Alexander Hacke
Encyclopedia
Alexander Hacke is a guitar
ist, bass guitar
ist, singer, experimental
/ industrial
/ electronic
musician from Germany
.
Hacke produced numerous artists, contributed to their records, was present on all albums and tours of Einstürzende Neubauten
, and released two full-length solo albums.
While primarily known for his work with the influential industrial group Einstürzende Neubauten
, he has also collaborated with many other artists, such as The Tiger Lillies, Danielle de Picciotto
, Crime and the City Solution
, Gianna Nannini
, Gry
, Miranda Sex Garden
, Terranova, Sprung Aus Den Wolken
, Mona Mur, Die Ichs, Schlaflose Naechte, Fred Alpi and others.
and also was a member of several other bands, such as Sentimentale Jugend (with Christiane Vera Felscherinow, also known as Christiane F.), Sprung Aus Den Wolken and Mona Mur.
In 1980, at the age of fifteen, he joined Einstürzende Neubauten
, which had been formed earlier the same year. Hacke played guitar and worked with the band's sound until the middle 1990s. Then he changed from guitar to bass and is now a bass player and, according to band leader Blixa Bargeld
, "a musical director of the band".
In the 1990s he was frontman of the band Jever Mountain Boys, who played their favorite songs, particularly country music
cover-versions.
In 2003 Alexander Hacke and his longtime partner Danielle de Picciotto
(married since 2006) organized the monthly event "BadaBing" in the famous Berlin 70s Club "Big Eden", presenting new and unusual bands and in this way initiating a new wave of Berlin-oriented "Futur-electroclash" music all over Europe. They travel extensively performing multimedia shows together and presenting workshops on Berlin underground culture. In 2004, Danielle de Picciotto
produced a documentary on Einstürzende Neubauten
for which Alexander Hacke did the sound design.
In 2005 Hacke and de Picciotto conceived and directed "The Mountains of Madness", an audio/visual live show based on stories by H. P. Lovecraft
, inviting the English Trio The Tiger Lillies to participate and perform in the successful production throughout Europe.
In the 2000s Hacke created the album Sanctuary (released in 2005), travelling with a mobile recorder in Europe
and North America
and collaborating with numerous artists, such as J.G.Thirlwell (Foetus), Caspar Brötzmann
, Larry Mullins (Toby Dammit), Vinnie Signorelli (Unsane
), Michael Evans (KBZ 200), Sugarpie Jones (Celebrity Skin), Bob Rutman (Steel Cello Ensemble), Nils Wohlrabe (The Leather Nun), Gianna Nannini
, Andrew Chudy (alias N.U. Unruh
, Einstürzende Neubauten
), Lary 7 (The Analog Society), and David Yow
(The Jesus Lizard
). In the reviews on this album Hacke was compared to Frank Zappa
and Captain Beefheart
. The "Road Record", an excerpt of which can be seen on Sanctuary, was documented by de Picciotto, describing the revolutionary recording style Hacke used to produce the record.
He uses, in particular, music software by Native Instruments
on his solo activities.
Hacke also contributed to several soundtracks to such films as Sonnenallee
and Das Wilde Leben
(biography of Uschi Obermaier
, 2006/07). Hacke produced music for Fatih Akın
's film Head-On
(2004) and is a main character in Crossing the Bridge: The Sound of Istanbul
(2005), Akın's documentary of the Istanbul
music scene.
On several occasions he reunited on stage with FM Einheit (ex-Einstürzende Neubauten
) for an experimental performance.
, who became famous with the internationally acclaimed movie and book Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo
, a biography of her heroin addiction. They performed together in Europe and the US with their band Sentimentale Jugend and also appeared together in the movie Decoder in 1983.
On the 3rd of October, 1989, Hacke's son Joshua was born in Berlin. His mother is Angela Mettbach, a Berlin nightlife figure who had a short-lived musical career with her band Octopussy
.
Hacke was briefly married to German actress and singer Meret Becker
and was involved in her musical career. Becker guested on Einstürzende Neubauten
's album Ende Neu
. In 2006, Hacke married his longtime partner Danielle de Picciotto
, an American, Berlin-based multimedia artist who is known for having founded the Berlin Love Parade
together with Dr Motte and for singing in the Band "Space Cowboys".
For discography of Alexander Hacke with Einstürzende Neubauten, see: Einstürzende Neubauten
's discography (all releases).
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
ist, bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
ist, singer, experimental
Experimental music
Experimental music refers, in the English-language literature, to a compositional tradition which arose in the mid-20th century, applied particularly in North America to music composed in such a way that its outcome is unforeseeable. Its most famous and influential exponent was John Cage...
/ industrial
Industrial music
Industrial music is a style of experimental music that draws on transgressive and provocative themes. The term was coined in the mid-1970s with the founding of Industrial Records by the band Throbbing Gristle, and the creation of the slogan "industrial music for industrial people". In general, the...
/ electronic
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
musician from Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
Hacke produced numerous artists, contributed to their records, was present on all albums and tours of Einstürzende Neubauten
Einstürzende Neubauten
Einstürzende Neubauten is a German post-industrial band, originally from West Berlin, formed in 1980. The group currently comprises Blixa Bargeld , Alexander Hacke , N.U...
, and released two full-length solo albums.
While primarily known for his work with the influential industrial group Einstürzende Neubauten
Einstürzende Neubauten
Einstürzende Neubauten is a German post-industrial band, originally from West Berlin, formed in 1980. The group currently comprises Blixa Bargeld , Alexander Hacke , N.U...
, he has also collaborated with many other artists, such as The Tiger Lillies, Danielle de Picciotto
Danielle de Picciotto
Danielle de Picciotto is an American born artist, musician and film maker. She was born in Washington, USA, but now lives and works in Berlin, Germany...
, Crime and the City Solution
Crime and the City Solution
Crime and the City Solution was a rock music band formed by Australian singer and songwriter Simon Bonney.They had four distinct line-ups: Sydney in 1977–78, Melbourne in 1979, and two groupings in Berlin from 1985–1990. The only common member in all four line-ups was Bonney.Other members included:...
, Gianna Nannini
Gianna Nannini
Gianna Nannini is an Italian female singer-songwriter and pop musician. She may be best known for her 1986 song "Bello e Impossibile".-Personal life:...
, Gry
Gry (band)
Gry is an indie/electronic music band featuring Danish female singer Gry Bagøien and German musician FM Einheit .The music of Gry can be described as electronic with elements of trip hop, live instruments, lots of loops and samples with a female voice.Their debut album The Touch Of E! was released...
, Miranda Sex Garden
Miranda Sex Garden
Miranda Sex Garden were a music group from London, England. Formed in 1990, they were originally a trio of madrigal singers. Their first album, Madra , was entirely a cappella, with the songs all based on traditional English verse...
, Terranova, Sprung Aus Den Wolken
Sprung Aus Den Wolken
Sprung Aus Den Wolken is a German musical group based out of Berlin, part of Berlin's underground music movement of the 1980s - sometimes referred to as the "Geniale Dilletanten" movement by Blixa Bargeld of Einstürzende Neubauten...
, Mona Mur, Die Ichs, Schlaflose Naechte, Fred Alpi and others.
Early years
In the early 1980s he released a few solo tapes and mini-albums, such as Hiroschima. He became a long-time member of Einstürzende NeubautenEinstürzende Neubauten
Einstürzende Neubauten is a German post-industrial band, originally from West Berlin, formed in 1980. The group currently comprises Blixa Bargeld , Alexander Hacke , N.U...
and also was a member of several other bands, such as Sentimentale Jugend (with Christiane Vera Felscherinow, also known as Christiane F.), Sprung Aus Den Wolken and Mona Mur.
Einstürzende Neubauten
Einstürzende Neubauten
Einstürzende Neubauten is a German post-industrial band, originally from West Berlin, formed in 1980. The group currently comprises Blixa Bargeld , Alexander Hacke , N.U...
, which had been formed earlier the same year. Hacke played guitar and worked with the band's sound until the middle 1990s. Then he changed from guitar to bass and is now a bass player and, according to band leader Blixa Bargeld
Blixa Bargeld
Blixa Bargeld is a composer, author, actor, singer, musician, performer and lecturer in a number of artistic fields...
, "a musical director of the band".
Solo activities
Hacke's first full-length solo album was Filmarbeiten (1992).In the 1990s he was frontman of the band Jever Mountain Boys, who played their favorite songs, particularly country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
cover-versions.
In 2003 Alexander Hacke and his longtime partner Danielle de Picciotto
Danielle de Picciotto
Danielle de Picciotto is an American born artist, musician and film maker. She was born in Washington, USA, but now lives and works in Berlin, Germany...
(married since 2006) organized the monthly event "BadaBing" in the famous Berlin 70s Club "Big Eden", presenting new and unusual bands and in this way initiating a new wave of Berlin-oriented "Futur-electroclash" music all over Europe. They travel extensively performing multimedia shows together and presenting workshops on Berlin underground culture. In 2004, Danielle de Picciotto
Danielle de Picciotto
Danielle de Picciotto is an American born artist, musician and film maker. She was born in Washington, USA, but now lives and works in Berlin, Germany...
produced a documentary on Einstürzende Neubauten
Einstürzende Neubauten
Einstürzende Neubauten is a German post-industrial band, originally from West Berlin, formed in 1980. The group currently comprises Blixa Bargeld , Alexander Hacke , N.U...
for which Alexander Hacke did the sound design.
H. P. Lovecraft
Howard Phillips Lovecraft --often credited as H.P. Lovecraft — was an American author of horror, fantasy and science fiction, especially the subgenre known as weird fiction....
, inviting the English Trio The Tiger Lillies to participate and perform in the successful production throughout Europe.
In the 2000s Hacke created the album Sanctuary (released in 2005), travelling with a mobile recorder in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and collaborating with numerous artists, such as J.G.Thirlwell (Foetus), Caspar Brötzmann
Caspar Brötzmann
Caspar Brötzmann is an electric guitar player.While Brötzmann typically performs with the power trio lineup of Caspar Brötzmann Massaker , with guitar, bass guitar and drum set, he only uses rock and roll and heavy metal music as a basis for his music...
, Larry Mullins (Toby Dammit), Vinnie Signorelli (Unsane
Unsane
Unsane is an influential noise rock trio that formed in New York City in 1988. Their music also touches on elements of hardcore punk and metal...
), Michael Evans (KBZ 200), Sugarpie Jones (Celebrity Skin), Bob Rutman (Steel Cello Ensemble), Nils Wohlrabe (The Leather Nun), Gianna Nannini
Gianna Nannini
Gianna Nannini is an Italian female singer-songwriter and pop musician. She may be best known for her 1986 song "Bello e Impossibile".-Personal life:...
, Andrew Chudy (alias N.U. Unruh
N.U. Unruh
N. U. Unruh is a German musician, experimental percussionist and instruments inventor, probably best known for his work with German music group Einstürzende Neubauten.-Biography:...
, Einstürzende Neubauten
Einstürzende Neubauten
Einstürzende Neubauten is a German post-industrial band, originally from West Berlin, formed in 1980. The group currently comprises Blixa Bargeld , Alexander Hacke , N.U...
), Lary 7 (The Analog Society), and David Yow
David Yow
David Yow is an American musician born in Las Vegas, Nevada and best known as the vocalist for the noise rock bands Scratch Acid and The Jesus Lizard.-Biography:...
(The Jesus Lizard
The Jesus Lizard
The Jesus Lizard was an American alternative rock and noise rock band formed in 1987 in Austin, Texas. They were "a leading noise rock band in the American independent underground…[who] turned out a series of independent records filled with scathing, disembowelling, guitar-driven pseudo-industrial...
). In the reviews on this album Hacke was compared to Frank Zappa
Frank Zappa
Frank Vincent Zappa was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed...
and Captain Beefheart
Captain Beefheart
Don Van Vliet January 15, 1941 December 17, 2010) was an American musician, singer-songwriter and artist best known by the stage name Captain Beefheart. His musical work was conducted with a rotating ensemble of musicians called The Magic Band, active between 1965 and 1982, with whom he recorded 12...
. The "Road Record", an excerpt of which can be seen on Sanctuary, was documented by de Picciotto, describing the revolutionary recording style Hacke used to produce the record.
He uses, in particular, music software by Native Instruments
Native Instruments
Native Instruments is a technology company that develops software and hardware for music production and DJing. The company has originally been identified mostly with software instruments, but has also expanded to various other music equipment segments in recent years.Current products of Native...
on his solo activities.
Hacke also contributed to several soundtracks to such films as Sonnenallee
Sonnenallee
Sonnenallee is a 1999 comedy film about life in East Berlin in the late 1970s. The movie was directed by Leander Haußmann. The film was released shortly before the corresponding novel, Am kürzeren Ende der Sonnenallee...
and Das Wilde Leben
Das Wilde Leben
Das Wilde Leben is a German biographical motion picture, set in the 1960s and depicting the "wild life" of Uschi Obermaier, a German groupie.- Synopsis :...
(biography of Uschi Obermaier
Uschi Obermaier
Uschi Obermaier is a former fashion model, actress and is associated with the 1968 left-wing movement in Germany. In the latter she is considered an iconic sex symbol of the so-called "1968 generation"....
, 2006/07). Hacke produced music for Fatih Akın
Fatih Akin
Fatih Akın is a German film director, screenwriter and producer of Turkish descent.- Personal life :Akın was born in 1973 in Hamburg to parents of Turkish ethnicity...
's film Head-On
Head-On
Head-On is a 2004 film written and directed by Fatih Akın.-Synopsis:Cahit Tomruk is a Turkish German in his 40s. He has given up on life after the death of his wife and seeks solace in cocaine and alcohol. One night, he intentionally drives his car head-on into a wall, and barely survives...
(2004) and is a main character in Crossing the Bridge: The Sound of Istanbul
Crossing the Bridge: The Sound of Istanbul
Crossing the Bridge: The Sound of Istanbul is a 2005 film/documentary directed by Fatih Akın. The film is a journey through the music scene in modern Istanbul, Turkey as well as portraying its cultural life. It was screened out of competition at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival.It features German...
(2005), Akın's documentary of the Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
music scene.
On several occasions he reunited on stage with FM Einheit (ex-Einstürzende Neubauten
Einstürzende Neubauten
Einstürzende Neubauten is a German post-industrial band, originally from West Berlin, formed in 1980. The group currently comprises Blixa Bargeld , Alexander Hacke , N.U...
) for an experimental performance.
Private life
Alexander Hacke's first noteworthy girlfriend was Christiane F.Christiane F.
Christiane F. is a former heroin addict famous for her contribution to the autobiographical book , and the film based on the book, which describes her struggle with various forms of drug addiction during her teens.-Early life:Christiane was born in Hamburg, but her family moved to West Berlin when...
, who became famous with the internationally acclaimed movie and book Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo
Christiane F. - Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo (film)
Christiane F. - Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo is a 1981 film that portrays the drug scene in West Berlin in the 1970s, based on the novel of the same name written following tape recordings of Christiane F.-Synopsis:...
, a biography of her heroin addiction. They performed together in Europe and the US with their band Sentimentale Jugend and also appeared together in the movie Decoder in 1983.
On the 3rd of October, 1989, Hacke's son Joshua was born in Berlin. His mother is Angela Mettbach, a Berlin nightlife figure who had a short-lived musical career with her band Octopussy
Octopussy
Octopussy is the thirteenth entry in the James Bond series, and the sixth to star Roger Moore as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The film's title is taken from a short story in Ian Fleming's 1966 short story collection Octopussy and The Living Daylights...
.
Hacke was briefly married to German actress and singer Meret Becker
Meret Becker
- Life and career :Becker was born in Bremen, the daughter of the actors Monika Hansen and Rolf Becker. She is the sister of Ben Becker, stepdaughter of Otto Sander and granddaughter of Claire Schlichting....
and was involved in her musical career. Becker guested on Einstürzende Neubauten
Einstürzende Neubauten
Einstürzende Neubauten is a German post-industrial band, originally from West Berlin, formed in 1980. The group currently comprises Blixa Bargeld , Alexander Hacke , N.U...
's album Ende Neu
Ende Neu
Ende Neu is an album released by Einstürzende Neubauten in 1996. In English, Ende Neu translates to the equivalent of “ending new”. The title is a wordplay involving the band's name: Einstürzende Neubauten.- Track listing :...
. In 2006, Hacke married his longtime partner Danielle de Picciotto
Danielle de Picciotto
Danielle de Picciotto is an American born artist, musician and film maker. She was born in Washington, USA, but now lives and works in Berlin, Germany...
, an American, Berlin-based multimedia artist who is known for having founded the Berlin Love Parade
Love Parade
The Love Parade was a popular electronic dance music festival and parade that originated in 1989 in West Berlin, Germany. It was held in Germany annually between 1989 and 2003 in Berlin, and then from 2006 to 2010 in the Ruhr region...
together with Dr Motte and for singing in the Band "Space Cowboys".
Solo discography
- 1982 Hiroshima (12 Inch EP)
- 1992 Filmarbeiten
- 2005 Sanctuary
- 2007 Tooth and Friction
- 2009 "Doomed" (2009 Single)
- 2010 "Hitman's heel" with Danielle de Picciotto
For discography of Alexander Hacke with Einstürzende Neubauten, see: Einstürzende Neubauten
Einstürzende Neubauten
Einstürzende Neubauten is a German post-industrial band, originally from West Berlin, formed in 1980. The group currently comprises Blixa Bargeld , Alexander Hacke , N.U...
's discography (all releases).
DVD
- 2006 Mountains Of Madness (with The Tiger Lillies and Danielle de PicciottoDanielle de PicciottoDanielle de Picciotto is an American born artist, musician and film maker. She was born in Washington, USA, but now lives and works in Berlin, Germany...
) - 2008 Ship Of Fools (with Danielle de PicciottoDanielle de PicciottoDanielle de Picciotto is an American born artist, musician and film maker. She was born in Washington, USA, but now lives and works in Berlin, Germany...
)
External links
- Official website
- Alexander Hacke Interview by Travis JeppesenTravis JeppesenTravis Jeppesen , Florida is an American novelist, poet, and art critic.He grew up in Charlotte, North Carolina and moved to New York City at the age of 17. He received his B.A. from The New School, where he studied literature and philosophy...
- Alexander Hacke Interview on a web site of Native InstrumentsNative InstrumentsNative Instruments is a technology company that develops software and hardware for music production and DJing. The company has originally been identified mostly with software instruments, but has also expanded to various other music equipment segments in recent years.Current products of Native...