Laibach (band)
Encyclopedia
Laibach ˈlaɪbax is a Slovenia
n avant-garde
music group associated with industrial
, martial, and neo-classical
musical styles. Laibach formed June 1, 1980 in Trbovlje
, Slovenia
(then Yugoslavia
). 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
.
" by Opus
, an Austria
n arena rock band. In this example, Laibach recorded two new interpretations of the song, which they titled Leben Heißt Leben, and Opus Dei. The first of these two interpretations was the opening song on the Laibach album Opus Dei
(1987), and was sung in German
. The second version, Opus Dei, was promoted as a single
, and its promotional video (which used the title "Life is Life") was played extensively on American cable channel MTV
. Opus Dei retained some of the original song's English
lyrics, but was delivered in a musical style that left the meaning of the lyrics open to further interpretation. Whereas the original is a feel-good pop anthem, Laibach's subversive interpretation twists the melody into a triumphant, rolling military march. With the exception of the promotional video, the refrain is at one instance translated into German, giving an example of the sensitivity of its lyrics to context.
Other notable covers include the entirety of the Beatles
album Let It Be
(1988) — with the exclusion of the title track
— and their maxi-single Sympathy for the Devil
(1988) which deconstructs
the Rolling Stones
song of the same name with seven different interpretations of the song. Opus Dei
— itself entitled in apparent reference to their cover of Opus
's reggae
anthem "Live is Life
", the P2 lodge, and the eponymous Catholic
organization — features a cover of Queen
's "One Vision
" with lyrics translated into German under the title Geburt einer Nation
, revealing the ambiguity of lines like "One race one hope/One real decision". In NATO
(1994), Laibach also memorably re-work Europe
's glam metal
anthem "The Final Countdown
" as a bombastic disco
epic.
In 2004, Laibach covered the song "Ohne Dich" by Rammstein
in a significantly altered version. Unlike the solo male vocals in the Rammstein original, this cover features both male and female vocals (supplied by Laibach's Milan Fras and Mina Špiler from the band Melodrom
), and the orchestral sound of the original has been supplemented — and in some sections even replaced — by a more electronic element. The lyrics of the song were also subtly altered, most noticeably in the chorus: the original version was "Ohne dich kann ich nicht sein" (roughly: "without you I cannot exist"), whereas Laibach's reworked chorus declares "Ohne mich kannst du nicht sein" (roughly: "Without me you cannot exist").
Laibach do not only reference modern musicians through reinterpretation, but also sample or reinvent older musical pieces. For example, their song "Anglia" is based on the national anthem of the United Kingdom
, "God Save the Queen
". This song, and other based on national anthems are released on "Volk
" album, which is a collection of Laibachs versions of national anthems of such countries like United States or Russia. On this album they also made an anthem for their NSK State in Time, which is based on their song "The Great Seal" from "Opus Dei
" album.
They are also currently touring with an audio-visual performance centered on Johann Sebastian Bach
's Die Kunst der Fuge
. Since this work has no specifications of acquired instruments and is furthermore based on mathematical principles, Laibach has argued that the music can be seen as proto-techno
. Therefore, the band found Die Kunst der Fuge to be ideal for an interpretation using computers and software.
In 2009 Laibach also reworked Richard Wagner
's "Overture To The Tannhäuser And The Singers' Contest At The Wartburg", "Sigfried-Idyll" and "The Ride Of The Walkyries" in collaboration with Symphonic orchestra RTV Slovenia, composed and conducted by Izidor Leitinger. Laibach's version is titled "VolksWagner".
In addition to cover songs, Laibach has remixed two songs of the Florida death metal band Morbid Angel
. These songs appear on the Morbid Angel EP "Laibach Re-mixes".
In 2009 Laibach made a new versions of their own songs from the early 1980s such as "Brat moj", "Boji" and "Smrt za smrt".
, Laibach produced several works of visual art. A notable example 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". Cross imagery, and variations on the cross are apparent in many Laibach recordings and publications.
The visual imagery of Laibach's art (or 'Laibach Kunst', as it calls itself) has been described as 'radically ambiguous', An early example of this ambiguity would be the woodcut entitled 'The Thrower,' also known as Metalec ("The Metal Worker"). This work features a monochrome silhouette of a figure with a clenched fist holding a hammer. The work could be seen by its original Slovene viewers as a poster promoting industrial protest, but the poster could have also been interpreted as a symbol of industrial pride. Another aspect of this woodcut is the large typefaced word 'LAIBACH', evoking memories of the Nazi occupation of Slovenia (when the capital city was briefly known as Laibach). This piece was featured prominently during a TV interview of Laibach in 1983, during which the interviewer Jure Pengov called Laibach "enemies of the people."
including from Gustav Holst
’s The Planets
. The band began their tradition of cover songs in 1987 with the album Opus Dei, where their sound was changed again.
and far right
political stances due to their use of uniform
s and totalitarian-style aesthetics
. They were also accused of being members of the neo-nationalism
movement, which reincarnates modern ideas of nationalism
. When confronted with such accusations, Laibach are quoted as replying with the ambiguous response "We are fascists as much as Hitler was a painter".
The members of Laibach are notorious for rarely stepping out of character. Some releases feature artwork by the Communist and early Dada
artist/satirist
, John Heartfield
. Laibach concerts have sometimes aesthetically appeared as political rallies. When interviewed, they answer in wry manifestos, showing a paradoxical lust for, and condemnation of, authority.
Richard Wolfson
wrote of the group:
has acknowledged influence by both the aesthetic approach and material of Laibach. 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.'" Laibach would later provide a remix for the Rammstein single "Ohne Dich".
techno. "Paracelsus" from its side has been out of print for several years since its original release on 31 October 1994.
formed his very first band Salte Morale. Basically, Salte Morale was the first incarnation of Laibach. During summer holidays 1980 after the suggestion of Knez' father, famous Slovenian painter and artist Janez Knez, the band changed the name into Laibach. This incarnation included Dejan Knez
, Srečko Bajda, Andrej Lupinc, Tomaž Hostnik and Bine Zerko. Soon after that, Knez's cousin Ivan (Jani) Novak and Milan Fras joined the band. In the first period Laibach were a quintet, but soon after that they declared that Laibach has only four members – ‘Vier Personen’. Sometimes those four members of the band were signed with their pseudonyms: Dachauer, Keller, Saliger and Eber. From the mid ‘80s until mid ‘90s the four full time members were Dejan Knez
, Milan Fras, Ervin Markošek and Ivan (Jani) Novak. From time to time, some other persons, such as Oto Rimele (from Lačni Franz
band), Nikola Sekulović, famous bass player from the Demolition Group, and some other musicians (such as Matej Mršnik and Roman Dečman) joined Laibach. Slovene singer and radio announcer Anja Rupel
has also performed with the group.
On the press photos for Volk
album were Ivan Novak, Milan Fras, Boris Benko and Primož Hladnik. Benko and Hladnik are members of the group Silence
, and collaborators on the Volk album.
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
n avant-garde
Avant-garde music
Avant-garde music is a term used to characterize music which is thought to be ahead of its time, i.e. containing innovative elements or fusing different genres....
music group associated with 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...
, martial, and neo-classical
Neoclassical (Dark Wave)
Neoclassical Dark Wave refers to a music genre within the Dark Wave movement. It is characterized by the use of ethereal atmosphere and angelic female voices but also adds strong influences from classical music. Neoclassical Dark Wave is distinct from the academic art music form known as...
musical styles. Laibach formed June 1, 1980 in Trbovlje
Trbovlje
Trbovlje is a town and municipality in central Slovenia. Traditionally the area was part of the Lower Styria region. The entire municipality is now included in the Central Sava statistical region. Located in the valley of a minor left bank tributary of the Sava River, the area is known for its...
, Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
(then Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
). Laibach represents the music wing of the Neue Slowenische Kunst
Neue Slowenische Kunst
Neue Slowenische Kunst , aka NSK, is a controversial political art collective that announced itself in Slovenia in 1984, when Slovenia was part of Yugoslavia. NSK's name, being German, is compatible with a theme in NSK works: the complicated relationship Slovenes have had with Germans...
(NSK) art collective, of which it was a founding member in 1984. The name "Laibach" is the German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
name for Slovenia's capital city, Ljubljana
Ljubljana
Ljubljana is the capital of Slovenia and its largest city. It is the centre of the City Municipality of Ljubljana. It is located in the centre of the country in the Ljubljana Basin, and is a mid-sized city of some 270,000 inhabitants...
.
Cover songs
Laibach is known for their cover versions, which are often used to subvert the original message or intention of the song — a notable example being their version of the song "Live is LifeLive Is Life
"Live Is Life" is a popular song originally recorded in 1984 by Austrian pop-rock group Opus. It was successful and was covered by many artists throughout the years.-Background and writing:...
" by Opus
Opus (band)
Opus is a pop-rock group from Graz, Austria. Formed in 1973, the group remains active today. The band is especially well known for its 1985 single release, "Live Is Life."-History:...
, an Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n arena rock band. In this example, Laibach recorded two new interpretations of the song, which they titled Leben Heißt Leben, and Opus Dei. The first of these two interpretations was the opening song on the Laibach album Opus Dei
Opus Dei (album)
Opus Dei is the fourth album by Laibach, released in 1987. It features "Geburt einer Nation", a German cover of Queen's "One Vision" and two reworkings of Austrian band Opus' sole hit single "Live Is Life". The Opus song became the German language "Leben heißt Leben" and the English language "Opus...
(1987), and was sung in German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
. The second version, Opus Dei, was promoted as a single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
, and its promotional video (which used the title "Life is Life") was played extensively on American cable channel MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
. Opus Dei retained some of the original song's English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
lyrics, but was delivered in a musical style that left the meaning of the lyrics open to further interpretation. Whereas the original is a feel-good pop anthem, Laibach's subversive interpretation twists the melody into a triumphant, rolling military march. With the exception of the promotional video, the refrain is at one instance translated into German, giving an example of the sensitivity of its lyrics to context.
Other notable covers include the entirety of the Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
album Let It Be
Let It Be (Laibach album)
Let It Be is the fifth album by Laibach, released in 1988. It is a cover of the Beatles' album Let It Be recorded in Laibach style with military rhythms and choirs, though a few tracks deviate from this formula, most notably "Across the Universe"...
(1988) — with the exclusion of the title track
Let It Be (song)
"Let It Be" is a song by The Beatles, released in March 1970 as a single, and as the title track of their album Let It Be. It was written by Paul McCartney, but credited to Lennon–McCartney. It was their final single before McCartney announced his departure from the band...
— and their maxi-single Sympathy for the Devil
Sympathy for the Devil (EP)
Sympathy for the Devil is an EP by Laibach and follows on from their Beatles cover album Let It Be. Sympathy for the Devil features seven cover versions of the Rolling Stones song "Sympathy for the Devil" and one original Laibach track...
(1988) which deconstructs
Deconstruction
Deconstruction is a term introduced by French philosopher Jacques Derrida in his 1967 book Of Grammatology. Although he carefully avoided defining the term directly, he sought to apply Martin Heidegger's concept of Destruktion or Abbau, to textual reading...
the Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
song of the same name with seven different interpretations of the song. Opus Dei
Opus Dei (album)
Opus Dei is the fourth album by Laibach, released in 1987. It features "Geburt einer Nation", a German cover of Queen's "One Vision" and two reworkings of Austrian band Opus' sole hit single "Live Is Life". The Opus song became the German language "Leben heißt Leben" and the English language "Opus...
— itself entitled in apparent reference to their cover of Opus
Opus (band)
Opus is a pop-rock group from Graz, Austria. Formed in 1973, the group remains active today. The band is especially well known for its 1985 single release, "Live Is Life."-History:...
's reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
anthem "Live is Life
Live Is Life
"Live Is Life" is a popular song originally recorded in 1984 by Austrian pop-rock group Opus. It was successful and was covered by many artists throughout the years.-Background and writing:...
", the P2 lodge, and the eponymous Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
organization — features a cover of Queen
Queen (band)
Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...
's "One Vision
One Vision
"One Vision" is a song written and recorded by the rock band Queen, first released as a single in November 1985 and then included on their 1986 album A Kind of Magic...
" with lyrics translated into German under the title Geburt einer Nation
The Birth of a Nation
The Birth of a Nation is a 1915 American silent film directed by D. W. Griffith and based on the novel and play The Clansman, both by Thomas Dixon, Jr. Griffith also co-wrote the screenplay , and co-produced the film . It was released on February 8, 1915...
, revealing the ambiguity of lines like "One race one hope/One real decision". In NATO
NATO (album)
NATO, released October 10, 1994, is an album by Slovenian industrial group Laibach, named after NATO. It is a selection of cover versions with the theme of war.Covers include Edwin Starr's "War" 1970 and Europe's "The Final Countdown".-Track listing:...
(1994), Laibach also memorably re-work Europe
Europe (band)
Europe is a Swedish rock band formed in Upplands Väsby in 1979 under the name Force by vocalist Joey Tempest, guitarist John Norum and drummer Tony Reno. Although widely associated with glam metal, the band's sound incorporates heavy metal and hard rock elements...
's glam metal
Glam metal
Glam metal is a subgenre of hard rock and heavy metal that arose in the late 1970s and early 1980s in the United States, particularly on the Los Angeles Sunset Strip music scene...
anthem "The Final Countdown
The Final Countdown (song)
"The Final Countdown" is a rock song by the Swedish band Europe released in 1986. Written by Joey Tempest, it was the first single from the band's third studio album which was also named The Final Countdown. It is considered by some to be the band's most recognizable and popular song. The song...
" as a bombastic disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
epic.
In 2004, Laibach covered the song "Ohne Dich" by Rammstein
Rammstein
Rammstein is a German Neue Deutsche Härte band from Berlin, formed in 1994. The band consists of members Till Lindemann , Richard Z. Kruspe , Paul H. Landers , Oliver "Ollie" Riedel , Christoph "Doom" Schneider and Christian "Flake" Lorenz...
in a significantly altered version. Unlike the solo male vocals in the Rammstein original, this cover features both male and female vocals (supplied by Laibach's Milan Fras and Mina Špiler from the band Melodrom
Melodrom
Melodrom are: Mina Špiler , Matevž Kolenc , Miha Žargi , Matej Nolda and Polona Janežič . The band create everything by themselves: from music and lyrics through videos to design....
), and the orchestral sound of the original has been supplemented — and in some sections even replaced — by a more electronic element. The lyrics of the song were also subtly altered, most noticeably in the chorus: the original version was "Ohne dich kann ich nicht sein" (roughly: "without you I cannot exist"), whereas Laibach's reworked chorus declares "Ohne mich kannst du nicht sein" (roughly: "Without me you cannot exist").
Laibach do not only reference modern musicians through reinterpretation, but also sample or reinvent older musical pieces. For example, their song "Anglia" is based on the national anthem of the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, "God Save the Queen
God Save the Queen
"God Save the Queen" is an anthem used in a number of Commonwealth realms and British Crown Dependencies. The words of the song, like its title, are adapted to the gender of the current monarch, with "King" replacing "Queen", "he" replacing "she", and so forth, when a king reigns...
". This song, and other based on national anthems are released on "Volk
Volk (album)
Volk is a concept album by Slovenian industrial group Laibach. Originally, Volk is the German word for "people" or "nation" but also Slovenan for "wolf"...
" album, which is a collection of Laibachs versions of national anthems of such countries like United States or Russia. On this album they also made an anthem for their NSK State in Time, which is based on their song "The Great Seal" from "Opus Dei
Opus Dei
Opus Dei, formally known as The Prelature of the Holy Cross and Opus Dei , is an organization of the Catholic Church that teaches that everyone is called to holiness and that ordinary life is a path to sanctity. The majority of its membership are lay people, with secular priests under the...
" album.
They are also currently touring with an audio-visual performance centered on Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
's Die Kunst der Fuge
The Art of Fugue
The Art of Fugue , BWV 1080, is an incomplete work by Johann Sebastian Bach . It was most likely started at the beginning of the 1740s, if not earlier. The first known surviving version, which contained 12 fugues and 2 canons, was copied by the composer in 1745...
. Since this work has no specifications of acquired instruments and is furthermore based on mathematical principles, Laibach has argued that the music can be seen as proto-techno
Techno
Techno is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in Detroit, Michigan in the United States during the mid to late 1980s. The first recorded use of the word techno, in reference to a genre of music, was in 1988...
. Therefore, the band found Die Kunst der Fuge to be ideal for an interpretation using computers and software.
In 2009 Laibach also reworked Richard Wagner
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...
's "Overture To The Tannhäuser And The Singers' Contest At The Wartburg", "Sigfried-Idyll" and "The Ride Of The Walkyries" in collaboration with Symphonic orchestra RTV Slovenia, composed and conducted by Izidor Leitinger. Laibach's version is titled "VolksWagner".
In addition to cover songs, Laibach has remixed two songs of the Florida death metal band Morbid Angel
Morbid Angel
Morbid Angel is an American death metal band based in Tampa, Florida. UK music magazine Terrorizer ranked one Morbid Angel album in its “Top 40 greatest death metal albums”, with their 1989 debut Altars of Madness appearing at number 1...
. These songs appear on the Morbid Angel EP "Laibach Re-mixes".
In 2009 Laibach made a new versions of their own songs from the early 1980s such as "Brat moj", "Boji" and "Smrt za smrt".
Aesthetics
Although primarily a musical group, Laibach has sometimes worked in other media. In their early years, especially before the founding of Neue Slowenische Kunst (NSK)Neue Slowenische Kunst
Neue Slowenische Kunst , aka NSK, is a controversial political art collective that announced itself in Slovenia in 1984, when Slovenia was part of Yugoslavia. NSK's name, being German, is compatible with a theme in NSK works: the complicated relationship Slovenes have had with Germans...
, Laibach produced several works of visual art. A notable example was MB 84 Memorandum (1984) an image of a black cross
Cross
A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two lines or bars perpendicular to each other, dividing one or two of the lines in half. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally; if they run obliquely, the design is technically termed a saltire, although the arms of a saltire need not meet...
that served as a way to advertise Laibach's appearances during a period in the 1980s when the government of Yugoslavia
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was the Yugoslav state that existed from the abolition of the Yugoslav monarchy until it was dissolved in 1992 amid the Yugoslav Wars. It was a socialist state and a federation made up of six socialist republics: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia,...
banned the name "Laibach". Cross imagery, and variations on the cross are apparent in many Laibach recordings and publications.
The visual imagery of Laibach's art (or 'Laibach Kunst', as it calls itself) has been described as 'radically ambiguous', An early example of this ambiguity would be the woodcut entitled 'The Thrower,' also known as Metalec ("The Metal Worker"). This work features a monochrome silhouette of a figure with a clenched fist holding a hammer. The work could be seen by its original Slovene viewers as a poster promoting industrial protest, but the poster could have also been interpreted as a symbol of industrial pride. Another aspect of this woodcut is the large typefaced word 'LAIBACH', evoking memories of the Nazi occupation of Slovenia (when the capital city was briefly known as Laibach). This piece was featured prominently during a TV interview of Laibach in 1983, during which the interviewer Jure Pengov called Laibach "enemies of the people."
Music
Some early Laibach albums were pure industrial, with hard industrial percussion, heavy rhythms, and roaring vocals. Later in the mid-80s, the Laibach sound became more richly layered with samples from classical musicClassical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
including from Gustav Holst
Gustav Holst
Gustav Theodore Holst was an English composer. He is most famous for his orchestral suite The Planets....
’s The Planets
The Planets
The Planets, Op. 32, is a seven-movement orchestral suite by the English composer Gustav Holst, written between 1914 and 1916. Each movement of the suite is named after a planet of the Solar System and its corresponding astrological character as defined by Holst...
. The band began their tradition of cover songs in 1987 with the album Opus Dei, where their sound was changed again.
Controversy
Laibach has frequently been accused of both far leftFar left
Far left, also known as the revolutionary left, radical left and extreme left are terms which refer to the highest degree of leftist positions among left-wing politics...
and far right
Far right
Far-right, extreme right, hard right, radical right, and ultra-right are terms used to discuss the qualitative or quantitative position a group or person occupies within right-wing politics. Far-right politics may involve anti-immigration and anti-integration stances towards groups that are...
political stances due to their use of uniform
Uniform
A uniform is a set of standard clothing worn by members of an organization while participating in that organization's activity. Modern uniforms are worn by armed forces and paramilitary organizations such as police, emergency services, security guards, in some workplaces and schools and by inmates...
s and totalitarian-style aesthetics
Aesthetics
Aesthetics is a branch of philosophy dealing with the nature of beauty, art, and taste, and with the creation and appreciation of beauty. It is more scientifically defined as the study of sensory or sensori-emotional values, sometimes called judgments of sentiment and taste...
. They were also accused of being members of the neo-nationalism
Neo-nationalism
Neo-nationalism is a form of nationalism that is unique in the sense that it reacts to the process of globalization and more specifically the globalization of capital....
movement, which reincarnates modern ideas of nationalism
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
. When confronted with such accusations, Laibach are quoted as replying with the ambiguous response "We are fascists as much as Hitler was a painter".
The members of Laibach are notorious for rarely stepping out of character. Some releases feature artwork by the Communist and early Dada
Dada
Dada or Dadaism is a cultural movement that began in Zurich, Switzerland, during World War I and peaked from 1916 to 1922. The movement primarily involved visual arts, literature—poetry, art manifestoes, art theory—theatre, and graphic design, and concentrated its anti-war politics through a...
artist/satirist
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
, John Heartfield
John Heartfield
John Heartfield is the anglicized name of the German photomontage artist Helmut Herzfeld...
. Laibach concerts have sometimes aesthetically appeared as political rallies. When interviewed, they answer in wry manifestos, showing a paradoxical lust for, and condemnation of, authority.
Richard Wolfson
Richard Wolfson (musician)
Richard Wolfson was a British musician, performance artist, cameraman and journalist. He is probably best remembered for the concept album Kaddish which he created with Andy Saunders using the band name Towering Inferno.-Life:Wolfson was born to an orthodox Jewish family...
wrote of the group:
Martial music
Some early material by Laibach and later neoclassical releases by the band — such as 1990's Macbeth release — were influential on certain artists within the martial music genre.Rammstein
The popular German musical group RammsteinRammstein
Rammstein is a German Neue Deutsche Härte band from Berlin, formed in 1994. The band consists of members Till Lindemann , Richard Z. Kruspe , Paul H. Landers , Oliver "Ollie" Riedel , Christoph "Doom" Schneider and Christian "Flake" Lorenz...
has acknowledged influence by both the aesthetic approach and material of Laibach. 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.'" Laibach would later provide a remix for the Rammstein single "Ohne Dich".
Re-releases
Out on July 9, 2007 via Laibach's own label NSK are 4 releases by the Laibach side-projects 300.000 VK and Rotor. From the electronic project Rotor featuring Mina Špiler (Melodrom/Laibach) comes "Phonophobia" and "Rotorsphere" which both combine 'modern technology effects, live-experimentations, DJ-compatible rhythms and techno-industrial mayhem' as they call it. Next is 300.000 VK with two reissues, "Hard Drive : Bill Gates" and "Paracelsus", the first holding mostly hard and fast drum and bassDrum and bass
Drum and bass is a type of electronic music which emerged in the late 1980s. The genre is characterized by fast breakbeats , with heavy bass and sub-bass lines...
techno. "Paracelsus" from its side has been out of print for several years since its original release on 31 October 1994.
Documentaries
Laibach has been the subject of several documentaries:- 2005, Divided States of America: Laibach 2004 Tour - Directed by Sašo Podgoršek
- 1996, Predictions of FirePredictions of FirePredictions of Fire or Prerokbe Ognja is a documentary film by American filmmaker Michael Benson about the Neue Slowenische Kunst.-Synopsis:...
(Prerokbe Ognja) - Directed by Michael Benson - 1993, Laibach: A Film From Slovenia - Directed by Daniel Landin and Chris Bohn
- 1988, Laibach: Victory Under the Sun (Slovenian title: Laibach: Zmaga pod soncem, serbo-croatianSerbo-CroatianSerbo-Croatian or Serbo-Croat, less commonly Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian , is a South Slavic language with multiple standards and the primary language of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro...
title Laibach: Pobeda pod suncem) - Directed by Goran Gajic
Members
In 1978, Dejan KnezDejan Knez
Dejan Knez, born May 18, 1961 in Trbovlje, Slovenia. An autodidact. A Slovenian artist, musician, painter and founder of the bands Laibach, 300 000 V.K., Der Sturm, a co-founder of the NK , the NSK and Transcentral Tesla [ Radio Organized Gravity].Dejan Knez is the son of the Slovenian painter...
formed his very first band Salte Morale. Basically, Salte Morale was the first incarnation of Laibach. During summer holidays 1980 after the suggestion of Knez' father, famous Slovenian painter and artist Janez Knez, the band changed the name into Laibach. This incarnation included Dejan Knez
Dejan Knez
Dejan Knez, born May 18, 1961 in Trbovlje, Slovenia. An autodidact. A Slovenian artist, musician, painter and founder of the bands Laibach, 300 000 V.K., Der Sturm, a co-founder of the NK , the NSK and Transcentral Tesla [ Radio Organized Gravity].Dejan Knez is the son of the Slovenian painter...
, Srečko Bajda, Andrej Lupinc, Tomaž Hostnik and Bine Zerko. Soon after that, Knez's cousin Ivan (Jani) Novak and Milan Fras joined the band. In the first period Laibach were a quintet, but soon after that they declared that Laibach has only four members – ‘Vier Personen’. Sometimes those four members of the band were signed with their pseudonyms: Dachauer, Keller, Saliger and Eber. From the mid ‘80s until mid ‘90s the four full time members were Dejan Knez
Dejan Knez
Dejan Knez, born May 18, 1961 in Trbovlje, Slovenia. An autodidact. A Slovenian artist, musician, painter and founder of the bands Laibach, 300 000 V.K., Der Sturm, a co-founder of the NK , the NSK and Transcentral Tesla [ Radio Organized Gravity].Dejan Knez is the son of the Slovenian painter...
, Milan Fras, Ervin Markošek and Ivan (Jani) Novak. From time to time, some other persons, such as Oto Rimele (from Lačni Franz
Lacni Franz
Lačni Franz was a rock band from Slovenia. The band was formed in Maribor in June 1979. Their name, meaning hungry Franz, is a pun on the name of a character from the novel Catch-22, Hungry Joe, and describes hunger for rock music....
band), Nikola Sekulović, famous bass player from the Demolition Group, and some other musicians (such as Matej Mršnik and Roman Dečman) joined Laibach. Slovene singer and radio announcer Anja Rupel
Anja Rupel
Anja Rupel is a Slovene pop singer, songwriter, radio announcer, and journalist. Her father Fedja Rupel is a flautist and a professor at the Academy of Music in Ljubljana, and her uncle is the politician and diplomat Dimitrij Rupel....
has also performed with the group.
On the press photos for Volk
Volk (album)
Volk is a concept album by Slovenian industrial group Laibach. Originally, Volk is the German word for "people" or "nation" but also Slovenan for "wolf"...
album were Ivan Novak, Milan Fras, Boris Benko and Primož Hladnik. Benko and Hladnik are members of the group Silence
Silence (band)
Silence is a Slovenian electronic, synth pop and soundtrack music composing duo consisting of Boris Benko and Primož Hladnik . Their fanbase and their tours are currently limited to Slovenia, Germany and parts of Eastern Europe...
, and collaborators on the Volk album.
Current (Volk lineup)
- Milan Fras - vocals
- Ivan Novak - lights and projection
- Mina Špiler or Boris Benko or Jadranka Juras - vocals, synthesizer
- Janez Gabrič - drums
- Luka Jamnik - synthesizer
- Sašo Vollmaier - synthesizer
- Eva Breznikar - (member of Slovenian group Make Up 2) vocals, percussion
- Nataša Regovec - (former member of Slovenian pop group Make Up 2) vocals, percussion
- Damjan Bizilj - synthesizer
Current (KunstDerFuge Tour lineup)
- Luka Jamnik - electronics
- Iztok Turk - electronics
- Janez Gabrič - drums
- Sašo Vollmaier - electronics
- Ivan Novak - electronics and voice
Current (Laibach 'music soirée' lineup)
- Dejan Knez - electronics and voice
- Srečko Bajda - electronics
- Marko Košnik - electronics
- Andrej Lupinc - electronics and bass guitar
Previous
- Tomaž Hostnik - singer (deceased)
- Dejan Knez - (founder and forming member) keyboards, electronics, drums (left the band after album WAT)
- Ervin Markošek - drums, keyboards, electronics (left the band in 1989, returned for the next album Kapital, appears on press photos until WAT)
- Roman Dečman - drums
- Nikola Sekulović - bass
- Matej Mršnik - guitars
- Dragoslav Draža Radojković - drums
- Srečko Bajda (founder and forming member)
- Dare Hocevar - bass
- Borut Kržišnik - guitar
- Oto Rimele - guitar
- Andrej Lupinc (founder and forming member)
- Mina Špiler - vocals
- Anja Rupel - vocals
- Bine Zerko (founder and forming member)
- Jože Pegam
- Peter Mlakar
Appearances in popular culture
- In 2002, Laibach Appears for the first time in popular media in the movie Spider-ManSpider-Man (film)Spider-Man is a 2002 American superhero film, the first in the Spider-Man film series based on the fictional Marvel Comics character Spider-Man. It was directed by Sam Raimi and written by David Koepp...
, with the song "Panorama". This song was first released on their 1985 self-titled debut albumLaibach (album)Laibach was the debut album of Slovenian industrial group Laibach. It was first released in 1985, although it was only in 1991 that it was released on CD. The tracks "Police Blow" and "First TV Generation" were composed by Laibach's sub-group 300.000 V.K....
. - Von Bach, a fictional superpoweredSuperheroA superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
character modeled after Milan Fras, appears in the DC comicsDC ComicsDC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
graphic novelGraphic novelA graphic novel is a narrative work in which the story is conveyed to the reader using sequential art in either an experimental design or in a traditional comics format...
Kingdom ComeKingdom Come (comic book)Kingdom Come is a four-issue comic book mini-series published in 1996 by DC Comics. It was written by Alex Ross and Mark Waid and painted in gouache by Ross, who also developed the concept from an original idea...
, by Alex RossAlex RossNelson Alexander "Alex" Ross is an American comic book painter, illustrator, and plotter. He is praised for his realistic, human depictions of classic comic book characters. Since the 1990s he has done work for Marvel Comics and DC Comics Nelson Alexander "Alex" Ross (born January 22, 1970) is an...
and Mark WaidMark WaidMark Waid is an American comic book writer. He is well known for his eight-year run as writer of the DC Comics' title The Flash, as well as his scripting of the limited series Kingdom Come and Superman: Birthright, and his work on Marvel Comics' Captain America...
. In it, he appears dressed in Laibach-style uniform and displays the group's cross tattooed on his chest. He is described as follows: "German-speaking superhuman and would-be dictator is the example of the Hitleresque villain that had so much symbolic importance in the Golden Age of comic booksGolden Age of Comic BooksThe Golden Age of Comic Books was a period in the history of American comic books, generally thought of as lasting from the late 1930s until the late 1940s or early 1950s...
. The blocky cross on his chest is evocative of the kind of bold symbols used by fascists. Von Bach has the words 'liebe' (love) and 'hass' (hate) tattooed on his arms and, in fact, his entire body has been covered with one large tattoo of that dark color that most tattoos become, with his natural flesh color only coming through in the designs on his body". On the NSK StateNeue Slowenische KunstNeue Slowenische Kunst , aka NSK, is a controversial political art collective that announced itself in Slovenia in 1984, when Slovenia was part of Yugoslavia. NSK's name, being German, is compatible with a theme in NSK works: the complicated relationship Slovenes have had with Germans...
website, the band states they have "been paid with uncommon honour" by this. - In 1999, a tribute album to Laibach titled Schlecht und Ironisch - Laibach Tribut was released.
- Laibachs version of the Juno Reactor song "God is God" (which was inspired by Laibach "Life is Life") from album Jesus Christ Superstars appears on soundtrack for computer game Command & Conquer - Alarmstufe Rot and on album "The Blair Witch Project: Josh's Blair Witch Mix".
- Canadian industrial doom metal band ZarazaZarazaZaraza was an experimental/industrial funeral doom band from Canada.-Biography:Formed in Montreal, Canada, in early 1993, Zaraza was born out of a meeting between newly arrived Polish immigrant Jacek and local Montreal industrial/noise artist Grzegorz Haus ov Doom, with the object of fully...
released a tribute EP called "Montrealska Akropola - A Tribute to Laibach" in 2004.
7" Singles
- Life Is Life/Germania (Mute Rec., 1987, London)
- Sympathy For The Devil/Sympathy For The Devil (two different versions) (Mute Rec., 1988, London)
- Across The Universe/Maggie Mae (Mute Rec., 1988, London)
12" Singles
- Boji/Sila/Brat Moj (L.A.Y.L.A.H. (in association with Les Disques Du Crepuscule), 1984, Bruxells)
- Panorama/Decree (East-West Trading Comp. (Cherry Red), 1984, London)
- Die Liebe/Groesste Kraft (Cherry Red, 1985)
- Geburt Einer Nation/Leben Heisst Leben (ins.) (Mute Rec., 1987, London)
- Life Is Life/Germania/Life (Mute Rec., 1987, London)
- Sympathy For The Devil 1/Laibach, 300.000 V.K. (Mute Rec., 1988, London)
- Sympathy For The Devil 2/Germania, 300.000 V.K. (Mute Rec., 1988, London)
- Sympathy For The Devil/Sympathy For The Devil (picture disc with two versions) (Mute Rec., 1988, London)
- Across The Universe/Maggie Mae/Get Back (Mute Rec., 1988, London)
- 3. Oktober/Geburt Einer Nation (live) ((German only 12" single)Mute Rec./Intercord Gmbh, 1990, London/Stuttgart)
- Wirtschaft Ist Tot/Wirtschaft Ist Tot (Mute Rec., 1992, London)
- Wirtschaft Ist Tot/Sympathy For The Devil ((remixes, for promotion only) Mute Rec., 1992, London)
- Final Countdown/Final Countdown (Mute Rec., 1994, London)
- In The Army Now/War (Mute Rec., 1995, London)
- God Is God (Mute Rec, 1996, London)
- Tanz Mit Laibach (Mute Rec., 2004, London)
- Das Spiel Ist Aus (Mute Rec., 2004, London)
- Anglia (album) (Mute Rec., 2006, London)
CD Singles
- Sympathy For The Devil/Sympathy For The Devil/Sympathy For The Devil ((picture cd with three versions) Mute Rec., 1988, London)
- Across The Universe/Maggie Mae/Get Back (Mute Rec., 1988, London)
- Panorama/Die Liebe/Decree/Groesste Kraft (Cherry Red, 1989, London)
- 3. Oktober/Geburt Einer Nation (live) ((German only cd)Mute Rec./Intercord Gmbh, 1990, London/Stuttgart)
- Wirtschaft Ist Tot/Wirtschaft Ist Tot (Mute Rec., 1992, London)
- Final Countdown/Final Countdown (Mute Rec., 1994, London)
- In The Army Now/War (Mute Rec., 1995, London)
- Jesus Christ Superstar / God Is God (Mute Rec., 1996, London)
- Tanz Mit Laibach (Mute Rec., 2004, London)
- Das Spiel Ist Aus (Mute Rec., 2004, London)
- Anglia (album) (Mute Rec., 2006, London)
Vinyl releases
- LaibachLaibach (album)Laibach was the debut album of Slovenian industrial group Laibach. It was first released in 1985, although it was only in 1991 that it was released on CD. The tracks "Police Blow" and "First TV Generation" were composed by Laibach's sub-group 300.000 V.K....
(Ropot, 1985, Ljubljana) - Rekapitulacija 1980-1984Rekapitulacija 1980-1984Rekapitulacija 1980-1984 is a retrospective album of Slovenian Industrial group Laibach. It was first released in 1985, and re-released in a double CD boxset in 1987.- Background :...
((double LP box set with booklet and poster) Walter Ulbricht Schallfolien, 1985, Hamburg) - Neu Konservatiw (live)Neu KonservatiwNeu Konservatiw is a live album by Laibach, recorded during their first Occupied Europe Tour. It was originally released as a semi-official limited edition of 1000 copies.-Track listing:# "Vier Personen" – 5:37# "Nova akropola" – 13:12...
(Semi Legal, 1985, Hamburg) - Nova AkropolaNova akropolaNova akropola was the second album by Laibach. It was released in 1985.-Track listing:# "Vier Personen" – 5:26# "Nova akropola" – 6:55...
(Cherry Red, 1985 (1987), London) - The Occupied Europe Tour 83-85 (live) (Side Effects Rec., 1986 (1990), London)
- Opus DeiOpus Dei (album)Opus Dei is the fourth album by Laibach, released in 1987. It features "Geburt einer Nation", a German cover of Queen's "One Vision" and two reworkings of Austrian band Opus' sole hit single "Live Is Life". The Opus song became the German language "Leben heißt Leben" and the English language "Opus...
(Mute Rec., 1987, London) - Slovenska AkropolaSlovenska AkropolaSlovenska akropola is an album by Laibach, released in 1987 by the Ropot label.-Track listing:#"Nova akropola" – 5:24#"Krvava Gruda - Plodna Zemlja" – 4:28#"Vade retro Satanas" – 4:31#"Raus! " – 4:48...
(Ropot, 1987, Ljubljana) - Krst Pod Triglavom - Baptism/Klangniederschrift Einer TaufeBaptism (Laibach album)Baptism was the third album by Laibach. It is the soundtrack to the Neue Slowenische Kunst production of the same name...
((2x LP box)Walter Ulbricht Schallfolien, 1987, Hamburg (Sub Rosa, 1988, Bruxells)) - Let It BeLet It Be (Laibach album)Let It Be is the fifth album by Laibach, released in 1988. It is a cover of the Beatles' album Let It Be recorded in Laibach style with military rhythms and choirs, though a few tracks deviate from this formula, most notably "Across the Universe"...
(Mute Rec., 1988, London) - MacbethMacbeth (album)Macbeth is a Laibach album released in 1990. Like Baptism it is the soundtrack to a play, this time Shakespeare's Macbeth. The music was originally written for a staging of Macbeth by Wilfried Minks at Deutsches Schauspielhaus in Hamburg, Germany, in 1987...
(Mute Rec., 1990, London) - Sympathy For The DevilSympathy for the Devil (EP)Sympathy for the Devil is an EP by Laibach and follows on from their Beatles cover album Let It Be. Sympathy for the Devil features seven cover versions of the Rolling Stones song "Sympathy for the Devil" and one original Laibach track...
(Mute Rec., 1990, London) - Kapital (Mute Rec., 1992, London)
- NATONATO (album)NATO, released October 10, 1994, is an album by Slovenian industrial group Laibach, named after NATO. It is a selection of cover versions with the theme of war.Covers include Edwin Starr's "War" 1970 and Europe's "The Final Countdown".-Track listing:...
(Mute Lec., 1994, London) - Jesus Christ Superstars (Mute Rec., 1996, London)
- WAT (Mute Rec., 2003, London)
CD releases
- LaibachLaibach (album)Laibach was the debut album of Slovenian industrial group Laibach. It was first released in 1985, although it was only in 1991 that it was released on CD. The tracks "Police Blow" and "First TV Generation" were composed by Laibach's sub-group 300.000 V.K....
(Ropot, 1985, Ljubljana) - Opus DeiOpus Dei (album)Opus Dei is the fourth album by Laibach, released in 1987. It features "Geburt einer Nation", a German cover of Queen's "One Vision" and two reworkings of Austrian band Opus' sole hit single "Live Is Life". The Opus song became the German language "Leben heißt Leben" and the English language "Opus...
(Mute Rec., 1987, London) - Rekapitulacija 1980-1984Rekapitulacija 1980-1984Rekapitulacija 1980-1984 is a retrospective album of Slovenian Industrial group Laibach. It was first released in 1985, and re-released in a double CD boxset in 1987.- Background :...
((double CD box set with booklet and poster)Walter Ulbricht Schallfolien, 1987, Hamburg) - Let It BeLet It Be (Laibach album)Let It Be is the fifth album by Laibach, released in 1988. It is a cover of the Beatles' album Let It Be recorded in Laibach style with military rhythms and choirs, though a few tracks deviate from this formula, most notably "Across the Universe"...
(Mute Rec., 1988, London) - Nova AkropolaNova akropolaNova akropola was the second album by Laibach. It was released in 1985.-Track listing:# "Vier Personen" – 5:26# "Nova akropola" – 6:55...
(Cherry Red, 1988, London) - MacbethMacbeth (album)Macbeth is a Laibach album released in 1990. Like Baptism it is the soundtrack to a play, this time Shakespeare's Macbeth. The music was originally written for a staging of Macbeth by Wilfried Minks at Deutsches Schauspielhaus in Hamburg, Germany, in 1987...
(Mute Rec., 1990, London) - Sympathy for the Devil (EP)Sympathy for the Devil (EP)Sympathy for the Devil is an EP by Laibach and follows on from their Beatles cover album Let It Be. Sympathy for the Devil features seven cover versions of the Rolling Stones song "Sympathy for the Devil" and one original Laibach track...
(Mute Rec., 1990, London) - Kapital (Mute Rec., 1992, London)
- Ljubljana-Zagreb-BeogradLjubljana-Zagreb-BeogradLjubljana-Zagreb-Beograd, released in 1993, is an album by Slovenian industrial group Laibach, recorded in 1982. It is named after three capitals of three former Yugoslav republics - Ljubljana , Zagreb and Beograd . It is predominantly a live album...
(The Grey Area/Mute Rec., 1993, London) - NATONATO (album)NATO, released October 10, 1994, is an album by Slovenian industrial group Laibach, named after NATO. It is a selection of cover versions with the theme of war.Covers include Edwin Starr's "War" 1970 and Europe's "The Final Countdown".-Track listing:...
(Mute Rec., 1994, London) - Slovenska AkropolaSlovenska AkropolaSlovenska akropola is an album by Laibach, released in 1987 by the Ropot label.-Track listing:#"Nova akropola" – 5:24#"Krvava Gruda - Plodna Zemlja" – 4:28#"Vade retro Satanas" – 4:31#"Raus! " – 4:48...
(Ropot, 1995, Ljubljana) - Occupied Europe Nato Tour 1994-95 (The Grey Area/Mute Rec., 1996, London)
- Jesus Christ Superstars (Mute Rec., 1996, London)
- M.B. December 21, 1984 (The Grey Area/Mute Rec., 1997, London)
- Rekapitulacija 1980-1984Rekapitulacija 1980-1984Rekapitulacija 1980-1984 is a retrospective album of Slovenian Industrial group Laibach. It was first released in 1985, and re-released in a double CD boxset in 1987.- Background :...
((redesigned and remastered)NSK Recordings, 2002, Ljubljana) - Neu Konservatiw (live)Neu KonservatiwNeu Konservatiw is a live album by Laibach, recorded during their first Occupied Europe Tour. It was originally released as a semi-official limited edition of 1000 copies.-Track listing:# "Vier Personen" – 5:37# "Nova akropola" – 13:12...
((digitally remastered CD release with booklet)Cold Spring, 2003, Northants) - LaibachLaibach (album)Laibach was the debut album of Slovenian industrial group Laibach. It was first released in 1985, although it was only in 1991 that it was released on CD. The tracks "Police Blow" and "First TV Generation" were composed by Laibach's sub-group 300.000 V.K....
(NSK Recordings, 1999, Ljubljana) - The John Peel Sessions (Strange Fruit, 2002, London)
- WAT (Mute Rec., 2003, London)
- AnthemsAnthems (Laibach album)Anthems is a compilation by the Slovenian industrial music group Laibach. It was released in 2004 as a double album. The first CD contains a collection of Laibach's best tracks throughout the years, while the second disc accommodates remixes of Laibach songs by different artists...
((double CD release with booklet) Mute Rec., 2004, London) - VolkVolk (album)Volk is a concept album by Slovenian industrial group Laibach. Originally, Volk is the German word for "people" or "nation" but also Slovenan for "wolf"...
(Mute Rec., 2006, London) - Volk Tour London CC Club (Live Here Now, 2007).
- LaibachkunstderfugeLAIBACHKUNSTDERFUGELAIBACHKUNSTDERFUGE is a concept album by NSK industrial group Laibach...
(MP3 - Mute Rec., 5. 5. 2008, London/CD - Dallas Rec., 2008, Ljubljana - CD-version only available in Slovenia and Croatia)
Cassette only releases
- Laibach/Last Few Days (Skuc, 1983, Ljubljana)
- Documents Of Opression ((live from N.L. Centrum, Amsterdam) Staal Tape, 1984, Amsterdam)
- Vstajenje v Berlinu ((live in Berlin 1984) Skuc, 1984, Ljubljana)
- Life In Hell ((live from Hell, Hertogenbosch, 1985) V2, 1985, Hertogenbosch)
- Ein Schauspieler ((live from the N.L. Centrum Amsterdam Church, 1985) Staal Tape, 1985, Amsterdam)
- Divergences/Divisions ((live in Bordeaux, 1986) Le Reseau, 1986, Bordeaux/Toulouse)
Exclusive tracks appearing on compilations
- Trans Slovenia Express (1994) – Zrcalo Sveta (Das Spiegelglas Der Welt), Lie-Werk (credited to Kraftbach)
- An Anthology Of Noise & Electronic Music / Second A-Chronology 1936-2003 (2003) – Industrial Ambients (recorded in 1980-82)
- Trans Slovenia Express Vol. 2 (2005) – Bruderschaft
- Looking for Europe (2005) - Predictions of Fire
- "The previously unrelased track "Predictions of Fire" which Laibach readily contributed to this compilation functioned in an early version as background to a 1994 speech of the NSK philosopher Peter Mlakar and is followed by an ecstatic dance orgy."
VHS releases
- Pobjeda Pod Suncem (1988)
- Bravo (1993)
- A Film From Slovenia (1993)
- Occupied Europe Nato Tour 1994–95 (1996)
DVD releases
- Laibach: Videos / A film about WAT (2004)
- Laibach 2: A Film from Slovenia / Occupied Europe Nato Tour 1994–95 (2004)
- Laibach 3: Divided States of America / Laibach Live (2006)
- Laibach 6: Volk – Dead in Trbovlje · videos · screens (2008)
Side projects
- 300.000 V.K., Dejan KnezDejan KnezDejan Knez, born May 18, 1961 in Trbovlje, Slovenia. An autodidact. A Slovenian artist, musician, painter and founder of the bands Laibach, 300 000 V.K., Der Sturm, a co-founder of the NK , the NSK and Transcentral Tesla [ Radio Organized Gravity].Dejan Knez is the son of the Slovenian painter...
avant-garde electronic music side project - Germania, side project, Laibach, Iztok Turk and Anja RupelAnja RupelAnja Rupel is a Slovene pop singer, songwriter, radio announcer, and journalist. Her father Fedja Rupel is a flautist and a professor at the Academy of Music in Ljubljana, and her uncle is the politician and diplomat Dimitrij Rupel....
- Kraftbach
- 600.000 V.K., responsible for the music for the NoordungNoordung (NSK)Noordung are a Slovenian theatre group; founded in 1983 under the name of Scipion Nasice Sisters Theater they were, in 1984, a founding member of the Neue Slowenische Kunst collective...
theatre productions - Sturm und Klang
- Baron Carl Von Reichenbach, Dejan KnezDejan KnezDejan Knez, born May 18, 1961 in Trbovlje, Slovenia. An autodidact. A Slovenian artist, musician, painter and founder of the bands Laibach, 300 000 V.K., Der Sturm, a co-founder of the NK , the NSK and Transcentral Tesla [ Radio Organized Gravity].Dejan Knez is the son of the Slovenian painter...
avant-garde electronic music side project - Neue Slowenische KunstNeue Slowenische KunstNeue Slowenische Kunst , aka NSK, is a controversial political art collective that announced itself in Slovenia in 1984, when Slovenia was part of Yugoslavia. NSK's name, being German, is compatible with a theme in NSK works: the complicated relationship Slovenes have had with Germans...
- Slovenian arts collective
External links
- Official Site
- Official Laibach Shop
- Interview @ Legends
- Laibachkunst includes images of early visual artworks by Laibach and also pieces by fellow NSK members IrwinIRWINIRWIN is a collective of Slovenian artists, primarily painters, and an original founding member of Neue Slowenische Kunst .- History :In 1983, the artists Dušan Mandič, Miran Mohar, Andrej Savski, Roman Uranjek, and Borut Vogelnik, coming from the punk and graffiti scene in Ljubljana, formed an...
. - Laibach at DiscogsDiscogsDiscogs, short for discographies, is a website and database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. The Discogs servers, currently hosted under the domain name discogs.com, are owned by Zink Media, Inc., and are...
- a documentary shot during the U.S. leg of the WAT tour
- Laibach video report : on OC-TV.net.