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Suddenly, they appeared from nowhere...six people in black clothes, dark
glasses and a general cool look playing the top hits of the 80's...
on the fourth of October 1991 the original
Stahlwerk Einundneunzig concert took place, in an obscure canteen
situated in the basement of the E building at the Lund Institute of
Technology, known as 'Edekvata'. In a recent article named
Stahlwerk - the bits and pieces, British music journalist Half Rutter
tries to unravel the Stahlwerk mystery. Mr. Rutter had the lucky opportunity
to experience the initial concert and has been persuing the band ever since,
even after the final notes had rung out at the final (?) concert
on Friday the 13th of May, 1994.
So, what was Stahlwerk all about? Mr. Rutter explains, "On a simplistic level, it was an attempt to bring back the feeling of the 80's, and in particular the attraction of the then new synth music that was hitting the world. A lot of people who were in their teens in the 80's have warm memories of this period in their lives, and at the start of the ninetees these people had grown up and were ready to take a short look back down memory lane. In short, there was a strong foundation for a nostaligic synth trip. They set a trend, as the current 'retro' wave proves." He goes on, "The basic idea was very similar to the Blues Brothers - play the best music of the time as live as possible, but of course the music was entirely different [to the Blues Brothers], and the word 'live' had to be seen in a different light in the context of the musical style, although, contrary to popular belief, most of the music was actually played by the musicians. Certainly there were no backing tapes used". A few excerpts from one of the band's play lists shows what it was all about - "New Life", "Das Model", "Don't Go", "Don't you want me", "Sweet Dreams" - the list goes on. |
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