Ralf Dörper is best known as a founding member of Die Krupps and Propaganda, but his musical career started earlier, as a member of avant-garde punk band S.Y.P.H. in the late 70s. When S.Y.P.H. broke up in 1980 out of protest against the commercialization of the local punk scene, he recorded his first solo project, the 7" single Eraserhead on the Rondo Biermeier label. He also collaborated with Jürgen Engler under the name Die Lemminge, releasing one 7" single Lorelei in 1981 on the Pure Freude label. In 1983 these two singles were released by UK label Operation Twilight on one 12" as Ralph Dorper's Eraserhead. Not available on the blogosphere before, here it is for your listening pleasure (if your idea of pleasure is dark electronic music from Germany...):
MP3s:
1 Ralf Dörper - Assault (some sources claim this is his tribute to John Carpenter's Assault on Precinct 13)
2 Ralf Dörper - Eraserhead (obviously a David Lynch tribute)
3 Die Lemminge - Lorelei (a fantastic version of this classic 19th century German song, lyrics by Heinrich Heine)
4 Die Lemminge - Im Himmel (supposedly another Eraserhead tribute)
Die Lemminge also contributed a great song to the 1980 Christmas compilation Denk Daran!, available at Mutant Sounds. (This one is worth getting anyway, contributors include S.Y.P.H., Der Plan, Pyrolator, and Xao Seffcheque.)
Der Plan does a Christmas song? Count me in. Thanks for these tracks, too.
Posted by: Clayton | October 06, 2008 at 12:31 AM
Sounds intriguing--thanks for this!
Posted by: Saramin | October 06, 2008 at 08:03 AM
I believe "Im Himmel" is German for "In Heaven", which is the title of the song The Lady Behind the Radiator sings in "Eraserhead". Thanks for the tracks... I'm quite intrigued.
Posted by: Neal | October 06, 2008 at 07:48 PM
weird stuff.
eraserhead is a hard movie to watch.
I keep turning it off in the middle.
truly disturbing.
Posted by: Richard A Weinstein | October 16, 2008 at 01:37 AM
Sorry, the dörper-tracks assault and erserhead are from a single with 45 rpm !!!!!
Posted by: uwe | October 16, 2008 at 12:52 PM
I remember buying this when it first came out.
Classic!
Wish I still had it, but the MP3s will do for now.
Thanks for putting them up.
Posted by: jeff | December 16, 2008 at 11:25 AM
Thanks for these, but tracks #1 and #2 were ripped at the wrong speed (at 33rpm instead of 45rpm).
Posted by: Grebo | January 11, 2010 at 12:33 PM