Einstürzende Neubauten, 26 October 2024

Einstürzende Neubauten (German pronunciation: [ˈaɪnˌʃtʏʁtsn̩də ˈnɔʏˌbaʊtn̩], lit. "Collapsing New Builds") is a German experimental music group, originally formed in West Berlin in 1980. The group is currently composed of founder members Blixa Bargeld (lead vocals; guitar; keyboard) and N.U. Unruh (custom-made instruments; percussion; vocals), long-time contributor Alexander Hacke (bass; vocals), plus Jochen Arbeit (guitar; vocals), and Rudolf Moser (custom-built instruments; percussion; vocals), who both joined the line-up in 1997.

One of their trademarks is the use of custom-built instruments, predominantly made out of scrap metal and building tools, and noises, in addition to standard musical instruments. Their early albums were unremittingly harsh, with Bargeld's vocals shouted and screamed above a din of banging and scraping metal percussion. Subsequent recordings found the group's sound growing somewhat more conventional, yet still containing many unorthodox elements.