Geisterfahrer is a dark wave band from Hamburg that was founded in 1979 by Michael Ruff (vocals), Matthias Schuster (guitar, synthesizer, vocals), Hans Keller (violin, synthesizer, bass) and Holger Hiller (synthesizer). Supported by a drum machine, the group had one of their first appearances at the Hamburg "Into the Future" festival, where they provoked the hardcore punks there with improvised electrical noise so much that they were switched off during the gig. Holger Hiller left shortly afterwards to form Palais Schaumburg. Jürgen Weiss (drums, bass) joined the band as a replacement.
Geisterfahrer was the first band to release a single for Alfred Hilsberg's record label ZickZack Records. However, the EP 'Geisterfahrer' was inferior due to the lack of studio technology, so that the group was the first German new wave band to sign a contract with a major label. The debut LP 'Schatten Voraus' was released in 1980. With lyrics by singer Michael Ruff about scarlet fever and plague crosses, as well as a musical mixture of cold wave, gothic rock and medieval moments, Geisterfahrer steered into the dark wave environment and stylistically anticipated the Neue Deutsche Todeskunst. In 1980 they were pretty lonely with this kind of music.
A short later, Hans Keller left to work as a music journalist in New York. Shrinking into a trio, the follow-up LP 'Fest Der Vielen Sinne' turned out to be much more rock. The group now focused more on the dark wave sound a la Joy Division and Bauhaus. With "Himmel Auf Erden" there was even a smaller hit that found its way onto various NDW samplers. After various live concerts, the next LP 'Topal' was released in 1983, which was again produced independently of the industry in its own GF studio, but did not match the success of the previous records. [SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA]
Label:
Konkurrenz Schallplatten – KON 15, 0647 160
Format:
Vinyl, LP
Country:
Germany
Released:
1983
Style:
New Wave, Post-Punk, Neue Deutsche Welle
Tracklist:
A1 Siebzehn Jahre
4:09
A2 Macht Euch Bereit
3:43
A3 Wiegenlied
3:55
A4 Jetzt Oder Nie!
4:15
A5 Drei Wilde Winter 3:40
B1 Der Totmacher
4:42
B2 Neue Liebe
3:50
B3 Annas Mutter
3:08
B4 Topal
6:32
Notes:
Track A4 recorded live in Stockholm in 1982.
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