots, and Dälek's Spiritual Healing appeared on Klangbad's label sampler First Steps.

The two bands have been collaborating at live appearances, as well. According to Irmler, "We played live together, we sampled each other, and remade it," referring to the incorporation and manipulation of live music on the new LP. Work on the record will continue this summer with a dual concert on June 13th at the Badd Bonn Kilbi Festival in Düdingen, Switzerland - other performers include Ministry, DJ/Rupture, Jan Jelinek, Fu Manchu, and Donna Summer (just to state the obvious, not thatDonna Summer). Faust and Dälek's set will be recorded and released later in the year in addition to their collaborative album, and Faust will also be releasing a limited single (500 copies) on Berlin label Bomb Mitte to commemorate the occasion.

Following their performance with Faust, Dälek will be embarking on a large-scale European tour. They are currently out on the road in the U.S. as part of the Ipecac Records Geek Show with The Melvins and Mike Patton's Tomahawk, as has already been reported here. Dates:

05-30 Memphis, TN - New Daisy Theater *
05-31 New Orleans, LA - House of Blues *
06-01 Houston, TX - Fitzgerald's *
06-03 Austin, TX - Stubb's BBQ *
06-04 Fort Worth, TX - Ridglea Theatre *
06-13 Düdingen, Switzerland - Bad Bonn Kilbi Festival (w/ Faust)
06-14 Konstanz, Germany - Rheinterrasse
06-16 Zuerich, Switzerland - Sue Ellen Bar
06-19 Dublin, Ireland - Whelans
06-20 Limerick, Ireland - High Stool
06-21 Galway, Ireland - TBA
06-22 Cork, Ireland - TBA
06-23 Belfast, Ireland - Front Page Bar
06-25 Heidelberg, Germany - Karlstorbanhof
06-26 Wuppertal, Germany - Cafe Thalia
06-27 Hamburg, Germany - Astrastube
06-28 Berlin, Germany - Volksbuehne (w/ The Bug)
06-30 Zagreb, Croatia - K-Set
07-01 Wels, Austria - Alter Schlachtof
07-02 Wien, Germany - Szene Wien
07-03 Innsbruck, Austria - TBA
07-05 Arrezzo, Italy - Arrezzowave Festival
07-06 Napoli, Italy - Sguardo di Ulissefestival
07-10 Milano, Italy - Milano Festival
07-11 Murska Sobotka, Slovenia - Te Mikka
07-13 Dour, Belgium - Dour Festival
07-14 Brussels, Belgium - TBA
07-16 Nijmegen, Holland - Vlakhoffaffair
07-17 Rotterdam, Holland - TBA
07-25 Austria - Poolbar Festival
07-26 Poland - TBA
07-27 Poland - TBA
07-28 Frankfurt, Germany - Cookys
07-29 München, Germany - Erste Liga
07-30 Bochum, Germany - Totalfestival
07-31 Ljubiljana, Slovenia - Trn Fest
08-02 Metlika, Slovenia - Koupa Festival

* - Ipecac Geek Show

The Faust / Dälek album will be the first in a continuing series called Faust &, in which the German rockers will collaborate with other artists. The next one will be with long-time Faust roadie Lars Paukstatt, with Paukstatt and Irmler laying down basic tracks before being joined by the rest of the band. The busy folks in Faust are also in the preliminary stages of recording an album of their own, which, once released, will be their first studio album consisting entirely of newly recorded material since 1999's Ravvivando.

Finally, Hans Joachim Irmler has recorded his first solo album, Lifelike, a symphonic work that alternately serves as a concept album documenting the stages of his life and a trip through a museum (the two are actually interchangable). A track from the project, entitled Museum, appeared on the First Steps sampler as a teaser. The album will be out sometime later this year, once problems with the cover art are straightened out.

ref: Pitchfork

ref: Pitchfork Gods and Griots Review

ref: Klangbad