Name: C'est Com...com...complique
Brand: Faust

Bonus disc

Bonus disc: No

Catalogue number

bb21cd

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Colour

Colour details

Discogs ID

Format multiplier

Download code

Download code: No

Rough Trade Exclusive

Rough Trade Exclusive: No

Extended format

Extended format: No

Format detail

Format Music GB

Limited edition

Release date

2009-03-09

Signed copies

Signed copies: No

Supplier GB

Shellshock

Tax rate GB

Standard:20

UPC / Barcode

Total Cap

1 / CD / Extended format: No / Rough Trade Exclusive: No / Signed copies: No

Artist

Faust

Genre GB

Krautrock

Label GB

German for "fist", and also the protagonist of Goethe's eponymous play, Faust were among the first bands to use the recording studio as an instrument and one of the originators & central pillars of the Krautrock genre. After two albums for Polydor, they were dropped due to a lack of commercial success and signed with the fledgling Virgin label. The first release to come of this new partnership was The Faust Tapes - a record comprised of edited older material, with no clearly demarcated tracks, and no titles or other information on the sleeve. In what could be seen as an early attempt at viral marketing, the disc was priced as a single and as a result sold over 50,000 copies.
Faust IV was released later the same year, and had been recorded on night shifts at the label's Manor studio while Mike Oldfield tracked Tubular Bells during the day. While the group would carry on for another two years after the release of IV, no new releases appeared before the band seemingly vanished.
Throughout the 1980s, Chris Cutler's ReR and Recommended labels released Faust's first three records along with various unreleased archival material. This marked their creative partnership which would see him go on to perform with Jean-Hervé Peron's later iteration of Faust decades later. In 1994, Faust reactivated; performing live in Europe and releasing

brand new studio album. "there is no group more mythical than faust." thus wrote english musician and eccentric julian cope in his classic of the genre, 'krautrocksampler'. which says it all really, neither the habitus nor the music of the six piece hamburg group is easy to grasp. whilst some lauded faust as the best thing that ever happened to rock, others dismissed them as shameless dilettantes. their collage of dadaism, avant-garde rock and free improvisation radically divided opinion. their legend was built on the fact that, in the early days, they addressed the media through their producer and manager uwe nettelbeck (1940-2006). precious little was known about the musicians themselves. when the first lp was unleashed on the world in 1971, faust where very much the prophet in his own land, as the saying goes: few were interested in listening to their music - in germany. not so across the channel: this is where faust's career really kickstarted. these monoliths of avant-garde rock sold a phenomenal 100,000 copies of their third album 'the faust tapes', one of the first releases of the virgin label, then in its infancy. now that krautrock has been revived, thanks to the efforts of bands such as stereolab and tortoise in the nineties, faust have become one of the biggest names to drop. worldwide. their concerts in the usa, middle east, japan and europe are invariably sold out. almost 40 years since they began, faust are issuing a brand new studio album. original members jean-herv peron and werner 'zappi' diermaier were joined in the electric avenue studio by amaury cambuzat (from the french post-rock combo ulan bator). 'star indie producer' tobias levin recorded. the results are fantastic! typically dadaist lyrics (mostly in french) accompany repetitive, sporadically overflowing, patterns. faust's music combines seemingly contradictory elements: it rages, yet is gentle; it is monotonous yet melodic, earthy and still ethereal. safe to say, it is unique. the bureau b label breaks into new territory with this album, it is their first release comprising newly recorded material. they have hitherto concentrated on re-releases and compilations. presented with the opportunity of releasing new works by krautrock gods faust, the only possible outcome was to say yes.

C'est Com...com...complique

Music GB