The Foreign Correspondent Returns - Stories About German Rock Music # 35

The basic idea which I had with this series was to be indicated the spectrum of the German rock music. Besides, of course I have also been guided towards my personal predilections. During the past months I had been able to cover very much a large part of it. What is absent the electronic music and the scene still is itself in Germany during the last years has set up and receives bigger and bigger meaning - and even if it is for the generation that has grown in the last decades again. I'm really not the one that is in for this kind of music but the older I get the more I get into this genre - even if friends of mine ignore still this kind of music. Throughout the last weeks I searched for this music at different places and I would like to introduce you 2raumwohnung (2 space flat).2raumwohnung is a German electric pop duo which was founded about 2000 in Berlin. Members are the singer Inga Humpe and her lifelong companion Tommi Eckart. While typing this words a smile came over my face when I remember that I featured her several times in this series. She was a leading member of Neonbabies - a Berlin based band that came up with the German Punk and New Wave scene. I followed her from this time - sometimes closer and sometimes from the distant. But I always noticed her musical output. They simply did electro pop and they had good critics when they released their first record. And it looked in such a way as if they had caught with her light and a little esoteric songs the spirit of the times at that time. With a little success in their back they decided to make a remix-version of their first record where they played with other influences like Techno and House. If you have open ears for different kind of music or if you are in the mood electronic music - try them.

Here for comparison there is the original and in each case a Remix

The Foreign Correspondent - Stories About German Rock Music # 2

Started this series a few weeks ago to bring you folks some German music that was underrated or nearly forgotten. I tried to post it regular Friday's series and then Dirk challenged me to our 'Battle of the Blogs' and I focused on this. I would not like to step in competition to this. So let's try a second time for a Friday post and be surprised what I'll present.

This one is from a band that has his roots in the early German punk movement in the late 1970s. The Neonbabies was formed in Berlin by the sisters Inga and Annette Humpe. They recorded three records until they split in 1983. Annette Humpe left the band after their first record to join Ideal - another band from the so called New German Wave. Ideal's first hit single 'Blaue Augen' is a monument of this era and was originally released in a rough version on Neonbabie's first record. My favorite record of them was their last record '1983'. They turned away from their basic roots and made some experiments in psychedelic sounds and classic songwriting.

As said, Annette Humpe got success with Ideal and as a producer. She produced the first record from the group her sister Inga joined after the split. It was a German-Austrian collaboration called DÖF a persiflage to the punk/dance band DAF. They had big success among the NDW-era and were one of them bands that didn't play that nonsense the other bands did. In the 1990s the sisters had a collaboration and recorded two records under their own name. Mostly soft and tender songs I use to play later in the evening. Inga got also success early this century with 2raumwohnung.

Neonbabies - Blaue Augen
Neonbabies - Fata Morgana
Neonbabies - Horizont ohne Ende
Neonbabies - Eiskalter Engel