Gesamtkunstwerk

Issued in 1999, Gesamtkunstwerk is allegedly the work of one half of mysterious Detroit act Drexciya. Some of the music was put out in limited edition format as far back as 1995, and this re-release on Clone shows how far ahead of every other electro act they were. Dopplereffekt hid behind a totalitarian/fascistic image – a look that Anthony Rother subsequently copied – and the robotic female vocals talk about sterilisation, making love to mannequins and becoming porn stars, but this controversial approach was merely a tongue in cheek dig at modern culture. Don’t let it put you off the intricate rhythms, dark synths and ominous basslines that shaped their world.