Neue Deutsche Welle

Germany's shifting socio-political landscape has changed many things over time. Art, science, entertainment, and clothing... Nothing has remained untouched by this transformation. So, where does Neue Deutsche Welle fit into all of this?

Photo of Nena (Gabriele Susanne Kerner) courtesy of Peter Bischoff/Getty Images, as featured in Rolling Stone Germany. All rights reserved.

Actually… What is Neue Deutsche Welle?

If I'm going to talk about German electronic music, I have to start by mentioning the master of this genre, the spiritual leader of the Berlin School, and the Moog wizard, Klaus Schulze.

Moog synthesizers had just come out, and this instrument particularly influenced musicians in Germany. Klaus Schulze and his team started producing music in 1969 under the name krautrock, aiming to communicate with aliens just as mankind had set foot on the moon. Schulze must have quickly recognized his genius in electronic music, as he became the pioneer of what is known as the Berlin School, which actually defines German electronic music. His music soon became a teaching for representatives of its genre. Krautrock is a cosmic music genre. When you first listen to its early examples, it may sound like science fiction film scores, but I see this music as a form of communication with space. Its echoes extended into fusion genres like punk-disco, such as Neue Deutsche Welle (NDW), from the late 1970s to the mid-1980s. Kraftwerk and their Tour de France were like the last frequency emerging from our solar system. NDW, which started to lay its foundations with Neu!, actually shows its difference by adding a bit more punk and disco influences to this cosmic and synth-based music. The German artists of the era, who brought ingenious solutions to electronic music, developed this music by combining it with dance elements so that everyone could listen to it and it could become accessible to the public. Interestingly, this indirectly brought about the end of NDW.

To Create an Anti-War World

You probably remember the song "99 Luftballons" by Nena, a song that has spread worldwide and is still sung enthusiastically by our mothers. This song is perhaps the most famous and powerful track of the Neue Deutsche Welle genre. Do you think it's a coincidence that it conveys an anti-war message? I believe there couldn't have been a better country than Germany to produce anti-war songs to alleviate the tense feeling of the Cold War. Especially in the early 1980s. As they tried to recover from the effects of war, the youth, feeling the cold breeze of the Cold War at their backs, found themselves in a search for identity. This post-war identity, sought after all over the world, manifested in Germany just as it did in other countries—in a vibrant, dynamic, and loud manner. I believe that the Neue Deutsche Welle (NDW) genre has genuinely transformed the world. Its unifying, show-oriented, and entertaining lyrics—sometimes even bordering on comedy—have resonated globally. What’s even more inspiring is that it managed to do all this without losing its rebellious spirit. I could even compare it to the early Eurovision vibe, with its mix of playfulness and subversive energy.

Peak and End

Neue Deutsche Welle (NDW) is often described as a fusion of British punk heavily mixed with synths, and I believe this description is quite fitting. The genre, which has its roots in the raw guitar riffs of punk, takes on a completely different journey with the use of Moog synthesizers, becoming something entirely new. Among those influenced by this genre are two particularly interesting names: David Bowie and Brian Eno. In fact, David Bowie's so-called "Berlin Trilogy," which consists of three albums (Low, “Heroes”, and Lodger), brought a fresh perspective to the entire Krautrock scene. Neue Deutsche Welle (NDW), which reached its peak around 1983-84, experienced a dramatic decline shortly thereafter, eventually fading from the music scene. Several factors contributed to this downfall. One key issue was the length of the songs, which made them unsuitable for radio play. Although shorter versions were created for radio, the sudden flood of NDW tracks on the market and the effort to record English versions of the songs to reach an international audience proved to be both costly and overwhelming. This combination of factors led to the genre's rapid decline.

The increasing number of songs that began to sound alike was the final straw for Neue Deutsche Welle (NDW). As a result, many of the genre's pioneers and key figures moved on to explore and excel in other musical styles. What they left behind was a unique, yet fleeting movement that will never return in its original form. This brief but impactful era remains a testament to a distinct cultural moment in music history.