Carambolage

With the first demo tapes in circulation, Burkhardt » Zensor« Seiler organized a gig for Carambolage in the hip Kreuzberg club SO36. At a time when anything that could be labelled »Neuen Deutschen Welle« (German New Wave) was stamped accordingly, the trio played by their own rules. The eponymous debut album Carambolage, produced by Rio Reiser and R.P.S. Lanrue in the summer of 1980 and released on the Scherben label David Volksmund Produktion, could not be constrained by NDW marketing concepts. Instead, the disc was defined by its »colossal, inventive sound« which fed on Elfie‘s curiously autodidactic »Fantasiegriffen« guitar style and her »Fresenhagen sparrow« voice, counter-balanced by Angie’s organ and inimitable basslines and energized by Britta’s relentless drumming
Backed by quirky organ and ragged drums, Elfie spits her lyrics with emphatic simplicity. Once her words are in your head, they stay there. Tracks like ›Die Farbe war Mord‹ hint at a sense of feminist awareness. Carambolage may not have coined the phrase, but »lipstick feminism« became a thing, consciously playing with feminine clichés and hammering them home in performative fashion, rather than boxing them off.Towards the end of the record, vocals and sound are transcended in the monotone shimmer of ›22 rue Chenoise‹
In the words of Carambolage’s ›City-Großmarkt‹ song: »So, ladies and semen, are you ready? Time to go shopping.«