Pink Turns Blue - If Two Worlds Kiss

Founded in Cologne, Germany in 1985, Pink Turns Blue’s blend of atmospheric dark pop informed by European post-punk contemporaries and buzzing punk dissonance of Hüsker Dü (the band is named after the Zen Arcade song) immediately tapped into a new canon of sound that was foundational to the emergence of darkwave. Tom Elbern (vocals, guitars)formerly of Seltsame Zustände and Mic Jogwer (vocals, bass) were joined by Marcus Giltjes (drums), and Ruebi Walter (keyboards) and caught on through diligently pounding the club circuit and circulating their early, self-financed recordings. Despite the commitment to their craft and initial grassroots success, securing label support proved difficult as they refused to sing in German and their sober tone lacked the shimmer of pop and optimism that executives felt formulaic to success. Still, the band persisted with the duo of Elbern and Jogwer sharing vocal duties and song credits, each informing the other’s compositions until Elbern halved the song production and left the band in 1987. Continuing to perform and record as a three piece, the band eventually found roots with FunFactory!, an independent label based in Münster whose manager, Axel Seitz, shared the band’s appreciation of the Velvet Underground and Andy Warhol’s Factory vision, urging them to forego releasing singles and focus on a full-length. Released in 1987 If Two Worlds Kiss is a seminal offering to the canon of dark wave’s DNA - a fluid lesson in melody, mood, and pacing - each track continuously adding to the journey like a unique push-pin on a map of melancholy. Defined by their dynamic song-writing, their debut added a new urgency and depth to guitar-driven gothic rock by allowing fast songs such as the lead single “Walking on Both Sides” to possess the same sullen punch and melancholy as slower anthems like “When the Hammer Comes Down”, which derives its power on the downbeat. More rhythmic variety is added through beat-driven dancefloor tracks with triumphant singalong choruses like “That Was You”, showing they could swing hard - as well as swirl.

Pink Turns Blue - Meta

Recorded on the heels of their debut album, If Two World Kiss and informed by the band’s oscillating live synergy and bolstered by a boon of new equipment and texture, Pink Turns Blue’s sophomore 1988 album Meta was a conceptual leap predicated by the study of sound and exploration of its edges. With the same fervour that Joy Division mined deeper, darker, and less linear on Closer, Meta is a cohesive meditation on atmosphere and how every note and passage can traverse space individually, as part of a larger narrative. Singles “Touch the Sky” and “Your Master Is Calling” are the albums cornerstones; airy, steady, and driving tracks with a depth of melody and orchestration that sparked a shimmering new example of dark pop. The instrumental balance throughout the album creates a strobe light journey later echoed throughout gothic compatriots exploring minor keys and nocturnal themes. Recorded by Jané Krizaj known for producing most of Laibach’s material, the Meta sessions took place in a basement studio located below a stadium. Then a part of Yugoslavia, the studio was located in now Slovenia and was affordable, but lacked many modern recording amenities, forcing the band to smuggle valuable equipment in exchange for recording time. Riding the excitement, cultural experience, and friendship of Laibach, born on the road and further fostered throughout the vibrant Ljubljana music scene and Croatian coast, Meta’s feel is a musical manifestation of beautiful confusion of exploring the new and unfamiliar.