Gray area (band)
| Gray area | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Genre (s) | Neue Deutsche Welle |
| founding | 1980 |
| resolution | 1982 |
| Founding members | |
| Martin Eicher | |
| GT (Christian Trüssel) | |
| Marco Repetto | |
| Last occupation | |
Vocals, guitar, synthesizer |
Martin Eicher |
Vocals, guitar, synthesizer |
Stephan Eicher |
Electric bass |
Ingrid Berney |
| former members | |
saxophone |
Claudine Chirac |
Keyboard |
Max Kleiner |
Grauzone was a Swiss musical group from the early 1980s. She was one of the pioneers of the Neue Deutsche Welle (NDW). With their biggest hit Eisbär , the group made it into the Austrian and German charts .
history
At the end of 1979 Marco Repetto (drums) and GT (bass) left the punk band Glueams in order to reorient themselves musically together with Martin Eicher (guitar, vocals). Martin / Tinu had already mentally supported Glueams with their single . At the beginning of March 1980 they gave their first concert as a gray area at Club Spex in Bern. Martin's brother Stephan Eicher (guitar), Max Kleiner (keyboard) and Claudine Chirac (saxophone) complemented the group temporarily with live performances and recordings.
Grauzone became known through the two pieces Eisbär and Raum , which they recorded for the 1980 compilation album of various bands Swiss Wave - The Album . Eisbär met the lifestyle of the time and got radio airplay in Austria, Germany and Switzerland. The piece was released as a single and reached number 6 in the Austrian and number 12 in the German charts.
However, the group denied commercial demands and focused on film and studio work. In the winter of 1981 they returned to Sunrise Studios, where the songs Moscow / A dance with death and I love them were recorded. In July and August 1981 Martin and Stephan Eicher went to the Sunrise studio again with Marco Repetto and recorded their first and last studio album. In February 1982 Ingrid Berney joined Grauzone to support Martin and Stephan Eicher live. After a last studio session, where you and I were recorded, the musicians parted ways. After less than ten concerts, four singles and one album, the group broke up in 1982.
GT and Marco Repetto regrouped with the former Glueams guitarist Martin Pavlinec and drummer Dominique Uldry, first as a missing link , then under the name of the Eiger North Face . GT then switched to the Futurism- based action group Red Catholic Orthodox Jewish Chorus around the performance artist Edy Marconi, in which Marco Repetto also played at times. The group later called itself I Suonatori . Stephan Eicher started a successful solo career. In 1988, Martin Eicher released the EP Spellbound Lovers , an unusual but neglected work. Marco Repetto made a name for himself from 1989 in the techno and ambient scene as a DJ and musician (including remixes for mittageisen v2).
Discography
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Albums
- 1981 - gray area
- 1998 - Sunrise Tapes (compilation)
- 2010 - Grauzone 1980–1982 Remastered (2 CDs, compilation)
Singles
- 1981 - polar bear / I love her
- 1981 - jam and raspberry ice cream
- 1981 - Moscow / A dance with death / I love her
- 1982 - Dream with Me / Angry Glass
- 1983 - Moscow / Film 1