Werkraum
Encyclopedia
Overview
Growing up in the fields of experimental musicExperimental music
Experimental music refers, in the English-language literature, to a compositional tradition which arose in the mid-20th century, applied particularly in North America to music composed in such a way that its outcome is unforeseeable. Its most famous and influential exponent was John Cage...
and post-industrial music with several other projects since the early 1990s, Axel Frank began to adapt a more melodic neofolk
Neofolk
Neofolk is a form of folk music-inspired experimental music that emerged from post-industrial music circles. Neofolk can either be solely acoustic folk music or a blend of acoustic folk instrumentation aided by varieties of accompanying sounds such as pianos, strings and elements of industrial...
, electronic
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...
and dark ambient
Dark ambient
Dark ambient is a subgenre of ambient music that features foreboding, ominous, or discordant overtones. Although it had its roots in the 1970s, Dark ambient emerged in the 1980s and 1990s with the introduction of newer, smaller, and more affordable Effects units, synthesizer and sampling technology...
approach. Under the new name Werkraum (German for "Work Room"), Frank released this material on CDRs and multiple compilations in the late 1990s and early 2000s until debuting with a full length LP on Cold Spring Records in 2004. Frank continued to release material on various compilations until and after the release of 2005's Kristalle, Werkraum's second album, focused on more melancholic and psychedelic
Psychedelic
The term psychedelic is derived from the Greek words ψυχή and δηλοῦν , translating to "soul-manifesting". A psychedelic experience is characterized by the striking perception of aspects of one's mind previously unknown, or by the creative exuberance of the mind liberated from its ostensibly...
original folk music
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
tunes, based in parts on Traditional music
Traditional music
Traditional music is the term increasingly used for folk music that is not contemporary folk music. More on this is at the terminology section of the World music article...
and early music
Early music
Early music is generally understood as comprising all music from the earliest times up to the Renaissance. However, today this term has come to include "any music for which a historically appropriate style of performance must be reconstructed on the basis of surviving scores, treatises,...
. With Early love Music in 2008, Frank sets a mark on his path to his own characteristic mixture of traditional folk music
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
and modern folk rock
Folk rock
Folk rock is a musical genre combining elements of folk music and rock music. In its earliest and narrowest sense, the term referred to a genre that arose in the United States and the UK around the mid-1960s...
plus a fresh reinvention of German-speaking psych folk
Psych folk
Psychedelic folk or psych folk is a loosely defined form of psychedelic music that originated in the 1960s through the fusion of folk music and psychedelic rock...
. With elaborated guitar and string play, the use of multiple languages, amongst others Old French
Old French
Old French was the Romance dialect continuum spoken in territories that span roughly the northern half of modern France and parts of modern Belgium and Switzerland from the 9th century to the 14th century...
and Middle High German
Middle High German
Middle High German , abbreviated MHG , is the term used for the period in the history of the German language between 1050 and 1350. It is preceded by Old High German and followed by Early New High German...
, Werkraum receive a more and more worldwide recognition, partly reminding of bands like the early Ougenweide
Ougenweide
Ougenweide is a progressive rock band from Germany. They are notable for being pioneers of the medieval folk rock subgenre. The name comes from Middle High German ougenweide .- The beginning :...
or Fit & Limo.
Members of the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Gothic-Folk act Lady Morphia, German
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...
singer Antje Hoppenrath, the members of the late sixties US Folk band Changes
Changes (band)
Changes are an American folk band formed in 1969 by cousins Robert N. Taylor and Nicholas Tesluk. Changes saw three distinct periods with rotating band members before their contemporary incarnation, heavily associated with the neofolk genre....
and from the Austrian Folk band Sturmpercht
Sturmpercht
Sturmpercht is an Austrian experimental, traditional folk and neofolk group inspired partially by indigenous alpine tradition.-Albums And EPs:-Compilations:-External links:**...
have also contributed to Werkraum. Frank has since become a member of Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n alpine tradition Folk band Sturmpercht
Sturmpercht
Sturmpercht is an Austrian experimental, traditional folk and neofolk group inspired partially by indigenous alpine tradition.-Albums And EPs:-Compilations:-External links:**...
, where under the pseudonym Hanns Aufschring he plays a distinctive musical role, while his work for live sessions and for studio- and mastering engineering for international artists like as well as for local and European independent labels continues. New and more progressive works for Werkraum are announced for 2009 and 2010. Frank is living in Berlin
Berlin
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...
, Germany
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...
.
Albums And EPs
| Year | Title | Format, Special Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Werkraum I | CDR, Bucranion. |
| 2000 | Werkraum II | CDR, Bucranion. |
| 2004 | Unsere Feuer brennen! | Debut album, CD, Cold Spring. |
| 2005 | Kristalle | Second album, CD, collaboration with Changes (band) Changes (band) Changes are an American folk band formed in 1969 by cousins Robert N. Taylor and Nicholas Tesluk. Changes saw three distinct periods with rotating band members before their contemporary incarnation, heavily associated with the neofolk genre.... Ahnstern/Steinklang. |
| 2008 | Early Love Music | 3rd album, CD, collaboration with Changes (band) Changes (band) Changes are an American folk band formed in 1969 by cousins Robert N. Taylor and Nicholas Tesluk. Changes saw three distinct periods with rotating band members before their contemporary incarnation, heavily associated with the neofolk genre.... Ahnstern/Steinklang. |
| 2009 | Unsere Feuer brennen! | Re-issue, CD, Cold Spring. |
Compilations (selection)
| Year | Title | Format, Special Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | From Nowhere To Nothing | LP, Thaglasz. |
| 2000 | Death In June | Tribute to Death In June Death in June Death in June are a neofolk group led by English folk musician Douglas Pearce, better known as Douglas P. The band was originally formed in Britain in 1981 as a trio, but after the other members left in 1984 and 1985 to work on other projects, the group became the work of Douglas P. and various... , book + CD, Thaglasz. |
| 2001 | Za Dom Spremni | LP, Thaglasz. |
| 2001 | Notre Domicile Est L'Europe | book + 4 CDs, Thaglasz. |
| 2002 | Der Waldgänger | DLP, Thaglasz. |
| 2002 | Security of Ignorance | 10 LP box, Thaglasz. |
| 2003 | Thagalasz 6 | 10" + book, Thaglasz. |
| 2003 | Tonwerk Flammenzauber I | CD, Eternal Soul/Bucranion. |
| 2003 | In Stahlgewittern II | 5 LP box, Steinklang. |
| 2003 | Wir rufen deine Wölfe | CD/LP, Aorta/Ahnstern. |
| 2004 | V.A. Eternal Soul | LP box, Eternal Soul. |
| 2004 | Tonwerk Flammenzauber II | CD, Eternal Soul. |
| 2005 | Perversion Vol. 14 | Disc packaged with volume 14 of the Italian Ritual Magazine. |
| 2005 | Mia Runa | DCD, Steinklang. |
| 2005 | Orkus 15 | Disc packaged with volume 15 of the German Orkus Magazine. |
| 2005 | Looking For Europe | Along with the book with the same name, featuring relevant folk Folk music Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers.... and neofolk artists. 4 CDs in a box, Prophecy/Auerbach. |
| 2006 | Swarm | Label compilation, DCD feat. "La lutte des jeunes", an exclusive and previously unreleased track by Werkraum in the original line-up from 1996, Cold Spring. |
| 2007 | V/A - Steinklang Industries II 2-CD | Label compilation, DCD, Steinklang. |
| 2008 | V/A - Steinklang Industries III CD | Label compilation, CD, Steinklang. |
| 2008 | V/A - Wilde Jaeger 2CD | Compilation, 2CD, Steinklang. |
| 2008 | V/A - Orkus Compilation 41 CD | Disc packaged with volume 41 of the German Orkus Magazine. |
| 2008 | V/A - A Monstrous Psychedelic Bubble Vol 1 - Cosmic Space Music 2CD | Compilation, collected and edited by The Future Sound of London The Future Sound of London The Future Sound of London is a prolific British electronic music band composed of Garry Cobain and Brian Dougans. The duo are often credited with pushing the boundaries of electronic music experimentation and of pioneering a new era of dance music... , 2CD, Platipus. |
| 2009 | V/A - Pagan Folk Und Apocalyptic Psychedelia CD | Compilation, CD, Ahnstern/Steinklang |
Official
Interviews
- September 2005 interview with Axel Frank by Malahki Thorn, (USA)
- Interview in Folkworld Magazine from 2008 (UK)