Rien

From 1971 to 1975, Germany's Faust carved a megalithic reputation as the greatest avant-garde group of the era. Formed in the spirit of the May '68 uprisings, they inspired the term "Krautrock," influenced generations of subsequent bands, and to this day define an entire genre. In 1994, Table of the Elements brought the reclusive Faust to America for the first time, taking them on tour and orchestrating their return to the studio. The result is "Rien," the first studio recordings from Faust in over 20 years. With major contributions from producer and performer Jim O'Rourke (Sonic Youth), as well as guest members Keiji Haino (Fushitsusha), Steven Wray Lobdell (Redford-David Triad) and Michael Morley (The Dead C), Faust have managed to create a record as unflinchingly audacious and uncompromising as their earliest work. An aggressive collection of electronic pastiche, musique concret, power tools, and group improvisation results in an extraordinary return by one of the seminal experimental ensembles of all time. Out-of-print since 1995, this is the first and finest of the records by the '90s-era Faust, notoriously packaged entirely in silver, with spoken credits hidden on the CD.