Der Plan
Encyclopedia
Der Plan is a German electronic music
group from Düsseldorf
, formed in the earlier months of 1979 by Moritz Reichelt (A.K.A. "Moritz R"), Kai Horn, and Frank Fenstermacher, originally under the name of Weltaufstandsplan ("The World Rebellion Plan").
This group is considered the pioneer of Neue Deutsche Welle
(New German Wave).
The first single was recorded with the support of Chrislo Haas and Robert Görl (both DAF
members at the time).
The recording of a jam session was carried out in an underground shelter using a cassette
dictation machine
. In 1979 the band released 1500 units of their debut single themselves.
This was the start of Der Plans own label "Warning Records", later known as "Ata Tak".
Their early recordings are reminiscent of industrial sounds
of the same period (e.g. early works of US band Chrome
).
) joined Der Plan a short time later.
The group became more musical, clearly reducing the noisy elements of their songs.
Their 1980 debut album Geri Reig still showed their experimental side.
On this album, they strongly displayed their musical influences, which included The Residents
and Throbbing Gristle
.
Some titles were kept deliberately "inaudible" by the members in order to explore the boundary of music.
At the end of the year, they released the single Da Vorne Steht 'Ne Ampel which had a plausible melody.
Der Plan thereby began to seek out a musical framework which would lead to their later style of "Electronic Schlager
" (electronic hit song), or "Synthi Pop", as they called it themselves.
The single became one of the first hit tunes of Neue Deutsche Welle
, and the group received offers from major record companies. Der Plan decided to remain independent
within their own label, although they accepted a partial contract with Teldec
to re-release the single.
The LP Normalette Surprise was released in 1981 where the group developed "electronic schlagers" further and finally fixed their own style.
In 1982, Rainer Kirberg, the film director, made a film Die letzte Rache (The Last Revenge), for which Der Plan composed the soundtrack
.
The group not only provided the film music: Moritz R was partly responsible for the film's surrealistic scenic design
, which resembled The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
-like German expressionism
, whilst Frank Fenstermacher played a small role as an actor.
The film was broadcast by ZDF
as a part of "Das Kleine Fernsehspiel" series and received critical acclaim. The soundtrack emphasized the group's experimental side in a mixture of experimental sounds and plausible melodies as in preceding works.
In 1984, Der Plan released two singles. Gummitwist did not achieve the expected high chart position, although it was released by a major label (WEA) and enabled the group to appear on ARD
's music program "Formel Eins".
Soon after that, the double single Golden Cheapos was released. It featured three instrumental
tunes.
The group subsequently released the video Japlan, after which they did a successful Japan tour.
The LP entitled Japlan was quite successful in the Japanese market, but was never released in Germany. This LP
work was re-released in CD in 2002.
In 1985, the compilation album
LP Fette Jahre (Fat years) was released in Germany.
It contained well-known single tracks, outtakes, and remixes of previous works. The record sleeve shows an ironic picture of the band members disguised in homeless type clothing.
A new album was released in 1987, entitled Es Ist Eine Fremde Und Seltsame Welt (It is a strange world). The title was taken from a famous quote of Blue Velvet by the cult director David Lynch
. The sleeve is very eye-catching, as the wording and the main monochrome
image are almost entirely in black. One song from this album 1 Mann, 1 Ball was later covered by Der wahre Heino.
As CDs swept across the market, Der Plan decided to release their best album in CD. It was released in 1988 under the title of Perlen.
. Since then Der Plan had changed from a full-time project to an occasional side-project of its members.
Nevertheless they released yet another album, entitled Die Peitsche Des Lebens in 1989, which was much less successful than their previous works.
In 1992 Der Plan eventually split up.
In 1993 the fake live album "Live At The Tiki Ballroom ...", which is confirmed as a studio album on their official website, was released. Its first edition was accompanied by a mini CD, which contained "techno
versions" of well known Der Plan titles.
Moritz R dedicated himself to painting after the group's break up. He chronicled his experiences as part of Der Plan in the book Der Plan - Glanz und Elend der Neuen Deutschen Welle (Der Plan - the Splendor and Misery of the New German Wave).
Pyrolator and Frank Fenstermacher formed a trance
project A Certain Frank later. They joined another German group, Fehlfarben
in 2002.
by Moritz R, Achim Treu and JJ Jones in 2003.
The album Die Verschwörung (The Conspiracy) was released in 2004.
. The entirely virtual band played two gigs using scans of stage designs and masks from their real life in the early 1980s
and was represented by the avatar
s Mo Eriksen, Moni Duettmann and Popeye235 Baxter.
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
group from Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...
, formed in the earlier months of 1979 by Moritz Reichelt (A.K.A. "Moritz R"), Kai Horn, and Frank Fenstermacher, originally under the name of Weltaufstandsplan ("The World Rebellion Plan").
This group is considered the pioneer of Neue Deutsche Welle
Neue Deutsche Welle
Neue Deutsche Welle is a genre of German music originally derived from punk rock and New Wave music...
(New German Wave).
The beginning
Kai Horn, one of the founder members, left the group suddenly before their first recording.The first single was recorded with the support of Chrislo Haas and Robert Görl (both DAF
Deutsch-Amerikanische Freundschaft
Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft or D.A.F. is an influential German electropunk/NDW band from Düsseldorf, formed in 1978 featuring Gabriel "Gabi" Delgado-López , Robert Görl , Kurt "Pyrolator" Dahlke , Michael Kemner and Wolfgang Spelmans...
members at the time).
The recording of a jam session was carried out in an underground shelter using a cassette
Compact Cassette
The Compact Cassette, often referred to as audio cassette, cassette tape, cassette, or simply tape, is a magnetic tape sound recording format. It was designed originally for dictation, but improvements in fidelity led the Compact Cassette to supplant the Stereo 8-track cartridge and reel-to-reel...
dictation machine
Dictation machine
A dictation machine is a sound recording device most commonly used to record speech for later playback or to be typed into print. It includes digital voice recorders and tape recorders....
. In 1979 the band released 1500 units of their debut single themselves.
This was the start of Der Plans own label "Warning Records", later known as "Ata Tak".
Their early recordings are reminiscent of industrial sounds
Industrial music
Industrial music is a style of experimental music that draws on transgressive and provocative themes. The term was coined in the mid-1970s with the founding of Industrial Records by the band Throbbing Gristle, and the creation of the slogan "industrial music for industrial people". In general, the...
of the same period (e.g. early works of US band 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...
).
1980s
Kurt Dahlke aka Pyrolator (ex DAFDeutsch-Amerikanische Freundschaft
Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft or D.A.F. is an influential German electropunk/NDW band from Düsseldorf, formed in 1978 featuring Gabriel "Gabi" Delgado-López , Robert Görl , Kurt "Pyrolator" Dahlke , Michael Kemner and Wolfgang Spelmans...
) joined Der Plan a short time later.
The group became more musical, clearly reducing the noisy elements of their songs.
Their 1980 debut album Geri Reig still showed their experimental side.
On this album, they strongly displayed their musical influences, which included 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....
and Throbbing Gristle
Throbbing Gristle
Throbbing Gristle were an English industrial, avant-garde music and visual arts group that evolved from the performance art group COUM Transmissions...
.
Some titles were kept deliberately "inaudible" by the members in order to explore the boundary of music.
At the end of the year, they released the single Da Vorne Steht 'Ne Ampel which had a plausible melody.
Der Plan thereby began to seek out a musical framework which would lead to their later style of "Electronic Schlager
Schlager
Schlager music is a style of popular music prevalent in Central and Northern Europe and the Balkans and also in France and Poland. In Portugal, it was adapted and became pimba music...
" (electronic hit song), or "Synthi Pop", as they called it themselves.
The single became one of the first hit tunes of Neue Deutsche Welle
Neue Deutsche Welle
Neue Deutsche Welle is a genre of German music originally derived from punk rock and New Wave music...
, and the group received offers from major record companies. Der Plan decided to remain independent
Independent record label
An independent record label is a record label operating without the funding of or outside the organizations of the major record labels. A great number of bands and musical acts begin on independent labels.-Overview:...
within their own label, although they accepted a partial contract with Teldec
Teldec
The Teldec is a German record label in Hamburg, Germany. Today the label is a property of Warner Music Group.-History:...
to re-release the single.
The LP Normalette Surprise was released in 1981 where the group developed "electronic schlagers" further and finally fixed their own style.
In 1982, Rainer Kirberg, the film director, made a film Die letzte Rache (The Last Revenge), for which Der Plan composed the soundtrack
Soundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
.
The group not only provided the film music: Moritz R was partly responsible for the film's surrealistic scenic design
Scenic design
Scenic design is the creation of theatrical, as well as film or television scenery. Scenic designers have traditionally come from a variety of artistic backgrounds, but nowadays, generally speaking, they are trained professionals, often with M.F.A...
, which resembled The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is a 1920 silent horror film directed by Robert Wiene from a screenplay by Hans Janowitz and Carl Mayer. It is one of the most influential of German Expressionist films and is often considered one of the greatest horror movies of the silent era. This movie is cited as...
-like German expressionism
German Expressionism
German Expressionism refers to a number of related creative movements beginning in Germany before the First World War that reached a peak in Berlin, during the 1920s...
, whilst Frank Fenstermacher played a small role as an actor.
The film was broadcast by ZDF
ZDF
Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen , ZDF, is a public-service German television broadcaster based in Mainz . It is run as an independent non-profit institution, which was founded by the German federal states . The ZDF is financed by television licence fees called GEZ and advertising revenues...
as a part of "Das Kleine Fernsehspiel" series and received critical acclaim. The soundtrack emphasized the group's experimental side in a mixture of experimental sounds and plausible melodies as in preceding works.
In 1984, Der Plan released two singles. Gummitwist did not achieve the expected high chart position, although it was released by a major label (WEA) and enabled the group to appear on ARD
ARD (broadcaster)
ARD is a joint organization of Germany's regional public-service broadcasters...
's music program "Formel Eins".
Soon after that, the double single Golden Cheapos was released. It featured three instrumental
Instrumental
An instrumental is a musical composition or recording without lyrics or singing, although it might include some non-articulate vocal input; the music is primarily or exclusively produced by musical instruments....
tunes.
The group subsequently released the video Japlan, after which they did a successful Japan tour.
The LP entitled Japlan was quite successful in the Japanese market, but was never released in Germany. This LP
LP album
The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...
work was re-released in CD in 2002.
In 1985, the compilation album
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
LP Fette Jahre (Fat years) was released in Germany.
It contained well-known single tracks, outtakes, and remixes of previous works. The record sleeve shows an ironic picture of the band members disguised in homeless type clothing.
A new album was released in 1987, entitled Es Ist Eine Fremde Und Seltsame Welt (It is a strange world). The title was taken from a famous quote of Blue Velvet by the cult director David Lynch
David Lynch
David Keith Lynch is an American filmmaker, television director, visual artist, musician and occasional actor. Known for his surrealist films, he has developed his own unique cinematic style, which has been dubbed "Lynchian", and which is characterized by its dream imagery and meticulous sound...
. The sleeve is very eye-catching, as the wording and the main monochrome
Monochrome
Monochrome describes paintings, drawings, design, or photographs in one color or shades of one color. A monochromatic object or image has colors in shades of limited colors or hues. Images using only shades of grey are called grayscale or black-and-white...
image are almost entirely in black. One song from this album 1 Mann, 1 Ball was later covered by Der wahre Heino.
As CDs swept across the market, Der Plan decided to release their best album in CD. It was released in 1988 under the title of Perlen.
Breakup
Working for the label and record distribution activities over-shadowed the focusing on the band's music. Differences within the group about career priorities began in 1983, resulting in Moritz R leaving the label Ata Tak and moving to HamburgHamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
. Since then Der Plan had changed from a full-time project to an occasional side-project of its members.
Nevertheless they released yet another album, entitled Die Peitsche Des Lebens in 1989, which was much less successful than their previous works.
In 1992 Der Plan eventually split up.
In 1993 the fake live album "Live At The Tiki Ballroom ...", which is confirmed as a studio album on their official website, was released. Its first edition was accompanied by a mini CD, which contained "techno
Techno
Techno is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in Detroit, Michigan in the United States during the mid to late 1980s. The first recorded use of the word techno, in reference to a genre of music, was in 1988...
versions" of well known Der Plan titles.
Moritz R dedicated himself to painting after the group's break up. He chronicled his experiences as part of Der Plan in the book Der Plan - Glanz und Elend der Neuen Deutschen Welle (Der Plan - the Splendor and Misery of the New German Wave).
Pyrolator and Frank Fenstermacher formed a trance
Trance music
Trance is a genre of electronic dance music that developed in the 1990s.:251 It is generally characterized by a tempo of between 125 and 150 bpm,:252 repeating melodic synthesizer phrases, and a musical form that builds up and breaks down throughout a track...
project A Certain Frank later. They joined another German group, Fehlfarben
Fehlfarben
Fehlfarben is a German post-punk band from Düsseldorf, Germany. The band name is from a German printing term referring to erroneous colors in prints: singer Peter Hein was in this line of work at Xerox while in the band...
in 2002.
Der Plan v4.0
Der Plan was formed again as Der Plan v4.0 in BerlinBerlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
by Moritz R, Achim Treu and JJ Jones in 2003.
The album Die Verschwörung (The Conspiracy) was released in 2004.
Der Plan v5.0
In 2008 Der Plan was formed as Der Plan v5.0 within the online virtual world Second LifeSecond Life
Second Life is an online virtual world developed by Linden Lab. It was launched on June 23, 2003. A number of free client programs, or Viewers, enable Second Life users, called Residents, to interact with each other through avatars...
. The entirely virtual band played two gigs using scans of stage designs and masks from their real life in the early 1980s
1980s
File:1980s decade montage.png|thumb|400px|From left, clockwise: The first Space Shuttle, Columbia, lifted off in 1981; American President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev eased tensions between the two superpowers, leading to the end of the Cold War; The Fall of the Berlin Wall in...
and was represented by the avatar
Avatar
In Hinduism, an avatar is a deliberate descent of a deity to earth, or a descent of the Supreme Being and is mostly translated into English as "incarnation," but more accurately as "appearance" or "manifestation"....
s Mo Eriksen, Moni Duettmann and Popeye235 Baxter.
Musical Style
Der Plan's musical style is a thing of much, and often heated debate. It has been referred to (in almost equal measures) as "a work of Genius", and "the demented results of a kindergarten music project gone terribly wrong".Discography
- 1979: Der Plan (Single)
- 1980: Geri Reig (LP/CD)
- 1980: Da Vorne Steht Ne Ampel (Single)
- 1981: Normalette Surprise (LP/CD)
- 1982: Arbeit Liebe Brot Einfachheit Tod (Single, Supplement material of a sampler "Fix Planet")
- 1982: Die Letzte Rache (LP/CD)
- 1984: Gummitwist (Single/Maxi)
- 1984: Golden Cheapos (Double Single)
- 1984: Japlan (LP/CD Japan Release)
- 1985: Fette Jahre (LP)
- 1987: Es Ist Eine Fremde Und Seltsame Welt (LP)
- 1988: Perlen (CD)
- 1989: Die Peitsche Des Lebens (LP/CD)
- 1993: Live At The Tiki Ballroom Of The Senior Maoris Recreation Center In Maketu, Bay Of Plenty, New Zealand (CD)
- 1993: Pocket (MiniCD, Beilage zur Live CD)
- 2004: Die Verschwörung (LP/CD)