Deutsch-Amerikanische Freundschaft
DAF is an influential
electropunk /
Neue Deutsche Welle band from
Düsseldorf, formed in 1978 featuring drummer/synth player
Robert Görl, vocalist
Gabi Delgado-Lopez , guitarist
Wolfgang Spelmans and bassist/keyboardist/saxophonist
Chrislo Haas. The name stands for
Deutsch-Amerikanische Freundschaft or
German-American friendship - which at the time the band formed was a shot at DSF, the East German
German-Soviet friendship organization.
DAF's most famous song is the grimly sarcastic "Der Mussolini" from the album
"Alles Ist Gut", a pulsing dance song featuring the lyrics "Dance the Mussolini, move your behind, clap your hands, and now the Adolf Hitler, and now the Jesus Christ, and now the communism ...". The song caused a scandal amongst the more humourless elements of German liberal society. There have been rumours that the group's name is really a tribute to the
Deutsche Arbeitsfront (a
Nazi labour organization); however, DAF's style is arguably anti-political, possibly even nihilistic, and most of their lyrics concern more physical matters. At best, they are referenced as a
punk band advancing into electronic music.
In interviews they claimed to not target anything or anyone specific while creating lyrics to be taken as a parody of words and phrases floating around in the public media. "Sato Sato" and "Der Mussolini" are both examples of songs written around Delgado-Lopez's fascination with the sound of a particular word. A few months before the
2003 invasion of Iraq DAF released "The Sheriff (An Anti-American Song)" criticizing perceived American imperialism. This was their first real step into political songwriting.
The album
"Alles Ist Gut" (All Is Well) received the German "Schallplattenpreis" award by the "Deutsche Phono-Akademie", an association of the German recording industry.
The first two DAF albums featured the original four-piece line-up and a range of styles. Some songs on
Die Kleinen und die Bösen (The Little and the Evil), featured thrashed guitars, electronic screeching hammered drums while Gabi screamed and ullulated. On others, though, the arrangements were sparser and more electronic and Gabi's vocals were subdued and menacing. It was this latter approach that developed into the distinctively minimalist DAF formula.
The next album,
Alles ist Gut, was recorded by Gabi and Robert working as a duo. Robert played drums â€" usually fairly simple and relatively
unsyncopated patterns, but with simple variations that prevented them sounding robotic â€" while Gabi sang. The only other instrument used was a
Korg MS-20 synthesiser, usually driven by a 16-step
analog sequencer. Typically only a single sequencer-driven line would be used for a song, the sequence functioning both as melodic accompaniment and as a bassline. The song
Der Mussolini is a perfect example of this. On other songs, such as the title track, certain notes of the sequence were set slightly out of tune. Overall the songs entail a complex tension between the predominantly visceral (the voice), the relentlessly robotic (the 16-step sequences), and the drums, which lie somewhere in between. One song,
der Räuber und der Prinz (The Robber and the Prince), also features a
glockenspiel as a sinister reminder of childhood.
This was uncompromisingly
minimalist pop. The next two albums,
Gold und Liebe (Gold and Love) and
Für Immer (Forever), continued in the same vein, until, as one British music journalist of the time put it, DAF had exhausted all the possibilities of the 16-step sequencer. These possibilities ranged from something resembling
Rhythm and Blues â€" you could just about play
Der Mussolini as R'n'B if you wanted â€" to the
microtonality of
Im Dschungel der Liebe (In The Jungle of Love) (on
Für Immer) or
Knochen auf Knochen (the B-side of the single
Sex unter Wasser). These three albums (from
Alles ist Gut to
Für Immer) were all produced by
Conny Plank, who was renowned for his pioneering work both with minimalist-influenced
Krautrock bands and other experimenters in the
1970s, and with
electropop artists in the
1980s.
After
Für Immer DAF split up for approximately twenty years, except for a brief reunion in 1985 to record
1st Step to Heaven, their only album in English. During this extensive period their historical importance began to become clearer. Legendary radio DJ
John Peel went as far as to call them the
Grandfathers of Techno. Both Robert and Gabi had solo musical careers, with Robert becoming a respected techno artist in his own right.
When DAF reformed for the 2003 album
Fünfzehn Neue DAF Lieder (15 New DAF Songs) their style had shifted to a fusion of the classic
Plank-produced DAF sound with elements taken from Robert's techno work. The drums were replaced with crisper electronic beats, but the
MS-20 and, of course, Gabi's vocals remained in place.
As a lyricist, Gabi's concerns throughout DAF's recording career have ranged from sardonic reflections on ideology and political violence, to journeys into a very physical, even brutal, sexuality, sometimes related from a child's point of view.
As performers and media personalities DAF resemble many other
technopop duos, such as the
Pet Shop Boys,
Sparks and
Soft Cell, in that the singer (in this case Gabi) appears relatively
extroverted while the one who plays with the electronics (Robert) appears quiet and reserved. Visually, at least from
Alles Ist Gut until
Für Immer, they cultivated an image of black leather, hairy chests and sweat. Gabi's hairy chest made a comeback appearance in the 2003 promotional video for
Der Sheriff.
* Produkt Der Deutsch Amerikanischen Freundschaft, LP (Ata Tak)
* Die Kleinen Und Die Bösen, LP (Mute Records)
* Kebabträume / Gewalt, 7" (Mute Records)
* Goldenes Spielzeug, 12" (Virgin Records (UK))
* Sex Unter Wasser, 7" (Virgin Records (UK))
*
Alles Ist Gut, LP (Virgin Records (UK))
* Der Mussolini, 7" (Virgin Schallplatten GmbH)
* Der Räuber Und Der Prinz / Tanz Mit Mir, 7" (Mute Records)
* Liebe Auf Den Ersten Blick, 7" (Virgin Schallplatten GmbH)
* Gold Und Liebe, LP (Virgin Records (UK))
* Der Mussolini, 12" (Virgin Records (UK))
*
Alles ist gut, LP (Virgin Schallplatten GmbH)
* Kebab-Träume, 12" (Virgin Schallplatten GmbH)
* Für Immer, CD (Virgin Records (UK))
* Kebab-Träume, 7" (Virgin Schallplatten GmbH)
* Für Immer, LP (Virgin Schallplatten GmbH)
* Für Immer, LP (Virgin Records (UK))
* Verlieb Dich In Mich / Ein Bisschen Krieg, 12" (Virgin Records (UK))
* Absolute Body Control, 12" (Illuminated Records)
* Brothers, 7" (Illuminated Records)
* Brothers, 12" (Illuminated Records)
* 1st Step To Heaven, LP (Ariola)
* 1st Step To Heaven, CD (Ariola)
* The Gun, 12" (Dean Records)
* Der Mussolini / Der Räuber Und Der Prinz, 12" (Virgin Schallplatten GmbH)
* D.A.F., LP (Virgin Records (UK))
* Liebe Auf Den Ersten Blick '88 Remix, 12" (Virgin Schallplatten GmbH)
* D.A.F., CD (Virgin Schallplatten GmbH)
* Verschwende Deine Jugend / El Que, 12" (Virgin Schallplatten GmbH)
* Die Kleinen Und Die Bösen, CD (Mute Records)
* Die Kleinen Und Die Bösen, LP (Human Wrechords)
* Alles Ist Gut, CD (The Grey Area)
* Für Immer, CD (The Grey Area)
* Gold Und Liebe, CD (The Grey Area)
* Der Mussolini, 12" (The Grey Area)
* Produkt Der Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft, CD (The Grey Area)
* Fünfzehn Neue DAF Lieder, 2x12" (Superstar Recordings)
* Der Sheriff (Anti-Amerikanisches Lied), CD5" (Superstar Recordings)
* Fünfzehn Neue DAF Lieder, CD (Subspace Communications)
* Der Sheriff (Anti-Amerikanisches Lied), CD5" (541)
* Fünfzehn Neue DAF Lieder, CD (Superstar Recordings)
* Der Räuber Und Der Prinz (DUPLICATE), 7" (Mute Records)
«I don't believe in anything, so I'm free to play with anything I want. We take all that we want and play with it».
DAF website
