Product Description
xPropaganda are the brainchild of ex Propaganda members Claudia Brücken and Susanne Freytag, and producer Stephen Lipson.
Formed originally as a trio in Dusseldorf, West Germany in 1982, Propaganda emerged from that city’s thriving post-punk avant-garde music and arts scenes. Founding members included vocalist Susanne Freytag, established industrial musician Ralf Dörper and visual artist Andreas Thein, later expanding to a five-piece with the addition of classically trained musician Michael Mertens and a second vocalist also from the Dusseldorf scene, Claudia Brücken. The band’s debut album ’A Secret Wish’ arrived in 1985, hot on the heels of two of the era’s standout electronic singles – the sinister, propulsive powerhouse ‘Dr Mabuse’ and the shimmering pop-art meisterwerk ‘Duel’. Produced for ZTT by Stephen Lipson (whose credits to date also include Paul McCartney, Annie Lennox and, in collaboration with Hans Zimmer, the score to the latest James Bond film ‘No Time to Die’) it was a perfect summation of the band’s journey, as well as a perfect soundtrack for 1985 and a perfect representation of the ZTT spirit.
After the original line up split in 1987, the individual band members of Propaganda pursued various solo projects and musical adventures. Fast forward to the spring of 2018 and Claudia and Susanne reformed as xPropaganda to play two sold out headline shows at The Garage in Islington, London. Having felt creatively inspired by the experience, the duo then reconvened with ‘A Secret Wish’ producer Stephen Lipson to write new music.
The results of these sessions, held over two years, can be heard on the new xPropaganda album ‘The Heart Is Strange’. It represents the first new release on the newly re-launched ZTT label (via UMC) and evokes the spirit and passion of classic Propaganda whilst sounding effortlessly contemporary. With its strident beats and glacial soundscapes offset beautifully by Claudia and Susanne’s expressive, passionate vocals its stand outs include the smouldering, slow burner ‘Chasing Utopia’, the intense, obsessive ‘No Ordinary Girl’ and the jagged pop glory of ‘Don’t (You Mess with Me)’. Over three decades on, all of the promises of ‘A Secret Wish’ are fulfilled once again.
