Beginnings in West Berlin (1980) In 1979, Thomas Voburka (born 1956 in
Vienna) founded the West Berlin-based electronic music label Exil-System which also released material of
P1/E, a band he played in together with
Alexander Hacke. In 1983, Voburka had a minor appearance in the movie
A Woman in Flames.
Fictional East German band biography According to Voburka, Weltklang was formed in the
East German town of
Schwerin in 1980, when Voburka released the
Minimal wave track
VEB Heimat on his label Exil-System
. Weltklang was an East German musical instrument brand manufactured in
Markneukirchen. The first half of the song title
VEB Heimat refers to
Volkseigener Betrieb, a state owned workplace or establishment in the
German Democratic Republic, the second word
Heimat is part of the repetitive vocal line "Heimat bist du großer Söhne" ("Thou art home to great sons"), a quote from the
National anthem of Austria. Voburka wrote a letter to West German music magazine
Sounds pretending that his label had recorded two technology students from Schwerin, which the magazine did not fact check. A positive review in
Spex magazine was written by a critic who knew that the story was fabricated. It said that the track recorded by
East German underground musicians had been smuggled from
East Berlin. According to Voburka, the idea of a fictional
East-German punk band was born after a day trip to East Berlin. In 2018 "VEB Heimat" was chosen by JD Twitch for his German
post-punk compilation "Kreaturen der Nacht" ("Creatures of the Night"), released on
Strut Records and distributed by
!K7 Music. In a
taz newspaper review, Weltklang were described as the only East German band ("einzige Ostband") represented on the compilation.
Duo (2004–present) On the occasion of Weltklang's 25th anniversary, in 2004 Voburka decided to reform the project, together with London-based programmer, producer and engineer René Steuns from
Cologne. They decided to maintain the fictional band biography Voburka had created and performed as a band from the former GDR at
Remember Of The Past festival in
Waregem, Belgium. Most of their promotional activities were done through
Myspace. In 2009 the remixes were bundled on the 2x12" "Weltklang - Remixes", released on Exil System. In 2019 the album "Klášter" and the 12" "Vorwaerts" were released on Exil-System. Due to the 40th anniversary in 2020, the single sided 4" "Freundschaft" was released on vinylograph. In 2021 the 12" "Rueckwaerts" and the 2x12" "Vorwaerts/Rueckwaerts" were released on Exil-System. The 6 Tracks of the 2022 Weltklang album "Weltraum", released on Exil-System, were mainly recorded by Voburka between 1972-1976 and edited by him in 2021. Instruments used on this record are the
Arp Odyssey,
Moog Sonic Six and the
Roland Space Echo. In 2022 the Album "Musik for Plattenbauten" can be Seen as the main Release of the Year. In 2023 they released the 5track EP "New Economy", the 2x12" Brain/Bad Brain, as well as the cassettes "Körper Musik" and "Weltzeituhr" In 2024 "Musik für Synthesizer" on Vinyl and "Sport" and "Monöhead" on CC would come out. ==
VEB Heimat (1980) ==