Blackmail is a German indie rock band from Koblenz, Germany which was started briefly in 1993 by singer Aydo Abay, brothers Kurt Ebelhäuser (lead guitars) and Carlos Ebelhäuser (bass) and drummer Mario Matthias. Their style of music usually varies, but manily consists of the indie rock genre which is combined with experimentation of electronic music, progressive rock, alternative rock and dance. It is also known for its harsh and high-pitched guitar melodies. For other places with the same name, see Koblenz (disambiguation) Koblenz (also Coblenz in pre-1926 German spellings; French Coblence) is a city situated on both banks of the Rhine at its confluence with the Moselle, where the Deutsches Eck (German Corner) and its monument (Emperor William I on horseback... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... For other uses, see Electronic music (disambiguation). ... Although German rock music (Deutschrock) didnt come into its own until the late 1960s, it spawned many innovative and influential bands spanning genres such as krautrock, New Wave, punk, and industrial. ... Alternative music redirects here. ... Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music often used to refer to bands that are on small independent record labels or that arent on labels at all. ... In the music industry, a record label can be a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. ... Warner Music Group is one of the Big Four record labels. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... City Slang Records is an independent record label from Berlin, Germany. ... Aydo Abay of Turkish descent but raised in Koblenz, Germany, is mainly known for being the frontman for the German indie rock quartret blackmail. ... Mario Matthias Mario Matthias is the drummer of the German indie rock band blackmail. ... Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music often used to refer to bands that are on small independent record labels or that arent on labels at all. ... For other places with the same name, see Koblenz (disambiguation) Koblenz (also Coblenz in pre-1926 German spellings; French Coblence) is a city situated on both banks of the Rhine at its confluence with the Moselle, where the Deutsches Eck (German Corner) and its monument (Emperor William I on horseback... Aydo Abay of Turkish descent but raised in Koblenz, Germany, is mainly known for being the frontman for the German indie rock quartret blackmail. ... Mario Matthias Mario Matthias is the drummer of the German indie rock band blackmail. ... Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music often used to refer to bands that are on small independent record labels or that arent on labels at all. ... For other uses, see Electronic music (disambiguation). ... For the Swedish political music movement, see progg. ... Alternative music redirects here. ... Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. ...

Career History

Formation (1993-1996)

The band is said to be greatly influenced by sounds of the 60's and the 80's, particularly artists such as The Beatles, The Who and Depeche Mode. The band was initially formed through a local magazine known as "Visions" that had a contact advertisement for new musicians. As a demo recording, they initially recorded a number of songs in an old 8-Track studio that belonged to Kurt. They sent the demo tape to multiple recording studios. Year 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1980 Gregorian calendar). ... The White Album, see The Beatles (album). ... The Who are an English rock band that formed in 1964. ... Depeche Mode (pronounced ) are an electronic music band formed in 1980, in Basildon, Essex, England. ... The Tascam 85 16B analogue tape recorder can record 16 tracks of audio on 1 inch (2. ...

The response from the studios was quite shakey, but in the end, they were able to engage in the services of recording legend, Stuart Bruce, who had just moved into the area of Koblenz. Stuart owned a very advanced recording studio in his house. With some luck they were able to record 8 songs in 3 months. After that, they went ahead to search for a recording studio, and this time, responses were much more positive. Their first live performance was in a club located in Bonn known as Carpe Noctem as a sample for a scout from Virgin Records who had come there to judge their performance. Due to an "unpredictable incident" that occurred, however, they were not taken into Virgin Records. As Abay explained on the biography section of the site: For other places with the same name, see Koblenz (disambiguation) Koblenz (also Coblenz in pre-1926 German spellings; French Coblence) is a city situated on both banks of the Rhine at its confluence with the Moselle, where the Deutsches Eck (German Corner) and its monument (Emperor William I on horseback... Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. ... Virgin Records was a British recording label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, and Nik Powell in 1972. ... Virgin Records was a British recording label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, and Nik Powell in 1972. ...

Virgin Records was a British recording label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, and Nik Powell in 1972. ...

Blackmail and Science Fiction (1997-1999)

Instead they managed to approach Guido Lucas, who had started his own label "bluNoise Records". They recorded their first album, blackmail, late in 1996. After presenting it to Guido, he decided to release it the fall of 1997. Stuart Bruce, who currently works at Peter Gabriel's Real World Studios, produced the bands first demo recordings from this album. blackmail is the debut album by the artist of the same name. ... Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950, in Cobham,[1] Surrey, England) is an English musician. ... Real World Studios is the high-tech recording studio associated with the record label founded by rock musician Peter Gabriel. ...

In October 1997, they went on their first ever tour, that was in conjunction with the album release alongside Swedish rock band B-Thong. Unfortunately the first album release did not go that smoothly. During the tour, however, they played various one-off shows in numerous places, including Austria.

Two years later, they released their second album "Science Fiction". Surprisingly, reactions were really much better, there were many positive reactions in all directions. So much so that they were asked to participate in festivals like Rock am Ring and the Bizarre Festival. They were also supported by the Manic Street Preachers. After "Science Fiction", they were approached by many music label companies, finally the band decided to sign a contract with the Warner Music sub-label "Speicherstadt". In 2000, the band released an entirely remixed version of Science Fiction entitled Do Robots Dream of Electric Sheep? under this label. Science Fiction is the sophomore album by the German indie rock quartet blackmail. ... Rock am Ring (Rock at the Ring) is a rock music festival held annually in Germany at the Nürburgring racetrack. ... Manic Street Preachers (often known colloquially as the Manics) are a Welsh rock band, consisting of James Dean Bradfield (lead vocals, guitar), Nicky Wire (bass guitar, vocals) and Sean Moore (drums, vocals). ... Warner Music Group is one of the Big Four record labels. ... Do Robots Dream of Electric Sheep? is an album by blackmail which is a remixed version of their 1999 release, Science Fiction. ...

Bliss, Please, Friend Or Foe? and Summer Sonic (2001-2004)

Following a continuous tour throughout Germany, they started recording "Bliss, Please" in the summer of 2000. After its release in 2001, songs such as Same Sane, A Reptile For The Saint and Ken I Die became exceptionally popular. blackmail also gained recognition worldwide due to this album release. The first single, Same Sane, came out in February, 2001. It was extremely popular in Germany. Their first music video release, Same Sane, as well as the other videos from Bliss, Please first aired on VIVA 2 (VIVA Zwei), a subsidiary of popular German music video channel, VIVA. At the end of 2001, they were informed that Speicherstadt was going to close down.

From this point on they signed their further contracts with the mother-label: The Warner/Elektra/Atlantic recording group, now known as the Warner Music Group. WEA had given them their own studio in 2002, and since Kurt had produced all their work in the previous album, they decided to record their next album, Friend Or Foe?, in midway 2002. During recording the album, they recorded 28 songs. Out of these, only 11 songs made it into the album. Completing the album in February, 2003, they released it on May 26, 2003. From the album, the first single was It Could Be Yours. From the album they also released an EP entitled Foe in which they packed four other songs. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Friend or Foe? is an American game show based on knowledge and trust, which aired on Game Show Network. ... is the 146th day of the year (147th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... // Extended play (EP) is the name typically given to vinyl records or CDs which contain more than one single but are too short to qualify as albums. ...

Following this release, the band went on a tour to Japan to perform in the Summer Sonic Festival in 2004. They also released an export version of Bliss, Please in Japan in 2005. Summer Sonic is a Japanese summer music festival, held simultaneously in Osaka and Tokyo. ...

During this time, they released a special version of Friend Or Foe? with bonus tracks, as well as an album entitled The Lost Summer (a.k.a. The Ventricular EP). Both albums, which were released exclusively in Japan, are still available for purchase on Amazon Deutschland. Amazon. ...

Kammerflimmern and Aerial View (2005-present)

In 2005, they met with producer Hendrik Hölzemann and German techno artist, Lee Buddah to compose the soundtrack for the German film "Kammerflimmern" (Off Beat) which starred Matthias Schweighöfer and Jessica Schwarz. In the same year, they signed a contract with City Slang/Rough Trade and approached producer Andi Jung to help them mix tracks for their next album. After all the necessary preparations they released their latest album, Aerial View on Friday, January 13, 2006, and are currently on tour in countries such as Austria and Switzerland to promote it. One track, Never Forever, which originally appeared on Kammerflimmern's soundtrack was also re-released in Aerial View. Matthias Schweighöfer (*March 11, 1981) is a German actor. ... Jessica Schwarz (born May 5, 1977 in Erbach, Germany) is a German actress. ... City Slang Records is an indenpendent record label from Berlin, Germany. ... Rough Trade Records, now a member of the RIAA[1], began as an independent record label, based in London, England. ... is the 13th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Current members

1997-Present

Aydo Abay — Vocals, Synthesizers, Guitars
Kurt Ebelhäuser — Guitars, Additional Vocals, Sampling
Carlos Ebelhäuser — Bass, Additional Vocals
Mario Matthias — Drums
Aydo Abay of Turkish descent but raised in Koblenz, Germany, is mainly known for being the frontman for the German indie rock quartret blackmail. ... Mario Matthias Mario Matthias is the drummer of the German indie rock band blackmail. ...

Discography

Studio albums

• blackmail (October 10, 1997) bluNoise Records
• Science Fiction (January 29, 1999) bluNoise Records
• Bliss, Please (May 25, 2001) Speicherstadt
• Friend Or Foe? (May 26, 2003) Warner Music Group
• Aerial View (January 13, 2006) City Slang Records
• Tempo Tempo (March 28, 2008) City Slang Records

blackmail is the debut album by the artist of the same name. ... is the 283rd day of the year (284th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the band, see 1997 (band). ... Science Fiction is the sophomore album by the German indie rock quartet blackmail. ... is the 29th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Events of 2008: (EMILY) Me Lesley and MIley are going to China! This article is about the year. ... Bliss, Please is the third studio album by the German indie rock band blackmail, released in 2001. ... is the 145th day of the year (146th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ... Friend or Foe? is an American game show based on knowledge and trust, which aired on Game Show Network. ... is the 146th day of the year (147th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Rio de Janeiro birds-eye view. ... is the 13th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 87th day of the year (88th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. ...

Singles and EPs

• Same Sane (single from Bliss, Please) - (2001)
• The Light of the Son is the Son of the Light (EP) - (2002)
• It Could Be Yours (EP) - (2003)
• Foe EP (EP) - (2003)
• Soulblind (single from Aerial View) - (2005)

Mix Albums

• Do Robots Dream of Electric Sheep? (remix of Science Fiction) - February 4, 2000 (Speicherstadt)

Do Robots Dream of Electric Sheep? is an album by blackmail which is a remixed version of their 1999 release, Science Fiction. ... Science Fiction is the sophomore album by the German indie rock quartet blackmail. ... is the 35th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ...

Soundtracks

• Off Beat OST/Kammerflimmern OST (movie soundtrack - music by Lee Buddah and blackmail) - January 31, 2005 (Rough Trade Records)

is the 31st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Rough Trade Records, now a member of the RIAA[1], began as an independent record label, based in London, England. ...

External links

• Official Website
• blackmail at MySpace

MySpace is a social networking website offering an interactive, user-submitted network of friends, personal profiles, blogs, groups, photos, music, and videos. ...

References

Notes: