Stahlnetz - Wir sind glücklich

(Click on the picture to download.)

Why this synth and drums duo didn't make much of an impact is anybody's guess. With unabashedly catchy melodies, clever arrangements, witty lyrics plus a dose of quirky artiness you should think that they would have appealed both to the underground crowd and the masses. Instead they didn't find success with either audience: although the single Vor all den Jahren was a minor hit in 1982, their album bombed and Stahlnetz disbanded. Today, Wir sind glücklich is one of the rarest and most sought after German new wave records. (Which is actually pretty strange, considering that it was released on the major label Arista, you'd think there must be quite a few copies floating around.) Anyway, what you get here is beautiful, clean-sounding, metronomic synth-pop that blends the Kraftwerkian influence that goes with the genre (those post-Romantic triads!) with a sort of stripped-down, Teutonic take on Human League/Heaven 17-style pop and ironic references to German cabaret songs and Schlagermusik of the thirties and forties. Oh yeah, and Conny Plank produced.

NB: Ripped from vinyl @ 160 kbps. A few crackles, but overall it sounds quite good to me. I found it on Soulseek a few months ago, so big up the original ripper/uploader!