ZickZack Schallplatten is a German

record label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher, ...

based in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

. Founded by former "Sounds" magazine journalist Alfred Hilsberg in 1980, it mainly distinguished itself by releasing acts from the underground side of

Neue Deutsche Welle Neue Deutsche Welle (NDW, , "New German Wave") is a genre of West German rock music originally derived from post-punk and new wave music with electronic influences. The term was first coined by Dutch radio DJ Frits Ritmeester on the popular na ...

, a term coined by Hilsberg in his Sounds article ''"Neue Deutsche Welle - Aus grauer Städte Mauern"''. Since then, the label has become a platform for many German

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

bands. For example, they promoted

Blumfeld Blumfeld () was an indie pop band from Hamburg, Germany, formed by singer and songwriter Jochen Distelmeyer. The name of the band was taken from the main character of the short story "Blumfeld, ein älterer Junggeselle" by Franz Kafka. Blumfeld a ...

and other influential bands of the ''

Hamburger Schule The ''Hamburger Schule'' ( German for 'Hamburg School') is a music movement current in Germany during the 1980s and early 1990s. With some active bands and artists it is still present. It took up traditions of Neue Deutsche Welle and combined th ...

'' during the early 1990s. Other notable bands on this label include

Abwärts Abwärts ("Downwards") is a German post-punk band from Hamburg. Members FM Einheit and Mark Chung would leave the group in the early 1980s to join West Berlin West Berlin ( or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western pa ...

Xmal Deutschland Xmal Deutschland (pronounced: /ɪksmal ˈdɔʏtʃlant/), often written as X-Mal Deutschland, was a German gothic rock band. Founded in 1980 with a completely female line-up, they had chart success both in and outside their native country. Their ...

Einstürzende Neubauten (, 'Collapsing New Buildings') is a German experimental music group, formed in West Berlin in 1980. The band currently comprises founding members Blixa Bargeld (lead vocals, guitar, keyboard) and N.U. Unruh (custom-made instruments, percussion, ...

Die Krupps Die Krupps () ("The Krupps") is a German industrial metal/electronic body music, EBM band, formed in 1980 by Jürgen Engler, Ralf Dörper, and Bernward Malaka in Düsseldorf. The band has had a diverse range of musical influences over time, i ...

Palais Schaumburg Palais Schaumburg is a neoclassical-style building in Bonn, Germany, which served as the primary official seat of the German Federal Chancellery and the primary official residence of the Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany from ...

, F.S.K and

Die Tödliche Doris Die Tödliche Doris ''(Deadly Doris;'' a pun on ''tödliche Dosis,'' meaning ''lethal dose)'' was a performance art and music group based in West Berlin from 1980 to 1987. It was founded by band members Wolfgang Müller and and later joined by , ...

External links

Official Website
* {{Authority control German independent record labels Record labels established in 1980 Indie rock record labels