However, Neubauten soon outgrew the confines of even the broad scope of industrial music. In their 25-plus years, they have produced a dozen studio albums, live records, a remix album and EP, scored theatre pieces, and more.
Lead vocalist Blixa Bargeld is perhaps the best-known member of the group, both for his work with Neubauten and as guitarist for Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. His fellow founding members Alexander Hacke and N.U. Unruh have likewise been active in various musical roles outside the group over the years.
Bassist Mark Chung was a member of the group from 1981 to 1994. He founded the publishing house Freibank Music Publishing to handle business affairs for Neubauten and other groups, and has continued in this role (concurrently serving as a senior vice-president of Sony Music International for nine years). Percussionist FM Einheit, was a member from 1981 to 1995, and has also been active as a solo artist and member of groups such as Gry.
Since 1997 the group has also included guitarist Jochen Arbeit and percussionist Rudi Moser.
Neubauten's most recent work has been available exclusively to subscribers to their online home, www.neubauten.org. Neubauten completed the third incarnation of their online project in November 2007 and were touring Europe in 2008 in support of their latest album Alles Wieder Offen.
Currently Einstürzende Neubauten is celebrating their 30th anniversary with a tour through Europe and the United States. In October/November 2010 the band is releasing Strategies Against Architecture IV, the fourth album in the archival compilation series by Neubauten which collates the band’s output from 2002-2010.
Abfackeln!
Einstürzende Neubauten Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
...vom Pilzbewuchs befreien!
Im Aas sielen, im Aas sielen
Laß' uns're Schaedel
vom Pilzbewuchs befreien!
...und wenn die Stadt brennt...
Ja... es sind uns're Fackeln...
Laß' uns're Seelen abfackeln!
Laß' uns're Seelen
Abfackeln!
The lyrics of Einstürzende Neubauten's song Abfackeln! is an invitation to unleash the raw and primal urges that have been oppressed by modern society. The band calls for the liberation of souls, bodies, and minds by burning down the old structures that keep people in line. The first two lines, "Laß' uns're Seelen vom Schimmel befreien!/ ...vom Pilzbewuchs befreien!", urge us to remove the mold from our souls and free ourselves from rot and decay. Then, they ask us to revel in the carnal and the rot by "sielen im Aas," roughly translating to "play in the dead flesh."
The phrase "Laß' uns're Schaedel vom Pilzbewuchs befreien!" has multiple possible translations, such as "Let us clear our skulls of mold," or "Let us free our skulls of decay." The next lines are a call to action to set fire to the oppressive structure of modern society, with the band stating, "Ja... es sind uns're Fackeln." This roughly translates to "Yes... these are our torches," meaning that the band is ready to burn down the old order. Finally, they urge us to burn our souls, our beings, to the ground with the lines "Laß' uns're Seelen abfackeln!/ Laß' uns're Seelen/ Abfackeln!"
Overall, the lyrics of Abfackeln! reflect the band's philosophy of rejecting conventional norms, embracing the primal instinct, and unleashing one's creative and destructive impulses as a means of liberation.
Line by Line Meaning
Laß' uns're Seelen vom Schimmel befreien!
Let us rid our souls from the mold!
...vom Pilzbewuchs befreien!
...from the fungal growth!
Im Aas sielen, im Aas sielen
Playing in the carrion, playing in the carrion
Laß' uns're Schaedel vom Pilzbewuchs befreien!
Let us rid our skulls of the fungal growth!
...und wenn die Stadt brennt...
...and when the city burns...
Ja... es sind uns're Fackeln...
Yes... they are our torches...
Laß' uns're Seelen abfackeln!
Let our souls be torched!
Laß' uns're Seelen abfackeln!
Let our souls be torched!
Laß' uns're Seelen Abfackeln!
Let our souls be torched!
Contributed by Bentley P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.