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    IFA Wartburg

    From Wikipedia - Reading time: 5 min

    IFA Wartburg was a Swedish student band, created by Magnus Michaeli and Nils Lundwall in Upplands Väsby. They play under the aliases Rolf Kempinski and Heinz Klinger.[1] Named after the East German auto brand Wartburg as built by IFA, and singing in the German language, their lyrics evoke the vocabulary of the GDR in a playful, apolitical tone. Many of their songs are often interpreted as satirical. Typical song titles include Frau Gorbatschowa tanzt Bossanova (Mrs. Gorbachev dances bossa nova), Es ist nicht so schlimm auf der Insel Krim (It's not so bad on the island of Crimea) and Agrarwissenschaft im Dienste des Sozialismus (Agriscience in service of socialism).

    Their music is eclectic in influence, ranging from Bossa nova (Frau Gorbatschowa tanzt Bossanova), pop/ska (Freie Deutsche Jugend), to jazz and swing (Spassjazz). The band itself stated that the genre of their music was 'Mauer Power' (a reference to the Berlin Wall) and 'Russian Role',[2] although this was likely a joke.

    Discography[edit]

    • Im Dienste des Sozialismus, CD Album, 1998
    • Der Berliner, CD EP, 1998
    • Im Dienste des Sozialismus, Vinyl LP (picture disc) with the faces of Erich Honecker and Queen Silvia of Sweden.

    Im Dienste des Sozialismus[edit]

    Im Dienste des Sozialismus
    Studio album by
    IFA Wartburg
    ReleasedMid 1998
    StudioGorbyland Studios
    GenreFolk music, Classic Russian Pop, Synthpop
    Length56:57
    LanguageGerman
    LabelPlattenmeister

    The only IFA Wartburg album published to date, Im Dienste des Sozialismus (translated into English as 'In the Service of Socialism) was released in 1998 on vinyl and CD. The two front-men of the band are credited with writing the album, and appear on the front CD sleeve.[3] It is 56 minutes and 57 seconds long, and produced by the label Plattenmeister.[4]

    IFA Wartburg toured Im Dienste des Sozialismus in Germany and Switzerland from 1998-1999,[5] attracting the attention of the German media.[6][2]

    A fan-made music video for the lead-off track Freie Deutsche Jugend (FDJ) which was posted to YouTube has accumulated over 4.3 million views, as of February 2024.[7]

    The band itself also runs its own YouTube channel that has amassed over 1.3 million views and 4.85k subscribers[8] as of February 2024, as well as their own website, run by Günther Raubschaentze.[9] They also possess a Spotify account, that as of March 2024, has over 45,000 monthly listeners.[10]

    Other media[edit]

    Many IFA Wartburg recordings saw little commercial distribution, and some are now exclusive to the IFA Wartburg channel on YouTube. They include:

    • Meine Möbeln in Köln, live[5]
    • Sessel aus Kassel, RealAudio digital download, 1998[11]
    • Wenn IFA Wartburg Spielt (1999), YouTube music video, May 2023[12]
    • Das Mauer Power, YouTube music video, Nov 2009
    • Im Dienste des KGB, YouTube music video, Feb 2015
    • Wo ist mein Kassler?, YouTube music video, Dec 2023
    • Biologie und Pathologie des Weibes, YouTube music video, Dec 2017
    • Sorbisches Fischerlied, on Medikamentedose, 1999[13]

    In the aftermath of their sudden surge in popularity online, the band returned to YouTube again, uploading a complete live set from 1999[14] and the previously unheard songs Wenn IFA Wartburg Spielt[15] and Wo ist mein Kassler?[16]

    References[edit]

    1. ^ "IFA Wartburg". Discogs.
    2. ^ a b IFA Wartburg in german TV, retrieved 2024-02-18
    3. ^ "Im Dienst. back cover". musik-sammler.de.
    4. ^ Im Dienste des Sozialismus by IFA Wartburg - RYM/Sonemic, retrieved 2024-02-18
    5. ^ a b "IFA Wartburg Live Show 7 april 1999 at Die Kaserne, Basel Schweiz". YouTube.
    6. ^ [1] German TV reportage from the autumn of 1998. A TV crew from Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk (MDR) visited IFA Wartburg in Gorbyland Studios in Stockholm.
    7. ^ IFA Wartburg - The free German youth / IFA Wartburg - Freie Deutsche Jugend (FDJ), retrieved 2022-09-30
    8. ^ "IFA Wartburg - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 2024-02-15.
    9. ^ "About this Site". IFA Wartburg. 2023-11-08. Retrieved 2024-02-15.
    10. ^ "Spotify". open.spotify.com. Retrieved 2024-03-03.
    11. ^ "IFA WARTBURG - EIN KESSEL BUNTES". Planetsound praesentiert IFA WARTBURG. Planetsound. c. 1998. Retrieved 7 December 2023. Der Sessel-Song in RealAudio5 format.
    12. ^ "IFA Wartburg - Videos". YouTube. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
    13. ^ "Various - Medikamentedose". Discogs. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
    14. ^ IFA Wartburg Live Show 7 april 1999 at Die Kaserne, Basel Schweiz., retrieved 2024-02-18
    15. ^ IFA Wartburg - Wenn IFA Wartburg Spielt 1999, retrieved 2024-02-18
    16. ^ IFA Wartburg - Wo ist mein Kassler? 1985, retrieved 2024-02-18

    External links[edit]

    This article is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
    Original source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IFA Wartburg
    Status: article is cached
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