In the Beginning
Brigade Werther’s story originally began in 1987 when Klaus Ge.Walt and Goran Guderian formed a project to produce electronic music and were joined by Matthias Hartung, a gifted keyboarder and engineer in Frankfurt/M.. Due to professional commitments Matthias Hartung left the band in the following year but Mark 4 completed the band´s line up to its current cast of characters.
Early Progress
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Inspired by the Belgian style of “Electronic Hardcore” and “Electronic Body Music” and the British electronic scene, Brigade Werther developed their own version of harsh and cold electronic dance music. A compact set of early demos was presented on tapes and a number of small concerts. Throughout 1989 the band´s first concentrated efforts resulted in a 4-Track-Demo which was recorded in a professional studio and already contained the songs "Screenland Retake", "2 Sonnen brennen" and "Killbeat". After Zoth Ommog-Founder and Techno Club-Impressario Talla 2XL got his hands on one of the circulating demos, he immediately released the material as the EP/CD “to be continued…” on his Label in 1990. “Killbeat” became a massive club-hit and stayed considered as an “EBM-Classic” until today. |
In the process of finalizing “to be continued…” the band joined forces with Jean F. Cochois, an original member of the industrial band “Karposi Sarkom”. With Jean F., their debut-EP and new material on board, Brigade Werther played concerts all over Europe supporting the tours of Psyche and Frontline Assembly in 1990 and 1991. Further releases were “Aggression Camp” and “Technologie” as contributions to compilations of Zoth Ommog and Eisenberg, following a friendship of band-members with Carlos Peron. The follow-up EP “Atlantic Scanner” was completed, but the band could not come to terms with Zoth Ommog for another release.
Electronic Theatre
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Searching for options to realize their concepts of multimedia-visualization the band was addressed by Theatre-impressarios Gordon Vajen and Ralph Förg to produce an Electronic-Theatre-Music-Performance in Frankfurt which resulted in “Kurzes Ültra+”, an hour-filling piece which saw the band on stage besides actors and dancers, conducting a performance which combined the metaphorical language of Robert Wilson with Heiner Müllers dramatic approach. Brigade Werther created the complete stage play and performance and produced a haunting soundtrack as their first production on a 48 tracks machine. |
The first performance project was widely excelled by the follow-up “Exploding Faust”, which found support by the City of Frankfurt am Main and the State of Hessen. Again, the whole band got involved in the creation of an epic soundtrack besides stageplay, dancing sequences, which put the soundscapes into brilliant pictures. In the production-process, stagelight-magician Herbert Cybulska contributed his vital input to the project. Making sense with the Brigade Werther´s name, “Exploding Faust” overwhelmed critics and the audience and set forth the bands career as Multimedia-Performers.
End of the Line…?
Their biggest performance project “Subotnik” premiered at the beginning of 1994 and again found massive support of authorities, critics and fans. The stage was designed as a roof top in a megacity-environment, offering space for the audience to absorb the mesmerizing soundscapes played by the band and to discover numerous actors and dancers which surrounded the construction. The “Subotnik”-stage-setting was co-designed by Namé Vaughn, a musician, producer and artist who happened to work in the compounds where all Brigade Werther projects were developed.
After “Subotnik” the band limited its activities and concentrated on studio-production for other artists and companies. 2004 saw the death of Matthias Hartung and Namé Vaughn, two beloved friends and combatants of the band since their first steps in the Frankfurt-scene.
Rebirth
In 2011 Brigade Werther was approached by the label Infacted-Recordings to re-release “Killbeat” and enthusiastically agreed. In the process of searching and restoring the existing material the band decided to get back on stage with the refreshed material and to continue their unfinished musical journey. A first live show was performed in February 2012 and saw the band playing in their original line-up as a three-piece, bringing on the electronic heat again.