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Baker's Dozen

13 (Acts Of Love): Mick Harvey's Favourite Albums
Julian Marszalek , April 1st, 2014 04:16

Fresh off the back of his Ministry Of Wolves work and with Serge Gainsbourg albums and live shows on the way, the former Bad Seed and prolific singer-songwriter gives Julian Marszalek the rundown of his top 13 records

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Einstürzende Neubauten – Kollaps
I probably haven't listened to Kollaps in a long time but I love Neubauten and I love their 80a recordings and that was the first one I heard. It was their first album and it used to get played a lot when I lived with Jim Thirlwell in London. I didn't really know who they were – I hadn't met them at the time – but they really are the best live band around. The sound they make and the tonality of what they do is just completely amazing and unique and I really wanted to put an album of theirs in as a favourite album because they've been a really important group for me for the last 30 years or so. This has a sort of sentimental attachment for me.

It's really edgy and a real punk album, actually, in German minimalist – I won't say 'industrial' because I've never thought of them as being an industrial band – raw and nerve-jangling way. Sure, they're probably a little embarrassed by it now because it's their first album and we are all a little that way about our early forays and it probably doesn't sound to them like it could have but it still carries some real potency.