Gesamtkunstwerk – Dokument 81-86
Formats: LP
Release Date: 12th Septmber 2011

Album is the laibachian interpretation of Johann Sebastian Bach‘s work The Art of Fugue (Die Kunst der Fuge). The majority of the material has been created already in 2006 and premierly performed the same year on June the 1st atBachfest in Leipzig.

Bach himself lived and worked in Leipzig from 1723 till the end of his life in 1750. In this period he also wrote the Art of Fugue, one of his most mysterious and baffling works. The Art of Fugue is a collection of fugues and canons that display the full gamut of fugal transformational techniques, such as augmentation and diminution. The theory that the work was intended as an intellectual exercise rather than for performance is borne out by the fact that no instruments are specified in the score. But although the Art of Fugue (the title was not Bach’s own) reveals Bach in his most academic and puzzle-solving guise, it is no mere pedantry and there is much here of great energy and inspiration. Since Bach did not specify any instrumentation, the big question is: what instrument or instruments should the Art of Fugue be played on? There are many keyboard recordings, but versions are available for everything from saxophone quartet to orchestra. Since the work is very much based on mathematic algorithms, Laibach decided to use computer and computer program as the key »instrument«, providing a very special electronic interpretation and showing that J.S. Bach with his work could as well be understood as the pioneer of electronic, techno, computer music.

LAIBACHKUNSTDERFUGE is available as digital download at MUTE (EMI), and as a CD record, released by Dallas Records.

The CD record will be obtainable with the launching of Laibach WTC shop, starting in May 2008. Stay tuned for further info.

ANGLIA is based on and inspired by God Save the King/Queen, traditional song, earliest known version by John Bull (1562-1628). Today it is used as the national anthem of the United Kingdom, one of the two national anthems of New Zealand, the royal anthem of Canada, Australia, and the other Commonwealth Realms, as well as the royal anthem of the British Royal Family. “God Save the King (or … Queen)” is also used as Norway’s Royal (but not national) anthem entitled “Kongesangen” and sung in Norwegian. The tune is still used as the national anthem of Liechtenstein (“Oben am jungen Rhein”). There is no single authorized version of the song and contrary to popular belief “God Save the Queen” has never been officially proclaimed the national anthem of Great Britain; it has never been adopted by Royal Proclamation or Act of Parliament.
Rewritten and arranged by Laibach and Silence in 2006. Mixed by Paul Walton a.k.a. P-dub & Laibach, remixed by Peter Penko (Sanctus mix) and Damjan Bizilj aka dj Bizzy (Crushed mix).

ESPAÑA is based on and inspired by La Marcha Real (The Royal March), and by El Himno de Riego. “La Marcha Real” – Spain’s national anthem – is one of the oldest in Europe and its origins are unknown. Its first mention is in a document dated 1761: the Libro de Ordenanza de los toques militares de la Infantería Española – the Spanish Infantry Book of Military Bugle Calls – by Manuel de Espinosa. The tune was entitled “La Marcha Granadera” (March of the Grenadiers); however, no composer’s name was given. In 1770, King Carlos III declared the “Marcha Granadera” to be the official Honour March, thereby according it a place at public and ceremonial events. Because it was always played at public events attended by the royal family, Spaniards soon came to regard the “Marcha Granadera” as their national anthem and called it the “Marcha Real”. Under the Second Spanish Republic “El Himno de Riego” replaced “La Marcha Real” as the national anthem of Spain. At the conclusion of the Civil War dictator Francisco Franco restored “La Marcha Real” as the country’s national anthem, under its old title of “La Marcha Granadera”. The current version was commissioned from Francisco Grau after the approval of the 1978 constitution. In October 1997, a Royal Decree was promulgated regulating the official use of the “Marcha Real” as the national anthem of Spain. It is one of the few national anthems in the world to have no words. But lyrics have been written and used for it in the past. One version, written by Eduardo Marquina, was used during Alfonso XIII’s reign and another – written by José María Pemán – during general Franco’s dictatorship; however, none of them were ever official. “El Himno de Riego” (author: Evaristo San Miguel Valledor -?-) is a song dating from the Spanish Civil War of 1820-1823 and named in honour of Colonel Rafael del Riego. It was the national anthem of Spain during the period of Trienio Liberal (1820 – 1823) and the First (1873 – 1874) and Second Spanish Republics (1931-1939).
Rewritten and arranged by Laibach and Silence in 2006. Mixed by Paul Walton a.k.a. P-dub & Laibach, remixed by iTurk (El Toreador mix).

Live at the CC Club
Formats: CD
Release Date: 16th April 2007

Limited edition double CD of the concert at the CC Club in London.

LAIBACH announced a brand new album release, VOLK. The album was released on Mute on 23rd October and has been preceded by a single release, ANGLIA on 9th October 2006.

VOLK is a collection of interpretations of national anthems and beside others it also includes the transnational anthem of NSK State in time. All other tracks are based on and inspired by original anthems. The opening track, Germania uses Das Lied der Deutschen, originally written in 1797 and used after World War I as the national anthem of the German Empire at the time of the Weimar Republic, while the single, Anglia, uses John Bull’s God Save the Queen/King as its inspiration. The tracks are mostly sung in English but each song has a guest singer, often singing in his national language.

Laibach created this record in collaboration with Boris Benko and Primož Hladnik – both members of Ljubljana music group Silence and they co-produced and co-write the project. Boris Benko also created vocal interpretations and arrangements on several songs.

The album is released as a standard CD with 16 page booklet with lyrics and illustrations and also in a limited edition hardback book format with watercolour artwork by Laibach in a 32 page booklet with sleeve notes explaining each track.

Laibach Anthems was released on the 4th October as a 2 x CD hardbook package. CD1 of the album is a collection of the best of Laibach’s anthemic songs including previously unreleased material while CD2 contains mixes, some of which are unavailable elsewhere. The package includes a 40 page booklet containing paintings, photographs and writing on the band by Alexei Monroe.

Taken from album ‘WAT’, ‘Tanz mit Laibach’ is inspired by German – American friendship.

Released on CD and 12″, the new single features mixes by Umek, Johannes Heil, Zeta Reticula and Temponauta.

Release date – 25. august 2003

Das Spiel Ist Aus single is completely new version of a Laibach song, originally released on 2003′s ‘WAT‘ album, and it is the lead track from the Anthems collection. CD and 12″ vinyl releases contains several remixes by DJ Bizzy and his electro-techno group Ourobororots (Tehnika) as well as alternate versions and a live one.

Achtung! Laibach, the spectre that has haunted Europe and beyond since 1980, has returned to continue its interrogations. Seven years have passed since Laibach’s last onslaught. What have Laibach been doing?! – What has the world been doing in Laibach’s absence? Laibach have a number of concerns about the world’s mission.

As time and the world accelerate, Laibach freeze and reverse time at will, dropping out of the flow and re-appearing at will, seizing time in order to discard it. During their seven year silence the millennium bug came and went but so did the dot.com utopia – the rising of the century did not bring salvation and the mask of normality has slipped. The desert burns, countries vanish, Mir has crashed back to earth and all the while the Laibach monolith has been silent, lurking at the heart of the culture industry, waiting for reality to catch up with its predictions. Silence.

Now LAIBACH begin to transmit once more. Swift in thought and action, like a flash of lightning, the swoop of the eagle, the flight of the arrow, the sparkling of phosphorescence on rippling water. All things that move with speed are with them.

On WAT Laibach accelerate once more, fuelled by the contradictions and controversies of a 23-year history, dragging audiences into their own temporal zone, conjuring up the normally hidden forces supporting the regimes that govern our reality. Laibach suspend the visibly disintegrating global rule of “business as usual”. Nothing and no one is spared interrogation by Laibach and the effects of its interventions are irreversible. WAT interrogates both Laibach’s own history and the desires and projections of its audiences.

Laibach shun the crowd-pleasing nostalgia of most long-running groups and the passing years hold no terror for them. WAT puts the fans to the test again by discarding the now familiar style of previous album Jesus Christ Superstars. WAT is a new stylistic departure, moving into the digital zeitgeist. Sleeker, more minimal but as direct and aggressive as ever, WAT intensifies Laibach’s analysis of the traumatic relationships between music and power, art and ideology, life and death. Whatever the style, the paradoxes and contradictions of Laibach incite and frustrate enjoyment – this is no ordinary pop group. Listeners have to decide what tune they believe Laibach is asking them to dance to and what this means.

Laibach manipulate reactionary tendencies and taunt the PC police who patrol contemporary culture. Now more than ever, Laibach have the courage to remain barbaric, manipulating Western preconceptions and fears/fantasies of invasion and contamination. The point of WAT is not what Laibach is, or what it wants, but what you are and where you stand – “Ask not what Laibach can do for you, ask what you can do for Laibach.” Accept or reject, condemn or embrace, fans, critics and enemies alike are caught in the Laibach wheel.

Before you pass judgement ask yourself just what it is you are condemning and what it says about your attitudes to art, music, and life. Ultimately your judgement is irrelevant – “Laibach can not be defended and does not have to defend itself.”

Peel Sessions
Cat.No: SFRSCD104
Formats: CD
Release Date: 25th November 2002