Funker Vogt - T CD

T CD music Welding together dance beats, slick melodies, and moody vocals, Assemblage 23's Tom Shear crosses the catchy synth pop of Depeche Mode with the dark grooves of industrial on Defiance. Always danceable, always a little disturbing, tracks like "Opened" never lose their pulsating momentum, while grittier numbers like "Drive" skillfully echo New Order by pairing bittersweet synthesizer swells with relentless electro groans. "Cocoon," one of the slowest tracks on the album at 81 beats per minute, is spare, scary, and dreamy. "Maps of Reality" is just the opposite -- fast, on the edge, virtually out of control. Defiance might seem a little repetitive to average rock & roll fans, but for listeners looking to return to the gray emotions of '80s, late-Cold War synth pop, Assemblage 23 is unbeatable. ~ Charles Spano Assemblage 23: Tom ...

T songs Live Recording Funk Vogt: Jens Kastel (vocals); Gerit Thomas (programming); Kai Schmidtw. Lyricist: Kai Schmidt. Personnel: Gerrit Thomas (vocals, sound effects, background vocals); Jens Kastel (vocals); Volker Lutz (background vocals). Recording information: Lager II; Lager II, Hameln, Germany. Photographer: Funker Vogt. Unknown Contributor Role: Kai Schmidt. Arranger: Gerrit Thomas. Additional personnel: Volker Lutz (background vocals).

T album for sale Recorded in 1999 and 2000. Personnel: Jens Kastel (vocals). Recording information: Lager II (1999-2000). Photographers: George Hall ; Art Wolfe; Kai Schmidt. Funker Vogt: Jens Kastel (vocals); Thomas Kroll (guitar); Gerrit Thomas (synthesizer, programming, background vocals); Bjorn Bottcher (synthesizer).

T buy CD music Funker Vogt continues to fly the flag for electronic industrial music in the tradition of KMFDM and Front 242. On Survivor, the duo puts the emphasis on the dance component of their sound, with bending synths, 4/4 beats, and rave melodies. While accessible to newcomers to the genre -- with clean Depeche Mode grooves on "History" and simple, soaring dark atmospheres on "Compulsions" -- the album sounds closest to a set of KMFDM dance remixes. Sure, "Obscure Pictures" employs harsh, grating electronics that favorably recall What Do You Know Deutschland?, but this record lacks the punch of industrial's early-'90s heyday and the defining albums of the time: KMFDM's Angst, Ministry's The Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Taste and Psalm 69, Pigface's Fook, and even My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult's outrageous and danceable Sexplosion! and 13 Above the Night. ~ Charles Spano Funkervogt: Jens Kastel (vocals); Thomas Kroll (guitar); Gerrit Thomas (synthesizer, background vocals); Bjorn Bottcher (synthesizer). Composer: Gerrit Thomas. Personnel: Jens Kastel (vocals); Gerrit Thomas (synthesizer, background vocals); Björn Böttcher (synthesizer). Recording information: Lager II (2002).

T songs A two-CD collection that puts together most of the important remixes the group had provided tracks for, Funker Vogt's Killing Time Again is an interesting release. Neither necessary nor below their usual quality, what the album provides is a newer take on songs that were never bad to begin with. Because of their relative lack of exposure to the mainstream, little would clue a casual listener in to the fact that these are not the original versions. But because the savage vocals of Jens Kastel usually end up sounding even more vicious in these mixes, the album survives on his power alone. Not to take anything from musical madmen Gerrit Thomas or Kai Schmidt, but Kastel is one of the lucky few who not only has the voice to fit the genre, but knows how to present it. Although everything here is available already, this is another fine album in the canon of Funker Vogt. ~ Bradley Torreano Live Recording Recording information: Lager 2. Photographer: Kai Schmidt. Unknown Contributor Role: J. Kästel. Funker Vogt: Jens Kastel (vocals); Gerrit "Rote X" Thomas, Kai Schmidt. Personnel: Jens Kastel (vocals).

T album for sale Fans of Funker Vogt's Teutonic classic-industrial sound will be excited to see this collection of remixes taken from Survivor, the band's full-length, and those who think that classic industrial music is just a bit rhythmically monotonous may see this as a more palatable entry into the genre than the original album was. In fact, several of the mixes presented here are lots of fun, and none is less than enjoyable. The best are those that combine the mood and texture of Funker Vogt's old-school industrial music with lighter-hearted rhythmic variations, as happens on the aggro-jungle remix of "Faster Life" by XPQ 21 and the loping, mid-tempo synth funk of "Compulsions (Reworked)." "History (Timeless Decay Mix)" takes a few minutes to get where it's going, but when it does, you're glad you stuck with it. The jackboot beats and strident yelling on "Lügner (Aghast View Remx)" get pretty tiresome pretty quickly, and the vocals on "This World (NVK Remix)" should have been mixed a little bit lower, the better to obscure those awkward English lyrics about rotting flesh and killing machinery. Overall, though, this album is lots of good, angry fun. ~ Rick Anderson Additional Tracks Personnel: Gerrit Thomas (vocals, synthesizer, background vocals); Jens Kastel (vocals); Tom Krol, Michael Kroll (guitar); Björn Böttcher (synthesizer). Audio Mixers: Icon; Noisex. Audio Remixers: Vernon B.; Christian Michael; Haujobb; Icon of Coil; Noisex; Unit: 187. Funker Vogt: Jens Kastel (vocals); Thomas Kross (guitar); Gerrit Thomas (synthesizer, background vocals); Bjorn Bottcher (synthesizer). Composer: Gerrit Thomas.