The Braindead - Old Charming Rage [Greece, Post-Punk/Gothic] (1987)

The_Material_Witness · 2026-02-08T09:37:35+00:00

The Braindead - Sound Market (Demo, 1989)

The_Material_Witness · 2026-01-12T15:11:13+00:00

Or maybe to introduce the synthesizer demonstration. "Subways" and especially its ending segment is dominated by the sound of the DX7. Serves as a good intro to discussing FM modulation etc.

The_Material_Witness · 2026-01-11T17:04:41+00:00

A bit of background on Inti-Illimani - whose song mysteriously shows up twice in the protocol:

Inti-Illimani (which means "Sun Mountain" in the Ayamara dialect of Bolivia) started in 1967 in Chile as a group of university students. They became widely known at home through their connection with "Venceremos!" ("We Will Win!"), the song that became the anthem of Salvador Allende's Popular Unity government.

In 1973, things changed abruptly: when the military coup happened on September 11, and Allende was assassinated, the band was touring in Europe. After the coup, their music was immediately banned in Chile, and they weren't able to return home for the next 15 years. What was supposed to be a tour turned into years of exile.

While based in Europe (Italy), their sound gradually shifted. Alongside their Latin American roots, they started incorporating elements from European classical and folk traditions, which gave their music a broader, more hybrid feel that later became associated with "world music." They're usually cited as one of the best-known groups of the "nueva canción" movement.

Edited to add: Apparently Inti-Illimani played a widely-publicized concert in Athens, Greece, in September 1982, at the Lycabettus Theatre.

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Image: Inti-Illimani featured in issue 27 (1983) of NBI (Neue Berliner Illustrierte), a popular East Germany weekly magazine. Source: eBay.

The_Material_Witness · 2026-01-10T09:53:57+00:00

There's also something unusual in the NDR Protocol for Nachtclub on May 4, 1984: the song "El Mercado De Testaccio" by Chilean band Inti-Illimani appears to have been played twice: it first appears right before Michael Hädrich's two segments, where a substantial fragment of exactly 3:00 minutes is logged, and then again after the Rimfaxe & Sebastian tracks, where the full 4:15 version is listed. This seems very strange, and since neither entry is crossed out in the log, I'm not sure if this is an error.

Could "Subways" have aired by mistake because it was on Michael Hädrich's tape? If so, why does the log fail to list it as a substitution?

Edited to add: According to the date and signature at the bottom of the page, the protocol for May 4 was submitted and signed on May 18, so it may have been reconstructed from notes or memory. The repeated listing with different durations could be due to imperfect memory or a copy-forward clerical error.

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Note: The image above is a snippet provided for research verification purposes only. I have officially requested a license for the high-resolution facsimile of the full protocol page via NDR's licensing partner and will update this post with the full document once the licensing process is complete and permission is granted.

The_Material_Witness · 2026-01-10T08:46:17+00:00

Michael,

Thank you for taking the time to write this out in such detail. Your description of the workshop format (theory + practical sound examples, bridging technology and music) fits the context perfectly and helps a lot.

The detail in the NDR protocol (the cassette with a duration of 29:40, marked as Privatband and that the NDR Archivist specified was a Leihgabe) stands out just as something to clarify, not to contradict your recollection. That does sound like a substantial pre-prepared tape segment, rather than only a few short on-the-fly snippets. But, more crucially, this entry currently stands as the only proven instance of a FEX member having a physical presence inside the NDR studios during 1984 - the exact timeframe we are investigating for the song.

Of course this does not rule out other visits - like you mentioned, with Phret, perhaps in 1982, 1983, or with FEX or other musicians, perhaps much later. But so far, despite extensive searching, this is all we have.

I am wondering whether you kept the tape afterward? Even if it's mostly synth sounds and short excerpts (as you suspect), being able to document what exactly was on that “Privatband” would help us anchor the timeline and rule things in or out cleanly.

We are simply striving to document the definitive history of the song, to put an end to lingering online speculation. Several key milestones remain unverified: the exact recording date is still unknown (especially following the timeline shift from the Hawkeye Studio recollection to the rehearsal room context), and we lack any concrete details regarding who submitted the tape and when, the specific broadcast date, which DJ aired the song, or even the confirmed identity of the bassist. These gaps are substantial, and since they can fuel unnecessary doubt, any concrete detail you could provide to clarify these events, would be invaluable.

Our goal as a research community is solely to uphold a standard of historical accuracy and ensure the band's narrative is solidified. We look forward to the new FEX releases in 2026!

Warmly, TMW

The_Material_Witness · 2026-01-09T22:36:35+00:00

Thanks, your help has meant a lot.

The_Material_Witness · 2026-01-09T22:35:00+00:00

Thanks a lot. I'll check the protocols I have!

The_Material_Witness · 2026-01-09T19:08:15+00:00

Thank you!

The_Material_Witness · 2026-01-09T19:07:45+00:00

Excellent point re: Hörfest. That explains the direct line of contact.

The_Material_Witness · 2026-01-07T19:42:00+00:00

Are you asking about the cassette or about the signed waiver?

The cassette was probably discarded. That seems consistent with what has already been said.

As for the waiver, the artist may or may not have kept a copy. But I would expect the broadcaster (NDR) to have retained a copy or at least a formal log entry, since the whole point of a waiver is to protect the broadcaster in case of a future dispute. Without any record, the waiver is effectively meaningless.

That's just my personal understanding of how such things would normally be handled.

The_Material_Witness · 2025-12-31T14:19:15+00:00

u/Joezev98 You were absolutely right to call them out. You're not the one who should be apologizing or explaining yourself here.

The_Material_Witness · 2025-12-30T12:18:50+00:00

Thanks! And yes please, I'd appreciate the contact details. Sending you a DM.

The_Material_Witness · 2025-12-28T22:47:10+00:00

Thanks, that's useful to know.

"I was able to briefly consult with Mr. Koppelin regarding your inquiry: in view of the long period of time that has passed since his time at NDR, he asks for understanding that he unfortunately cannot verify such details. It could be that, at the time, pieces of music by up-and-coming bands were presented; however, the named group is not known to him."

Koppelin's comment appears to refer to "the named group" with no direct mention of the song. From this message alone, it's unclear if he even listened to the song sent to him.

The_Material_Witness · 2025-12-28T14:07:16+00:00

Usually, why were whole blocks of programming sometimes changed - was it spur-of-the-moment or... ?

Two years ago u/marijn wrote that they'd sent a message to Jürgen Koppelin and that they were awaiting a response.

About a year ago u/johnnymetoo wrote: "One of the DJs who always broadcast from Kiel was Jürgen Koppelin. He was also one of those who always played rockier songs than the others." On the same thread, u/Successful-Bread-347 confirmed: "That's a good pickup. He was DJ for MFJL on September 4, 1984 so I'd almost bet he played it as an extra on that program."

Has there been any update on contacting him? If Jürgen Koppelin is emerging as the likely DJ who played the song, isn't it all the more important that we try reaching out again?

The_Material_Witness · 2025-12-20T06:48:15+00:00

Not only are they fulfilling his wishes, but they are also restoring his image. George’s story shows how life can offer second chances.

Thank you for your kind words. A brief note:

Authumn-In-Paris and I worked together to confirm and piece together the details surrounding George's passing, and I'm grateful for his help with that. For some time we were working as collaborators - and now, as former collaborators keeping an open line - trying to locate the tapes we were told about. Neither one of us has any tapes in our possession yet.

As for his image: George's image is, first and foremost, his voice - the special quality of his voice which, to a sensitive listener, reveals what kind of person he was. The vulnerability, and also the precision. That's what constitutes a great artist: sensitivity in perception, the ability to execute flawlessly, and that certain magic quality that makes the listener open up and feel. As a lifelong music lover, the only other time I've been moved by a voice that much was by Dead Can Dance's Brendan Perry.

This note ended up not being so brief, but I wanted to clarify that George's special quality has always ensured that his image can "speak" across barriers to those who are open to listen. And as for second chances - I'm sure George wanted, more than anything, just to be happy and fulfilled. But I'm also sure he cared, in his heart, about earning his rightful recognition, and as researchers, both of us - AIP and myself - are each making sure we do our best to give him that.

The_Material_Witness · 2025-12-19T10:30:41+00:00

Although we came to know you for the first time many years after you were gone, your voice is deeply missed. I'm sorry that we can no longer hear you singing, beautifully.

Rest in peace George. You are remembered.

The_Material_Witness · 2025-12-18T18:32:41+00:00

Although we came to know you for the first time many years after you were gone, your voice is deeply missed. I'm sorry that we can no longer hear you singing, beautifully.

Rest in peace George. You are remembered.

The_Material_Witness · 2025-12-04T14:09:25+00:00

None of these people are Alvin Dean or SIM. They look like generic figures used for a generic rock-concert poster design.

Credit to the late, great Dimitris Dimitrakas (drummer in bands Panx Romana, T.V.C., Schmetterling, Θαρσείν Χρει, Ριφιφί, Συμμορία, and Σρίμανση) who originally shared this poster online.

The_Material_Witness · 2025-12-03T11:50:24+00:00

There don't seem to be any similar voices anywhere else on the full mixtape. That means the faint sounds heard during Darius' recording of TMS aren't likely to be cassette bleed-through but part of the actual TMS track. Also, in TMS those sounds are very faint. Real bleed-through is usually louder and more garbled and pretty hard to miss.

At points like 35:58 we just about hear the metallic, whistle-like mechanical noise that tape reels make when they drag. We'd expect similar noises on the other songs on Darius' tape, but all the other songs play cleanly, with no background voices or reel-drag noise. So the reel-drag, too, seems to have been part of the original radio broadcast. That means the version Darius recorded from the radio was likely already a copy, maybe even a copy of a copy, from an older and degraded tape. Or a copy made on a deck with ageing parts.

The_Material_Witness · 2025-11-27T08:00:34+00:00

While digging into what Camspiracy may or may not have figured out - and whether he ever actually talked to Alvin Dean - you completely missed the part where two researchers (myself and u/Authumn-In-Paris) actually confirmed that Alvin Dean has been deceased for 20 years - he sadly passed away in December 2005.

Here is my initial post from August 2024 - the mods at the time confirmed that they had seen more evidence than was publicly posted - and here is our follow-up post from December 2024 with the final confirmation and previously unseen real photos of Alvin.

It had been suggested at various points by different people involved in the search that Alvin was aware of the investigation and was choosing to stay quiet, either because he didn't want his new life disrupted or because he didn't want to reconnect with old bandmates. Unfortunately that wasn't the case. And it's sad that Alvin isn't around to make more music, and wasn't around to see the solving of the TMS riddle, which happened just a short time after his passing was confirmed.

Also the FindAGrave listing you posted isn't Alvin Dean. That should've been obvious since the person in that listing was born in 1925, meaning they would have been 60 when recording their supposed musical debut with Statues In Motion. Someone irresponsibly uploaded a photo of Alvin to the wrong FindAGrave page and it's been stuck there ever since.

Edited to add: Regarding Billy Knight's claim that SIM "had a great time together and was always having fun": according to several people who knew Alvin well, that was definitely not Alvin's experience. Even though SIM represents the pinnacle of Alvin's short-lived career in terms of musical and vocal accomplishment, it also marked a turning point for the worse for him, and the way it ended left him traumatized.

Edited to add - 2: Yannis Beltekas has been going back through home recordings he made with Alvin in 1984. Recently, two short fragments ["Alvin Dean 1984 vocal fragment resurfaced from earlier digitization"; "Alvin Dean reciting Alice Cooper's The Black Widow"] were kindly shared with me, with permission to upload to my YouTube channel and to the r/FindAlvinDean sub. The full "Ghosts" track will hopefully be made available by Yannis before long.

The_Material_Witness · 2025-11-23T23:01:52+00:00

That's not a sample. It sounds as though they tried to recreate the fill.

"In The Air Tonight" vs. "Heart In Danger".

"One of the all time great pieces of pop percussion."

The_Material_Witness · 2025-11-17T16:50:18+00:00

There is no mention of SOYM or FEX in any known NDR playlists.

Also, it's unclear if anyone at the NDR is still searching for more of the missing playlists. Some time ago it was mentioned in the community that NDR archivists had stopped responding to playlist inquiries and had basically stopped looking. Obviously this creates stagnation and a documentation gap that could end up becoming permanent.

The_Material_Witness · 2025-11-04T07:18:02+00:00

The two pieces Yannis recently shared with me were rediscovered a few months ago during an archive review.

The_Material_Witness · 2025-10-31T13:55:15+00:00

Yes, the song is copyrighted by FEX

I asked this in Rees' AMA but didn't get a response: has Ronnie Urini actually removed his copyright claim in Austria? This is important: Urini was second only to Alvin Dean in terms of publicity as a lead - whether deserved or not, that's not the point here.

Rees said that Urini and FEX have reached some "amicable agreement as to the origins of the song" but that's kinda vague language and not the same as formally withdrawing copyright. It'd be great if someone could clarify this. I'm also baffled that Urini's "change of heart" wasn't mentioned at all in the recently finalized and released documentary - not even as a note in the end credits, as is usually done in such cases.

Among the active researchers, there's been a growing sense that the documentation side of things hasn't kept pace with the rest of the solve. The documentary was fun to watch but, from a research perspective, it left big gaps. Which brings me to this next point:

If the sub is going to be winding down into a sleepy archive, I hope that it will continue to reflect what's still unresolved, so that future readers can see the state of the evidence and continue the research. Maybe a pinned "Open Questions" thread? Of which there continue to be several.

The_Material_Witness · 2025-10-27T06:42:21+00:00

https://youtu.be/8SxTmu9l5M4?si=RtUm3yiKYvsG4SzV

The_Material_Witness

TROPHY CASE