Laibach’s ‘WAT’ turns 23 on 8 September
Laibach released “WAT” on 8 September 2003 through Mute Records, produced by Iztok Turk and Laibach with Umek co-producing.
Laibach released “WAT” on 8 September 2003 through Mute Records. The album turns 23 this year. Iztok Turk and Laibach produced the record, with Umek co-producing and sharing mixing duties with Turk; Nilesh Patel handled mastering at The Exchange. The track “Anti-Semitism” was separately produced and mixed by Temponauta.
“WAT” is an acronym for “We Are Time,” revealed on the title track. Laibach has described the album’s intent as being not about “what Laibach is, or what it wants, but what you are and where you stand.”
What is on Laibach’s ‘WAT’
The CD edition runs 12 tracks: “B Mashina”, “Tanz mit Laibach”, “Du bist unser”, “Achtung!”, “Ende”, “Now You Will Pay”, “Hell: Symmetry”, “Das Spiel ist aus”, “Satanic Versus”, “The Great Divide”, “WAT” and “Anti-Semitism”, with a total running time of 58:23. The 2LP vinyl edition replaces “Now You Will Pay” in its track sequence with the bonus cut “Reject or Breed” and runs 62:27. The CD also carries an enhanced video for “Tanz mit Laibach”.
Tomi Meglič of Siddharta contributed music, lyrics and additional vocals on “B Mashina”. Long-time NSK collaborator Peter Mlakar wrote lyrics for “Du bist unser” and “Achtung!”. Slavko Avsenik Jr. arranged the choir parts and co-wrote the title track, and Matej Mršnik played guitar on “Ende”. “Tanz mit Laibach” was released as a single on 25 August 2003, with remixes by Umek, Johannes Heil, Zeta Reticula and Temponauta, and an accompanying video directed by Sašo Podgoršek.
About Laibach
Laibach formed in 1980 in Trbovlje, a mining town in Slovenia, then part of Yugoslavia. The band’s name is the German-language name for Ljubljana, a deliberate reference to the World War II occupation of Slovenia. In December 1984, Laibach co-founded Neue Slowenische Kunst (NSK) alongside the visual-art collective Irwin and the Scipion Nasice Sisters Theatre, uniting music, art and theatre under a single project. The band released its debut album, “Laibach”, in 1985 through the Slovenian label ŠKUC Ropot.
From 1987 onward, Laibach recorded primarily for Mute Records, releasing “Krst pod Triglavom – Baptism” and “Opus Dei” in 1987, followed by covers albums “Let It Be” (1988) and “Sympathy for the Devil” (1988/1990). “Kapital” followed in 1992, then “NATO” in 1994, reworking military and pop songs against the backdrop of the Yugoslav wars, and “Jesus Christ Superstars” in 1996, a reinterpretation of the Andrew Lloyd Webber rock opera. “WAT” arrived in 2003, continuing the band’s practice of operating as a collective rather than a fixed lineup.
Laibach followed “WAT” with the career-spanning compilation “Anthems” in 2004 and the national-anthem reworking “Volk” in 2006. The band has continued releasing new material into the 2020s, including the symphonic work “Alamut” in 2025 and the studio album “Musick” in 2026.
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