Tohuvabohu
Encyclopedia
Tohuvabohu is industrial rock
group KMFDM
's fifteenth studio album, released on August 21, 2007, on the band's record label KMFDM Records and Metropolis Records
. It was recorded in Seattle, Washington
.
The word "tohuvabohu" is derived from the biblical Hebrew phrase "tohu va bohu
", meaning "without form and void" or "chaos and utter confusion", which was used to describe the state of the earth before creation. The band describes their usage of the term as meaning "wild and chaotic".
"Superpower" uses samples taken from phone calls made by fans to a phone line set up by the band. Additional samples from these phone calls were compiled on the track "What We Do For You" on Brimborium
. Additionally, most of the songs from Tohuvabohu were remixed for Brimborium
.
made a posting to his personal blog indicating his displeasure at the fact that the band had altered his original artwork submission. In the final version used on the album, the original red color palette had been switched to orange, and several stylized buildings and cranes in the background had been replaced with a starburst pattern.
Industrial rock
Industrial rock is a musical genre that fuses industrial music and specific rock subgenres. Industrial rock spawned industrial metal, with which it is often confused...
group KMFDM
KMFDM
KMFDM is an industrial band led by German multi-instrumentalist Sascha Konietzko, who founded the group in 1984 as a performance art project...
's fifteenth studio album, released on August 21, 2007, on the band's record label KMFDM Records and Metropolis Records
Metropolis Records
Metropolis Records is a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania based record label, distributor, and mail-order store specializing in the post-industrial field such as electro-industrial, synthpop, futurepop, darkwave, and gothic musical genres....
. It was recorded in Seattle, Washington
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
.
The word "tohuvabohu" is derived from the biblical Hebrew phrase "tohu va bohu
Tohu va bohu
Tohu wa bohu is a Biblical Hebrew phrase found in the Book of Genesis 1:2. It is usually translated "formless and empty," or some variation of the same, and describes the condition of the earth before God said, "Let there be light." Precise translation of the phrase is difficult, as only the first...
", meaning "without form and void" or "chaos and utter confusion", which was used to describe the state of the earth before creation. The band describes their usage of the term as meaning "wild and chaotic".
"Superpower" uses samples taken from phone calls made by fans to a phone line set up by the band. Additional samples from these phone calls were compiled on the track "What We Do For You" on Brimborium
Brimborium
Brimborium is a remix album by the industrial rock band KMFDM. It was released on February 19, 2008.It features remixes of several tracks from 2007's Tohuvabohu, one remix from Hau Ruck, and the new track "What We Do for You", which consists of voice messages from the KMFDM Fan Phone and whose...
. Additionally, most of the songs from Tohuvabohu were remixed for Brimborium
Brimborium
Brimborium is a remix album by the industrial rock band KMFDM. It was released on February 19, 2008.It features remixes of several tracks from 2007's Tohuvabohu, one remix from Hau Ruck, and the new track "What We Do for You", which consists of voice messages from the KMFDM Fan Phone and whose...
.
Cover art conflict
Shortly after the cover artwork for Tohuvabohu was revealed on the KMFDM website, longtime cover artist Brute!Aidan Hughes
Aidan Hughes is a commercial artist. He was born in 1956 in Merseyside, England, and was trained as an artist by his father, himself a landscape painter.In the 1980s, Hughes published a pulp-style magazine called BRUTE! which earned him notoriety...
made a posting to his personal blog indicating his displeasure at the fact that the band had altered his original artwork submission. In the final version used on the album, the original red color palette had been switched to orange, and several stylized buildings and cranes in the background had been replaced with a starburst pattern.
Track listing
Personnel
- Lucia CifarelliLucia CifarelliLucia Cifarelli is currently a vocalist and occasional keyboardist for industrial music group KMFDM...
– vocals - Jules HodgsonJules HodgsonJules Hodgson, also credited as Joolz or J. Hogstorm, is the guitarist for KMFDM, an industrial band, and The Spittin' Cobras . He is a former member of PIG and Lodestar. In 2006, Hodgson married pin-up model Go-go Amy and divorced in 2008. Jules now resides in Seattle, Washington...
– guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, programmingSynthesizerA synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones... - Sascha KonietzkoSascha KonietzkoSascha Konietzko , also known as Sascha K and Käpt'n K, is a German musician and producer. He is the founder, frontman, and "anchor" of industrial rock band KMFDM. Konietzko jokingly purports himself to be the father of industrial rock...
– vocals, analogue synthesizersAnalog synthesizerAn analog or analogue synthesizer is a synthesizer that uses analog circuits and analog computer techniques to generate sound electronically. The earliest analog synthesizers in the 1920s and 1930s such as the Trautonium were built with a variety of vacuum-tube and electro-mechanical technologies...
, bass, programming - Andy SelwayAndy SelwayKMFDM drummer Andy Selway spent his early years in Luton, England, but moved to Kirton near Felixstowe in Suffolk where he remained until his early 20s...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, programming - Steve WhiteSteve White (guitarist)Steve White is an English guitarist for KMFDM, first joining the band in 2002 for the Sturm & Drang Tour, and later appearing on several live albums/DVDs and the studio albums Hau Ruck, Tohuvabohu and Blitz . Previously he was a member of PIG, the project of fellow KMFDM contributor Raymond Watts....
– guitar, programming - Army Denio – alto saxophoneAlto saxophoneThe alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in 1841. It is smaller than the tenor but larger than the soprano, and is the type most used in classical compositions...
(1) - Jin Kninja – Paris SelmerThe Selmer CompanyHenri Selmer Paris company is a French family-owned enterprise, manufacturer of musical instruments based in Paris, France in 1885. It is known for its high-quality woodwind and brass instruments, especially saxophones, clarinets and trumpets...
'radial' trumpetTrumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
(1)