Einstürzende Neubauten
f. Apr. 1, 1980, Berlin, Germany

Along with Cabaret Voltaire and Throbbing Gristle, Germany's Einstürzende Neubauten ("collapsing new buildings) helped pioneer industrial music with an avant-garde mix of white-noise guitar drones, vocals verging on unlistenable at times, and a clanging rhythmic din produced by a percussion section consisting of construction materials, hand and power tools, and various metal objects. Neubauten was founded by vocalist/guitarist Blixa Bargeld and percussionist and American expatriate N.U. Unruh in Berlin as a performance at collective; their early activities included a seemingly inexplicable half-naked appearance on the Berlin Autobahn, where the duo spent some time beating on the sides of a hole in an overpass. The groups' early lineup also included percussionists Beate Bartel and Gudrun Gut, plus contributor and sound engineer Alexander Van Borsig; their earliest recordings  are mostly unstructured, free-form noise issued on various cassettes and singles, including their first single, "Für den Untergang", 1981 EP Schwarz, and 1982 album Kollaps. Some of these recordings are compiled on the 80-83 Strategies Against Architecture collection, with live shows on the cassette-only 2 X 4. Bartel and Gut were replaced by ex-Abwärts member  F.M. Einheit (who served as Neubauten's chief machinery operator) in 1983, when guitarist and electronis expert Alexander Hacke and Abwärts bassist Marc Chung also joined. A tour of England opening for the Birthday Party resulted in a contract with Some Bizarre Records, which released the slightly more structured Portrait of Patient O.T., as well as consternation from club owners and journalists over Neubauten's stage demolitions and frequent ensuing violence.

  When Nick Cave left the Birthday Party and formed his backing band Bad Seeds, Bargeld became the guitarist and toured and recorded with Cave over most of the decade. He remained with Neubauten, however, released 1/2 Mensch in 1986, showcasing in wider range of expressions. The group disbanded briefly but soon reformed, and have released albums off and since then (currently for Elektra). While Bargeld remains a Bad Seed, Van Borsig and Hacke contributed to the remainder of the Birthday Party's recordings as Crime and the City Solution. Elektra has reissued both Strategies Against Architecture compilations, while most of the group's '80s albums remain available on the independent Thirsty Ear label.