Press Release

Virgin

Virgin, 1974

Virgin Press Release

In early 1971, when other companies were releasing (with considerable success) records by German rock bands such as Amon Duul, Polydor International were neglecting the field in favour of middle-of-the-autobahn music in the James Last vein. Finally, recognising this lamentable (and unexploited) situation, an executive of the aforementioned company asked Uwe Nettlebeck, a respected writer and film maker, to put together a band to play 'significant' music. The musicians Nettlebeck contacted now constitute Faust, and they are:

This method of forming a group will doubtless remind those of us who are less well versed in the Teutonic approach to rock of the Don Kirshner, Jonathan King type bubble gum factories. Germans, however, do not require group members to live together in a country retreat for half their lives before daring to look at a recording studio. The music is comparatively rootless, the product of a modern industrial urban society, and when a group is put together in Germany, by a person of Nettlebeck's integrity, with musicians of Faust's calibre, specifically to explore new areas of the medium, the attitudes of those involved ensure a valid approach and end-result.

In February 1971 Polydor gave the band some old recording equipment and they cloistered themselves in a converted schoolhouse in Wümme, near Hamburg, to record and record and record. The same year saw the release of the first Faust album, followed in 1972 by So Far, both of which received much critical acclaim and sold well.

With 1973 came the arrival of what the band call their 'sound generators'. These are black perspex boxes covered with dozens of white buttons: no one but faust seem to know exactly how they work - they were custom-made, took tow years to build and are unique. The sound generators are in part responsible for the highly individual sound of Faust - after all they are the only group in the world which have them. With these generators and other new equipment, Faust could now produce on stage effects that previously could only be achieved by lengthy adjustments to the PA inputs.

The group toured France earlier this year, and followed it with a tour of England: they have received incredibly enthusiastic receptions in both countries. The tour of England coincided with the release of their first record on the Virgin label, Faust Tapes, which sold at 48p and leapt into the charts. It remained in the top 20 for eight weeks before being deleted.

The album received only the highest praise from rock critics in all areas.

Martin Walker of The Guardian, in an article on European rock bands, says: "Faust have been simmering just below the surface of brilliance for two albums now... I suggest they have now clambered their way above it."

Marion Fudger of Spare Rib says: "The success of their experiments is due to their individual talent and their flexible but organised structure."

Faust stayed at the Manor studios to record their next album, Faust Four, whose release date, 21st Spetember, is also the first date of their new British tour. They have spent the summer in Germany preparing new material inspired by the homelands.