Palais Schaumburg

Influential underground NDW (Neue Deutsche Welle) band from Hamburg, Germany, Palais Schaumburg was founded in 1979 and dissolved in 1984. This creative melting pot of a band produced a new style of avantgarde dance music, mixing hard beats and funky riffs with dadaist lyrics. Influenced by the US avantgarde cult band *The Residents*, founding members Holger Hiller and Thomas Fehlmann joined by FM Einheit and Chris Lunch tried to push boundaries with their unique sound.

Their debut release 'Rote Lichter' on the independent label was followed by 'Telephon / Kinder Der Tod', which gained some underground success. After lineup changes, their self-titled album saw a major label release but soon after, Holger Hiller left for a solo career. Their subsequent albums brought surprising changes in style, adding horns and jazz fusion influences to their sound.

Despite collaborating with singer *Gudrun Gut* of Neonbabies/DÖF fame on their final album 'Parlez-Vous Schaumburg?', commercial success eluded them and the band disbanded shortly after its release. The influence of Palais Schaumburg can still be felt today through the careers of its former members who went on to pioneer various genres such as avantgarde electronics, techno, industrial music, minimal/dub techno.