Founding member of DAF returns with all new Pyrolator album 'Niemandsland'

Behind Pyrolator we find Kurt Dahlke who not only is a member of Der Plan and Fehlfarben, but also a founding member of DAF (which he left in 1979) and co-founder of the label Ata Tak. Dahlke has also released a line of solo works since 1979 under the name Pyrolator. Several times he has been commissioned by the Goethe-Institut for workshops or concerts.

Out on July 29th is the new Pyrolator album “Niemandsland” which is a back to the roots story for Pyrolator in the musical sense. “Niemandsland” was created exclusively with modular synthesizers with the computer merely being a recording device. All of the tracks were played live and direct – neither storable nor replicable. This is the sixth album in Pyrolator’s ‘Land’ series.

About Pyrolator

In 1979 Dahlke released “Inland”, his first album as Pyrolator. The music was quite experimental, close to industrial music, incorporating field recordings and harsh electronica. On the follow-up “Ausland” (1981) he worked with a list of Ata Tak associated guests including his Der Plan colleagues and Holger Hiller. The songs ranged from experimental electronica to synth-pop. 1984 saw “Wunderland” being released with references to world music.

In 1985 Dahlke collaborated with Arnd Kai Klosowski for the album “Hometaping Is Killing Music” an early effort in popular music based entirely on sampling. 1987’s Pyrolator’s “Traumland” had Susan Brackeen on vocals and a whole range of guest musicians. It became the project’s most commercial and less experimental album. He then teamed up with Linda Sharrock and Frank Samba for “Every 2nd”, an album commissioned for the German Olympic pavilion at the 1988 Seoul Games.

With the singles “Ficcion Disco” and “City Space” from 1992/1993 he moved towards techno, which led to his productions for Antonelli Electr., the techno project of Stefan Schwander – another Ata Tak artist (with The I-Burnettes, 1990, and The Bad Examples, from 1996 on).

“Neuland” from 2011 was the first Pyrolator album not released on Ata Tak but on Bureau-B. It was followed by “Con-Struct” in 2015 with the help of with Conrad Schnitzler.

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