Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft (German pronunciation: [ˈdɔʏtʃ ameʁiˈkaːnɪʃə ˈfʁɔʏntʃaft]) or D.A.F. is an influential German electropunk/Neue Deutsche Welle band from Düsseldorf, formed in 1978 featuring Gabriel "Gabi" Delgado-López (vocals), Robert Görl (drums, percussion, electronic instruments), Kurt "Pyrolator" Dahlke (electronic instruments), Michael Kemner (bass-guitar) and Wolfgang Spelmans (guitar). Kurt Dahlke was replaced by Chrislo Haas (electronic instruments, bass guitar, saxophone) in 1979. Since 1981, the band has consisted of Delgado-López and Görl.
In interviews they claimed to not target anything or anyone specific while creating lyrics to be taken as a parody of words and phrases floating around in the public media. "Sato-Sato" and "Der Mussolini" are both examples of songs written around Delgado-López's fascination with the sound of a particular word. A few months before the 2003 invasion of Iraq D.A.F. released "The Sheriff (An Anti-American Song)".
The album Alles ist gut (Everything is fine) received the German "Schallplattenpreis" award by the "Deutsche Phono-Akademie", an association of the German recording industry.
Görl described their sound on Alles is gut in Melody Maker in 1981:
Most bands get a synthesizer and their first idea is to tune it! They want a clean normal sound. They don’t work with the power you get from a synthesizer ... We want to bring together this high technique with body power so you have the past time mixed with the future.
Delgado described his new vocal style in the same interview:
The singing isn’t like rock ’n’ roll or pop singing. It’s sometimes like in a Hitler speech, not a Nazi thing, but it’s in the German character, that crack! crack! crack! way of speaking.
The band determined early on that they would not sing in English. As Delgado later said:
It’s not only a part of image. It’s a serious matter because DAF from the very first beginning didn’t want to imitate any American pop, rock or whatever. In fact we think there is a very strong American influence in culture, television, music, everywhere. So in the very first beginning one of our main content was to refuse to imitate rock ‘n’ roll, to refuse to sing in English. We don’t do that. We have our own identity. Our identity is not American identity.
As a lyricist, Delgado's concerns throughout D.A.F.'s recording career have ranged from sardonic reflections on ideology and political violence, to journeys into a very physical, even brutal, sexuality, sometimes related from a child's point of view. Having grown up as the child of working class Spanish immigrants in Wuppertal, and coming of age in the politically polarized era of the German Autumn (his response the left wing extremism of that time being thematized in the 2003 song "Kinderzimmer (Heldenlied)" ["Childhood Bedroom (Hero Song)"], he was blunt and unromantically detached about social reality in West Germany, and unapologetic about the provocative potential of his songs.
As performers and media personalities D.A.F. were, much like New York's Suicide, forerunners of later 1980s synthpop duos, such as the Pet Shop Boys and Soft Cell, in that the singer (in this case Delgado) appears relatively extroverted while the one who plays with the electronics (Görl) appears quiet and reserved. Visually, at least from Alles ist gut until 1st Step to Heaven, they cultivated a homoerotic image of black leather, muscles, hairy chests, and sweat. Gabi's hairy chest made a comeback appearance in the 2003 promotional video for "Der Sheriff", a song about the George W. Bush administration.
Como si fuera la última vez (Als wärs das letzte Mal)
La noche es joven y somos libres Por lo tanto libres de decidir Estás tan fría, y te abrazo firme No te dejaré enfriar nunca más
Cuando las sombras caen suavemente del cielo Que nos arropa en negro Vas a palidecer tanto en mis brazos Pronto voy a perderte
Bésame, como si fuera la última vez | Como si fuera para siempre Bésame, como si fuera la última vez | Como si fuera para siempre
La luna se eleva, estoy listo Preparado para divorciarme de ti Se extiende entre nosotros una banda Debemos cortarlo
En tu proximidad estoy solitario Porque eres hermosa a morir En el amor nos dejamos caer Contigo hoy quiero pasar la noche Bésame, como si fuera la última vez
Si te vas ahora Así como si se tratara del último adiós Bésame, como si fuera la última vez
Bésame, como si fuera la última vez Bésame, como si fuera la última vez Como si fuera para siempre
Bésame, como si fuera la última vez | Como si fuera para siempre Bésame, como si fuera la última vez | Como si fuera para siempre
Bésame | Como si fuera para siempre Bésame | Como si fuera para siempre
Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft (German pronunciation: [ˈdɔʏtʃ ameʁiˈkaːnɪʃə ˈfʁɔʏntʃaft]) or D.A.F. is an influential German electropunk/Neue Deutsche Welle band from Düsseldorf, formed in 1978 featuring Gabriel "Gabi" Delgado-López (vocals), Robert Görl (drums, percussion, electronic instruments), Kurt "Pyrolator" Dahlke (electronic instruments), Michael Kemner (bass-guitar) and Wolfgang Spelmans (guitar). Kurt Dahlke was replaced by Chrislo Haas (electronic instruments, bass guitar, saxophone) in 1979. Since 1981, the band has consisted of Delgado-López and Görl.
ResponderEliminarIn interviews they claimed to not target anything or anyone specific while creating lyrics to be taken as a parody of words and phrases floating around in the public media. "Sato-Sato" and "Der Mussolini" are both examples of songs written around Delgado-López's fascination with the sound of a particular word. A few months before the 2003 invasion of Iraq D.A.F. released "The Sheriff (An Anti-American Song)".
The album Alles ist gut (Everything is fine) received the German "Schallplattenpreis" award by the "Deutsche Phono-Akademie", an association of the German recording industry.
Style
ResponderEliminarGörl described their sound on Alles is gut in Melody Maker in 1981:
Most bands get a synthesizer and their first idea is to tune it! They want a clean normal sound. They don’t work with the power you get from a synthesizer ... We want to bring together this high technique with body power so you have the past time mixed with the future.
Delgado described his new vocal style in the same interview:
The singing isn’t like rock ’n’ roll or pop singing. It’s sometimes like in a Hitler speech, not a Nazi thing, but it’s in the German character, that crack! crack! crack! way of speaking.
The band determined early on that they would not sing in English. As Delgado later said:
It’s not only a part of image. It’s a serious matter because DAF from the very first beginning didn’t want to imitate any American pop, rock or whatever. In fact we think there is a very strong American influence in culture, television, music, everywhere. So in the very first beginning one of our main content was to refuse to imitate rock ‘n’ roll, to refuse to sing in English. We don’t do that. We have our own identity. Our identity is not American identity.
As a lyricist, Delgado's concerns throughout D.A.F.'s recording career have ranged from sardonic reflections on ideology and political violence, to journeys into a very physical, even brutal, sexuality, sometimes related from a child's point of view. Having grown up as the child of working class Spanish immigrants in Wuppertal, and coming of age in the politically polarized era of the German Autumn (his response the left wing extremism of that time being thematized in the 2003 song "Kinderzimmer (Heldenlied)" ["Childhood Bedroom (Hero Song)"], he was blunt and unromantically detached about social reality in West Germany, and unapologetic about the provocative potential of his songs.
As performers and media personalities D.A.F. were, much like New York's Suicide, forerunners of later 1980s synthpop duos, such as the Pet Shop Boys and Soft Cell, in that the singer (in this case Delgado) appears relatively extroverted while the one who plays with the electronics (Görl) appears quiet and reserved. Visually, at least from Alles ist gut until 1st Step to Heaven, they cultivated a homoerotic image of black leather, muscles, hairy chests, and sweat. Gabi's hairy chest made a comeback appearance in the 2003 promotional video for "Der Sheriff", a song about the George W. Bush administration.
Como si fuera la última vez (Als wärs das letzte Mal)
ResponderEliminarLa noche es joven y somos libres
Por lo tanto libres de decidir
Estás tan fría, y te abrazo firme
No te dejaré enfriar nunca más
Cuando las sombras caen suavemente del cielo
Que nos arropa en negro
Vas a palidecer tanto en mis brazos
Pronto voy a perderte
Bésame, como si fuera la última vez | Como si fuera para siempre
Bésame, como si fuera la última vez | Como si fuera para siempre
La luna se eleva, estoy listo
Preparado para divorciarme de ti
Se extiende entre nosotros una banda
Debemos cortarlo
En tu proximidad estoy solitario
Porque eres hermosa a morir
En el amor nos dejamos caer
Contigo hoy quiero pasar la noche
Bésame, como si fuera la última vez
Si te vas ahora
Así como si se tratara del último adiós
Bésame, como si fuera la última vez
Bésame, como si fuera la última vez
Bésame, como si fuera la última vez
Como si fuera para siempre
Bésame, como si fuera la última vez | Como si fuera para siempre
Bésame, como si fuera la última vez | Como si fuera para siempre
Bésame | Como si fuera para siempre
Bésame | Como si fuera para siempre