Propaganda were one of the most important acts of the 1980s. Signed to Trevor Horn’s ZTT label, they fused industrial and alternative sensibilities with the sleekest of aesthetics. Under the cover of elegant pop, they smuggled in the sounds of metal, the rhythms of the underground dancefloor, and scenes lifted from expressionist cinema.
At the time, many West Germans could be found listening to the Scorpions in stonewashed denim, with bandanas tied around their legs and squirrel tails hanging from their belts. Nostalgia shows selectively neglect to point out the contrast between the travesty of mass fashion and the haute couture of Propaganda’s sound.
The tools they recorded with cost the same as a house, at the time, but Propaganda was not elitist. They embodied a Teutonic coolness that seemed accessible to the kids on the alternative dancefloor. The icy vocals of Claudia Brücken could lean towards Brechtian cabaret, but there was warmth and power in the instrumentation. Their debut album, A Secret Wish, went top 20 in the UK.
After that initial rush, things got complicated. Legal troubles surfaced, Brücken went solo, and the other members of the band were subject to an injunction by ZTT. Another album was made with a different lead singer, but the original quartet were unhappy with a subsequent attempt to reunite.
The core songwriting team of Michael Mertens and Ralf Dörper has combined again as Propaganda for a new album. Propaganda is a double LP/CD with thirteen tracks or a standard LP with eight. On the evidence of the first single to be released from the album, “Purveyor of Pleasure,” the sound has been updated for the new millennium in a darker vein. The touches of the epic and the melodic are still present, but the shine of the 80s has been replaced by a grittier intensity and new textures. Our own secret wish comes true on 11 October 2024 through Bureau B. In the meantime, the second single is out now with vocals by Thunder Bae:
Tracklisting
A1) They Call Me Nocebo
A2) Purveyor Of Pleasure
A3) Vicious Circle
A4) Tipping Point
B1) Distant
B2) Love:Craft
B3) Dystopian Waltz
B4) Wenn ich mir was wünschen dürfte ltd
2-LP/2-CD Edition
C1) Not Good For You
C2) Solace In Sin
C3) World Out Of Joint
D1) I Feel Mysterious
D2) The Calling
(Photos: Thomas Stelzmann)