That I
| That I | |
|---|---|
 |
|
 Stefan Ackermann at the Amphi Festival 2017 |
|
| General information | |
| Genre (s) | Elektro , Electronica , Ambient (1996–2008), New German Death Art (1990–1994) |
| founding | 1989 |
| Website | www.dasich.de |
| Founding members | |
| Stefan Ackermann | |
| Bruno Kramm | |
| Current occupation | |
singing |
Stefan Ackermann |
Instruments, production |
Bruno Kramm |
Keyboard (live) |
Kevin Groß (since 2016) |
| former members | |
Keyboard (live) |
Tanja Hahn (1989–1990) |
Keyboard (live) |
Andreas Siebelhoff (1990–1993) |
Keyboard (live) |
Ansgar Noeth (1994–1995) |
Keyboard (live) |
Daniel Galda (1995–1999) |
Drums (live) |
Jakob Lang (1997–1999) |
Keyboard (live) |
Nidij (2000-2001) |
Keyboard (live) |
Cain Gabriel Simon (2001-2006) |
Keyboard (live) |
Stefan Siegl (2006-2007) |
Keyboard (live) |
Ringo Müller (2006-2007) |
Keyboard (live) |
Martin Söffker (2007-2013) |
Drums (live) |
Stephan Hauer (2010-2013) |
Keyboard (live) |
Johannes Düsenberg (2014-2015) |
Das Ich is a German-language, electronic-symphonic music project that is particularly well received in the black scene . In the early 1990s it was one of the main exponents of the New German Death Art , but then developed musically in other directions.
history
Early years
Bruno Kramm started his musical activities as early as 1984 under the project name Decorated Style . In 1986 he started the formation Fahrenheit 451 . With this project, the sound known for Das Ich gradually took shape. The Alva Novalis project later emerged from Fahrenheit 451 , the title of which has so far only been published on individual compilations . 1986 was also the year in which Bruno Kramm and Stefan Ackermann met in the Bayreuth discotheque "Crazy Elephant". In 1987 they founded the Dying Moments project with other alternating comrades-in-arms, Stefan Pickl and Peter Meier, which could be classified musically between wave and electronic punk music. The texts were presented in German, English, French or Latin. During this time, two music cassettes were made, but only a small number of them were published.
The Ich was officially founded in 1989 in the line-up of Bruno Kramm (music & back vocals) and Stefan Ackermann (texts & vocals) in Bayreuth and was one of the most important exponents of the New German Art of Death in the early 1990s . Individual titles, such as "Lügen und Das Ich", "Sodom und Gomorrha" or "Gottes Tod", were created in 1988 in their raw versions. Bruno Kramm's own label Danse Macabre serves as the record company .
First publications
"Die Propheten" was released in 1991 as the first album after some tracks had been released in advance on the EP "Satanic Verses". "Die Propheten" still contains many pieces in the synthetic neoclassical style and the titles "Gottes Tod" and "Kain und Abel", which belong to the Everblacks (analogous to "Evergreen") in the black scene. Three years passed before the release of the second album "Staub" in 1994. This is explained by the biography of Bruno Kramm; the first Danse Macabre label broke up and Kramm had to work off the company's remaining debts through constant commissioned work. "Dust" is considered by many fans as the most nihilistic and blackest work of the group. Musically, the link between classical music and electronics was pronounced here in the form that is still typical of Das Ich today.
"Fire" (1995) is the group's only live album. "Das Innere Ich" (1996) was the soundtrack of the experimental film "Das Innere Licht" and contains no sung rhythmic tracks except for "Is it me". The first editions of all these works are difficult to obtain today due to the bankruptcy of the record distributor EFA .
Egodram (1998) was released on the major label Motor Music , which received bitter criticism from some followers. Distillate is the best known song from Das Ich and usually ends the live performances. A video clip was produced for this for the first time. It was also remixed by VNV Nation . Since the album fell short of Motor's high expectations commercially, the collaboration was ended again after this release. Morgue , published in the same year, is a setting of the poetry book of the same name by Gottfried Benn , which Das Ich has already quoted several times in individual tracks.
Current
In 2011 the singer Stefan Ackermann fell so seriously ill that the opening concert at the Leipzig Wave-Gotik-Treffen and the performance at the Amphi Festival had to take place without him. The band was supported by artist friends during their performances. At the beginning of 2012 the news came that Stefan Ackermann is feeling better and that he has survived the cerebral hemorrhage so far. After Ackermann had recovered, the band announced their comeback at the Wave-Gotik-Treffen in May 2013.
Texts
Das Ich write their lyrics in German throughout. The only exception is the English translation "The Awakening" of the title "Warrior", which was produced in 1997 for the soundtrack of the computer game Wing Commander: Prophecy . With their mother tongue they want to achieve the goal of being able to express something as directly as possible in their texts. They also appreciate the ability to articulate very hard in the German language. Stefan Ackermann writes the lyrics after Bruno Kramm has composed the songs. Before that, they discuss the subject of the entire album together. For Stefan Ackermann, the music is his inspiration and the condition for the linguistic style of the lyrics of Das Ich. These have a very figurative language ( "our mother earth hangs on the last twitching nerve" ), which leaves the listener scope for interpretation.
Since the beginning of the band, the critical examination of Christianity and the texts of the Bible has been an important topic for Das Ich. After the debut Satanic Verses and the subsequent album The Prophets , they returned to these roots in 2002 with the album Anti'christ .
The reference to Friedrich Nietzsche , whose work is of great importance to Kramm, is unmistakable. With the newer albums more and more personal feelings are brought into the lyrics.
In 1998 the album Morgue was released . With this album Das Ich has set lyrics by the expressionist poet Gottfried Benn to music. The texts from the work Morgue and other poems from 1912 were selected . Das Ich already set individual poems to music on the albums Staub and Egodram . It is about "Verfall" by Georg Trakl and "Blutquell" by Charles Baudelaire .
Publications
Demos
- 1990: Satanic Verses (MC)
Albums
- 1991: The Prophets (LP, CD; 1995 also as USA edition)
- 1994: Dust (LP / CD)
- 1995: Fire (CD) [live album]
- 1996: The Inner Self (CD) [Soundtrack]
- 1997: Egodrama (released as MC, CD and Limited Digipack Edition)
- 1998: Morgue (CD / Swedish Edition)
- 2002: Anti'christ (DLP / CD / US Edition / French Edition)
- 2004: Lava (CD + DVD)
- 2006: Cabaret (CD)
EPs and singles
- 1990: Satanic Verses (MC, 1993 also as EP)
- 1991: Satanic Verses / Jericho (CDM)
- 1994: Stigma (CDM)
- 1998: Kindgott (CDM)
- 1998: Distillate (CDM)
- 2008: Cannibals (EP)
Split releases
- 1995: Die Liebe (CD) [together with Atrocity ]
Best ofs
- 1999: Re_Kapitulation (CD) [Ltd. Best Of album for the USA]
- 2000: Re_Laborat / Re_Animat (DCD / French Edition / US Edition; Remix-Best-of)
- 2002: Momentum (VCD / DVD)
- 2003: Relikt (Best Of CD / Ltd.Best Of DCD)
- 2007: Alter Ego (Best Of; intended for the American market)
- 2007: Addendum (DCD incl. Demos) [Remastering]
Compilations posts
- 1991: "A day goes by" (on Danse Macabre Sampler I )
- 1992: "Irrlicht" (on Danse Macabre Sampler II )
- 1993: "Sun, Moon and Stars" (on Danse Macabre Festival Live )
- 1995: "Dem Ich den Traum" (on E-Beat Stratosphere )
- 1997: "The Awakening" (on Wing Commander Prophecy Soundtrack )
Publications outside of Das Ich
Alva Novalis
Compilations posts
- 1991: "As Thou Came (To The Torture Garden)" (on Danse Macabre Sampler I )
- 1992: "Demimonde" (on Danse Macabre Sampler II )
- 1994: "Prythée" (on Celtic Circle Sampler Part II )
- 2005: "Dawn" (on Danse Macabre Sampler III )
Fahrenheit 451
Compilations posts
- 1990: "Scared Colors" (on Danse Macabre Sampler )
- 1990: "The Tempest Romanesque" (on Danse Macabre Sampler )
- 1991: "The Tempest Romanesque" (on German Mystic Sound Sampler II )
- 1995: "Sorrow and Pain" (on The Gothic Compilation Part II )
Kramm
- 2001: Coeur (released as Promo-MC, CD and Limited Edition CD with bonus track)
- 2001: Pale Child / Der Nachtmahr (Maxi-Single)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Read in "Gothic - The scene from the point of view of its makers" Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf Verlag
- ↑ neurostyle.de: Email message from Bruno Kramm ( Memento of the original from November 7, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ neurostyle.de: Email message from Bruno Kramm ( Memento of the original from January 13, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Goth miracle at the Wave Gotik Treffen in Leipzig: singer from deathbed back on stage
- ↑ Dirk Hoffmann, Zillo Music Magazine, Issue No. 12/90, Interview with Das Ich, page 25
- ↑ Grenzwellen.com: Interview
- ↑ postwave.gr: "Das Ich - Interview 2004"
- ↑ metalmessage.de: Interview ( Memento from August 4, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ a b pagandance.de: "Between good and bad: The I"
