Funker Vogt () is a German
electronic-industrial music project with an aggressive style, formed by vocalist Jens Kästel and programmer Gerrit Thomas in 1995. Other members of the band are keyboardist/manager Björn Böttcher, live guitarist Frank Schweigert and lyricist Kai Schmidt. The name of the band translates from German to English as "
Radio Operator
A radio operator (also, formerly, wireless operator in British and Commonwealth English) is a person who is responsible for the operations of a radio system. The profession of radio operator has become largely obsolete with the automation of ra ...
Vogt", this being the surname of a friend of the band who was a military radio operator.
[John Bush, '' Funker Vogt biography', ]AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
. Retrieved 2 January 2010 The military concept of a radio operator provides a contrast with the musical roles of a DJ or a vocalist using a
microphone
A microphone, colloquially called a mic or mike (), is a transducer that converts sound into an electrical signal. Microphones are used in many applications such as telephones, hearing aids, public address systems for concert halls and public ...
.
The band ended its existence definitively in the summer of 2021 due to the termination of cooperation with Chris
https://www.facebook.com/officialfunkervogt/posts/331553865092373]
History
The group appeared on several German compilations and, in 1996, released their debut album ''Thanks for Nothing''. Following the release of two limited edition EPs (''Words of Power'' and ''Take Care''), Funker Vogt signed with the American record label
Metropolis Records
Metropolis Records is a record label founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1993 by the late Dave Heckman. The label's all-electronic format closely tracked with European contemporaries, such as Off Beat, and, since 1995, has been instrumenta ...
. Metropolis re-released ''Thanks for Nothing'', followed by the ''We Came to Kill'' in late 1997.
[ Kästel and Thomas have participated, as remixers, on ]Leæther Strip
Leæther Strip is a Danish musical project founded on 13 January 1988 by Claus Larsen. Its influence has been most felt in the electronic body music and electro-industrial genres. Leæther Strip was one of the earliest and most prominent acts ...
album ''Yes, I'm Limited, Vol. 2''. In 2000, Funker Vogt released ''Maschine Zeit'', followed by the remix EP ''T'' in early 2001.[ Additionally to the core members of the band, concert members also include Björn Böttcher (keyboard) and Frank Schweigert (guitar, he replaced Thomas Kroll in 2004). Kai Schmidt writes most of the lyrics and manages the band through his own management company. They all hail from the town of ]Hamelin
Hamelin ( ; german: Hameln ) is a town on the river Weser in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Hamelin-Pyrmont and has a population of roughly 57,000. Hamelin is best known for the tale of the Pied Piper of Hamelin.
H ...
in Germany. The majority of their lyrics
Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a "libretto" and their writer, a ...
revolve around the concepts of war.
A distinctive theme is present in the band's work and stage presence; both their musicianship and their costuming are strongly reminiscent of military music and dress. This military aesthetic is also popular with the band's fanbase. However, the political stance of Funker Vogt is decidedly anti-war; the band cites "war and social injustice
Social justice is justice in terms of the distribution of wealth, Equal opportunity, opportunities, and Social privilege, privileges within a society. In Western Civilization, Western and Culture of Asia, Asian cultures, the concept of social ...
" as their primary topics of discussion, noting that the goal of the album ''Execution Tracks'', along with the accompanying video, was to "present the grotesque cruelties and the tragedy of war."
According to the band's website, as of 2011 both Björn Böttcher and Kai Schmidt are no longer collaborating with the band. As a result, Funker Vogt will no longer be managed by REPOMANagement. In 2013, longtime frontman Jens Kästel left the band after his last show on 30 November in Berlin. Four years later in 2017 Funker Vogt reform with a new singer, Chris L. (Agonoize/The Sexorcist).
The Hero Trilogy
See the main article: The Hero Trilogy
With the release of Blutzoll, Funker Vogt have completed their 'Hero Trilogy'. It began with Tragic Hero on the album '' Execution Tracks'', continued with Fallen Hero from ''Navigator
A navigator is the person on board a ship or aircraft responsible for its navigation.Grierson, MikeAviation History—Demise of the Flight Navigator FrancoFlyers.org website, October 14, 2008. Retrieved August 31, 2014. The navigator's primar ...
'', and was concluded in 2010 with ''Arising Hero''. All three parts of the trilogy were released as promotional singles.
Members
*Gerrit Thomas – programming
*René Dornbusch – keyboards, drums
*Chris L. – vocals
Thomas is also in Ravenous, Fusspils 11
Fusspils 11 is the name of a German aggrotech, industrial, and EBM musical project collaboration of Ravenous and Funker Vogt members Gerrit Thomas, Jens Kaestel, Björn Böttcher, Tim Fockenbrock, Kai Schmidt, and Peggy Johanson. Their two alb ...
and Fictional
Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places
Place may refer to:
Geography
* Place (United States Census Bureau), defined as any concentration of population
** Census-designated place, ...
, and was in 2006 project Gecko Sector.
Former members
* Jens Kästel – vocals
* Björn Böttcher – keyboards
* Frank Schweigert – guitars
* Kai Schmidt
* Thomas Kroll
* Sacha Korn
Discography
Studio albums
*''Funker Vogt'' (1995)
*''Thanks for Nothing'' (1996)
*''We Came to Kill'' (1997)
*''Killing Time Again'' (1998) (part new material, part remixes)
*''Execution Tracks'' (1998) – #160 CMJ
CMJ Holdings Corp. is a music events and online media company, originally founded in 1978, which ran a website, hosted an annual festival in New York City, and published two magazines, ''CMJ New Music Monthly'' and ''CMJ New Music Report''. Th ...
Radio Top 200; #8 CMJ RPM
*''T'' (2000) (contains 4 new tracks and 10 remixes) – #5 CMJ RPM
*''Maschine Zeit'' (2000) – #28 DAC 2000 Top 50 Albums chart; #9 CMJ RPM Charts
*''Survivor'' (2002)
*''Revivor'' (2003) (remix album)
*''Navigator'' (2005) – #6 DAC Albums
*''Aviator'' (2007)
*''Blutzoll'' (2010)
*''Companion in Crime'' (2013)
*''Code of Conduct'' (2017)
*''Wastelands'' (2018)
*''Element 115'' (2021)
Live albums
*''Warzone K17'' (2009) (22 hits from the past 12 years)
DVD
*''Warzone K17'' (2009)
*''Live Execution '99'' (2010) (also features the album ''T'' in DVD Audio)
Singles and EPs
*"Take Care" (1997)
*"Words of Power" (1997)
*"Killing Time Again"
*"Tragic Hero" (1998) – #22 DAC 1999 Top 50 Singles chart
*"Gunman" (2000) – #13 DAC 2000 Top 100 Singles chart
*"Subspace" (2001)
*"Date of Expiration" (2002)
*"Red Queen" (2003) – #6 DAC Singles chart
*"Fallen Hero" (2005) – #6 DAC Singles chart
*"Killing Ground (promo)" (2006)
*"Club-Pilot" (2007)
*"White Trash" (2008)
*"Arising Hero" (2010)
*"Hard Way" (2012)
*"Sick Man" (2014)
*"Der Letzte Tanz" (2017)
*"Feel the Pain" (2018)
*"Ikarus" (2018)
*"Conspiracy" (2020)
*"MC 5f146d107s27p3" (2021)
Maxi-singles
*"Velvet Acid Christ Vs Funker Vogt: The Remix Wars – Strike 4" (1999)
*"Code 7477" (2001)
Compilations
*''Always and Forever Volume 1'' (2005)
*''Always and Forever Volume 2'' (2006)
Music videos
*"Gunman"
*"Subspace"
*"Fallen Hero"
*"The Firm"
*"Hard Way"
*"Sick Man"
*"Ikarus"
*"Feel the Pain"
Remixes by Funker Vogt
*Leæther Strip
Leæther Strip is a Danish musical project founded on 13 January 1988 by Claus Larsen. Its influence has been most felt in the electronic body music and electro-industrial genres. Leæther Strip was one of the earliest and most prominent acts ...
– ''How Do I Know (Funker Vogt Remix)'' (1997)
*Front 242
Front 242 is a Belgian electronic music group that came into prominence during the 1980s. Pioneering the style they called electronic body music, they are a profound influence on the electronic and industrial music genres.
History Formation
Fr ...
– ''Headhunter 2000 (Funker Vogt Mix)'' (1998)
*Leæther Strip
Leæther Strip is a Danish musical project founded on 13 January 1988 by Claus Larsen. Its influence has been most felt in the electronic body music and electro-industrial genres. Leæther Strip was one of the earliest and most prominent acts ...
– ''Hate Me! (Funker Vogt Remix)'' (1998)
*Assemblage 23
Assemblage 23 is an electronic act from the United States, currently based in Woonsocket, Rhode Island. It was founded in 1988 by Tom Shear who writes the music and lyrics and does the recording himself. Live performances are supported by Paul ...
– ''Disappoint (Funker Vogt RMX)'' (2001)
*Cruciform Injection – ''Lacrimal Involucre (Funker Vogt Remix)'' (2002)
*Beborn Beton
Beborn Beton is a German synthpop band founded in 1989, with their first album release in 1993. Their debut named ''Tybalt'' is a compilation of the best tracks written in the first three years of their band history and was very well received in ...
– ''Dr. Channard (Funker Vogt Remix)'' (2004)
*Icon of Coil
Icon of Coil is a Norwegian electronic music band. The band was established as a solo project in 1997 by Andy LaPlegua who was joined by former Sector 9 (now Moonitor and Zombie Girl) bandmate Sebastian Komor to perform live. With the release ...
– ''Simulated (Funker Vogt Remix)'' (2004)
*Informatik
Informatik formerly known as Informätik is an electro-industrial/futurepop duo from Boston that was formed in 1993 and is represented by Metropolis Records in the US and Dependent Records in Europe. The band were repeat contributors to the "Mind/ ...
– ''Flesh Menagerie (Funker Vogt Rmx)'' (2004)
*Dope Stars Inc.
Dope Stars Inc. is an Italian alternative and industrial rock band from Rome, formed in 2003. The band was founded by Victor Love, Darin Yevonde, Grace Khold and Brian Wolfram. They have five albums and three EPs released, with the latest being re ...
– ''10.000 Watts (Funker Vogt Remix)'' (2005)
*Mindless Self Indulgence
Mindless Self Indulgence (often referred to as MSI) is an American electropunk band formed in New York City in 1997. Their music has a mixed style which includes punk rock, alternative rock, electronica, techno, industrial, hip hop, and breakb ...
– ''Straight To Video (Funker Vogt Mix)'' (2006)
*Vigilante (band)
Vigilantism () is the act of preventing, investigating and punishing perceived offenses and crimes without legal authority.
A vigilante (from Spanish, Italian and Portuguese “vigilante”, which means "sentinel" or "watcher") is a person who ...
– ''The Other Side (Funker Vogt Remix)'' (2006)
*Theatre of Tragedy
Theatre of Tragedy was a Norwegian band from Stavanger, active between 1993 and 2010. They are best known for their earlier albums, which influenced the gothic metal genre.
History Formation (1993)
Theatre of Tragedy was founded on 2 October 19 ...
– ''Motion (Funker Vogt Remix)'' (2009)
*Suicide Commando
Suicide Commando is a Belgian electro-industrial music act formed by Johan Van Roy in 1986. For live shows, it consists of Van Roy himself on vocals, Torben Schmidt on keyboards, and Mario Vaerewijck on drums.
History
Van Roy began experime ...
– ''Attention Whore (Posing Overdose Remix By Funker Vogt)'' (2012)
*Bruderschaft
Bruderschaft is an electronic music collective led by New York City-based DJ Rexx Arkana. Conceived as a charity project focused on cancer research and treatment in the wake of Arkana's father's death from the disease, Bruderschaft brought toge ...
– ''Return (Funker Vogt Remix)'' (2013)
References
External links
Official English site
Official German site
Funker Vogt dot com (English Fansite)
Funker Vogt – "We love provocation !" – Interview
{{Authority control
Electro-industrial music groups
German electronic musicians
German industrial music groups
Metropolis Records artists
Zoth Ommog Records artists