The Notwist are a German

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 ...

band. Formed in 1989, the band moved through several musical incarnations, despite maintaining a relatively stable line-up. While their early records moved through heavy metal into dark

, their recent efforts for which they have received the most attention have been strongly influenced by the

electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that came to prominence in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mos ...

scene, along with other groups on the record label

Morr Music Morr Music is an independent record label based in Berlin, Germany, founded in 1999 by Thomas Morr. Most artists on the label fall into the categories of intelligent dance music, electronica and dreampop, but all reflect Thomas Morr's personal ta ...

History

The Acher brothers and Messerschmid formed the group in 1989, in

Weilheim in Oberbayern Weilheim in Oberbayern (, ; officially Weilheim i.OB) is a town in Germany, the capital of the district Weilheim-Schongau in the south of Bavaria. Weilheim has an old city-wall, historic houses and a museum. Local history Up to the 18th cent ...

, near

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

. In 1990, they recorded their self-titled debut, a grunge-metal oriented LP. 1992 saw the release of ''Nook'', which has an indie rock sound, while their 1995 album ''12'', contains their first flirtation with electronics. Martin Gretschmann then joined the group in 1997. ''Shrink'', released in 1998, is a jazz-electro-rock album. In 1998,

Cynthia Dall Cynthia Dall (born Cynthia Meggin Loya) (March 12, 1971 – April 5, 2012), sometimes known as "Cindy Dall", was an American lo-fi musician and photographer. Dall also gained notoriety in the fanzine world of the 1990s for her frequent trans ...

did the vocals for a remix of "Torture Day" by The Notwist. The album ''Neon Golden'' (released in 2002) put them on the map for

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

listeners, with its heartfelt sentiment and more pop-oriented sound. Messerschmidt left the group in 2007, and was replaced by Andi Haberl. The band's sixth album, ''The Devil, You + Me'', was released in Europe in May 2008. On June 17, 2008 the album was released in North America on Domino Records. In 2009, the Notwist recorded ''Storm'', the soundtrack to the film of the same name by director

Hans-Christian Schmid Hans-Christian Schmid (born 1965) is a German film director and screenwriter. Life and work Hans-Christian Schmid has collaborated with on several of the movies that he directed. Gutmann wrote screenplays for '' 23 — Nichts ist so wie es sch ...

. In late 2012 they began playing songs from a new album on tour. The album, '' Close to the Glass'', was released on February 24, 2014 under Sub Pop Records. In 2014,

Martin Gretschmann Console (also known as Acid Pauli) is an electronic music project founded by Martin Gretschmann, the former lead programmer for the German band The Notwist. The band incorporates elements of electronic music. The band consists of Miriam Osterried ...

left the group. In January 2015, '' Close to the Glass'' was nominated for

IMPALA The impala or rooibok (''Aepyceros melampus'', lit. 'black-footed high-horn' in Ancient Greek) is a medium-sized antelope found in eastern and southern Africa. The only extant member of the genus '' Aepyceros'', and tribe Aepycerotini, it ...

's European Independent Album of the Year Award.

Collaborations and side projects

The group has been remixed by

Four Tet Kieran Miles David Hebden (born September 1977), known as Four Tet, is an English electronic musician. He came to prominence as a member of the post-rock band Fridge before establishing himself as a solo artist with charting and critically acc ...

Caribou The reindeer or caribou (''Rangifer tarandus'') is a species of deer with circumpolar distribution, native to Arctic, subarctic, tundra, boreal, and mountainous regions of Northern Europe, Siberia, and North America. It is the only represe ...

Grizzly Bear The grizzly bear (''Ursus arctos horribilis''), also known as the North American brown bear or simply grizzly, is a population or subspecies of the brown bear inhabiting North America. In addition to the mainland grizzly (''Ursus arctos horr ...

Console Console may refer to: Computing and video games * System console, a physical device to operate a computer ** Virtual console, a user interface for multiple computer consoles on one device ** Command-line interface, a method of interacting with ...

, Loopspool,

Panda Bear The giant panda (''Ailuropoda melanoleuca''), also known as the panda bear or simply panda, is a bear species endemic to China. It is characterised by its white coat with black patches around the eyes, ears, legs and shoulders. Its body is ...

and others. Singer Markus Acher also collaborated with

Anticon Anticon (often styled as anticon.) was an independent record label based in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1998 by seven musicians and manager Baillie Parker. It was collectively owned among six musicians, co-founder Parker, and manag ...

and rapper/producer Alias on the song, "Unseen Sights". In 1991, Markus Acher founded Village of Savoonga,a more experimental ensemble that incorporates

noise Noise is sound, chiefly unwanted, unintentional, or harmful sound considered unpleasant, loud, or disruptive to mental or hearing faculties. From a physics standpoint, there is no distinction between noise and desired sound, as both are vibrat ...

post rock Post-rock is a subgenre of experimental rock that emphasizes texture, atmosphere, and non-traditional song structures over conventional rock techniques. Post-rock artists often combine rock instrumentation and rock stylings with electronics a ...

and even neoclassical elements in Weilheim, Germany. The band, that included elements of Tied & Tickled Trio, Fred Is Dead and others, released ''Village Of Savoonga'' (1992), ''Philipp Schatz'' (1996) and ''Score'' (1997). The Notwist formed a group with

Themselves Themselves, previously known as Them, is an American hip hop duo based in Oakland, California. It consists of Doseone and Jel. They are also part of Subtle and 13 & God. The duo's first studio album, '' Them'', was included on ''Fact''s "100 ...

named

13 & God 13 & God is a collaboration between American indie hip hop duo Themselves and German indie rock band The Notwist. The group is signed both to Anticon and Alien Transistor. History 13 & God are joined live by Jordan Dalrymple, who now plays Da ...

, whose eponymous debut was released in 2005. Markus Acher, in addition to his work with The Notwist and 13 & God, also worked with the band

Lali Puna Lali Puna is a German, Munich-based electropop band originally from Weilheim in Oberbayern, Germany. History Valerie Trebeljahr, the lead writer and singer, comes from Busan, Korea. The name of the band, meaning ''Valerie from Busan'', refere ...

until his departure in 2017, while Mecki Messerschmidt now also plays drums for the reformed Schweisser. Micha Acher composes and programs for Ms. John Soda.

Members

Current

* Markus Acher — guitars, vocals, keyboards, turntables (1989–present) * Micha Acher — bass, keyboards (1989–present) * Andi Haberl — drums (2007–present) * Max Punktezahl of

Saroos Saroos is a post-rock trio from Berlin, Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen State ...

— guitar, keyboards (present) * Karl Ivar Refseth — vibraphone, percussion (present) * Cico Beck of Joasihno — guitar, keyboards, percussion, electronics (present) * Theresa Loibl - bass clarinet, harmonium, and keyboard (present)

Former

* Martin Gretschmann (aka

and Acid Pauli) —

programming Program (American English; also Commonwealth English in terms of computer programming and related activities) or programme (Commonwealth English in all other meanings), programmer, or programming may refer to: Business and management * Program m ...

, keyboards (1997–2014) * Martin Messerschmid — drums (1989–2007)

Discography

Studio Albums

* ''

The Notwist The Notwist are a German indie rock band. Formed in 1989, the band moved through several musical incarnations, despite maintaining a relatively stable line-up. While their early records moved through heavy metal into dark indie rock, their re ...

'' (1991) * '' Nook'' (1992) * '' 12'' (1995) * '' Shrink'' (1998) * ''

Neon Golden ''Neon Golden'' is the fifth studio album by German indie rock band The Notwist. It was released on 14 January 2002 by City Slang. Composition ''Neon Golden'' is rooted in the experimental musical style that The Notwist had moved towards on the ...

'' (2002) * '' The Devil, You + Me'' (2008) * ''Sturm'' (soundtrack, 2009) * '' Close to the Glass'' (2014) * ''

The Messier Objects The Messier Objects is the eighth studio album by German electronic band The Notwist. It was released in February 2015 under Alien Transistor Records. Track list References

2015 albums The Notwist albums {{2010s-electronic-album ...

'' (2015) * '' Vertigo Days'' (2021)

Live Album

* ''Superheroes, Ghostvillains + Stuff'' (2016) * ''Vertigo Days - Live from the Alien Research Center'' (2023)

Singles and EPs

* ''Johnny and Mary'' EP (1994) * ''Only in America'' EP (1996) * '' Untitled (Selections From 12)'' EP (1997) * "Day 7" single (1997) * "Chemicals" single (1998) * "Trashing Days" single (2001) * "Pilot" single (2001) * " Pick Up the Phone" single (2002) * " One With the Freaks" single (2002) * ''

Untitled (Scoop) ''Untitled (Scoop)'' is a promotional EP of exclusively instrumental songs by German electronica band The Notwist The Notwist are a German indie rock band. Formed in 1989, the band moved through several musical incarnations, despite main ...

'' EP (2002) * ''Lichter'' EP (2003) (Soundtrack for the film Distant Lights (''Lichter'')) * '' Different Cars and Trains'' EP (2003) * ''Solo Swim'' EP (2004) * "Where in this World" single (2008) * "Boneless" single (2008) * "Come In" single (2009) * "Blank Air" single (2010) * "Kong" single (2014)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Notwist, The German electronic music groups German experimental musical groups German indie rock groups Musical groups established in 1989 Morr Music artists Sub Pop artists City Slang artists 1989 establishments in Germany