D.A.F.

Deutsch Amerikansiche Freundschaft ("German American Friendship"; most commonly abbreviated to D.A.F.) was founded as a five-piece industrial noise outfit in Düsseldorf in 1978, but ultimately winnowed down to a two-man group consisting of vocalist/lyricist Gabi Delgado and drummer/electronic musician Robert Görl. Their early development is linked to the Düsseldorf based group Der Plan, whose members all played in D.A.F. on its first album, Ein Produkt der DAF, minus Delgado, then a member but absent for these recording sessions. Released on the German AtaTak label in 1979 and later re-issued on Mute, Ein Produkt der D.A.F. heralded the beginning of the German branch of industrial music: the first recordings by Einstürzende Neubauten, made two years later, bear a striking resemblance to it. By the time Ein Produkt der DAF made its bow, Delgado and Robert Görl had already decided to split off from the larger group, which re-formed as Der Plan without them. For a time, Delgado sang and played near-atonal guitar while Görl played drums and synthesizer, and a gig of this type held in 1979 at the Electric Ballroom in London takes up the second side of their debut LP on Mute, Die Kleinen und die Bösen ("The Little and the Big.") The first side consists of a studio recording, the last session made by the larger D.A.F. and produced by Conny Planck, who would have a significant impact on their sound in subsequent projects. The anger and ferocity of Die Kleinen und die Bösen was remarkable even in the midst of punk -- German icons were viciously sent up, such as in their rabid cover of "Ich Bin die Fesche Lola" (one of Marlene Dietrich's fetching songs from The Blue Angel). "Die Lüstigen Stiefel Marschiren über Polen," ("The Funny Little Boots Are Marching over Poland') was an...