Name: Raum
Brand: Grauzone

Bonus disc

Bonus disc: No

Catalogue number

WRWTFWW043

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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 US

Limited edition

Release date

2019-11-29

Signed copies

Signed copies: No

Supplier US

Forced Exposure

Tax rate US

Sales:8.875

UPC / Barcode

4251648414889

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Total Cap

1 / 12" / Extended format: No / Rough Trade Exclusive: No / Signed copies: No

Artist

Grauzone

Genre US

Label US

Grauzone was a Swiss Neue Deutsche Welle/post punk band that formed in 1980 in Bern. The band consisted of Christian Trüssel on drums, GT on bass, Martin Eicher on guitar, and Marco Repetto on saxophone. They gained commercial success with their song "Eisbär" but chose to focus on film and studio work rather than pursuing a mainstream career. In 1981, they released their self-titled LP before disbanding in 1982.

Drummer Christian Trüssel and bassist GT were members of the Swiss punk band Glueams before forming Grauzone. They joined forces with guitarist/vocalist Martin Eicher, who had previously supported them on the Glueams single "Mental". The group played their first gig as Grauzone in March 1980 at the Spex club in Bern. Later, Martin's brother joined as a guitarist and Marco Repetto joined as a saxophonist for live performances and recordings.

Grauzone achieved commercial success with their song "Eisbär", which was initially featured on the Swiss Wave compilation album in 1980 before being released as a single. The track reached number 6 in Austria and number 12 in the German charts. Despite this success, the band resisted commercial pressures and focused instead on film and studio projects.

New Wave / Post Punk

The first ever vinyl maxi-single release for Raum, Grauzone’s best-kept secret and underground mega-gem from 1980. The four-track affair includes the full title track sourced from the original reels, as well as a club-ready rework by Naum Gabo (Jonnie Wilkes of Optimo and James Savage) with help from Dennis Young of Liquid Liquid, and an extended edit by legendary Frankfurt DJ Ata (Robert-Johnson club, Playhouse / Klang / Ongaku labels). The 12 inch vinyl is cut at 45rpm and comes with a never-seen cover art by band member Stephan Eicher and a handmade Xerox hype sticker.

Initally released almost 40 years ago on the beloved compilation Swiss Wave - The Album (Off Course Records) alongside the band’s massive hit Eisbär, Raum is the biggest Grauzone track people have yet to discover. An über-infectious New York style bassline played by Christian "GT" Trüssel and frantic drumming by Marco Repetto’s blend with Martin Eicher’s hauntingly hopeless lyrics and Claudine Chirac’s saxophone escapades to personify post-punk heaven and all its wonderful anomalies. It’s disco with an edge, pop filled with fear, it’s The Cure infused with proto- techno and Swiss art chic. Or maybe, it’s simply one hell of a song that will make you dance and shout. It’s good!

Further on the a-side, Naum Gabo’s rework takes Grauzone to modern dance floors with a thumping track and bounce-inducing groove on which Liquid Liquid’s very own Dennis Young adds magic in the form of marimba, Roto Toms, and EBowed guitar. The energy is electric, the sound is huge, a club banger with extra heart, ready for sound systems of all kinds. The b-side features Ata Macias’ fabled extended version of Raum (first released in 2010 via Live at Robert Johnson) that Stephan Eicher described as "the perfect Grauzone edit" (and it is!), plus a straight to the point radio edit of Naum Gabo’s rework.

This release follows WRWTFWW’s reissue of Grauzone’s Eisbär maxi single as part of the 40 years anniversary of the band. There is much more coming...stay tuned!

Raum

Music US

Buy Grauzone - Raum (Vinyl, CD) now from Rough Trade - independent purveyors of great music, since 1976.