Der Plan
| Der Plan | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Düsseldorf, Germany |
| Genres | Neue Deutsche Welle |
| Years active | 1979–1992 2003–2007 (as Der Plan v4.0) |
| Labels | Ata Tak |
| Associated acts |
Pyrolator DAF Fehlfarben |
| Website | Official Website |
| Members |
Moritz Reichelt Frank Fenstermacher Kurt Dahlke |
| Past members | Achim Treu JJ Jones Kai Horn |
| Notable instruments | |
| "Brontologic" sequencer | |
Der Plan is a German electronic music group from Düsseldorf, formed in the earlier months of 1979 by Moritz Reichelt (A.K.A. "Moritz R"), Kai Horn, and Frank Fenstermacher, originally under the name of Weltaufstandsplan ("World Rebellion Plan"). This group is considered the pioneer of Neue Deutsche Welle (New German Wave).
Kai Horn, one of the founder members, left the group suddenly before their first recording. The first single was recorded with the support of Chrislo Haas and Robert Görl (both DAF members at the time). The recording of a jam session was carried out in an underground shelter using a cassette dictation machine. In 1979 the band released 1500 units of their debut single themselves. This was the start of Der Plan's own label "Warning Records", later known as "Ata Tak". Their early recordings are reminiscent of industrial sounds of the same period (e.g. early works of US band Chrome).
Kurt Dahlke aka Pyrolator (ex DAF) joined Der Plan a short time later. The group became more musical, clearly reducing the noisy elements of their songs. Their 1980 debut album Geri Reig still showed their experimental side. On this album, they strongly displayed their musical influences, which included The Residents and Throbbing Gristle. Some titles were kept deliberately "inaudible" by the members in order to explore the boundary of music.
At the end of the year, they released the single Da Vorne Steht 'Ne Ampel which had a plausible melody. Der Plan thereby began to seek out a musical framework which would lead to their later style of "Electronic Schlager" (electronic hit song), or "Synthi Pop", as they called it themselves. The single became one of the first hit tunes of Neue Deutsche Welle, and the group received offers from major record companies. Der Plan decided to remain independent within their own label, although they accepted a partial contract with Teldec to re-release the single. The LP Normalette Surprise was released in 1981 where the group developed "electronic schlagers" further and finally fixed their own style.
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