Laibach (band)

Laibach is a Slovenian experimental music group, strongly associated with industrial, martial and neo-classical. Laibach formed June 1 1980 in Trbovlje, Slovenia, Laibach represents the music wing of the Neue Slowenische Kunst (NSK) art collective, of which it was a founding member in 1984. The name "Laibach" is the German name for Slovenia's capital city, Ljubljana.

Controversy

Cover art for Macbeth, 1990

Laibach has frequently been accused of both far left and far right political stances due to their use of uniforms and totalitarian-style aesthetics and also due to the Wagnerian influence found in some of their music, notably the thunder in "Sympathy for the Devil (Time for a Change)" and releases such as Macbeth. Laibach always denied this strongly, pointing out that, as fascism needs a scapegoat, they had become their own scapegoat in the name of satire. Milan Fras, vocalist, is quoted as saying "We are fascists as much as Hitler was a painter" when confronted with such accusations. [1]

Laibach is notorious for rarely stepping out of character. Some releases feature artwork by the Communist artist John Heartfield, and Laibach concerts have sometimes aesthetically appeared as political rallies. When interviewed, they answer in wry manifestos, showing a paradoxical lust and condemnation for authority. [2]

Richard Wolfson wrote of the group:

Laibach's method is extremely simple, effective and horribly open to misinterpretation. First of all, they absorb the mannerisms of the enemy, adopting all the seductive trappings and symbols of state power, and then they exaggerate everything to the edge of parody... Next they turn their focus to highly charged issues — the West's fear of immigrants from Eastern Europe, the power games of the EU, the analogies between Western democracy and totalitarianism. [Wolfson, 2003]

Cover songs

Cover art for Let It Be, 1988

Laibach is also known for their cover versions, which are often used to subvert the original message or intention of the song - most notable being their cover version of the song "Life is Life" on the album Opus Dei, which completely changes the meaning of the song from the original writers' intentions. Whereas the original is a feel-good hippie anthem, Laibach's subversive interpretation twists the melody into a sinister, rolling military march. The refrain is at one instance translated into German, giving an eerie example of the sensitivity of its lyrics to context.

Other notable covers include the entirety of the Beatles album Let It Be (with the exception of the title track) and their album Sympathy for the Devil which deconstructs the Rolling Stones song of the same name with seven different covers of the song. Opus Dei (itself titled apparently in reference to their cover of Opus's reggae anthem "Life is Life") features a cover of Queen's "One Vision" with the lyrics translated into German under the title Geburt einer Nation, starkly revealing the ambuiguity of lines like "One race one hope/One real decision". In NATO, they also memorably rework Europe's hair-metal anthem "The Final Countdown" as a Wagnerian disco epic.

Aesthetics

Although primarily a musical group, Laibach has sometimes worked in other media. In their early years, especially before the founding of NSK, Laibach produced several works of visual art. Probably the most historically important was MB 84 Memorandum (1984) an image of a black cross that served as a way to advertise Laibach's appearances during a period in the 1980s when the government of Yugoslavia banned the name "Laibach".[3]

Slovene singer and radio announcer Anja Rupel has performed with the group.

Influence

Cover art for Laibach, 1985

Martial music

Some early material by Laibach and later neoclassical releases by the band—such as the Macbeth release—was influential on certain artists within the martial music genre.

Rammstein

The popular German musical group Rammstein has acknowledged influence by both the aesthetic approach and some Laibach material. When members of Laibach were asked by an interviewer about Rammstein "stealing" from them, they responded that "Laibach does not believe in originality… Therefore, Rammstein could not 'steal' much from us. They simply let themselves get inspired by our work, which is absolutely a legitimate process. We are glad that they made it. In a way, they have proven once again that a good 'copy' can make more money on the market than the 'original.' Anyhow, today we share the territory: Rammstein seem to be a kind of Laibach for adolescents and Laibach are Rammstein for 'grown-ups.'" [4]

Members

Current

* Milan Fras, vocals
* Ivan Novak, lights, projector
* Dejan Knez, keyboards, electronics
* Roman Decman, drums
* Nikola Sekulovic, bass
* Matej Mršnik, guitar
* Eva Breznikar, drum
* Natasa Regovec, drum

Previous

* Tomaž Hostnik (committed suicide in 1982)
* Miran Mohar
* Ervin Markošek
* Dare Hocevar, bass
* Oto Rimele, guitar
* Andrej Lupinc

Selected discography

Laibach (ŠKUC/Ropot, 1985),
Rekapitulacija 1980-1984 (1985),
Neu Konservativ (1985),
Nova Akropola (Cherry Red, 1986),
The Occupied Europe Tour 1985 (1986),
Opus Dei (Mute Records, 1987),
Slovenska Akropola (1987),
Krst Pod Triglavom-Baptism (1987),
Let It Be (Mute Records, 1988),
Sympathy for the Devil (Mute Records, 1990),
Macbeth (Mute Records, 1990),
Kapital (Mute Records, 1992),
Ljubljana-Zagreb-Beograd, (The Grey Area/Mute Records, 1993),
NATO (Mute Records, 1994),
The Occupied Europe NATO Tour 1994-1995 (The Grey Area/Mute Records, 1996),
Jesus Christ Superstars (The Grey Area/Mute Records, 1996),
Malci Belic, December 21, 1984 (The Grey Area/Mute Records, 1997),
The John Peel Sessions (Strangefruit, 2002),
WAT (Mute Records, 2003),
Anthems (Mute Records, 2004, compilation).

References

* Richard Wolfson, "Warriors of weirdness", The Daily Telegraph, 4 Sep 2003.
* Alexei Monroe, "Interrogation Machine - Laibach and NSK", MIT Press, Sep 2005. Foreword by Slavoj Žižek.

External links

Official

* Official Site
* The NSKSTATE - The website of the NSK.

Unofficial

* The Unofficial Laibach Site
* Interview @ Legends
* Laibachkunst includes images of early visual artworks by Laibach and also pieces by fellow NSK members Irwin.
* Laibach Lyrics
* Laibach at Discogs
* - a documentary shot during the USA leg of the WAT tour