Blackmail is a German

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

band from

Koblenz Koblenz ( , , ; Moselle Franconian language, Moselle Franconian: ''Kowelenz'') is a German city on the banks of the Rhine (Middle Rhine) and the Moselle, a multinational tributary. Koblenz was established as a Roman Empire, Roman military p ...

, Germany which was started briefly in 1993. Blackmail are singer Mathias Reetz, brothers

Kurt Ebelhäuser Kurt Ebelhäuser (Kurt Ebelhaeuser in English) is a German musician and record producer from Koblenz, probably best known for his work as guitarist for the indie rock band blackmail. He is also singer and guitarist for another indie rock band Scum ...

(lead guitars) and Carlos Ebelhäuser (bass) and drummer Mario Matthias. Their style of music usually varies, but mainly consists of the

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...

genre which is combined with experimentation of

electronic music Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers) in its creation. It includes both music ...

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...

and

dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

. It is also known for its harsh and high-pitched guitar melodies.

Career history

Formation (1993–1996)

The band is said to be greatly influenced by sounds of the 1960s and the 1980s, particularly artists such as

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

The Who The Who are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup (1964–1978) consisted of lead vocalist Roger Daltrey, guitarist Pete Townshend, bassist John Entwistle and drummer Keith Moon. Considered one of th ...

and

Depeche Mode Depeche Mode are an English electronic music, electronic band formed in Basildon, Essex in 1980. Originally formed with the line-up of Dave Gahan, Martin Gore, Andy Fletcher (musician), Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke, the band currently consists ...

. The band was initially formed through a local magazine known as "Visions" that had a contact advertisement for new musicians. As a demo recording, they initially recorded a number of songs in an old 8-Track studio that belonged to Kurt. They sent the demo tape to multiple recording studios. The response from the studios was quite shaky, but they were able to engage in the services of recording legend, Stuart Bruce, who had just moved into the area of

. Stuart owned a very advanced recording studio in his house. With some luck they were able to record eight songs in three months. After that, they went ahead to search for a recording studio, and this time, responses were much more positive. Their first live performance was in a club located in

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

known as Carpe Noctem as a sample for a scout from

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a British record label owned by Universal Music Group. They were originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), ...

who had come there to judge their performance. Due to an "unpredictable incident" that occurred, however, they were not taken into Virgin Records. As Abay explained on the biography section of the site:

''Blackmail'' and ''Science Fiction'' (1997–1999)

Instead they managed to approach Guido Lucas, who had started his own label "bluNoise Records". They recorded their first album, ''

Blackmail Blackmail is a criminal act of coercion using a threat. As a criminal offense, blackmail is defined in various ways in common law jurisdictions. In the United States, blackmail is generally defined as a crime of information, involving a thr ...

'', late in 1996. After presenting it to Guido, he decided to release it the fall of 1997. Stuart Bruce, who currently works at

Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English singer, songwriter, musician, and human rights activist. He came to prominence as the original frontman of the rock band Genesis. He left the band in 1975 and launched a solo career wit ...

Real World Studios Real World Studios is a residential recording studio complex founded by Peter Gabriel and situated in the old Box Mill building in the village of Box, Wiltshire, England, near to the city of Bath. It is closely associated with the Real World R ...

, produced the band's first demo recordings from this album. In October 1997, they went on their first ever tour, that was in conjunction with the album release alongside

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

rock band B-Thong. Unfortunately the first album release did not go that smoothly. During the tour, however, they played various one-off shows in numerous places, including

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

. Two years later, they released their second album ''

Science Fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

''. Surprisingly, reactions were really much better, there were many positive reactions in all directions. So much so that they were asked to participate in festivals like

Rock am Ring The (German language, German for "Rock at the Ring") and ("Rock in the Park") festivals are two simultaneous rock music festivals held annually in Germany. While ''Rock am Ring'' takes place at the Nürburgring race track, ''Rock im Park'' tak ...

and the Bizarre Festival. They were also supported by the

Manic Street Preachers Manic Street Preachers, also known simply as the Manics, are a Wales, Welsh Rock music, rock band formed in Blackwood, Caerphilly, in 1986. The band consists of Nicky Wire (bass guitar, lyrics) and cousins James Dean Bradfield (lead vocals, le ...

. After ''Science Fiction'', they were approached by many music label companies, finally the band decided to sign a contract with the

Warner Music Warner Music Group Corp., commonly abbreviated as WMG, is an American multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the " big three" recording companies and the third-largest in the gl ...

sub-label "Speicherstadt". In 2000, the band released an entirely remixed version of ''Science Fiction'' entitled ''

Do Robots Dream of Electric Sheep? Science Fiction is the second album by the German indie rock quartet Blackmail. Following up their debut release in 1997, ''Science Fiction'' was more openly accepted and liked. It also accumulated quite a large number of fans, which was a begi ...

'' under this label.

''Bliss, Please'', ''Friend or Foe?'' and ''Summer Sonic'' (2001–2004)

Following a continuous tour throughout Germany, they started recording ''Bliss, Please'' in the summer of 2000. After its release in 2001, songs such as "Same Sane", "A Reptile For The Saint" and "Ken I Die" became exceptionally popular. Blackmail also gained recognition worldwide due to this album release. The first single, "Same Sane", came out in February 2001. It was extremely popular in Germany. Their first music video release, "Same Sane", as well as the other videos from Bliss, Please first aired on VIVA 2 (VIVA Zwei), a subsidiary of popular German music video channel,

VIVA Viva may refer to: Companies and organisations * Viva (network operator), a Dominican mobile network operator * Viva Energy, an Australian petroleum company * Viva Entertainment, a Philippine media company * Viva Films, a Philippine film company ...

. At the end of 2001, they were informed that Speicherstadt was going to close down. From this point on they signed their further contracts with the mother-label: The Warner/Elektra/Atlantic recording group, now known as the

Warner Music Group Warner Music Group Corp., commonly abbreviated as WMG, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational entertainment and record label Conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the "Record label#M ...

. WEA had given them their own studio in 2002, and since Kurt had produced all their work in the previous album, they decided to record their next album, '' Friend or Foe?'', in midway 2002. During recording the album, they recorded 28 songs. Out of these, only 11 songs made it into the album. Completing the album in February 2003, they released it on May 26, 2003. From the album, the first single was "It Could Be Yours". From the album they also released an EP entitled '' Foe'' in which they packed four other songs. Following this release, the band went on a tour to

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

to perform in the

Summer Sonic is an annual music festival held on one weekend in August simultaneously in both Chiba and Osaka, Japan. The festival features revolving lineups performing one day in Osaka then performing the next day in Chiba and vice-versa. The lineup often ...

Festival in 2004. They also released an export version of ''Bliss, Please'' in Japan in 2005. During this time, they released a special version of ''Friend or Foe?'' with bonus tracks, as well as an album entitled ''The Lost Summer'' (a.k.a. The Ventricular EP). Both albums, which were released exclusively in

, are still available for purchase on Amazon Deutschland.

''Kammerflimmern'' and ''Aerial View''

In 2005, they met with producer Hendrik Hölzemann and German techno artist, Lee Buddah to compose the soundtrack for the German film "Kammerflimmern" (Off Beat) which starred

Matthias Schweighöfer Matthias Schweighöfer (; born 11 March 1981) is a German actor and filmmaker known for his work in several German and American film productions. He is best known for his role as Lieutenant Franz Herber in the 2008 film ''Valkyrie''. In 2021, Sch ...

and

Jessica Schwarz Jessica Schwarz (born 5 May 1977) is a German actress. Life and career Schwarz was born in Erbach im Odenwald and grew up in the small town of Michelstadt, Germany. She won a contest of the German teen magazine ''Bravo'' in 1993. Subsequently, ...

. In the same year, they signed a contract with

City Slang City Slang is an independent record label based in Berlin, Germany. History The independent music label City Slang was founded in 1990 as a European outpost for American indie rock. Thirty years later, the imprint represents a diverse roster o ...

Rough Trade Rough Trade may refer to: *Rough Trade (shops), London record stores *Rough Trade Records, a record label from the stores *Rough Trade Books, a publishing house from the label *Rough Trade (band), a Canadian new wave rock band * "Rough Trade" (''Am ...

and approached producer Andi Jung to help them mix tracks for their next album. After all the necessary preparations they released their latest album, ''Aerial View'', January 13, 2006, and were on tour in countries such as

and

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

to promote it. One track, "Never Forever", which originally appeared on Kammerflimmern's soundtrack was also re-released in ''Aerial View''.

''Tempo Tempo'' (2008–present)

In 2008, Blackmail released their album ''Tempo Tempo''. On December 11, 2008 Blackmail announced the separation from lead singer Aydo Abay for personal reasons and aborted their tour. In 2010, Mathias Reetz joined the band and they started recording a new album with the working title ''Judas Love'' in March 2010. In March 2011 the song "Deborah" was released as a free download. The album now titled ''Anima Now!'' was released April 29, 2011 on their own label "45 Records". on February 22, 2013, the second album without Abay, ''II'', was released.

Band members

* Aydo Abay — vocals, synthesizers, guitars (1997–2008) *

— guitars, additional vocals, sampling (1997–present) *Carlos Ebelhäuser — bass, additional vocals (1997–present) *Mario Matthias — drums (1997–present) * Mathias Reetz — vocals, guitars (2010–present)

Discography

Studio albums

*''

'' (October 10, 1997) bluNoise Records *''

'' (January 29, 1999) bluNoise Records *''

Bliss, Please ''Bliss, Please'' is the third studio album by the German alternative rock band Blackmail, released in 2001. The album is known for popular singles such as "Same Sane", "Ken I Die" and "A Reptile for the Saint". It also features Blackmail adopting ...

'' (May 25, 2001) Speicherstadt *''Friend or Foe?'' (May 26, 2003) Warner Music Group *''Aerial View'' (January 13, 2006) City Slang Records *''Tempo Tempo'' (March 28, 2008) City Slang Records *''Anima Now!'' (April 29, 2011) 45 Records (Soulfood) *''II'' (February 22, 2013) 45 Records (Unter Schafen/Alive)

Singles and EPs

*"Nostra" (Single from ''Science Fiction'') - (1998) *" Same Sane" (single from ''Bliss, Please'') - (2001) *"Ken I Die" (single from ''Bliss, Please'') - (2001) *"A Reptile for the Saint" (single from ''Bliss, Please'') - (2002) *''The Light of the Son Is the Son of the Light'' (EP) - (2002) *''It Could Be Yours'' (EP) - (2003) *''Foe'' (EP) - (2003) *''The Ventricular EP'' (a.k.a. ''The Lost Summer'') (EP) - (2005) (Japan-only release) *"Soulblind" (single from ''Aerial View'') - (2005) *"Moonpigs" (single from ''Aerial View'') - (2006) *"Never forever" (Single from ''Aerial View'') - (2006) *''The Mad Luv EP'' - (2008) *"Shshshame" (Single from ''Tempo Tempo'') - (2008) *"The Good Part/Feel It Day by Day" (Single from ''Tempo Tempo'') - (2008) *"Night School" - (2011) *"Bugs" - (2011) *"Deborah" - (2011)

Remix albums

*''Do Robots Dream of Electric Sheep?'' (remix of ''

'') - February 4, 2000 (Speicherstadt)

Soundtracks

*''Off Beat OST/Kammerflimmern OST'' (movie soundtrack - music by Lee Buddah and Blackmail) - January 31, 2005 (

Rough Trade Records Rough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London, England. It was formed in 1976 by Geoff Travis, who had opened a record store off Ladbroke Grove. It is currently run by co-managing directors Travis and Jeannette Lee and ...

)

References

External links

* {{Authority control German musical groups German indie rock groups Musical groups established in 1992 Musicians from Koblenz