pankow
2024
pankow announce the intention to go back on stage for a mini-tour, to be held between September
and October 2024. The unexpected news is that Alex Spalck will rejoin them, 31 years after his abrupt exit
and 21 years after his last live appearance... pankow will present and celebrate their 45 years of history, with unchanged passion and unshakeable recklessness...their spirits are still young, their sound is still
capable of triggering extreme reactions, their attitude is still the same, uncompromising and pure...their story
is the story of a generation, steeped in stubborn nihilism, in ferocious, pulsating rhythms and post-apocalyptic poetry, a sound without peers, unparalleled in the contemporary landscape. This tour will rekindle
memories of pankow's legendary live sets from the '80s and '90s, with the indispensable addition of
their most recent releases. The tour will also introduce their audiences to their 2 new forthcoming releases,
"Malatesta" and "The Hall of Mirrors", currently in post-production.
pankow announce the intention to go back on stage for a mini-tour, to be held between September
and October 2024. The unexpected news is that Alex Spalck will rejoin them, 31 years after his abrupt exit
and 21 years after his last live appearance... pankow will present and celebrate their 45 years of history, with unchanged passion and unshakeable recklessness...their spirits are still young, their sound is still
capable of triggering extreme reactions, their attitude is still the same, uncompromising and pure...their story
is the story of a generation, steeped in stubborn nihilism, in ferocious, pulsating rhythms and post-apocalyptic poetry, a sound without peers, unparalleled in the contemporary landscape. This tour will rekindle
memories of pankow's legendary live sets from the '80s and '90s, with the indispensable addition of
their most recent releases. The tour will also introduce their audiences to their 2 new forthcoming releases,
"Malatesta" and "The Hall of Mirrors", currently in post-production.
A short introduction to the 'history' of pankow for the younger among you that might not remember...
pankow (founded back in 1980) were the very first electronic/industrial acts coming out from Italy.
The founding member maurizio fm fasolo and his five co-band members at that time created sounds inspired by the
likes of Joy Division, TG and early Kraftwerk, they just released a couple of tracks on some local compilations: ('We are
the Joy' and 'Wither')
After various line-up changings and the arrival of the charismatic lead-singer and poet Alex Spalck, the project started
to become noted also abroad and a first live-appearance in Berlin in 1983 marked the start of a long ongoing and
successful career for the band.
1983/84
After the 1st official cassette-release, 'Throw Out Rite' and various compilation appearances,
Kindergarten Records/Polygram, released a first 4-tracks EP in 1984, that included the first more accessible, EBM-
Electro-like tracks (even though the term 'EBM' was not 'invented' by that time...):
The songs 'God's Deneuve' and 'Wodkachaos' became major hits in Italy and abroad and especially 'Wodkachaos'
became a real classic of EBM later on, when pankow started touring the world and the song was one of the
most requested tracks for Encores at every show!
1987/88
Adrian Sherwood produced their first album 'Freiheit fur die Sklaven' (artwork by H.R.Giger) - an album that con-
tained a string of Industrial/EBM-classics such as 'Nice Bottom', 'Touch' or the Prince-Coverversion 'Boys and Girls'.
Invitations to Talla's legendary 'Techno Club' in Frankfurt and a number of memorable gigs in Germany, Switzerland
and France followed. But it was with the following Maxi-Single 'Kunst & Wahnsinn/Art & Madness' only, when pankow achieved their world-wide breakthrough with the maxi (always produced by Adrian Sherwood) being licensed
to America (Wax Trax), Belgium (KK Records), Germany (Zoth Ommog) and the U.K.
1989
the following album 'Gisela' (artwork by Gottfried Helnwein) was a TOP HIT album in Industrial/Electro both sides of the
ocean and entered the charts both in Germany and the U.S., that saw pankow touring through 29 cities from
March to May 1990. With over 120 concerts in 2 years, pankow the most successful industrial live-act in the
early 90's.
1991
the live-album 'Omne Animal Triste Post Coitum' (artwork by Gottfried Helnwein again...) is an impressive testimonial of
their sheer live-power with recordings from their 1990 concerts in the US and Germany.
1992
'Treue Hunde' - recorded and produced in London with Paul Kendall and the Remix-Album 'Svobody', that was the first
ever industrial album to be released also in Eastern Europe (Czechoslovakia 1992).
1996
the label Musica Maxima Magnetica releases 'pankow', their first and last album entirely in Italian language that will be
soon licensed in Germany to Blank Your Mind.
1997
the 'supposed' last 'sign of life' by pankow finally was the album 'Wodka, Erdbeeren und weitere Katastrophen'
a sort of 'Best of Rarities and never before released demo-tracks'-album.
2003
Alex wrote some lyrics in the airplane, he had enough time from Melbourne to Florence... the album "Life is Offensive
and Refuses to Apologise" was incredibly ready after ten days and they immediately signed with Minus Habens.
2005
fm presents the box "The Art of Gentle Revolution" containing the first 4 albums together with the book "The Movie"
and the minicd '69Sixtynine69' that was released as a 12" in 1989 in only 100 copies.
June 2006
fm flies to Melbourne/Australia to record 'Great Minds Against Themselves Conspire' with Alex and it will be released
in 2007.
2008/13
after the release of "Great Minds..." fm moves to Lille (France) that's not far from the Belgian border and meets the
flemish singer/synth player Bram Declercq. They start to work together on old pankow classics and finally
composing new tracks and then starting to perform in Germany, Belgium, Italy and in the Netherlands.
In November 2012 they sign with the german label Out of Line releasing the EP 'Hogre' followed by the double album
'And Shun the Cure They Most Desire /+' released the 1st of march 2013.
2015/18
Now, with Bram, the band starts to play regularly everywhere in Europe and U.S. like in the past, and they signs with the
Canadian Artoffact label for the release of their first tape "Throw Out Rite" on vinyl and CD, an only vinyl 10" "Times"
with the very early tracks with the original founder members and a brand new track "Blockupy" unfortunately only on
digital format.
2020-2022
Pandemic is here, and new records are ready!
the only vinyl EP "Der Doctor Schnabel von Rom" with "Australia is Burning", "Ecocalypse"... and the album
"Never Trust a White Man" on CD and vinyl.
2023
"Die Winterreise" is released, a philological-electronic reinterpretation of Franz Schubert's masterpiece, 24 Lieder of
love, passion, solitude and decadence, reinterpreted with rigorous fidelity and shameless freedom exclusively on vinyl.
A romantic and unthinkable madness that refuses categories and cataloguing, a tribute to the idea of music as salvation
and condemnation, redemption and nemesis.
2024...
pankow (founded back in 1980) were the very first electronic/industrial acts coming out from Italy.
The founding member maurizio fm fasolo and his five co-band members at that time created sounds inspired by the
likes of Joy Division, TG and early Kraftwerk, they just released a couple of tracks on some local compilations: ('We are
the Joy' and 'Wither')
After various line-up changings and the arrival of the charismatic lead-singer and poet Alex Spalck, the project started
to become noted also abroad and a first live-appearance in Berlin in 1983 marked the start of a long ongoing and
successful career for the band.
1983/84
After the 1st official cassette-release, 'Throw Out Rite' and various compilation appearances,
Kindergarten Records/Polygram, released a first 4-tracks EP in 1984, that included the first more accessible, EBM-
Electro-like tracks (even though the term 'EBM' was not 'invented' by that time...):
The songs 'God's Deneuve' and 'Wodkachaos' became major hits in Italy and abroad and especially 'Wodkachaos'
became a real classic of EBM later on, when pankow started touring the world and the song was one of the
most requested tracks for Encores at every show!
1987/88
Adrian Sherwood produced their first album 'Freiheit fur die Sklaven' (artwork by H.R.Giger) - an album that con-
tained a string of Industrial/EBM-classics such as 'Nice Bottom', 'Touch' or the Prince-Coverversion 'Boys and Girls'.
Invitations to Talla's legendary 'Techno Club' in Frankfurt and a number of memorable gigs in Germany, Switzerland
and France followed. But it was with the following Maxi-Single 'Kunst & Wahnsinn/Art & Madness' only, when pankow achieved their world-wide breakthrough with the maxi (always produced by Adrian Sherwood) being licensed
to America (Wax Trax), Belgium (KK Records), Germany (Zoth Ommog) and the U.K.
1989
the following album 'Gisela' (artwork by Gottfried Helnwein) was a TOP HIT album in Industrial/Electro both sides of the
ocean and entered the charts both in Germany and the U.S., that saw pankow touring through 29 cities from
March to May 1990. With over 120 concerts in 2 years, pankow the most successful industrial live-act in the
early 90's.
1991
the live-album 'Omne Animal Triste Post Coitum' (artwork by Gottfried Helnwein again...) is an impressive testimonial of
their sheer live-power with recordings from their 1990 concerts in the US and Germany.
1992
'Treue Hunde' - recorded and produced in London with Paul Kendall and the Remix-Album 'Svobody', that was the first
ever industrial album to be released also in Eastern Europe (Czechoslovakia 1992).
1996
the label Musica Maxima Magnetica releases 'pankow', their first and last album entirely in Italian language that will be
soon licensed in Germany to Blank Your Mind.
1997
the 'supposed' last 'sign of life' by pankow finally was the album 'Wodka, Erdbeeren und weitere Katastrophen'
a sort of 'Best of Rarities and never before released demo-tracks'-album.
2003
Alex wrote some lyrics in the airplane, he had enough time from Melbourne to Florence... the album "Life is Offensive
and Refuses to Apologise" was incredibly ready after ten days and they immediately signed with Minus Habens.
2005
fm presents the box "The Art of Gentle Revolution" containing the first 4 albums together with the book "The Movie"
and the minicd '69Sixtynine69' that was released as a 12" in 1989 in only 100 copies.
June 2006
fm flies to Melbourne/Australia to record 'Great Minds Against Themselves Conspire' with Alex and it will be released
in 2007.
2008/13
after the release of "Great Minds..." fm moves to Lille (France) that's not far from the Belgian border and meets the
flemish singer/synth player Bram Declercq. They start to work together on old pankow classics and finally
composing new tracks and then starting to perform in Germany, Belgium, Italy and in the Netherlands.
In November 2012 they sign with the german label Out of Line releasing the EP 'Hogre' followed by the double album
'And Shun the Cure They Most Desire /+' released the 1st of march 2013.
2015/18
Now, with Bram, the band starts to play regularly everywhere in Europe and U.S. like in the past, and they signs with the
Canadian Artoffact label for the release of their first tape "Throw Out Rite" on vinyl and CD, an only vinyl 10" "Times"
with the very early tracks with the original founder members and a brand new track "Blockupy" unfortunately only on
digital format.
2020-2022
Pandemic is here, and new records are ready!
the only vinyl EP "Der Doctor Schnabel von Rom" with "Australia is Burning", "Ecocalypse"... and the album
"Never Trust a White Man" on CD and vinyl.
2023
"Die Winterreise" is released, a philological-electronic reinterpretation of Franz Schubert's masterpiece, 24 Lieder of
love, passion, solitude and decadence, reinterpreted with rigorous fidelity and shameless freedom exclusively on vinyl.
A romantic and unthinkable madness that refuses categories and cataloguing, a tribute to the idea of music as salvation
and condemnation, redemption and nemesis.
2024...
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