Dissidenten
The group Dissidenten was originally conceived of by Friedemann Josch and Uve Mllrich (b. Baltic Islands) in 1980 after they broke from their previous multi-cultural Berlin, German art rock band, Embryo, who would continue without them. Josch and Mllrich travelled to India, where they had previously toured with Embryo and made field recordings between September 1978 and May 1979. Returning to the friends and acquaintances they had made there, Dissidenten would use India as an occasional base (alongside spells in Africa, Spain and Portugal). The core of the group was augmented in 1983 when Josch (woodwinds, keyboards, vocals) and Mllrich (guitar, bass, strings, keyboards, vocals) were joined by former Pili Pili percussionist Marlon Klein. This trio have been joined by several itinerant musicians as the moment and mode of music demanded. For example, their 1982 debut album, Germanistan, featured the Karnataka College Of Percussion from India. They moved to Tangier for Sahara Elektrik in 1984 (featuring Lem Chaheb, whose albums would later be produced by Klein). Taken from it, "Fata Morgana" sold over a million copies in Brazil as well as becoming an enormous hit in Spain (reaching number 1) and Canada. This was followed by Life At The Pyramids (1986), with a lyric/short story written by author Paul Bowles ("The Hyena") and Out Of This World (1989). These albums melded influences drawn from Arabic, Scandinavian and Celtic as well as Germanic traditions. Rather than write their own lyrics they would also use these sources, often heavily adopted, to provide the subject matter. On each occasion local musicians would be deployed to enhance the authenticity of the project, though these were rarely retained for live shows, leading to a distinct lack of quantifiable image for the group (they still refuse to have their photographs taken unless they are disguised by esoteric garb). For The Jungle Book they returned to India in 1992, employing "found sound" to emboss and supplement their own playing of truly multi-cultural songs, combining Northern European folk with the sounds of the natural and man-made environment of the subcontinent as well as contemporary dance themes. Once again it featured singer Ramamani and the Karnataka College of Percussion.

Listen to Dissidenten at Finetune.

Albums
Top Tracks
  • Telephone Arab (Shantelís Total Re-Call)
  • Instinctive Traveler
  • Shine On Me
  • The World Is Like a Mirror
  • Live and Experience
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