DIN A TESTBILD - Programm 6

Few bands of the German post punk/new wave era can lay claim to cult" status, but Din A Testbild most certainly can. Formed in 1978 by Mark Eins and Gudrun Gut, the combo played a significant role in defining the avant-garde music of Berlin and were among the pioneers of electro-clash, long before the genre even existed. In the year they started out, Din A Testbild played at the opening of the legendary Berlin underground club S.O. 36 and in 1980 they appeared at Hamburgs first "In Die Zukunft" (trans. "Into The Future") festival, organized by Alfred Hilsberg. "Abfall/Garbage," their first single, is emblematic of the entire West Berlin music scene from 1978-1982. The group also participated in the seminal "Geniale Dilletanten" event at the Tempodrom in Berlin (1981). Their contribution to German underground cinema and the art scene cannot be captured in a few simple words. Such is the measure of the cult and legend of Din A Testbild. Exactly 30 years after the release of their debut LP Programm 1 on Klaus Schulzes IC record label, the Berliners have picked up the thread of their album series with Programm 6 in 2010. Mark Eins is joined by long-term members Nutty Norman and Ralf Zimmermann, as well as Axel Brand, plus guest musicians Gerrit Meijer, the legendary Berlin guitarist of the band PVC and vocalist Bettina Schoch. Din A Testbild aim straight for the dancefloor on Programm 6: driving bass lines, hypnotic grooves, dark harmonies, mechanical sounds, expressive shouts. All given an extra-special flair through the sporadic intervention of industrial instrumentation such as Meijers metal-machine guitar or Nutty Normans chaoscillator and, on occasion, even through Schochs rousing vocals. The album plays without a pause -- Din A Testbild weave an intense, danceable, electronic, expressive aural collage. "Digital Sound Art" is the name the band give to their "acoustic backdrop for the third millennium," a concept which should not hide the fact that analog instruments are very much at play here, with trash guitar to the fore. Mark Eins has this to say about his music: "Its not a question of melodic arcs, but of acoustic perception and entertainment on the highest plane. Its about the challenge, not the standard. Self-discovery, not self-affirmation in a modern, intelligent world. Fun and enjoyment for body and soul, without esoteric pretensions. Art is entertainment is pop." -Bureau B