Marco Repetto on Grauzone’s EISBAER and Beyond

Bjørn Schaeffner, Red Bull Music Academy (AT), Dezember 2013

The Swiss post-punk outfit Grauzone was a short-lived, but fruitful affair. When the band landed their international hit with “Eisbär,” it took them almost by surprise. Yet Grauzone was no one-hit wonder. Marco Repetto, who started the band in 1979, looks back.
When I first met Marco Repetto, I barely had a clue about his past. It was in May 1994, as I was getting ready to move into his old flat in the centre of Bern. I knew that Repetto was a renowned techno producer, something underlined by the presence of a Roland Jupiter 6 in one of the rooms. However, it took me years to realize that Repetto was once the drummer of Grauzone: the band responsible for “Eisbär,” one of the biggest Swiss pop epiphanies of the ’80s. Somewhere between Neue Deutsche Welle and Cure-inspired new wave, Grauzone had pressed angry lyrics, à la mode muted guitar playing and quirky synthesizer experiments into a dazzling conglomerate of not quite dance music. What Liaisons Dangereuses masterminded in Berlin with “Los Niños Del Parque,” Grauzone did in Bern with “Eisbär.”
“Eisbär” sold over 500,000 records and became the anthem of the Zürcher Jugendunruhen. While the song’s steady rhythm proved to be dancefloor gold, the frenetic rap about the kalte Polar – the cold, cold polar region – resonated strongly with kids, students and non-conformists: A generation which felt doubly betrayed by the narrow-mindedness of the Swiss bourgeoisie and the strain of the Cold War. But as the CD compilation Grauzone 1980 – 1982 Remastered demonstrates, Grauzone were anything but a one-trick pony. Tracky experiments like “Film 2” or the wonderfully melancholic pieces “Hinter den Bergen” and “Maikäfer” are masterpieces in their own right. Needless to say, the Grauzone appeal endures. Young fans from Belgium are printing nostalgically claimed bags “Grauzone fehlt mir” and the song “Raum” was recently re-issued by Frankfurt’s connoisseur techno label Live at Robert Johnson.
After Grauzone fell apart, Repetto went on to perform in groups like Missing Link and Eiger Nordwand and in the late ’80s and early ’90s, he became one of the key producers of the burgeoning techno movement in Switzerland. But his story is on a different scale than the international career his former band colleague Stephan Eicher later embarked on as a pop chansonnier. When Repetto talks about those days of yore, in his soft-spoken manner, you sometimes detect a slight tinge of regret in his voice. But it’s a warm melancholy, mixed with unsparing self-criticism, that marks the overall tone.

How did the Grauzone emerge?
I was in a punk band called Glueams, and we were pretty successful. But we ended up fighting, there was a jealousy thing going on because of the female singer. Also, the taste of punk was getting stale to me, the whole thing started to be too uniform. I had spent a couple of months in London and discovered a new fascinating vibe. I was seeing bands like Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Psychedelic Furs or Fad Gadget, full on electronic, in clubs like Marquee, Music Machine, Dingwalls or Lyceum. When I returned to Bern, my mind was set to do something fresh.
Was there a scene in Switzerland for that kind of music?
There was no scene at all. Together with GT (Christian Trüssel), the bass player of the Glueams, I left the band to form a new group. At first, we called ourselves XXX. Then GT came up with the name Grauzone, which sounded better. We named ourselves after a movie of the same name we never saw. We approached Martin Eicher, who used to play the guitar with the Glueams. He was a bit of a troublemaker then, because he didn’t show up for gigs and we consequently fired him. But I was a fan of him! Martin liked the idea of a band very much, because we promised him that he could have the artistic freedom he longed for: playing the guitar, singing and writing songs. It didn’t take long until his brother, Stephan Eicher, appeared on the horizon.
What kind of guy was Stephan Eicher back then?
He studied at the art school F&F in Zürich. He had connections to the no wave scene in New York. There was a kind of Velvet Underground-ish vibe he brought into the band, a lot of sophistication. He was extremely enthusiastic about our project and pushed us in everything we did. He used to say that we’re not a very good band, but a very good-looking band! In order to compensate our lack of skills, we should try to focus on our feelings. Stephan’s influence opened us up to a lot of things. And we put an immense trust in his brother Martin. Martin wrote all the lyrics. He came up with many beautiful ideas.
Like those memorable lines in “Eisbär”?
Those lyrics were inspired by a nightmare Martin had: in his dream, he saw talking polar bears on the walls. The lines of that song went straight to people’s hearts. It very much captured the Zeitgeist for that generation. That feeling. It was also a farewell to the old punk days, musically, we were becoming more ambivalent. Something fragile was taking its place, something more delicate.
I take it Grauzone was a delicate structure itself?
We were like planets colliding. You could say that there were two camps, the Eicher brothers and there was GT and me. And it was that special blend of different temperaments that was key to our success. GT and I embodied a wild and unpredictable energy, while the Eichers brought style and sophistication. But we always inspired each other. For instance, while working on the song “Film 2” I told Martin, “Try to play the guitar just like an arpeggio, a synth.” And he did. It shaped the feeling of this track. And together with that drum machine that Stephan worked on, it ended up sounding great.
“Film 2” sounds a lot like proto techno.
In retrospect, yes. Incorporating synthesizers was something new, and since it was considered uncool in the punk scene we also meant to provoke a bit. So, we started renting out synthesizers. That was a convenient thing, and we would return them when we had put too much strain on the machines. Also, in strong contrast to the punk ethos, we incorporated fresh elements like a saxophone.
There’s that unmistakable yearning in Martin Eicher’s voice, a kind of Weltschmerz.
True. He exposed himself strongly with his feelings. As a band, we never put on a show. We weren’t up to doing show business. And I guess that a lot of people felt that. But when GT and I started experimenting with heroin that was the most stupid thing we could do. That was also one of the reasons why we fell apart as a band, even though Martin and Stephan probably didn’t realize at the time. GT and I were just drifting through life. Stephan was really more advanced, he knew how to behave as a musician.
Where did you record “Eisbär”?
We recorded it at Sunrise-Studio in Kirchberg. Our engineer Etienne (Connod) became like a phantom member of the band. He was responsible for making “Eisbär” so straightforward and danceable. I wasn’t able to play the drums straight, so he recorded a bit and then made a loop out of it. Just the way they did in the disco studios in Munich, as he said. So, after a bit of precision work, we had ourselves a perfect beat. But we still sounded too much like The Cure, who were our idols then. Upon which everybody shook their heads and said, “No, no, you can’t do that.” So, it took us a long time. We spent too much money and were way over budget. And we were all under a lot of stress. There was extreme tension in the studio. You have to picture this: We were completely unprepared, having no clue that you should have an actual plan before coming to a studio! But suddenly it worked. And you can sense from “Eisbär” that it was really born in the moment.
And then?
Success didn’t come over night. Half a year later, there was a phone call from EMI in Munich. And I didn’t even know what was going on. Actually, someone had to tell me: “Hey, Marco, you guys are in the Hitparade!” A cheque flew in, my split was 16,000 Swiss francs. It was the first time I ever got money from music. And also one of the few times I ever got money from a Grauzone recording. Being former punks, we actually never cared for any contracts. So, in a way, Grauzone became a success, and we didn’t even know in Bern. But it was already too late for the band.
What brought it to an end, ultimately?
We couldn’t cope with the pressure. GT and I weren’t able to present ourselves as upright musicians according to industry or label standards. We weren’t clean enough for this business, more like drifters. When “Eisbär” became a hit, the band was already falling apart. We still recorded an album, though. All in all, we only played like ten concerts. I still remember the release party of the Swiss Wave compilation: After our gig, this guy walks up to Martin and tell him his guitar playing sounded like shit. What he meant was that we sounded unlike The Clash or any other typical punk outfit. So, to us, that was definite proof that we were onto something new.

1980-1982 2CD

Jan Denolet, DarkEntries (B), April 2013

Iedereen zal Grauzone tot het einde der tijden wel met Eisbssr blijven associëren en in één moeite ook met het instrumentale Film 2. Persoonlijk vind ik dat niet erg: beide nummers mogen zeker gehoord worden en Film 2 was toen zijn tijd toch wel enige jaren vooruit… Toch hoop ik uit de grond van mijn hart dat u deze Zwitsers beter wil leren kennen. In hun korte bestaansperiode hebben ze eigenlijk alleen maar goede muziek gemaakt die zowel in tekst als muziek volledig op de polsslag van zijn tijd zat.

Net als veel groepen uit de toenmalige New Wave waren de muzikanten vaak afkomstig uit het punkmilieu, om uiteindelijk te beginnen experimenteren met elektronische muziek. Hier in België is Dirk Ivens van Absolute Body Control en Klinik hier het beste voorbeeld van. In het Zwitserse Bern van 1980 was dit het geval voor Marco Repetto en GT toen ze samen met ene Martin Eicher Grauzone oprichtten. Eén van hun eerste 2 op plaat (een zwitserse verzamelaar) verschenen nummers, Eisbssr, maakte het al snel waar als cult-hit en verspreid over deze compilatie kunnen we merken dat de heren tijdens hun verdere korte carrière in staat waren tot het leveren van héél wat kwaliteit. Op muzikaal vlak bleek Martin’s broer Stephan Eicher (later solo) ook een hele aanwinst te zijn. Eigenlijk staat deze vrij volledige 2CD vol van de juweeltjes voor al wie de elektronische wave van de jaren 80 een warm hart toedraagt. Grauzone heeft er ook op los geëxperimenteerd. Naast het toegankelijke Eisbssr zetten ze met gemak een claustrofobisch Traum, Tussen het hupse Hinter der Bergen en de bijna-schlssger Marmelade und Himbeereis zit het sinistere kinderliedje Maikssfer Flieg geprangd, het bezetene Ein Tanz mit dem Tod is een perfect tegenwicht voor het eufore Traume mit Mir, Wütendes Glas krijgen we in album- én in 12″-versie, voor het up-tempo Film 2 vinden we eerst nog het slepende Film 1, en ga zo maar door… We moeten maar van twéé dingen spijt hebben: van het originele debuutalbum uit 1981 (een must-have!) staat enkel Schlachtet er niet op terwijl de ongelooflijk stinkende engelstalige versie van Eisbssr er helaas wél op staat. Gelukkig wordt dit onmiddelijk gevolgd door het livenummer Plastikherz, één van de allereerste duitstalige Grauzone-nummers en er ééntje om zeker te onthouden: die passie, die Weltschmerz,…

Indien u het nog niet door hebt: verplichte kost, deze hier…!

GRAUZONE 1981

DJ_Phoney, Beyond the Valley of Ultrahits (US), June 2011

This album is incredible. It’s definitely on the more rhythmic side of punk or new wave, so much so that it could easily be considered dance music. The first track “Film 2” might as well be a techno song. This album is so ahead of it’s time, it’s no wonder that there are only 100 ratings as I type this. I’d think that a band going out of their way to create something so “forward,” with electronics mixed seamlessly with what you’d find in any punk album, would end up creating something a bit more difficult to get, but this album comes of to me as a darker version of what John Foxx was doing. It’s in need of another reissue. – Matthew Foster

“The fact that Grauzone tried to find a new way of expression by stepping away from standard guitar-dominated punk but didn’t have unlimited musical abilities made them angry. That combined with an anger about a society that’s even more stagnant seemed to have created the atmosphere for the album.

A track like “Film 2” (with vocals so unobtrusive it could almost be called an instrumental) is minmal techno/electro/disco as well as postpunk/wave and even has a touch of dub.
The synth-arpeggio (don’t really hear a bass here) sounds threatening, the beat keeps going while some percussive hits and what sounds like a harmonica are like a horrorfilm version of Jamaica-sounds. Then that guitar joins like a keyboard-motif by John Carpenter, completing the song. And rhythmically it’s just damn tight. For that matter the track’s been played by famous cosmic Disco-DJ Baldelli back in the eighties by the way.
Not many bands would chose such a tune as an opener for their full length album…

Followed by the song “Schlachtet” – one of the three best tunes on the LP.
I listened to that song recently while the tv news were on. Comments about Hartz IV (state funded poverty in germany) combined with pictures of what I see around me everyday and then lines like “Die Kranken werden geschlachtet, die Welt wird gesund” (“The sick will be butchered, the world will be well”) left quite an impression.

“Hinter den Bergen” sounds like Dark Wave with a dubby touch (a bit similar to the effect Bauhaus achieved with “Bela Lugosi’s dead”).

“Kunstgewerbe” is another cool, short & minimalistic piece of electronic music.

“Der Weg zu zweit” always reminded me of Abwärts.

“In der Nacht” is the very abstract end of the album. Again the vocals are mixed much in the background with reverb floating around the track.”

GRAUZONE – EISBAER

David Chadwick, So Likewise (US), May 2011

Alternately floating in the detached synth-pop motorik cold and embroiled in nervy agit-industrial anxiety, Swiss new wave outfit GRAUZONE occupied but a brief moment, playing ten gigs, releasing a few singles and an LP; nevertheless, they left a distinct impression upon the “Neue Deutsche Welle” movement, due in no small part to their 1981 debut single “EISBAER” (means “polar bear”). This track and every other have been recently remastered and compiled on “GRAUZONE 1980-1982 REMASTERED”.

GRAUZONE, quatres suisses et un synthé

Music Without Borders (F), April 2011

Si vous ne connaissez pas GRAUZONE, ce n’est pas parce que vous avez de grosses lacunes musicales rassurez-vous, mais parce que GRAUZONE a joui d’une carrière musicale fulgurante. En 1980, le groupe suisse se forme. Pour se séparer en 1982. Quatuor dans l’air du temps, il décide d’emprunter les chemins de la NDW, la ‘Neue Deutsche Welle’. Comprendre la nouvelle vague allemande : une instrumentalisation très froide et une musique très robotique, le tout en langue allemande.

Sauf que GRAUZONE, ce n’est pas qu’un groupe qui suit la mode. C’est un groupe dans l’entre deux, comme son nom l’indique. GRAUZONE, zone grise, s’immisce entre les genres. Nous sort des sons punks, minimalistes, expérimentaux, rocks, sombres.

En deux ans de carrière, quatre singles, un album et dix concerts, les jeunes helvètes ont surtout crevé les écrans et les ondes radio avec LE titre auquel on les réduit toujours, EISBAER. Le synthé et la voix du chanteur reflètent la froideur de l’univers d’un ours polaire. Des paroles certes simplistes («je voudrais être un ours polaire, comme ça je n’aurais plus à pleurer, tout serait enfin clair. Les ours polaires ne doivent jamais pleurer»), mais un rythme et une recherche musicale impressionnante.

Outre la thématique Pôle Nord évidente, autre surprise, l’interprète : Martin Eicher. Si son nom ne vous dit rien, celui de son frère – que l’on retrouve au synthé – peut-être plus : Stéphane. Stéphane Eicher. Celui-là même qui des années plus tard perçait en France avec Déjeuner en Paix et autres tubes.

Pour les fans de GRAUZONE, il est encore temps de se ruer dans les bacs, le double CD ‘GRAUZONE 1980-1982 REMASTERED’ est sorti fin 2010. Avec 21 chansons remasterisées, dont trois jamais publiées, c’est toute la carrière du groupe que vous tiendrez entre les mains.