If mankind has yet to understand the meaning of progress, at least The Notwist have made good on it. What began in 1989 as a punk-influenced sound has now evolved into a refined, understated – almost rarefied – music that blends the textural studio complexity of electronica, the appeal of alterna-pop and the emotional urgency of indie rock. The chronic experimentalism, however, is wholly the band’s own.
“ We started as hardcore punk band, but we were always interested in all different kinds of music,” says guitarist and frontman Markus Acher, brother of bassist Micha. “Hardcore was kind of an initial explosion, something that expressed best the alienation and boredom we felt in the small town (Weilheim, near Munich) where we grew up. But we were also big fans of Neil Young and Leonard Cohen, King Crimson, all kinds of jazz and improvisation, Krautrock and later the upcoming electronic music in Germany. With every record we tried to integrate the music we liked into our own music. We tried to make records we ourselves would like to listen to. And we never wanted to make the same record twice.”