39 Clocks

Based in Hannover, a river city in the north of Germany and a gateway to several of the country's river valleys, post-punkers 39 Clocks, AKA the duo of JG39 (AKA Jurgen Gleue) and CH39 (AKA Christian Henjes), existed under the critical radar for much of their time together. Far removed from any potential peers, 39 Clocks harbored a philosophical position just shy of absolute misanthropy, often purposefully alienating themselves from all that surrounded. 

Unlike other German post-punk acts like Einstürzende Neubauten and Liaisons Dangereuses, who went on to some degree of international infamy partly through their allegiance with loosely-defined movements like the Neue Deutsche Welle, 39 Clocks were out on their own, self-marginalized through their antisocial take on music-making. Dressed in black, perpetually wrapped in shades, and often appearing close to absolute lethargy, they took on the world the only way they really knew how -with a disaffected shrug and cold, joker’s rictus. 

Behind the masks, though, were two songwriters of unique voice, who somehow managed to lift the best lessons from The Velvet Underground, ’60s freakbeat music, psychotic garage moves and outsider rock mythology, creating an entirely idiosyncratic, cracked vision of what popular song could communicate. They sometimes called this aesthetic, with perfect brevity and wit, “Psycho Beat.” All the while, 39 Clocks kept on the move, changing shape, leaving behind a breadcrumb trail equal parts fact and fiction. 

Unsurprisingly, their legend has grown almost by stealth, with artists as diverse as American psych artist Ben Chasny (Six Organs Of Admittance) and techno producer Silent Servant big fans. You can also hear their influence in German psych groups like Floating Di Morel. With myth seemingly inseparable from reality, the current wave of interest in 39 Clocks arises from De Stijl’s 'Zoned' compilation to the reissues of their first two albums, 'Pain It Dark' (1981) and 'Subnarcotic' (1982). [SOURCE: RED BULL MUSIC ACADEMY]