Workshop is a
German pop band founded by
Kai Althoff and
Stefen Abry in
Cologne in the mid-'90s. They are now split between
Cologne and
Hamburg.
The band, apropos their nationality, is
Krautrock in the style of
Can,
Neu and
Amon Duul II, but with a more eclectic and global sensibility.
Cabaret and
folk mix easily with droning
electronica and abstract washes on some tracks, while others are pop tracks full of sunshine that wouldn't be out of place on a
Blumfeld or
Notwist album. Aside from their city of origin, they'd easily fit into the
Hamburg Schule ("The
Hamburg School").
Althoff is also a visual artist, known for "
childlike" works,
fairy-tale narratives and conceptual installations with either a very keen sense of satire directed at the art world, or incredible
pretentiousness. In
America he is much more well-known for his visual work, (in my opinion due to the American art world's propensity for being taken in by fancy theory without technique, and due to an insatiable gullibility with regard to
Continental artists) but his music is stronger and more interesting.
It also has the advantage, for non-native German speakers, of removing much of the onerous posing and wankery of his visual work by virtue of its incomprehensibility. He could be singing
laundry lists, but it sounds beautiful.
Albums include:
Es Liebt Dich Und Deine Körperlichkeit Ein Ausgeflippter ("
You and Your Physicalness is Loved by a Dropout")
Meiguiweisheng Xiang and
Yog Soroth.