Name: Under Pressure
Brand: Von Spar

Bonus disc

Bonus disc: No

Catalogue number

BB322

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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

2019-05-10

Signed copies

Signed copies: No

Supplier GB

Shellshock

Tax rate GB

Standard:20

UPC / Barcode

4015698326604

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Total Cap

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

BB322LP

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Black

4015698422764

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1 / Extended format: No / LP / Rough Trade Exclusive: No / Signed copies: No / black

Artist

Von Spar

Genre GB

New Wave / Post Punk

Label GB

Bureau B

Bureau B is an independent record label, music publisher, and booking agency based in Hamburg, Germany. Founded in 2005 by Gunther Buskies as a sister label to Tapete Records, Bureau B specializes in releasing a diverse range of electronic and avant-garde music. With a focus on reissues and new productions, the label has built an extensive catalogue that includes iconic albums from the Krautrock genre of the 1970s and early 1980s. They also release recordings by influential artists such as Die Wilde Jagd, Kreidler, Toulouse Low Trax, and more.

Known for their commitment to preserving classic electronic music, Bureau B has been rereleasing albums from renowned artists like Cluster, Faust, Moebius, Roedelius, Plank, Schickert Schnitzler Tietchens Tyndall. In addition to these reissues, they also release works by similar artists including Blenner Heldon Pinhas Rev or NDW Plan Pyrolator.

With their impressive catalogue and dedication to promoting innovative music across various genres within the electronic spectrum - from pop to avant-garde - Bureau B continues to be a prominent force in the global music industry. Their contributions have solidified them as an authoritative figure in the world of independent labels.

Von Spar is a neo-kraut avantgarde pop band that was founded in 2003 in Cologne, Germany. With their unique blend of genres and experimental sound, they have established themselves as a prominent force in the music scene.

The band consists of Sebastian Blume on synthesizer, Jan Philipp Janzen on drums, Christopher Marquez on bass and computers, Phillip Tielsch on guitar, and Thomas Mahmoud who provided vocals until 2007.

Known for their innovative approach to music, Von Spar draws inspiration from various artists such as Die Sterne, Blumfeld, The Robocop Kraus, and Tocotronic. Their distinct style has garnered them a dedicated following and critical acclaim within the industry.

What others call a "band", Von Spar see as a modular system. The creative community of Sebastian Blume, Jan Philipp Janzen, Christopher Marquez and Phillip Tielsch is in a state of constant flux. Von Spar is an interface, providing access to rediscovery and fresh experience of, to all intents and purposes, the familiar.

Under Pressure is their fifth album, not counting their homage to Can (recorded live with Stephen Malkmus). 15 years have passed since their debut Die Uneingeschränkte Freiheit der Privaten Initiative, five since the Streetlife album. On closer examination, there is a somewhat chameleon-esque quality to Von Spar's discography. Their records are the result of continuous metamorphosis, opening wormholes to post punk, krautrock and 80s art pop. The constants: rhythmic refinement and harmonic quantum leaps, swirling synthesizer arpeggios, backwards guitars with no hint of retrogradation.

The eight songs on Under Pressure were recorded in Von Spar's Dumbo Studio in Cologne, with guests from Toronto, Tokyo, New York, London and Nashville adding noteworthy contributions. As on Streetlife, the formative voice belongs to Chris A. Cummings alias Marker Starling. His distinctive falsetto graces over half of the songs, asking: "Is there a cure for this / Unhappiness, happiness?"

On the opening track, Cummings is joined by Eiko Ishibashi (Kafka's Ibiki, Jim O'Rourke, Merzbow) in a Japanese dream sequence exploring where they might get to if the shackles of the flesh are cast off. Punk and reggae professor Vivien Goldman (The Flying Lizards) picks up the thread and liberates herself from the ghosts of the past on Boyfriends (Dead Or Alive). Lætitia Sadier (Stereolab) sings on the album's kraut-pop hit Extend The Song which could run and run for ever, powered by motoric energy: "If someone would ask me / Could I go on?"

Less answers, more questions - this is the song's greatest leitmotif. It is left to low-fi maverick R. Stevie Moore (he of 400 albums) to pose the question on Falsetto Giuseppe, Should I Worry? Of course!