F. M. Einheit
Encyclopedia
Frank-Martin Strauß, better known as F.M. Einheit and also known as Mufti, (born 18 December 1958, in Dortmund
) is an industrial
and electronic
musician from Germany
.
While primarily known for his percussion work with the influential industrial group Einstürzende Neubauten
, he has also collaborated with KMFDM
, Goethes Erben
and recorded several albums in collaboration with other musicians (such as Mona Mur
, Andreas Ammer, Ulrike Haage
) and solo. FM Einheit was also involved in the projects Stein and Gry
.
Abwärts
from Hamburg
and Palais Schaumburg
In the early 1980s he joined Einstürzende Neubauten
as a percussionist and became a long-time band member. Most of the percussions which FM Einheit played on were custom-made metal instruments or such tools as a hammer drill
. FM Einheit was instrumental to the development of the sound of the group.
Live performances of Einstürzende Neubauten
with FM Einheit included lots of metal banging, destruction on the stage and even fire. These shows became legendary and influenced the band image.
In 1988-9 he was part of Alfred 23 Harth's group Vladimir Estragon
.
and Katharina Franck
from the band Rainbirds
.
FM Einheit left Einstürzende Neubauten
in the middle 1990s during work on the album Ende Neu
, due to a lack of creative interest.
One of his major projects after Einstürzende Neubauten
was the band Gry
with a female singer Gry Bagøien
from Denmark
. They released two albums: The Touch Of E! (1998) and Public Recording (2000, featuring Pan Sonic
and Neubauten's
Alexander Hacke
).
FM Einheit is also involved in theater and radio plays. On several occasions he reunited on stage with Alexander Hacke
of Einstürzende Neubauten
for an experimental performance.
Dortmund
Dortmund is a city in Germany. It is located in the Bundesland of North Rhine-Westphalia, in the Ruhr area. Its population of 585,045 makes it the 7th largest city in Germany and the 34th largest in the European Union....
) is an 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...
and 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...
.
While primarily known for his percussion 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 KMFDM
KMFDM
KMFDM is an industrial band led by German multi-instrumentalist Sascha Konietzko, who founded the group in 1984 as a performance art project...
, Goethes Erben
Goethes Erben
Goethes Erben is a musical group from Germany started in 1989 by Oswald Henke and Peter Seipt.-History:The founding idea for Goethes Erben was to combine German spoken words with musical theater. They are one of the first Neue Deutsche Todeskunst bands....
and recorded several albums in collaboration with other musicians (such as Mona Mur
Mona Mur
Mona Mur is a German vocalist - born Sabine Bredy in Hamburg to Polish parents, 1960.In 1982 she first collaborated with FM Einheit, Marc Chung, and Alex Hacke, all of Einstürzende Neubauten. As "Mona Mur und die Mieter " they recorded the 12" Jeszcze Polska...
, Andreas Ammer, Ulrike Haage
Ulrike Haage
Ulrike Haage is a German pianist and composer. She is also a producer for radio plays, for which she does the dramaturgy and the music composition. Last but not least, she is a sound artist.- The jazz years :...
) and solo. FM Einheit was also involved in the projects Stein and 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...
.
Early years
In the late 1970s and early 1980s he was also a member of the punk bandsPunk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
Abwärts
Abwärts
Abwärts is a West German post-punk group from Hamburg. Members Mark Chung and FM Einheit would leave the group in the early 1980s to join the Berlin-based band Einstürzende Neubauten....
from Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
and Palais Schaumburg
Palais Schaumburg (band)
Palais Schaumburg was a new wave band from Hamburg, Germany. The style was classified as Neue Deutsche Welle, and strongly characterized by their avant garde music and dadaistic attitude....
In the early 1980s he joined 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...
as a percussionist and became a long-time band member. Most of the percussions which FM Einheit played on were custom-made metal instruments or such tools as a hammer drill
Hammer drill
A hammer drill, also known as a "Hammer drill", "roto-drill" or "hammering drill", is a rotary drill with a hammering action. The hammering action provides a short, rapid hammer thrust to pulverize relatively brittle material and provide quicker drilling with less effort...
. FM Einheit was instrumental to the development of the sound of the group.
Live performances 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...
with FM Einheit included lots of metal banging, destruction on the stage and even fire. These shows became legendary and influenced the band image.
In 1988-9 he was part of Alfred 23 Harth's group Vladimir Estragon
Vladimir Estragon
Vladimir Estragon were an avant-rock group founded in Germany in 1988 by German composer and reed player Alfred Harth with FM Einheit, Ulrike Haage, and Phil Minton...
.
1990s - 2000s
In the 1990s he was also a member of a band Stein, also featuring Ulrike HaageUlrike Haage
Ulrike Haage is a German pianist and composer. She is also a producer for radio plays, for which she does the dramaturgy and the music composition. Last but not least, she is a sound artist.- The jazz years :...
and Katharina Franck
Katharina Franck
Katharina Franck is German singer who became famous with her band Rainbirds and has produced several solo albums.-Biography:...
from the band Rainbirds
Rainbirds
The Rainbirds were a German Pop rock band established in 1986 around the singer Katharina Franck. Their greatest hit was "Blueprint".-History:...
.
FM Einheit left 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...
in the middle 1990s during work on the 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 :...
, due to a lack of creative interest.
One of his major projects after 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...
was the band 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...
with a female singer Gry Bagøien
Gry Bagøien
Gry Bagøien is a female singer from Denmark. She was a member of the band Gry, which is a collaboration with German industrial and electronic musician F. M. Einheit, and was formerly a member of now-defunct Æter, along with Jacob Kirkegaard, a Dane living in Germany...
from Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
. They released two albums: The Touch Of E! (1998) and Public Recording (2000, featuring Pan Sonic
Pan sonic
Pan Sonic was a Finnish experimental electronic music duo consisting of Mika Vainio and Ilpo Väisänen.-Music:...
and Neubauten's
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...
Alexander Hacke
Alexander Hacke
Alexander Hacke is a guitarist, bass guitarist, singer, experimental / industrial / electronic musician from Germany....
).
FM Einheit is also involved in theater and radio plays. On several occasions he reunited on stage with Alexander Hacke
Alexander Hacke
Alexander Hacke is a guitarist, bass guitarist, singer, experimental / industrial / electronic musician from Germany....
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...
for an experimental performance.
Discography
- 1990 Stein
- 1993 Prometheus/Lear
- 1993 Radio Inferno (F.M. Einheit/Ammer)
- 1994 König Lear
- 1994 Merry Christmas (F.M. Einheit/Caspar BrötzmannCaspar BrötzmannCaspar 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...
) - 1994 Apocalypse Live (F.M. Einheit/Ammer/HaageUlrike HaageUlrike Haage is a German pianist and composer. She is also a producer for radio plays, for which she does the dramaturgy and the music composition. Last but not least, she is a sound artist.- The jazz years :...
) - 1995 Merry Christmas
- 1996 Deutsche Krieger (F.M. Einheit/Ammer)
- 1997 Sensation Death
- 1999 Odysseus 7 (F.M. Einheit/Ammer/HaageUlrike HaageUlrike Haage is a German pianist and composer. She is also a producer for radio plays, for which she does the dramaturgy and the music composition. Last but not least, she is a sound artist.- The jazz years :...
)
- 2000 Frost 79° 40' (F.M. Einheit/Ammer/GryGry (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...
/Pan SonicPan sonicPan Sonic was a Finnish experimental electronic music duo consisting of Mika Vainio and Ilpo Väisänen.-Music:...
, live) - 2002 Crashing Aeroplanes (F.M. Einheit/Ammer)
- 2006 Echohce (F.M. Einheit/J.Lidell/d.Link)
- 2011 Evol/Ve ( F.M. Einheit/ Massimo Pupillo)
- For discography of FM Einheit with Einstürzende Neubauten, see: Einstürzende NeubautenEinstürzende NeubautenEinstürzende 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 1982-1995). - For discography of FM Einheit with Gry, see: GryGry (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...
's discography (all releases).