State of the Art (band)
| State of the art | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Genre (s) | Synth pop |
| founding | 1985, 1990 as Boys on Parade |
| resolution | 1989 |
| Founding members | |
Guitar, vocals |
Frank Schmitz |
Keyboard, vocals |
Stephan Koch |
| Current occupation | |
Keyboard, vocals |
Stephan Koch |
Guitar, keyboard |
Andreas Würfel |
Drums, percussion, programming |
Georg Koch |
| former members | |
Guitar, vocals |
Frank Schmitz |
State of the Art is a German synth-pop band.
history
The band was founded in 1986 in Cologne by Frank Schmitz (guitar, vocals) and Stephan Koch (keyboard, vocals, production). A year later, in 1987, Georg Koch was added as a drummer. All three musicians had bundled their school band and other band experiences from the last four years before the foundation in order to be able to present their songs to a wider public. The band's first recordings were made in the VAMP recording studio in Cologne . The first demo tapes were recorded here and played to some A&R managers in Hamburg . The record company Phonogram immediately signed the band due to the quality of the songs and demo material.
For the debut single Love Remains a Rebel, the record company selected pop producer Ulrich "James" Herter ( Two of Us ) and music publisher Karin Wirthmann, Blue Box and Media Musikverlag. This team of band, producer and music publisher produced the debut single Love remains a rebel and the ballad Fighting for spaces for the record company Phonogram in 1986 in the Reutlingen recording studio Atlantis and in the Munich Park Studios. With the publication in 1987, the first television appearances followed. Video clips for the Formula One music program and radio charts were shown. They composed a pop song that was to bring awards and placements as the band's second single.
The song Love Will Keep Us Together was produced with the same team of producer and music publisher in Reutlingen and Munich in 1988. The second single Love Will Keep Us Together was released in Germany, France, Austria and Switzerland in 1988 (B – track of this single On Deaf Ears ). In Germany, appearances in television shows and video clips from the music show Formula One followed. The title was able to place itself in the radio charts like the WDR Schlagerrallye , where it reached 15th place in the annual evaluation. In the program Goldene Europa , the band State of the Art came second behind the German pop band Pur . This was followed by live performances in France and Germany and studio work on an album. For the third single Shout and Run in 1988/89 the confirmation for a record deal came from EMI Electrola in Cologne. The single Shout and Run was released in connection with further album material and provided with a music video.
Dissolution and a new beginning
The zeitgeist of the 1990s and musical changes led to the dissolution of the band in 1988/89. The band was featured on the sampler EMI Hot Shots No. 5 in 1989 and on the sampler Heart To The Core Vol. 5 in 2012 . The band's musician and singer, Stephan Koch, formed anew and took on a new musician. From numerous studio sessions he met the musician Andreas Würfel (guitar, keyboard, songwriting) and gave himself the name Boys on Parade . In 1990 the band Boys on Parade was made up as follows: Andreas Würfel (guitar, keyboard, lyrics), Stephan Koch (vocals, keyboard, songwriting), Georg Koch (drums, percussion, programming). The first single of this new formation, Love Begs Love , was released by Blue Box and Media in 1990, and further album material followed. From then on, Stephan Koch concentrated on producing artists and bands. Numerous publications of his productions for BMG Munich, Polydor Records, East West Records and Sony Music followed. As a music producer, he still composes and produces in his project studio mp10-studio in Cologne.
Web links
- State of The Art at Discogs (English)
Individual evidence
- ^ Formula One Playlist , accessed on February 20, 2015
- ↑ Program from Sunday, May 15, 1988 , accessed on February 20, 2015
- ↑ Schlagerrallye annual evaluation 1988 ( Memento of the original from February 20, 2015 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. , accessed February 20, 2015
