Duck and Cover (German band)
The escalation of Cold War hostilities between the United States and the Soviet Union in the early 1980s and the Europe-wide protests in 1983 at the deployment of Cruise, Pershing II and SS-20 missiles were the motivation behind the formation of this ensemble and its music.Günther Anders, an 84-year-old German philosopher, said about these blockades (on the occasion of accepting the Adorno prize in Frankfurt): "Symbole mögen tief sein.What we could do – and have done is to abandon the safety of our normal programme, and open it up to the expression of the unsafeness of these times.The "Berlin Programme" performance was based on a structure which had been designed by Alfred Harth and written by Heiner Goebbels using fragments of compositions by Heiner Goebbels/Alfred Harth (Duo Goebbels/Harth), Cutler/Frith (Art Bears) and Bertolt Brecht/Hanns Eisler plus improvisation by all members of the ensemble.[7] They were unable to alter the mixes but shortened the recording to 28-minutes, omitting the closing Art Bears song, "Freedom".Cutler remarked that notwithstanding the edits, the LP version "... does, I think, still convey that contradiction we tried to express at the concert: between the distracting and draining pressure of contemporary life ..."[7] Years given below are for the recording(s), not first release, unless stated otherwise.
Berliner EnsembleAvant-rockfree improvisationRecommendedTom CoraChris CutlerFred FrithHeiner GoebbelsAlfred HarthDagmar KrauseGeorge LewisseptetWest GermanyCassiberSkeleton CrewArt BearsMoers FestivalBerlin Jazz FestivalWest BerlinFestival of Political SongsRē Records QuarterlyLP recordduck and covernuclear attackCold WarSoviet UnionCruisePershing IISS-20 missilesEast BerlinGünther AndersDuo Goebbels/HarthCutlerBertolt BrechtHanns EislerRundfunk der DDRmaster tapeEast GermanyRē Records Quarterly Vol.1 No.2BrechtEislerKrauseRēR Quarterly Selections from Vol.1The Art BoxHistory of BerlinCutler, ChrisDiscogsHenry CowMassacreKeep the DogCosa BravaFred Frith TrioHenry NowThe OrckestraFrench Frith Kaiser ThompsonDeath AmbientFred Frith Guitar QuartetMaybe MondayAksak MaboulMaterialNaked CityGuitar SolosGravitySpeechlessCheap at Half the PriceQuartetsClearingPrintsEleventh HourTo Sail, to SailClearing CustomsGuitar Solos / FiftyThe Technology of TearsAlliesThe Previous EveningAccidentalThe Happy End ProblemNowhere, Sideshow, Thin AirField Days (The Amanda Loops)PropagandaThe Top of His HeadStep Across the BorderMiddle of the MomentEye to EarRivers and TidesEye to Ear IIEye to Ear IIIPacificaFreedom in FragmentsBack to LifeLive in JapanStone, Brick, Glass, Wood, WireImpur IIStorytellingAll Is Always Now – Live at The StoneWoodworkWith Friends Like TheseHenry KaiserVoice of AmericaBob OstertagPhil MintonLive in Prague and WashingtonFrench GigsLol CoxhillWho Needs Enemies?Nous AutresRené LussierAttention SpanJohn ZornDroperaFerdinand RichardLive ImprovisationsTim HodgkinsonHelter SkelterLive in Trondheim, Berlin & Limoges, Vol. 2The Art of MemoryTraffic ContinuesEnsemble Modern2 Gentlemen in VeronaDalaba Frith Glick Rieman KihlstedtCarla KihlstedtWhat Leave BehindToychestra50th Birthday Celebration Volume 5The Compass, Log and Lead