Planlos Der Expander Des Fortschritts @ Urban Spree

aufnahme wiedergabe, Tapetopia and Iron Curtain Radio present

Planlos (live)
„Smog & Ruß – album release show“
[Tapetopia / aufnahme wiedergabe / Iron Curtain Radio / Major Label]
GDR Punk Rock legends

Der Expander Des Fortschritts (live)
„Kluge Köpfe rollen gut – album release show“
[Iron Curtain Radio / Major Label]
GDR Abstract Pop legends

Nic Sleazy Philipp Strobel (DJ)
„Die klugen Köpfe hinter all dem Smog & Ruß“

The songs of Planlos are classics of GDR punk rock. Their lyrics were politically explicit and steeped in an oppressive poetry. Hardly any other band embodied the charisma of the East Berlin punks to such a degree. The band only ever played illegal shows. In 1983, Planlos had a highly secret gig with the Toten Hosen. The end of Planlos resulted mainly from the con- stant surveillance and call-ups to the National People’s Army, a recurrent item of the Stasi’s defensive magic when the smash- ing of punk bands was on its agenda.

In 2022, the band reappeared as a cross between Planlos and the legendary Leipzig punk band L’Attentat. After 40 years, Planlos will now finally be honoured with their first record. The original recordings will be released together with re-recorded versions.
The ICR and tapetopia series publish, using the original lay- outs and track lists, cassette editions from the GDR under- ground of the 1980s. More than three decades after their initial “release”, most of these tapes have yet to be heard on either vinyl or CD, even though they made an audible mark in the canon of GDR subculture. Despite the tiny original edi- tions of the time, many of the bands were considered cult in countercultural circles, which made them highly suspect in informed circles.

Der Expander des Fortschritts was founded in 1986. The “risk group” described itself as “pop musique concrète” or “abstract pop”. Der Expander des Fortschritts relied on disharmony and ruptures, which resulted in radio plays in a song format; the GDR as a real-socialist satire provided its material. Even the band’s name was a cultural appropriation of the superstructure by the substructure: “progress” was a fetishized word in the GDR, factory sports clubs would add it to their name, solidarity concerts would use it as a motto. The title “Urknall · Horde · Mensch” resulted from an Expander- typical translation of “Weltall, Erde, Mensch”, a compendium ceremoniously presented to each initiator on the occasion of their socialist youth initiation. In 1988, the band released the tape album on their own label Irrmenschkassette, a big bang in a tiny edition.