We have always improvised, on the stage, in the past more than now, in the past really only that – in the very distant past.

Later, with the growing inventory of materials and songs, the improvisations grew less, but it always stayed a part of our concerts. In Neubauten language, these improvisa-tions in front of the public were and still are called “Rampen”. “Ramp” in the sense of ramping up. 

Many songs which found their way to being released came out of such “Rampen”: “Letztes Biest (am Himmel)” (Halber Mensch) or 

„Keine Schönheit (ohne Gefahr)“ (Fünf auf der nach oben offenen Richterskala) as early examples, or „Alles“ (Silence is Sexy), and „Weil Weil Weil“ (Alles wieder off en), they all started that way. 

This means: the published versions are not the live performances, for many there wasn’t even a live recording with adequate quality, instead they are the reconstructed in the studio, improved, lyric’d incarnations of those Rampen.

Sometimes we also took Rampen from multiple concerts and reconfigured them together: “Von Wegen” (Alles wieder off en) for example. On the 2022 tour, we switched to playing so-called “supported” Rampen. That is, we agree on a few minimum conditions ahead of the time: who starts? With what? Or: Gesund-brunnen = Ges – – d b – – e (“Ges” = G flat in German). Additionally, I fed my teleprompter with a changing selection of text fragments, mostly only a few lines long, unfinished and leftovers, so I can use them to inspire vocalizations.

After the 2022 tour, during which we had of course played a Rampe at almost every show, we decided to develop these, or the best of them, into an entire album.

From these tour recordings of 23 Rampen, we selected 14 and reworked them piece by piece in the Candy Bomber studio in Berlin, in spring and early summer 2023.

The way we work in the studio is not very different from the Beatles or any other band 60 years ago: we are all in the same room and record the songs together. Sure, there are overdubs and edits, but they are essentially „live“ recordings: take 1, take 2…take 8, take 9 etc. But it usually doesn’t even get to that many takes. We improve, we change, we discard, and at some point we have it. In the end, we finished 15 Rampen, one of which slipped out spontaneously in the studio („Planet Umbra“). A double album: alien pop music. 

Blixa Bargeld, Berlin / January 2024