You could also put it this way: among all the punk, indie and psychedelic bands from Potsdam in the late 80s and early 90s, Futhark were something like the first flash of post-rock in the city. The cross-band project only existed for a few years, and then the brief fame that brought it a series of legendary, thumping concerts in the region was already gone. The last sign of his work was the posthumously released, self-published tape called ‘M’. An introverted, almost melancholic work, whose occasional choleric outbursts of noise attacks and the singer's pathos of despair about the world were all the more deeply engraved in the ear. Respectively into the memory.
After that it was quiet. For a very long time.
More precisely, until the distant year 2016, when Futhark decided to bring ‘M’ to the fabrik stage, which meant nothing other than the live première of all the pieces that had been created twenty years earlier lowfi in the studio. As on the tape, the guitar still dominates live in all the facets provided by the various effects and echo devices, as well as the narrative staccato of the explosive vocals, which despite all the time that has passed can still roar out that famous juvenile rage at everything and everyone. But in 2019, both vocals and guitar are carried by drums and bass, which work with the stoic calm of clockwork from Ruhla, underpinning the rather free-floating Futhark songs with the very structure that makes it easier for us to enjoy complex music.
What is all this about? I have no idea.
But if you want me to guess: It's about carving a path through the thicket.
André Kubiczek
