The Trial (band)

The Trial are an experimental German-Turkish-Swiss alternative-band, playing music somewhere in between rock, pop, new wave, industrial and several other styles. They are one of the groups that attracted attention as being "different" to what was and is usually known as Turkish popular music in Germany (arabesk, Turkish hip hop, ...). Their exposing attribute is, that they act as a unique in Germany's underground music culture.[1]

The Trial
Also known asNew Trial
OriginBerlin, Germany and Istanbul, Turkey
GenresNew wave, experimental rock, post-punk
Years active1985-present
LabelsZodiakom
Websitewww.thetrial.de
Membersαlabay, Pfeuti and Lady Ophreusis
Past membersM. Strenge, T. Liebscher, T. Warlo, B. Möhrle, A. Schwab, K. Jehle, A. Thoma, S. Kerzenmacher, T. Seiter, M. Vassallo and Mik@

Bandhistory

The group was founded 1985 in Berlin by M. Strenge and αlabay, both dealing basically with sociocritical issues those times. The musical background was in the beginning noise and experimental sound collages, contributed by αlabay. 1987 both split up and αlabay started creating structured music. Back then, there was no intention to belong to a specific music genre but the influences of The Cure, Joy Division and The Sisters of Mercy gave obviously distinction. 1988 αlabay left Berlin and moved to Southwest-Germany. Between 1989 and 1995 an active phase with concerts followed.

From 1998 on the band started to create several albums via internet and telephone but only two concerts were given since then. Between 2001 and 2005 a concept album was recorded (Statements & Unanswered Questions). This was a reinterpretation of an unrealized album from 1986 and done together with the co-founder M. Strenge. He had a nearly fatal accident 1996, thus this reinterpretation of sociocritical points of view was written from a completely new perspective.[2]

2006 the group decided to act more as a band in the future. That year should also become a turning point, as a completely Turkish work had been recorded for the first time.[3] Before that only loose Turkish tracks were done. The decision came after a stay in Izmir and Istanbul in 2005. That sojourn revealed the full dimension of how the Turkish alternative-scene had altered. Groups like Replikas, Mor ve Ötesi or Duman had brought in new wave and alternative elements into the music; in the past, alternative basically meant crossover or metal-influenced.[4]

Background

The Trial was founded in the nineteen-eighties’ West-Berlin, in a period formed by cold war and social tensions. The accusing, sociocritical and pessimistic lyrics let bud the idea of being in trial with the society – the trial: namely the trial and process (hinting to Franz Kafka’s The Process/The Trial).[5] The ambiguity of the name accommodates the experimental aspect of the music. In the beginning, M. Strenge was the one who was more sociocritical, αlabay rather wrote emotional, partially even banal wave/pop lyrics. A special attribute was that the lyrics were not monolingual. Besides English, they were written also in German, French and Turkish. Turkish had an extra role due to this language obtained to be exotic in alternative music back then. 2005/2006 αlabay realized that several things one cannot think or feel in German or English were better expressible in Turkish. As merely anything is more or less translatable multiple languages are a tool kit to blast the constriction of a sole language and cultural way of thinking.

Instruments

The first recordings were made employing every instrument or device that was available, starting with an acoustic guitar and a small Yamaha PSS-401. From 1988 on possibilities occurred to use more exotic equipment: Appalachian dulcimer, psaltery, monochord or the like. As main instruments drums, piano and bass were added. The electric guitar had been played occasionally since 1987 but it got the typical leading part of rock music not until 1989. Years with "normal" rock instrumentation followed, sometimes supported with violin or saxophone. 2000 an important novelty was introduced: the saz (long-necked lute) became a leading instrument. Since then several alienated parts were recorded with it in a way never heard before in Turkish rock music.[6] Later on the group started to also use computers, bins, refrigerators and field recordings.[7]

Discography (Excerpts) [8]
  • Gift (1988; Trial Communications), MC
  • Lavenderblue Dream (1988; Trial Communications), MC
  • The Forgotten Clutch (1988; Waldeck Sound), MC
  • Temple Of The Bergamotte (1989; Waldeck Sound), MC
  • You'll Never Fail Until You Stop Trying (1990; Waldeck Sound), MC
  • Existence (1993; Trial Communications), MC
  • Public Domain (1996; Trial Communications), MC
  • Prænatal Postmodern (1998; Zodiakom), 2CDr
  • Nacht der Illusion (2001; Zodiakom), CDr
  • Dolunay (2002; Zodiakom), CDr [9]
  • The Geisterfahrer EP (2003; Zodiakom), CD [10][11]
  • Statements & Unanswered Questions (2006; Zodiakom), 2CDr
  • Lucifer Lux (2006; Zodiakom), 2CDr
  • Mimarlar (2007; Zodiakom), CDr
  • Feuerblume (2008; Zodiakom), CDr
  • Tuz Katedrali (2009; Zodiakom), CDr/MP3
  • Köln Oturumu (2011; Zodiakom), CDr/MP3
  • Hürriyet (2013; Zodiakom), CDr/MP3
  • Postmortem (2013; Zodiakom), MP3
  • Esaret (2013; Zodiakom/con-area), MP3
  • unlustig (2015; Zodiakom), CDr/MP3

Sampler Contributions [12]
  • Godfathers Of German Gothic III: Heaven (Asylum 4) (1997; Subterranean/Euro Media), CD [13]
  • dssg Sampler: 1668 (2001; dssg), CD [14][15]
  • dssg Sampler 2: Tinsmith & Crossbow (2003; dssg), CD [16][17]
  • freiburgtapesvolume 4: Üç küp (2008; jazzhaus records), CD [18]

Linkages
  • The Trial was renamed to New Trial between 1993 and 2003 – this had two reasons: 1993 had to clean the slate and the group wanted to contrast from the nearly homonymous electro-band Trial. 2003 the old name was readopted, since 2005 the old and new names are protected.[19][20][21][22]
  • αlabay is also a member of unlustig!, a new wave group.
  • Pfeuti has released two albums with the hardcore-formation Radical Development. He is also member of the band Tumorchester.
  • mik@ erstwhile played with the industrial-acts Sheba Wore No Nylons and DL, amongst others. Later on he worked solo in the Industrial sector as The M.M.V.P.[23][24]
  • M. Vassallo who had collaborated between 1996 and 2003, is the founder of the dark ambient-project Arbre Noir.
  • There were and are cooperations and collaborations with different musicians and artists.[25][26][27][28][29][30]
gollark: Navi seems to be pretty good at perf/transistor.
gollark: So, their equally performing cards are... worse than Nvidia ones? I guess they do tend to use more power.
gollark: What?
gollark: The "AMD equivalents" by [ARBITRARY METRIC] or actual pricing?
gollark: Those are bad.

References
  1. Interview with the German BLACK Magazine, 2003
  2. Info-page about Statements and Unanswered Questions
  3. Info-page about Tuz Katedrali
  4. Paragraph about the Turkish rock music development in the Turkish Wikipedia
  5. Time line of The Trial's history
  6. Dark Entries mentioning The Trial as first known band combining Turkish and new wave
  7. Interview with the online fudder magazine, Freiburg, 2008 Archived 2011-07-27 at the Wayback Machine
  8. List of releases
  9. Dolunay review in the BLACK magazine, 2002
  10. Geisterfahrer at Discogs
  11. Antimatter Playlists 2009 (No. 70)
  12. List of contributions
  13. From the blog Fritz die Spinne
  14. dssg-page Archived 2011-07-18 at the Wayback Machine
  15. The Trial as New Trial at Discogs
  16. dssg-page Archived 2011-07-18 at the Wayback Machine
  17. The Trial as New Trial at Discogs
  18. Advertisement of the Freiburg Tapes Vol. 4 sampler at fudder, Freiburg Archived 2009-10-01 at the Wayback Machine
  19. Archive notes concerning the renaming
  20. Page of the homonymous band Trial
  21. The Trial at Discogs
  22. MUSIKER Magazin 03/2005, 04/2005 (DRMV)
  23. Discogs Dachau Lustknaben
  24. Info-page of Contaminated Area
  25. Homepage of The Trial
  26. Homepage of Spherical Disrupted Archived 2010-07-15 at the Wayback Machine
  27. Homepage of P·A·L (Ant Zen Records)
  28. Homepage of Plasma Expander
  29. Phil Münch interviewed by Korg Archived 2010-05-30 at the Wayback Machine
  30. Former members of Herbstmanøver Archived 2011-07-18 at the Wayback Machine
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