Christoph Heemann
Encyclopedia
Christoph Heemann is a German
musician.
Heemann has recorded under his own name, with the tape music
group H.N.A.S., and with many collaborators in alternative rock
, soundtrack production and visual arts.
and Van Dyke Parks
, and later offbeat experimentalists like American West Coast radicals The Residents
, Tuxedomoon
, Chrome
, MX-80 Sound and Renaldo and the Loaf
.
Though his hometown featured some notable experimental rock groups (like Rufus Zuphall and Necronomicon), Heemann was largely unaware of them and of the larger "Krautrock
" movement until introduced to it via British or American friends. Largely self-taught in electronic equipment, Heemann started out as a "non-musician" with acquaintance Achim P. Li Khan The duo's influences at the time included Chrome, Jac Berrocal
(France) and Nurse With Wound
.
These activities finally led to the creation of the "Faust
"-influenced unit "H.N.A.S." (i.e. Hirsche Nicht Aufs Sofa, roughly "No Deer allowed on the Sofa") after meeting up with Steven Stapleton
from the like-minded Nurse With Wound
. The duo's first step on the record-producing market were two self-produced samplers (released on their own "Dom"-Label) Ohrensausen and Ohrenschrauben. Featured various artists like P16.D4
, Organum
, H.N.A.S., and Nurse With Wound
.
H.N.A.S. sometimes included Heemann's brother Andreas Martin on guitar and Nicole Schmidt on vocals. This quartet cut several full-length albums, the third of which Im Schatten der Möhre (1987) met with critical acclaim and can be regarded as their major work. Other titles include Melchior - Aufmarsch der Schlampen, Küttel im Frost and Abwassermusik and give proof of an extraordinary sense of humour and a profound knowledge of German underground as they are full of references to major Krautrock electronicisms. Another notable H.N.A.S. album was "The book of Dingenskirchen" -- the title being an ironic reference to Psychic TV's 23 live LPs and Germans' pseudo-correct pronunciation of English names. It was issued in different record jackets, each designed by H.N.A.S., as were most of the other H.N.A.S. productions.
In 1993, H.N.A.S. disbanded due to creative differences. Their final album, "Willkür nach Noten", displayed their growing dissent. This became apparent on the previous "Ach dieser Bart" album: Khan and Heemann were each responsible for a side of the LP.
(from The Legendary Pink Dots
) with whom he produced "Kata-Climici-China-Doll" and later worked together in the band "Mimir
", composed half-and-half of H.N.A.S. and Legendary Pink Dots. He also worked with the German musician/performer Limpe Fuchs, and with the U.S.'s Jim O'Rourke
.
Mirror
, a duo with established English drone musician Andrew Chalk was a very fruitful collaboration with many releases, often initially appearing in limited, hand-made editions before being reissued in more widely available form. This unit ceased to exist around 2005, although a handful of unreleased recordings are still scheduled to be issued. Heemann has also worked with David Tibet
from "Current 93
" and was a semi-steady member of that group during the late 90's.
In Camera, another duo project with Af Ursin's Timo Van Luyck was started in 2004 and has produced two albums so far, the self titled first album (Some fine legacy) and Open Air (Robot), presenting yet another facet of Heemann's ideas of textural electroacustica, this time with a focus on improvisation.
, Chicago
, Toronto
, and Tokyo
became more frequent. Solo works include titles such as Invisible Barrier (1992), Aftersolstice (1994), Days of the Eclipse (1996) and Magnetic Tape Splicing (1997).
Heemann also worked as a producer and engineer on albums by artists such as Keiji Haino
, Charlemagne Palestine
, Organum
and Pantaleimon.
As a visual artist Heemann has created album sleeves for Jim O'Rourke
, The Teargarden, The Aeolian String Ensemble, Edward Ka-spel
and Limpe Fuchs amongst others.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
musician.
Heemann has recorded under his own name, with the tape music
Tape Music
Tape Music is an experimental 10" vinyl release by Jack Dangers. The vinyl release was coupled with the album Sounds Of The 20th Century No2 when released as a flexi disc vinyl....
group H.N.A.S., and with many collaborators in alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
, soundtrack production and visual arts.
Early years and creation of H.N.A.S.
Heemann's early favorites included Laura NyroLaura Nyro
Laura Nyro was an American songwriter, singer, and pianist. She achieved considerable critical acclaim with her own recordings, particularly the albums Eli and the Thirteenth Confession and New York Tendaberry, and had commercial success with artists such as Barbra Streisand and The 5th...
and Van Dyke Parks
Van Dyke Parks
Van Dyke Parks is an American composer, arranger, producer, musician, singer, author and actor. Parks is perhaps best known for his contributions as a lyricist on the Beach Boys album Smile....
, and later offbeat experimentalists like American West Coast radicals The Residents
The Residents
The Residents is an American art collective best known for avant-garde music and multimedia works. The first official release under the name of The Residents was in 1972, and the group has since released over sixty albums, numerous music videos and short films, three CD-ROM projects and ten DVDs....
, Tuxedomoon
Tuxedomoon
Tuxedomoon is an experimental post-punk/New Wave group formed in San Francisco, California, consisting of core members Blaine L. Reininger, Steven Brown and Peter Principle....
, Chrome
Chrome (band)
Chrome was an experimental rock group founded in San Francisco, California in 1976.Chrome took part of their inspiration for their rough and sometimes chaotic music from proto punk pioneers like The Stooges. The sound of the group was often coarse and featured heavy elements of feedback and...
, MX-80 Sound and Renaldo and the Loaf
Renaldo and the Loaf
Renaldo and the Loaf was an English musical duo active in the late seventies and most of the eighties, consisting of a pathologist and an architect ....
.
Though his hometown featured some notable experimental rock groups (like Rufus Zuphall and Necronomicon), Heemann was largely unaware of them and of the larger "Krautrock
Krautrock
Krautrock is a generic name for the experimental music scenes that appeared in Germany in the late 1960s and gained popularity throughout the 1970s, especially in Britain. The term is a result of the English-speaking world's reception of the music at the time and not a reference to any one...
" movement until introduced to it via British or American friends. Largely self-taught in electronic equipment, Heemann started out as a "non-musician" with acquaintance Achim P. Li Khan The duo's influences at the time included Chrome, Jac Berrocal
Jac Berrocal
Jacques "Jac" Berrocal is a French trumpeter, singer and composer. He has been active since the 1970s in the independent and avant-garde music scene, and has released many albums. He also founded and performed in the group Catalogue, and has collaborated with Ron Anderson...
(France) and Nurse With Wound
Nurse with Wound
Nurse with Wound is the main recording name for British musician Steven Stapleton. Nurse with Wound was originally a band, formed in 1978 by Stapleton, John Fothergill and Heman Pathak...
.
These activities finally led to the creation of the "Faust
Faust
Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend; a highly successful scholar, but also dissatisfied with his life, and so makes a deal with the devil, exchanging his soul for unlimited knowledge and worldly pleasures. Faust's tale is the basis for many literary, artistic, cinematic, and musical...
"-influenced unit "H.N.A.S." (i.e. Hirsche Nicht Aufs Sofa, roughly "No Deer allowed on the Sofa") after meeting up with Steven Stapleton
Steven Stapleton
Steven Peter Stapleton is a British musician and the only constant member of experimental improv outfit Nurse with Wound...
from the like-minded Nurse With Wound
Nurse with Wound
Nurse with Wound is the main recording name for British musician Steven Stapleton. Nurse with Wound was originally a band, formed in 1978 by Stapleton, John Fothergill and Heman Pathak...
. The duo's first step on the record-producing market were two self-produced samplers (released on their own "Dom"-Label) Ohrensausen and Ohrenschrauben. Featured various artists like P16.D4
P16.D4
P16.D4 was a German electronic noise music collective, active primarily from 1980 to 1988, whose work was inspired by the punk and Neue Deutsche Welle scene of the early 1980s, which they ruthlessly mocked in their debut self-released 7", "Bruckenkopf im Neimansland". The group began as the...
, Organum
Organum
Organum is, in general, a plainchant melody with at least one added voice to enhance the harmony, developed in the Middle Ages. Depending on the mode and form of the chant, a supporting bass line may be sung on the same text, the melody may be followed in parallel motion , or a combination of...
, H.N.A.S., and Nurse With Wound
Nurse with Wound
Nurse with Wound is the main recording name for British musician Steven Stapleton. Nurse with Wound was originally a band, formed in 1978 by Stapleton, John Fothergill and Heman Pathak...
.
H.N.A.S. sometimes included Heemann's brother Andreas Martin on guitar and Nicole Schmidt on vocals. This quartet cut several full-length albums, the third of which Im Schatten der Möhre (1987) met with critical acclaim and can be regarded as their major work. Other titles include Melchior - Aufmarsch der Schlampen, Küttel im Frost and Abwassermusik and give proof of an extraordinary sense of humour and a profound knowledge of German underground as they are full of references to major Krautrock electronicisms. Another notable H.N.A.S. album was "The book of Dingenskirchen" -- the title being an ironic reference to Psychic TV's 23 live LPs and Germans' pseudo-correct pronunciation of English names. It was issued in different record jackets, each designed by H.N.A.S., as were most of the other H.N.A.S. productions.
In 1993, H.N.A.S. disbanded due to creative differences. Their final album, "Willkür nach Noten", displayed their growing dissent. This became apparent on the previous "Ach dieser Bart" album: Khan and Heemann were each responsible for a side of the LP.
Mimir, Mirror, In Camera and Current 93
After disbanding both went into different directions. Heemann's new projects included numerous collaborations with Edward Ka-SpelEdward Ka-Spel
Edward Ka-Spel is an expatriate English singer, songwriter and musician residing in the Netherlands.-Biography:...
(from The Legendary Pink Dots
The Legendary Pink Dots
The Legendary Pink Dots are an Anglo-Dutch experimental rock band formed in London in August 1980. Although far outside the mainstream , LPD have released more than 40 albums, have a devoted worldwide following, and tour frequently.-Overview:The Legendary Pink Dots formed in August 1980 in London...
) with whom he produced "Kata-Climici-China-Doll" and later worked together in the band "Mimir
Mímir
Mímir or Mim is a figure in Norse mythology renowned for his knowledge and wisdom who is beheaded during the Æsir-Vanir War...
", composed half-and-half of H.N.A.S. and Legendary Pink Dots. He also worked with the German musician/performer Limpe Fuchs, and with the U.S.'s Jim O'Rourke
Jim O'Rourke (musician)
Jim O'Rourke is an Irish-American musician and record producer. He was long associated with the Chicago experimental and improv scene...
.
Mirror
Mirror
A mirror is an object that reflects light or sound in a way that preserves much of its original quality prior to its contact with the mirror. Some mirrors also filter out some wavelengths, while preserving other wavelengths in the reflection...
, a duo with established English drone musician Andrew Chalk was a very fruitful collaboration with many releases, often initially appearing in limited, hand-made editions before being reissued in more widely available form. This unit ceased to exist around 2005, although a handful of unreleased recordings are still scheduled to be issued. Heemann has also worked with David Tibet
David Tibet
David Tibet is a British poet and artist who founded the music group Current 93, of which he is the only full-time member. He had earlier collaborated with Psychic TV and 23 Skidoo...
from "Current 93
Current 93
Current 93 is an eclectic British experimental music group, working since the early 1980s in folk-based musical forms. The band was founded in 1982 by David Tibet .-Background:Tibet has been the only constant in the group, though Steven Stapleton has appeared on...
" and was a semi-steady member of that group during the late 90's.
In Camera, another duo project with Af Ursin's Timo Van Luyck was started in 2004 and has produced two albums so far, the self titled first album (Some fine legacy) and Open Air (Robot), presenting yet another facet of Heemann's ideas of textural electroacustica, this time with a focus on improvisation.
Solo Works
After the split-up of H.N.A.S., Heemann also became active as a solo-artist: The number of TV appearances (such as in Nancy, France), live-performances in locations such as Austin, TexasAustin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
, Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, and Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
became more frequent. Solo works include titles such as Invisible Barrier (1992), Aftersolstice (1994), Days of the Eclipse (1996) and Magnetic Tape Splicing (1997).
Heemann also worked as a producer and engineer on albums by artists such as Keiji Haino
Keiji Haino
Keiji Haino born May 3, 1952 in Chiba, Japan, and currently residing in Tokyo, is a Japanese musician whose work has included rock, free improvisation, noise, singer-songwriter, solo percussion, psychedelic, minimalism and drone styles...
, Charlemagne Palestine
Charlemagne Palestine
Charlemagne Palestine is an American minimalist composer, performer, and visual artist...
, Organum
Organum
Organum is, in general, a plainchant melody with at least one added voice to enhance the harmony, developed in the Middle Ages. Depending on the mode and form of the chant, a supporting bass line may be sung on the same text, the melody may be followed in parallel motion , or a combination of...
and Pantaleimon.
As a visual artist Heemann has created album sleeves for Jim O'Rourke
Jim O'Rourke (musician)
Jim O'Rourke is an Irish-American musician and record producer. He was long associated with the Chicago experimental and improv scene...
, The Teargarden, The Aeolian String Ensemble, Edward Ka-spel
Edward Ka-Spel
Edward Ka-Spel is an expatriate English singer, songwriter and musician residing in the Netherlands.-Biography:...
and Limpe Fuchs amongst others.