Liebeslieder

Formed in Berlin as a performance-art duo including Blixa Bargeld (later of Nick Cave's Bad Seeds) and American expatriate N.U. Unruh, Einsturzende Neubauten was among the first innovators in what would later become industrial music. This documentary traces their evolution from first performance--which occurred by the side of the Autobahn and featured the half-naked pair beating the sides of a large hole--through the acquisition of a full band. Touching upon the early Untergang years, the film explores the development of their unique sound--a sound that was at times unlistenable but always thoroughly progressive. The band experiments with drones, feedback, and the incorporation of breaking glass and beaten pipes as musical instruments, and their story is told through interviews as well as concert footage and music videos, including their most recent to date, "Interim" and "Blume." The film was shot on commission for German TV station WDR's architecture division.|