F.S.K. (band)


F.S.K. is a German band that formed in Munich in 1980. The band has been associated with avant-garde fringes of Neue Deutsche Welle of the early 1980s and with techno and house music since the mid 1990s.

History

The band was formed in Munich in 1980 by Wilfred Petzi, Thomas Meinecke, Justin Hoffman and Michaela Melian, contributors to the underground magazine Mode & Verzweiflung. The band name is a reference to the German motion picture rating organisation Freiwillige Selbstkontrolle der Filmwirtschaft, which uses the same acronym. From 1985 the band was championed by British disc jockey John Peel, recording six sessions for his BBC radio show, and were themselves strongly influenced by the independent British music scene of the time, such as by the unusual interpretation of country music by the Mekons. FSK records were released on Zickzack, a record label owned by German music journalist and punk rock advocate Alfred Hilsberg. F.S.K. frequently played with David Lowery of Camper Van Beethoven and Cracker and recorded in his studio in Richmond, Virginia. In the mid-1990s the band recorded Techno and House music, recording in Uphon Studios in Weilheim, Bavaria. On their album First Take Then Shake they worked with Detroit producer Anthony Shake Shakir.
The band members are active in the arts, Thomas Meinecke as a successful novelist, Michaela Melián as a professor at the University of Fine Arts of Hamburg, Justin Hoffmann as director of the Wolfsburg Art Society and Wilfried Petzi as a photographer.

Lineup

  • Wilfred Petzi - trombone, guitar, vocals, percussion
  • Thomas Meinecke - concertina, guitar, vocals, percussion
  • Justin Hoffmann - electric piano, guitar, xylophone, vocals
  • Michaela Melian - bass, melodica, vocals
  • Carl Oesterheld - drums, percussion
  • David Lowery and Johnny Hickman of the American band Cracker frequently collaborated with F.S.K. from 1990-1995 and were occasionally listed as full members.

Discography

as Freiwillige Selbstkontrolle:Freiwillige Selbstkontrolle , 1980, ZickZack ZZ 6 Teilnehmende Beobachtung, 1981, ZickZack ZZ 27 Stürmer, 1981, ZickZack ZZ 80 Magic Moments, 1983, ZickZack ZZ 155 Ça c’est le Blues, 1984, ZickZack ZZ 2001 Goes Underground, 1985, ZickZack ZZ 1789 Last Orders , 1985, ZickZack ZZ 1066 Continental Breakfast, 1987, ZickZack ZZ 2532 / Ediesta CALC LP 16 American Sector, 1987, Ediesta CALC 32 In Dixieland, 1987, ZickZack ZZ 1987 / Ediesta CALC LP 042
as F.S.K.:Double Peel Sessions, 1989, Strange Fruit Records SFPMA204 Original Gasman Band, 1989, ZickZack ZZ 8000 Budweiser Polka / Cannonball Yodel, 1990, Sub Up Records Son Of Kraut, 1991, Sub Up Records SUBLP 12 The Sound Of Music, 1993, Sub Up Records subup25 The German-American Octet, 1994, Return To Sender RTS 8 Bei Alfred, 1995, ZickZack ZZ 1995 International, 1996, Sub Up Records subup28 4 Instrumentals, 1997, Disko B 64 Tel Aviv, 1998, Sub Up Records subup31 Did You See Davidopoulos Hit That Ball / Landla, 1999, private pressing X, 2000, Sub Up Records subup34 First Take Then Shake, 2004, Disko B db123 Freiwillige Selbstkontrolle, 2008, Buback BTT 95 Freiwillige Selbstkontrolle ist ein Mode & Verzweiflung Produkt, 2011, Disko B Akt, eine Treppe hinabsteigend, 2012, Buback BTT 118 Ein Haufen Scheiß und ein Zertrümmertes Klavier, 2017, Martin Hossbach Freiwillige Selbstkontrolle/Teilnehmende Beobachtung, 2021, A-Musik

Compilations

  • 2006 – "Silver Monk Time - a Tribute to the Monks"