Shiny gnomes

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Shiny gnomes
General information
origin Nuremberg , Germany
Genre (s) Rock , psychedelic rock
founding 1985
Website www.shinygnomes.de
Current occupation
Keyboard
 Rainer Mertens (Gasi)
Vocals, guitar
 Stefan Lienemann (Limo)
Drums
 Lars Worch
bass
 Andreas Rösel
former members
Drums
 Udo Stowitz (Ufo) (1987-2005)
Bass, vocals
 Hans Scheuerlein (Hanz) (1985-2005)
Bass, vocals
 Manfred Knauthe (Manna) (2007-2015)
Drums
 Michael Hawranek (Mikki) (1985-1987)
Drums, vocals
 Dorit Lacusteanu (2007-2019)

Shiny Gnomes are a psychedelic / garage band from Nuremberg . Their music combines psychedelic rock, sixties beat, punk and folk with pop melodies and polyphonic choral singing.

history

The Shiny Gnomes were founded in 1985 - their predecessors were the folk duo “Fit & Limo” (which continued to exist alongside the Shiny Gnomes), “Eyes of Fate” and “Pure Luege”. The Shiny Gnomes entered the German independent charts at number 8 with their debut work Wild Spells . Shortly afterwards, in 1987, they received the City of Nuremberg's Culture Prize . Her probably best-known piece Lazing at Desert Inn was published in 1987 on the second album Some Funny Nightmares and took second place in the Spark Indie Charts of the Bavarian Radio.

The success of the first two albums brought the band a contract with the Polygram label Polydor in 1988. The re-release of their second album was followed by two more long players , Fivehead (1989) and Colliding (1990) as well as various single releases and a remix EP ( Liquid Ladder ).

In 1991, the Shiny Gnomes, which had shrunk to a trio, switched to the German rough-trade offshoot Our Choice, where they released four more albums on which they presented themselves more experimentally and expansively. Classic rock elements were increasingly supplemented by electronic sounds and sound samples.

The 1996 album Weltraumservice marked a preliminary end point. Electronic elements were used even more than on its predecessor MC Creatrix , which was released in 1994 , and it was the band's only album in German. After a tour with guest musicians from befriended bands, the Shiny Gnomes went into a long period of rest from 1997 on, but without officially breaking up.

With the successful reissue of their debut album on CD entitled Wild Spells ... And How It All Began , the group came together in July 2002 for a comeback concert with the original four members, from which the live album Cowboys of Peace Live 2002 emerged.

There followed a few appearances at various festivals until the band members parted ways again in 2005. Since 2007 the Shiny Gnomes have been appearing again with a new line-up with changing members and in August 2008 they released the first studio album with new song material since 1996 entitled Spirit of the Band . Since then, the Shiny Gnomes have been giving concerts again and more studio albums have been released.

reception

“There are two records by the Shiny Gnomes:“ Wild Spells ”and“ Some Funny Nightmares ”, and both are not unjustifiably to be praised and praised as they stand out musically from the sixties revival jumble and are almost manic , of which the "Some Funny Nightmares" LP in particular is already striving for pop song heaven, clouded by sophisticated folk, psychedelic, punk, country and even fast metal-like miniatures. "

- Spex , March 1988

"It's always the same: if it weren't a German band, it wouldn't be an indie product - a surefire hit."

- Fachblatt Musikmagazin , March 1988

“In direct comparison with SOME FUNNY NIGHTMARES, the wild blank from 1987, the follow-up work (FIVEHEAD) is a bit more civilized. Which should not be misunderstood as "easily accessible". Where they have become more digestible in terms of sound, they have become more bulky stylistically (due to greater variety) - which, however, does not harm. "

- Musikexpress / Sounds , April 1989, 4 out of 5 stars

"... never before has a German band digged deeper into the PINK FLOYD-Uralt Wunderkiste, never conjured up a more intelligent, more mature and more independent song collection from it."

- Wiener , June 1990, 1st place in the Viennese Favorites

“... the glowing gnomes can take credit for having released what is probably the most groundbreaking garage punk and psychedelia album made in Germany at the time. When the Farfisa organs whine like fair music, the guitars shred the melodies and the drummer behind his kit is hyperventilating, then the lift-off factor, measured against US psychedelia icons such as the 13th Floor Elevators or the Electric Prunes, is at least the same. "

- Rolling Stone , January 2001, 4 stars out of 5.

“The Shiny Gnomes could have done it! Her technical playing skills and the gift of composition corresponded to an international level - but as the bad luck sometimes wants, it only remained with a considerable reputation. The concert from 2002 (five years after the last gig) was recorded in Nuremberg. Mainly material from their early days was played. As the band name suggests, the band's music is extremely multi-layered - Psych, Beat, West Coast, Country, Noise Pop, but everything is framed in its own style. Mostly the songs are in the foreground, especially Limo's singing is very good and supports the atmosphere, which is always a few centimeters above the ground. To check out the listener should try ´Temple Balls´. Few bands in Germany make such intense music! "

- Eclipsed , September 2003

Discography

  • 1985: Sex Maniac (7 "vinyl EP, Glitterhouse)
  • 1986: Wild Spells (vinyl LP, pastel)
  • 1987: Lazing at Desert Inn (7 "vinyl single, pastel)
  • 1987: Some Funny Nightmares (vinyl LP, pastel)
  • 1988: Some Funny Nightmares (Vinyl LP, Roof Music)
  • 1988: Lazing at Desert Inn [Remix] (7 "vinyl single, CD-Maxi + 12" vinyl EP, Polydor)
  • 1988: Some Funny Nightmares (CD + Vinyl LP, Polydor)
  • 1989: Fivehead (CD + Vinyl LP, Polydor)
  • 1989: Hello Darkness (7 "vinyl single, Polydor)
  • 1989: She Is All the Rage (7 "vinyl single, Polydor)
  • 1990: Colliding (CD + Vinyl LP, Polydor)
  • 1990: Science Fiction (7 "vinyl single, Polydor)
  • 1991: Liquid Ladder [Remix] (CD-Maxi + 12 "Vinyl EP, Polydor)
  • 1992: Innocent Aval (CD + colored vinyl LP, Rough Trade)
  • 1992: Yours Gnomefully. A Trip Through the Gnomes' Empire. Vol. 1 (CD, Roof Music)
  • 1993: Orange (CD + colored vinyl LP, Rough Trade)
  • 1993: So Much to Learn (CD-Maxi, Rough Trade)
  • 1994: MC Creatrix (CD + colored vinyl LP, Rough Trade)
  • 1994: She (Remixes of MC Creatrix) (CD-Maxi + 12 "colored vinyl EP, Rough Trade)
  • 1996: Space Service (CD, Rough Trade)
  • 2001: Wild Spells ... And How It All Began (remastered & expanded CD version, Sireena)
  • 2002: Cowboys of Peace Live 2002 (CD, Sireena)
  • 2008: Spirit of the Band (CD, Musical Tragedies)
  • 2015: Garage X (CD, Fuego)
  • 2017: Searchin 'For Capitola (CD, Micropal)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ 30 years of band history and new album: Shiny Gnomes at Brauhaus Altdorf ( Memento from December 30, 2016 in the Internet Archive )
  2. ↑ ShinyGnomes.com: Releases in 2001 ( Memento from February 18, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) (archive version)
  3. ↑ ShinyGnomes.com: Releases in 2003 ( Memento from February 18, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) (archive version)