Pyrolator‘sInland(originally released in 1979) provides musical commentary on the late ’70s in West Germany, with its undercurrent of paranoia and violence.Inlandis one of the most radical, modern and unconciliatory albums of its, or any other, time. The cover forInlandillustrates this atmosphere: tones of grey and brown instead of ’70s bliss. The political situation in West Germany is at its most volatile. The war between the Rote Armee Fraktion (RAF) and the State escalated two years before. The spirit of departure which characterized the early years of government byWilly Brandtand the socialist-liberal coalition, dissolved in the so-called “years of lead.” Taking part in a demonstration against occupational bans could lead to the very same, and the chances of falling into a terrorist manhunt or staring a gun in the face were not so slim, particularly for young people. Pyrolator’s aim was to make a protest album, one detached from all convention. A total absence of common musical structure and an unfiltered rush of sound recordings create a nightmarish, claustrophobic atmosphere. Pyrolator used a Korg MS20, SQ10 sequencer, B20R home organ, a Davolisint synthesizer, a Logan string orchestra and a dual-channel tape machine.Inlandis both a rejection of the new form of protest song, the throaty, despairing scream of punk rock, and a rejection of the traditional form of protest song as nurtured far into the 1980s by the bards of the green, alternative milieu. Furthermore, there is another side toInland: a desire for something new, a passion for experimentation, seeking to extend one’s own horizon and that of others. This desire runs through all of Pyrolator’s work, from hisInlanddebut to his 2011 releaseNeuland(BB 084CD). ThusInlandremains, in spite of its protests and rejections, a positive album. For inherent in every “no” is a “yes” to something else. Maybe something better. This reissue contains six bonus tracks, mastered from the original tapes.

– Bureau B reissues the 1979 protest album byKurt DahlkeakaPyrolator.
– Dahlke is co-founder of the legendary German label and publisher Ata Tak. He was also a member of various seminal post-punk bands such asD.A.F.andDer Plan, and has also released solo albums under his artist name from 1979 onwards.
– The music: cold, urbane, disconcerting synthesizer sounds and aural collages, imbued with the post-punk/industrial zeitgeist as the ’70s segued into the ’80s.
– Reissue contains six bonus tracks, mastered from the original tapes.
– “Overall,Inlanddisplays the kind of emotional range one sees in aFassbinderfilm from the same era: a paranoid reverie with escapist diversions from the terror of everyday life.” –Meshes Of The Afternoon