indie-label for music, music-video, doc-film
40 years ago, in March 1984, Creep Records released the EP ‘The Vyllies’. The recording of the five songs took place in December 1983 at Mastersound Studios in Athens.
These, along with all the other tracks released during their active period, are still available on the 2CD : THE VYLLIES 1983-1988 REMASTERED.
We are pleased to announce that on 20 October the sampler Senza Decoro : Liebe + Anarchia in Switzerland 1980-1990, curated by Mehmet Aslan, will be released by strut records as 2LP / CD / digital.
The sampler includes 15 songs by bands such as mittageisen, Unknownmix, Aboriginal Voices, LiLiPUT, El Deux, and others, and can be (pre)ordered at bandcamp.
As part of the Earth Day 2023 campaign (from 20 April to 6 May 2023), the song automaten (-6y edit) was available on bandcamp for a limited time. This was a deconstructed, contemporary version of the song (12″) first released in 1985.
Due to the positive feedback (ao mev2 feat mittageisen : automaten (-6y edit)) we decided to release the (short) version together with a new created extended version (6’21”) as digital EP on bandcamp.
In addition, we have created a video that can be viewed on vimeo.
Jamie Reid, the artist and graphic designer whose collage work for the Sex Pistols was a central pillar of the punk aesthetic, has died. Inspired by the alternative politics of the late 1960s, he created the graphic design for the 1974 book 'Leaving the 20th Century: The Incomplete Work of the Situationist International', which collected translated texts by Situationist writers. In later years, he supported the Occupy and Pussy Riot movements. In 2017, he created a riff on his swastika-eyed 'God Save the Queen' artwork featuring Donald Trump, entitled 'God Save Us All'. R.I.P.
Where is music streaming heading? As Mark Mulligan points out in his blog post The music industry’s tipping point is Right Here, Right Now with the shift from an artist economy to a virtually infinite song economy, more music is being consumed and more users are being monetised, but the current situation is unsatisfactory for both artists and providers.
Through algorithms, individual users become part of a consumerscape that is characterised by fragmentation and passivity. New technologies (ao AI) create context-based playlists and generate individualised music (virtual artists) according to listening behaviour. This means that whoever controls the algorithm controls the listener…
We are pleased to support the 'Earth Day 2023' campaign of EarthPercent with the exclusive release of automaten (-6y edit). The track is a deconstructed, contemporary version of the song first released in 1985 (12″).
automaten (-6y edit) will be available for a limited time (20 April until 6 May 2023) on the bandcamp webpages of EarthPercent and mev2 as a single and as part of a compilation.
How should artists deal with AI? The 'Entertainment Industry Coalition' has published seven principles for the relationship between artificial intelligence and music as part of the Human Artistry CampAIgn.
We believe that artificial intelligence (AI) – like e-guitar, synthesizer, sampler – can and will be a useful tool for creative composers. The causes of negative consequences – not only in the use of technology – are more likely to be found in human and less in artificial intelligence…
mital-U is now an official partner of EarthPercent, an environmental charity co-founded by Brian Eno.
One of the ways to fight the causes of climate change and environmental destruction is – besides making our own activities sustainable – to support (immaterially and materially) organisations like eXtinctionRebellion and EarthPercent.
Until now, drum computers have been used to keep metronomic time and create repetitive rhythms. Now, AI drum computers also embrace human imperfection…
Jack Stilgoe (Professor of Science and Technology Policy at University College London) addresses the machine question in his essay, looking at the rise of artificial intelligence and whether AI drum computers will take over the ‘jobs’ of drummers.
As one of the main architects of punk, Vivienne Westwood pioneered the way in which the energy and spirit of punk could be expressed through clothing.
The Sex Pistols showed the world what punk sounded like, Westwood showed the world what it looked like!
Westwood always went her own way, always with style and dignity. In recent decades, she has become increasingly involved in initiatives/protests for human rights and environmental protection.
Despite her apparent eccentricity, Westwood had a very clear view of what was important in life – and she knew that it was not primarily the clothes. R.I.P.
40 years back into the musical future, when bands like Joy Division, PIL, SatB, WIRE, etc. released their unique music (PostPunk/NewWave).
At the same time, mittageisen were formed and recorded their first songs at the end of 1981. We have restored three previously unreleased songs from the original MC and publish them as demo-tape 1981 remastered in digital version for download/streaming.
What began in 1994 with various remix projects (mittageisen v2, toini) is continued under the name mev2. The resulting 'sounds' are published as MP3 downloads or streaming on mev2.bandcamp.
In addition, the label activities focus on 'visions' (currently WIRE – PEOPLE IN A FILM) as well as the support of various socio-cultural projects.
The Anti-DicKtators are a collaboration of likeminded musicians horrified at what’s going on in Ukraine at the moment, and wanting in their own small way to help contribute to raising awareness and money for a relief fund.
The Anti-DicKtators are producer Phil Meadley (The Gaslight Troubadours), vocalist/songwriter Yuriy Gurzhy (RotFront – Emigrantski Raggamuffin Kollektiv / The Disorientalists), fiddle player Jon Sevink (Levellers), bassist Tom Robinson (Tom Robinson Band / BBC Radio 6 Music presenter), and vocalist Katya Tasheva (RotFront).
Not only because of the upcoming birthday and unfortunately also the 6th anniversary of his death, it is worth reading this article 'David Bowie – Artist, disruptor, creative technologist' about David Bowie as a creative artist and innovative technology user and listening to his music once again (e.g. Berlin trilogy Low, Heroes, Lodger).
At the end of 1981, mittageisen made their first demo recordings with an 8-track tape machine, which were released in 1982 in a very small edition as a music cassette. While three (wir, persistance de la mémoire, einer von vielen) of the six songs were released in a new version on the LP in 1983, the rest of the songs remained unreleased. We have now decided to restore the original recordings and then decide which of the songs will be released in a remastered version during 2022.
They turned drawings into symphonies and made black boxes sing. Why were they never given their due? Sisters With Transistors is the remarkable story of electronic music’s female pioneers, composers who embraced machines and their liberating technologies to utterly transform how we produce and listen to music today. The film maps a new history of electronic music through the visionary women whose radical experimentations with machines redefined the boundaries of music, including Clara Rockmore, Daphne Oram, Bebe Barron, Pauline Oliveros, Delia Derbyshire, Maryanne Amacher, Eliane Radigue, Suzanne Ciani, and Laurie Spiegel.
Punk icon, environmental activist and designer extraordinaire Vivienne Westwood is celebrating her 80th birthday!
Vivienne Westwood emerged in the 1970s with Malcolm McLaren in World’s End at the west end of the Kings Road, with her androgynous designs, slogan T-shirts and irreverent attitude towards the establishment. Since then, Vivienne Westwood has continued to push boundaries. Responsible for some of the most famous fashion designs, she has also made a name for herself as an activist, staging public protests to raise awareness for causes close to her heart: Climate Revolution.
A new documentary (IMDb) honoring punk icon Poly Styrene has been released. A daughter’s journey to reveal the untold story of the first woman of colour to front the successful band X-Ray Spex.
Poly Styrene introduced the world to a new sound of rebellion, using her unconventional voice to sing about identity, consumerism, postmodernism, and everything she saw unfolding in late 1970s Britain.
We are pleased to be one of several Executive Producers who helped make the film possible. Offical trailer: Poly Styrene: I Am A Cliché.
The animated explainer video by eXtinction Rebellion, voiced by Naomie Harris and music by Brian Eno, summarises the planet’s biodiversity loss, runaway consumerism and the ecological crisis that now faces us, and how the consequences will affect millions of lives around the world. Support the movement and help create the systemchange needed to stop this mass extinction!
CD/LP/MP3 booklet: “Swiss Combo mittageisen were amongst the best known purveyors of postpunk/newwave in the alpine state back in the early 1980s. Thanks in no small measure to the automaten 12 inch, which earned a reissue in 2016. Their eponymous album, released in 1983, was captivating from start to finish and is much sought after today. unverstaendnis is a curiosity in its own right. The playback having been recorded backwards.”
40th anniversary of the death of Ian Curtis, singer of Joy Division (1977-1980)! Accompanying Anton Corbijn’s video for atmosphere, the last released single. Maybe also reason to listen to the outstanding musical work of Joy Division and to watch Anton Corbijn’s filmic obituary Control from 2007.
The webpages of the bands GRAUZONE, mittageisen, The Vyllies were supplemented with individual picture galleries/slideshows, including photos & documents from their active time.
mital-U support Music Declares Emergency. MDE Music Declares Emergency is a group of individuals and organisations that stand together to declare a climate and ecological emergency and call for an immediate governmental response to protect all life on Earth. We believe in the power of music to promote the cultural change needed to create a better future.
Kyle Devine analyses in his book DECOMPOSED – The Political Ecology of Music the environmental and social impacts of the production of recording medium from shellac to streaming. Analog and digital recording medium, as well as electronic devices for music consumption, leave a negative footprint in terms of materials, working conditions, energy consumption. He also shows that multiple streaming generates more greenhouse gases than pressing a vinyl LP. Downloading a song to a local device for repeated playback is currently the least environmentally harmful method of music consumption.
mital-U (Bruno W) supports as co-producer (Senior Executive Producer) the production of the film WIRE – PEOPLE IN A FILM, by Malcom Boyle (Director & Producer) and Graham Duff (Writer). A Documentation about the definitiv post-punk band WIRE. The film is expected to be completed by spring 2023 (due to filming delays caused by COVID restrictions).
“(Why) Americans Don’t Understand What Capitalism Really Is! Or, How The Opposite of Capitalism Isn’t Socialism – It’s My Local Record Store.” An worth reading article by umair haque about the socio-cultural importance of record shops!
In a informative visualization you can see how the music market has changed over the last 40 years. On the one hand the shift from physical media (vinyl, MC, CD) to digital formats (MP3 download, streaming), on the other hand the change in sales, which have collapsed with increasing digitalisation and grow slightly from 2015 onwards in the streaming sector with an increase in content. The availability of countless tracks at low prices results in far too less money per stream. Independently produced music on physical media, which allows artists to receive fair compensation, is increasingly becoming a niche market.
Video filmed in the Canadian Arctic provides graphic evidence of the impact of climate change on polar bears in the region. The footage was recorded by the conservation group Sea Legacy during a late summer expedition in Baffin Island.
“My entire Sea Legacy team was pushing through their tears and emotions while documenting this dying polar bear. It’s a soul-crushing scene that still haunts me, but I know we need to share both the beautiful and the heartbreaking if we are going to break down the walls of apathy.” wrote the photographer Paul Nicklen to his video, published a.o. in National Geographic.
In the brand new issue #15 of zweikommasieben Magazin you can read a contribution by Bruno W. In this context, we published two playlists on Spotify (we hope you will share and follow it): Pre- & Post-punk (70s & 80s) / Neue Musik aus DE+CH (NDW-Avantgarde 1979-1984).
In the animation movie My life as a Zucchini by Claude Barras the teenagers dance to EISBAER by GRAUZONE.
A worth seeing, multiple awarded film!
mital-U starts with the publication of individual remastered songs from the back catalogue for download/streaming (MP3) on various online portals.
First of all, the release of mittageisen – automaten (radio edit 2015) as download (amazon, aMusic, etc.) and streaming (Spotify, deezer, qobuz, amazon, etc.).
Bruno W (mittageisen / mital-U) is on Saturday, 1. October 2016 guest at the annual A-SYNTH FEST in St. Gallen (CH). You can find a review on the ARTNOIR-Website.
The highly talented fashion designer Julia Seemann [ VFILES | NOT JUST A LABEL ] has created the Capsule Collection 2016 as a TRIBUTE TO MITTAGEISEN, what honour us.
The collection was presented at the London Fashion Week 2016 and other events.
Not only for those who couldn’t be present on the re-release party, because it was (on the basis of the way or years) too far away… The for the first time shown remastered video (IMDb) is now available online. Following the re-release of the 12″ automaten we’ve just published the remastered video of automaten (radio edit 2015) on vimeo and YouTube.
The re-release of the meanwhile extremely rare and expensive traded 12″ automaten will be available in a limited and numbered edition of 500 copies on April 16th at Record Store Day 2016 contributing record stores. Afterwards, the 12″ will be available at well assorted record stores.
“Bowie made people feel that is was alright to be a bit different and to try things out.” Jarvis Cocker on David Bowie, BBC Radio 6. mital-U playlist with great Bowie songs on YouTube and Spotify. R.I.P.
Our friends from KORUA Shapes have published in their series YEARNING FOR TURNING another worth seeing video, this time with the MITTAGEISEN-song ARAGON LIBERTARIO.
The snowboard enthusiasts KORUA Shapes have published in their series YEARNING FOR TURNING a worth seeing video with the GRAUZONE-song EISBAER.
We’ve just started with the project to re-release a limited, numbered first edition of 500 copies of the 12″ automaten by mittageisen. The record will be pressed on high quality 180g vinyl, packed in the reproduced original cover plus (new) printed inner sleeve.
EISBAER (GRAUZONE) and automaten (mittageisen) are two of the listed Top 20 songs of the 'CH Hall of Fame 80s' for the exhibition Oh Yeah! – Pop music in Switzerland, which takes place from 14 November 2014 to 19 July 2015 at the Museum für Kommunikation, Bern. The exhibition shows the whole cosmos of pop music in Switzerland, from its cautious beginnings in the late 1950s to the present, where music is played on all communication channels.
After several reviews on the new double CD THE VYLLIES 1983-1988 REMASTERED the French magazine OBSKÜRE published an interview with the label owner & producer of the 2CD Bruno W.
We’ve just published the music video [YouTube|vimeo] for the song WHISPERS IN THE SHADOW from the 2CD THE VYLLIES 1983-1988 REMASTERED.
This is the remastered version of the only official music video by THE VYLLIES, produced in 1985 and directed by Urs Egger (IMDb).
The new double CD THE VYLLIES 1983-1988 REMASTERED will be released in July 2013. THE VYLLIES are three independent women from the French speaking part of Switzerland, who attracted a great deal of public attention in the 1980s with their unique sound and dramatic stage performances. The new double CD includes all published songs of THE VYLLIES in original length including the songs of the 1984 in Athens released 1st EP. The two CDs are available in a 3 fold-out digipak sleeve, incl. a carefully made 24-page booklet with exclusive band-photos and information about each song. Detailed information about the group and their music can be found on the band-website.
The 2CD will be available at well assorted record stores.
In an interview of the newspaper 'Zentralschweiz am Sonntag' (April 28, 2013) with François Mürner, longtime moderator and editor-in-chief of Sounds! a program on the Swiss radio DRS2 and later DRS3, he said to the central Swiss music scene “I loved in the 1980s great bands from Central Switzerland, I played all DRS3. So the Sedel punks CRAZY. Or mittageisen and their strong lyrics.” Both productions by mital-U and still to be heard on CD.
We’re proud to announce a new duoble CD THE VYLLIES REMASTERED. The 2CD set will contain about 28 digitally remastered songs, incl. WHISPERS IN THE SHADOW, PURPLE GORILLA, AHIA, THE SKY IS FULL OF STITCHES, DESIRE (REPETITION DESPERATION), NOW WE FALL, of THE VYLLIES. The 2CD will be available in a 3 fold-out digipak-sleeve, incl. a booklet with exclusive band-fotos and informations about each song. The release of the 2CD is planned for mid 2013!
We’ve just released a new music video [YouTube|vimeo] for the song EISBAER from the 2CD GRAUZONE 1980-1982 REMASTERED.
The video (IMDb) shows that the attempt to escape the dreariness of his existence a polar bear is doomed to failure – his escape is a circular movement that must be without redemption. The refuge to supposedly paradisiacal conditions (untouched Arctic, the city as a place of culture and communication) are shown as illusory utopias.
“There is no life in the wrong!” Adorno
video EISBAER @IMDb
We’re pleased to announce the release of the new double-CD GRAUZONE 1980-1982 REMASTERED on 1th December 2010. GRAUZONE belonged between 1980 and 1982 to the pioneers of the German new wave (NDW). With their hit EISBAER (Polar Bear) they met the attitude to life of that time and reached the Austrian and German charts. The double-CD contains 21 digital remastered songs, incl. 6 so far on CD as 3 previously unpublished GRAUZONE-tracks. Besides, contrary to past CD publications, all songs are in original full length! The two CDs are available in a 3 fold-out digipak-sleeve, incl. a comprehensive 24-page booklet with exclusive band-fotos and informations about each song. Detailed information about the group and their music can be found on the band-website. The 2CD will be available at well assorted record stores.
Swiss Radio DRS3 has compiled for this year 2010 the stories behind '200 successful and beautiful Swiss songs'. Every week, they presented five songs about a specific topic. Questions about the individual songs are answered by the artists of the 200 most influential Swiss songs in the series 'DRS3 Swiss pop history! 200 songs – 200 stories'. In the week from May 10th to 15th, as one of 5 songs on the theme '80s', the story of the song automaten by mittageisen was presented.
We’re happy to announce a new double CD GRAUZONE REMASTERED. The 2CD set will contain all, about 20 digitally remastered previously released tracks (Eisbär, Film 2, Träume mit mir, Ich und Du, Wütendes Glas, Moskau, Ein Tanz mit dem Tod, Ich lieb Sie, …), as well as unreleased tracks from GRAUZONE. The release is planned for the 4th quarter 2010.
“Bruno W, mastermind of the legendary Swiss DarkWave band mittageisen and producer of the first Swiss Punk LP (CRAZY), is guest for 2 hours in the show GAFFA of Radio 3FACH with music and reminiscences from the 1980’s.”
As part of its 10th anniversary, Radio 3FACH looked for 'The 100 best Swiss Kick Ass songs' [list list on the Internet Archive], which should not be missed in any record collection.
The mittageisen song automaten was played among the 20 best titles in the final show on 22th December 2008.
Release of the new double-CD mittageisen 1981-1986 remastered with 19 digital remastered songs, 6 of them previously unreleased!
mittageisen was “one of the earliest Darkwave/Electro Goth bands” (Wikipedia). Their songs are available on two CDs in a fold-out digipak sleeve including a 24-page booklet.
First reviews and a 90 minutes mittageisen-special on the electronic underground radio-show Linearnetrik at Radio-Decoder.de.
For the ars electronica 95 in Linz, Markus S, Peter T, Bruno W realised a computer-animated video 'automaten', which still can be watched on the YouTube channel mital-U TV.
In addition, mital-U TV makes various swiss-wave videos available on YouTube and selected HD videos on Vimeo!
The Guardian: “Anton Corbijn’s glorious biography of Joy Division singer Ian Curtis is the film of the year. . . .
Control is a film about England, about music, about loneliness and love; there is melancholy in it, but also a roar of energy. I thought it might depress me. Instead I left the cinema walking on air.”
CONTROL @IMDb
Start of the project ‘mittageisen remastered’. The 2CD set will contain about 20 digitally remastered already published as unpublished songs of mittageisen in a fold-out digipak sleeve plus a comprehensive booklet. Planned release-date is in the 4th quarter 2008.
Release of the new CD toini – electronic biscuits! The electronic EP contains six new songs, remixed by Marco Repetto and Bruno W, which open up new soundscapes!
“Dear mital-U, Congratulations! You’ve made it to the mPulse.com Top 10 Site Alternative. We’d like to pass along an award recognizing your high profile on mPulse.com.” Martin Reidy, President/CEO mPulse.com
Release-date of our new (co-)production Swiss Kult-Hits Vol.2 : 80s Wave. A compilation with 16 songs from artists like Yello, Kleenex, Grauzone, Liliput, Stephan Eicher, The Vyllies, Blue China and other artists.
Since the 11 March 1999, the Swiss government (Federal Council) has a new 'young' member. In this context, Thomas Haemmerli wrote an article – unfortunately only in german – for the SonntagsZeitung (28 March 1999) about Ruth Metzlers verpasste Jugend – Was die “Hoffnungsträgerin der Jungen” nicht hören wollte: Die CD «Swiss Kult-Hits» bringts nochmals. with reference to mital-U!
Official release of a new compilation CD called Swiss Kult-Hits Vol.1 : 1970-1996. A compilation with 16 songs from artists like Touch El Arab, Young Gods, Grauzone, Stephan Eicher, … and mittageisen with their song automaten!
We’re happy to announce for January 1999 a new EP: mittageisen v2 – geld arbeit (re-mixed)! This is the second CD of mittageisen v2 with new remixed and editied versions of the songs 'geld' and 'arbeit', incl. 3 new 'currencies' remixed by Marco Repetto and Bruno W!
This is the result of a collaboration of two 'old' colleagues (ex-mittageisen / ex-Grauzone, fanzine SONDERNUMMER) from the early 1980es!
“We here at Project Cool wanted to let you know that you were selected during the past week because your site makes effective use of the web as a medium and in some way shows off the web’s potential. It is a site that others building for the web can look to for inspiration.”
After another visit to the 'Ars Electronica' in Linz and the presentation of the video for 'automaten', the mital-U website is launched.
Besides the art historical context of 'Dada Situationists Punk', a portrait of 'Siouxsie & the Banshees', a lively exchange within the still small Internet community, and last but not least 'the small global indie label mital-U' with a.o. the productions of the bands CRAZY and mittageisen.
Release of another remastered MP3 song 
The mittageisen song 
The skate enthusiasts from THE STRAIGHT AND NARROW have published a worth seeing skate video [