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KMFDM

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KMFDM circa 2005; from left to right: Steve White, Lucia Cifarelli, Jules Hodgson, Andy Selway, Sascha Konietzko
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KMFDM circa 2005; from left to right: Steve White, Lucia Cifarelli, Jules Hodgson, Andy Selway, Sascha Konietzko

KMFDM is an industrial rock band and the brainchild of founding member Sascha Konietzko. KMFDM was founded in Paris on February 29, 1984 as a joint effort between Konietzko and German painter/multi-media performer Udo Sturm to perform for the opening of an exhibition of young European artists at the Grand Palais. Sturm had no lasting musical aspirations and Konietzko was interested in studio recordings more than the occasional art-performance, therefore he joined forces with then-Hamburg, Germany-based studio owner Raymond Watts and drummer Klaus Schandelmaier, later known as En Esch. After working the Hamburg underground and releasing three albums on European labels they began their relationship with Wax Trax! Records in Chicago, Illinois. After touring with Ministry in 1989-1990, they were signed to Wax Trax! Records and quickly became a part of the industrial music scene in Chicago that included Ministry, Front 242 and My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult. Konietzko then moved to Chicago; Esch followed a year later. After close friend and president of Wax Trax! Records Jim Nash died of AIDS, KMFDM relocated to Seattle, Washington.

KMFDM has no fixed line-up; rather, it is a "revolving-door" collaboration of contributors. Konietzko is the only member that has been directly involved with every KMFDM project. En Esch, Raymond Watts, and guitarist Günter Schulz are other key members in the band's history.

Other notable musicians that have contributed to KMFDM projects include Bill Rieflin of Ministry/R.E.M., Nivek Ogre from Skinny Puppy and OhGr, John DeSalvo of Chemlab, Tim Skold of Shotgun Messiah/Marilyn Manson, F.M. Einheit of Einstürzende Neubauten, Nina Hagen, and spoken word artist Nicole Blackman. Additionally, Chemlab, Die Warzau, Nine Inch Nails, My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult, and Giorgio Moroder have remixed music for KMFDM.

Contents

Musical style

While recognized within the ranks of Ministry, Skinny Puppy, and later, Nine Inch Nails, as pioneers in introducing industrial music to mainstream audiences, KMFDM describes their sound as "Ultra-Heavy Beat". KMFDM's earliest output is more accurately described as performance art, as Konietzko incorporated not only visuals but non-musical devices (e.g. vacuum cleaners) as instruments. Their albums from the 1980s featured heavy sampling and studio manipulations, and the primary instruments used were synthesizers and drum machines. With the addition of guitarist Günter Schulz, KMFDM shifted to a more "industrial metal" style, with heavy guitar riffs driving their sound. With the release of Angst in 1993, KMFDM were nearly discovered by the mainstream with their hit single "A Drug Against War". In spite of the band's "anti-MTV", "anti-mainstream" attitude, the video of "A Drug Against War" was circulated in heavy rotation on MTV and was even featured on the MTV cartoon Beavis & Butt-head.

Since the release of 1989's UAIOE, KMFDM's music has been a fusion of electronic and heavy metal, with elements of reggae, ska, and even rap. Many songs feature prominent backing vocals by female singers, notably Dorona Alberti, Cheryl Wilson, Jennifer Ginsberg, Abby Travis, and Lucia Cifarelli. Frequent KMFDM contributor Raymond Watts incorporates the style of his own musical project PIG, which, while primarily industrial, features elements of jazz, orchestral music, and a reliance on verbal sampling.

After the band's three-year hiatus which ended in 2002, KMFDM adopted a more "traditional" rock sound, that is, recording and performing with a typical band lineup — lead vocalist, lead and rhythm guitarist, bassist, and drummer — while continuing to incorporate electronics and sampling.

From KMFDM's inception, the band has been highly political. Their lyrics typically call for the rejection of and resistance to incompetent rule in capitalist society, as well as outrage over terrorism, violence, oppression, censorship, and most explicitly, war. Their songs often feature samples of news broadcasts and speeches by political leaders, usually in an expression of irony.

KMFDM are not without a sense of humor, however. Nearly every album features a song in which they lampoon themselves, particularly evident in the lyrics to "More & Faster", "Sucks", "Light", "Inane", and "Megalomaniac". Their knack for self-parody came to a head in 2003 with the song "Intro" from the album WWIII, in which Konietzko takes a jab at each band member — including himself — with a tongue-in-cheek and slightly irreverent verse.

Konietzko has cited T. Rex, David Bowie, and Frank Zappa as inspiration in the early stages of KMFDM. Zappa is heavily referenced on the albums Don't Blow Your Top and UAIOE. "[KMFDM refuses to die...]" Losingtoday.com. URL accessed June 16, 2006.

Recording, performance and fanbase

KMFDM guitarist Jules Hodgson
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KMFDM guitarist Jules Hodgson

Since the beginning, KMFDM has been one of the hardest working industrial bands in the business. They have released at least one album or EP every year since 1986 and toured extensively for nearly every release. Even during their brief hiatus (1999-2002), Konietzko and other band members engaged in a number of side-projects (see below).

The early albums were recorded in Hamburg, Germany. In 1988, KMFDM began working with the famous (yet now defunct) industrial label Wax Trax! Records and relocated to Chicago the following year. After reforming in 2002, KMFDM worked with the Metropolis and Sanctuary record labels. In 2004, Konietzko started his own record label, aptly titled KMFDM Records.

Previously confined to touring the United States and only portions of Europe and Japan, KMFDM embarked on a 2004 world tour in which they performed in Australia, Russia, Canada, and much of Europe in addition to the US.

KMFDM has had a longstanding commitment to their fans, striving to present themselves as personable and approachable entertainers. Konietzko and most KMFDM members both past and present often converse with fans via e-mail and chat rooms. The band tours seemingly non-stop, pausing briefly to record an album. At most concert venues, KMFDM typically mingles with the fans before and after the show to sign autographs, take photos, and answer questions. Konietzko and the band's representatives are constantly testing new ways for fans to interact directly with the band. In 2002, KMFDM launched the HORDE, an exclusive fanclub where members had the opportunity to attend a private meet-and-greet with the band before every show, as well as gaining access to members-only music and footage online. In 2004, they experimented with "FanKam", a project in which a member of the audience was selected to record that night's show, as well as some back-stage antics, with a handheld digital video camera. The project was highly successful and the resulting footage was incorporated into the 20th Anniversary World Tour DVD the following year.

Etymology

The cover of 84-86, featuring the original stamp used by KMFDM in 1984.
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The cover of 84-86, featuring the original stamp used by KMFDM in 1984.
KMFDM is an acronym for the nonsensical and grammatically incorrect German phrase "Kein Mehrheit Für Die Mitleid", which literally translates as "no majority for pity" but is typically given the loose translation of "no pity for the majority" or "no mercy for the masses". The most common account of the origin of the name involves Konietzko cutting headlines from German newspapers and shuffling around the words to produce the now infamous expression. [KMFDM bio] Bioharzardmusic.com. URL accessed June 16, 2006. The name was shortened to "KMFDM" in 1985 in order to simplify the long phrase, with one popular account having Raymond Watts originating the acronym to avoid the difficulties he had in pronouncing the German.
Confusion often arises regarding the correct German expansion of the acronym, primarily stemming from the aforementioned language issues. In German, nouns possess genders that require proper declension of any preceding articles or adjectives. In the true phrase, the articles preceding the nouns "Mehrheit" and "Mitleid" are inflected for the wrong gender. However, swapping the two nouns yields the grammatically correct "Kein Mitleid Für Die Mehrheit", which additionally translates directly as "no pity for the majority". Adding to the confusion is the fact that this "correct" phrase appears within the lyrics to the song "Megalomaniac", which Konietzko revealed was done in order to confuse people who were always telling the band their name was wrong. [German KMFDM interview] Entry Magazin. URL accessed June 20, 2006.

When the band first toured the US in 1989-1990, band members and their associates began using alternate English meanings for their name to tease journalists who could not understand German. The most prominent and most widely repeated was "Kill Mother Fucking Depeche Mode", which is attributed to Shawn Joyce. After the release of Angst, TVT/Wax Trax! Records launched a promotion (without consent of the band) in which fans were encouraged to come up with at least 1,001 different meanings for KMFDM. College radio DJs Kinslow and Smith of WKGC Florida won the contest with an entry of more than 1,200 potential meanings. "[What does KMFDM stand for?]" Sonicenvelope.com. URL accessed June 16, 2006.

The lyrics to the song "Moron" feature a slight variant of the traditional translation: "no pity for the masses". Likewise, the song "Light" reveals another possible alternate meaning: "Keiner macht für dich mehr", which translates as "no one does more for you".

Break-up, MDFMK and reforming

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KMFDM disbanded, albeit temporarily, on January 22, 1999. According to Konietzko, the split was due to "a deep rift between some of the co-members and unsurmountable difference regarding visions and objectives for a possible future." [KMFDM Frequently Asked Questions] URL accessed June 27, 2006. The album Adios was released three months later, with the title originally intending to symbolize the band's departure from the Wax Trax! label, but later signaling the break-up of the band. Günter Schulz and En Esch formed the band Slick Idiot, and Konietzko and Tim Skold temporarily regrouping as MDFMK. MDFMK released one self-titled album with Republic/Universal Records. KMFDM reformed in 2002 with Konietzko as the sole original member, but with the return of Raymond Watts. Günter Schulz and En Esch were invited to rejoin the band but declined.

Currently KMFDM comprises Sascha Konietzko, Lucia Cifarelli, Jules Hodgson, Andy Selway, and Steve White with contributions from Raymond Watts.

Controversy

Copyright infringement

The song "Liebeslied" from KMFDM's 1990 album Naïve contains an unlicensed sample of "O Fortuna" from Carl Orff's Carmina Burana. The band was threatened with legal action by Orff's publisher (Orff himself died in 1982), and the album was withdrawn from production in 1993. The following year, a new version of the album was released entitled Naïve/Hell to Go, containing remixes of several songs, including the offending track (with the sample removed) which was renamed "Leibesleid (Infringement Mix)" (the modified name is a play of words in German: Liebeslied = "love song", Leibesleid = "physical pain"). Consequently, the original release of Naïve has become highly collectible among KMFDM fans. KMFDM still occasionally performs the original version of "Liebeslied" in concert. Live versions, complete with the controversial sample, can be accessed on both the Beat by Beat by Beat and 20th Anniversary World Tour 2004 DVDs.

Some listeners have suggested that the main guitar riff of the song "Godlike" (also from the Naïve album) is based on elements of "Angel of Death" and "Criminally Insane" by thrash metal band Slayer, from their Reign in Blood album. Similarly, the song "Back in the USSA" (from the Boots EP) has been suggested to contain a riff from the song "God Save the Queen" by the band Sex Pistols.[[Citing sources citation needed]] Unlike with "Liebeslied" however, KMFDM have experienced no legal ramifications with "Godlike" or "Back in the USSA".

Columbine High School shootings

In wake of the Columbine High School massacre it was revealed that lyrics to KMFDM songs ("Power", "Son of a Gun", "Stray Bullet", "Waste") were posted on the website of shooter Eric Harris, and that the massacre coincided with the release date of the album Adios and the birthday of Adolf Hitler. The media was quick to jump on the apparent connection of the massacre to violent entertainment and Nazism. In response, Konietzko issued a statement the following day:

First and foremost, KMFDM would like to express their deep and heartfelt sympathy for the parents, families and friends of the murdered and injured children in Littleton. We are sick and appalled, as is the rest of the nation, by what took place in Colorado yesterday.

KMFDM are an art form — not a political party. From the beginning, our music has been a statement against war, oppression, fascism and violence against others. While some of the former band members are German as reported in the media, none of us condone any Nazi beliefs whatsoever. [KMFDM Frequently Asked Questions] Kmfdmfaq.com. URL accessed June 16, 2006.

Album cover artwork

KMFDM has a long-standing relationship with commercial artist Aidan "Brute!" Hughes, who creates the iconic artwork adorning almost all of the band's albums and singles. Brute!'s artwork is also featured in KMFDM's music videos for "A Drug Against War" and "Son of a Gun", and on the band's promotional t-shirts (some of which have become quite collectable).

KMFDM \"code\"

Around the time the album Naïve was released, a member of the press assumed that KMFDM followed a pattern of naming their albums and certain songs with a single five-letter word. Konietzko adopted the idea and every studio album thereafter was named in this manner, even the compilation albums (Agogo, Retro). In typical KMFDM fashion, the band began mocking their self-imposed conformity by intentionally misspelling words so they would meet the five-letter criteria (Xtort, Attak).

In 1997, they took the concept a step further by adopting five unpronounceable symbols (explosive starburst, skull and crossbones, bomb with lit fuse, spiral, pounding fist) as the album's official title, imitating similar stunts previously done by Led Zeppelin and Prince. The band, fans, and record executives alike simply referred to the album as Symbols out of convenience, although some listeners — in an attempt to keep the title within the five letter "mold" — referred to the album as either Icons or Curse, alluding to the symbols used in comics to indicate profanity. This five-symbol word is also apparently used in the song "Down and Out" according to the printed lyrics included with the album; however, it is bleeped out of the recording.

Often, the five-letter album and song titles are portrayed in a distinct color, possibly to convey apparent importance to those particular words.

The tradition of five-letter-word album titles was broken in 2005 with the release of their fifteenth studio album, Hau Ruck (which had a working title of FUBAR, after the military acronym for "fucked up beyond all recognition"). Likewise, none of the album's song titles are five letter words.

Discography

Studio albums

Singles and EPs

Compilations

Live albums

Soundtracks

Videos

Side-projects

Members of KMFDM have either fronted or supported several side-projects throughout the band's activity, often simultaneously with their work in KMFDM. Former members have also formed new groups.

References

External links

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