An industrial/techno music group, formed 1980 in Trbovlje, Slovenia, Laibach represents the music wing of the Neue Slowenische Kunst (NSK) art collective, which it joined as a founding member in 1984. The name "Laibach" is the German name for Slovenia's capital city, Ljubljana. The more popular industrial/metal group Rammstein are generally considered to have been heavily influenced by Laibach.
Controversial style
Laibach have frequently been accused of Germanophilia thanks to their costumes, which often resembled Nazi officers' uniforms, and also thanks to the Wagnerian stylistic aspects found in some of their music, notably the thunder in "Sympathy for the Devil (Who Killed The Kennedys)". Laibach always denied this strongly, pointing out that, as fascism needs a scapegoat, they had become their own scapegoat in the name of satire. Milan Fras, the lead singer (who is instantly recognisable by his staring eyes and gruff, growling voice), is quoted as saying "We are fascists as much as Hitler was a painter" when confronted with such accusations. [1] (http://www.vh1.com/artists/az/laibach/bio.jhtml)
Laibach are notorious for never stepping out of character. Their releases feature artwork by the anti-Nazi artist John Heartfield, and their concerts are held as political rallies. When interviewed, they answer in wry manifestos, showing a ridiculous lust for authority. [2] (http://www.vh1.com/artists/az/laibach/bio.jhtml)
Richard Wolfson wrote of them:
Laibach's method is extremely simple, effective and horribly open to misinterpretation. First of all, they absorb the mannerisms of the enemy, adopting all the seductive trappings and symbols of state power, and then they exaggerate everything to the edge of parody... Next they turn their focus to highly charged issues — the West's fear of immigrants from Eastern Europe, the power games of the EU, the analogies between Western democracy and totalitarianism. [Wolfson, 2003]
Subversive cover versions
Laibach are also known for their cover versions, which are often used to subvert the original message or intention of the song - most notable being their cover version of the song "Life is Life" on the album Opus Dei, which completely changes the meaning of the song from the original writers' intentions. Whereas the original is a feel-good hippie anthem, Laibach's subversive interpretation twists the melody into a sinister, rolling military march.
Other notable covers include the entirety of the Beatles album Let It Be and their album Sympathy for the Devil which deconstructs the Rolling Stones song of the same name with seven different covers of the song. Opus Dei also features a cover of Queen's "One Vision" with the lyrics translated into German. They also once memorably reworked Europe's fatuous hair-metal anthem "The Final Countdown" as a Wagnerian disco epic.
Visual art
Although primarily a musical group, Laibach have sometimes worked in other media. In their early years, especially before the founding of NSK, Laibach produced several works of visual art. Probably the most historically important was MB 84 Memorandum (1984) an image of a black cross that served as a way to advertise Laibach's appearances during a period in the 1980s when the government of Yugoslavia banned the name "Laibach".[3] (http://www.artmargins.com/content/review/griffin.html)
Slovene singer and radio announcer Anja Rupel has performed with the group.
Members
- Milan Fras, vocals
- Ivan Novak
- Dejan Knez
- Ervin Markosek
Selected discography
- Laibach (ŠKUC/Ropot, 1985),
- Nova akropola (Cherry Red, 1985),
- Baptism (1986)
- Opus Dei (Mute Records, 1987),
- Let It Be (Mute Records, 1988),
- Sympathy for the Devil (Mute Records, 1988),
- Macbeth (Mute Records, 1990),
- Kapital (Mute Records, 1992),
- Ljubljana-Zagreb-Beograd, (The Grey Area/Mute Records, 1993)
- NATO (Mute Records, 1994),
- Jesus Christ Superstars (The Grey Area/Mute Records, 1996),
- WAT (Mute Records, 2003),
- Anthems (Mute Records, 2004).
References
External links
- Official web site (http://www.laibach.nsk.si/)
- The Unofficial Laibach Site (http://www.gla.ac.uk/~dc4w/laibach/laibach.html)
- Laibachkunst (http://www.artmargins.com/content/review/griffin.html) includes images of early visual artworks by Laibach and also pieces by fellow NSK members Irwin.
- The NSKSTATE (http://www.nskstate.com/) The website of the NSK.
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