Noise du Jour: “Sabrina” by Einstürzende Neubauten

From hip-hop meets lo-fi we swing over to minimalist German industrial via Einstürzende Neubauten and their video for “Sabrina” off of 2000’s Silence Is Sexy. I actually saw them when they came to New York on the tour for this album and they put on one of the most amazing shows I’ve ever seen, starting off with “Silence Is Sexy” and ending with a twenty minute version of “Head Cleaner” that included the percussionist taking a metal saw to a giant sheet of aluminum positioned above his drum kit and the bassist playing his bass with a vibrator. Instruments used during the set include large, plastic containers, an air compressor, chains, and various other common objects.

Einstürzende Neubauten’s videos usually are for their more low-key and rhythmic offerings and “Sabrina”, a slow, dirge like chant, is no exception. The video itself is, like most of them, a study in minimalism. What we have here is a filthy, public restroom in which a minotaur primps and preens in front of mirror. The only hint of the band is when front-man Blixa Bargeld enters to relieve himself at a urinal. Take from that what you will.

Einstürzende Neubauten-Sabrina [YouTube]