GIRLS are the reincarnation of a forgotten all female proto-Krautrock showband from Upper Bavaria / Southern Germany (1967-72). In 1967 in a small countryside village in upper Bavaria, my mother, the drummer Anny de Martin, founded the “Internationale Damen-Showband GIRLS”. In the late 60ies/early ’70s, this band, consisting of four young women from Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland, played monthly engagements in clubs and dance halls. GIRLS became the female source of proto-Krautrock. Through discussions with colleagues and experts over the past couple of years, I’ve come to the conclusion that GIRLS were an early source for the musical genre later known as “Krautrock.” They were just more “swinging” than most of the later successors. They played in a unique style surprisingly progressive for the time and context (late ’60s, small countryside towns) and even for today’s ears, with compositions that lasted for up to one full set (45 min.); tricky, bumpy grooves mixed with raw guitar textures; and extended singing with cryptic lyrics that dealt with the thematic triangle of love, death and satiric Heimatlied. They appeared on stage in striking, homemade outfits that gravitated between Marlene Dietrich and The Clockwork Orange.
GIRLS mainly performed in small clubs for “Tanztee”. Documentary evidence indicates that their appearance and music polarized audiences, resulting in clashes with promoters as well as a huge collection of love messages left on the snare drum. GIRLS recorded one demo for promotion purposes and were asked to produce an album under the mysterious title: Yes Wave. Unfortunately, it never got released. Due to the death of my mother, drummer and driving force of the band Anny de Martin, GIRLS dissolved in 1972. The recordings disappeared into the family archives. Some decades later, the extant relics of their artistic heritage were turned over to me. Besides her diary, numerous photos, articles, posters and other ephemera, I also inherited original equipment, compositions and recorded music. I decided to re-establish GIRLS with four contemporary Berlin musicians from very different contexts in order to bring the music, spirit and style of this undiscovered source of “jazzy” Krautrock into the NOW.
– Maurice de Martin & GIRLS 12/2018
GIRLS on stage are:
Stella Mars – Bass / Voice
Ida van Selbst – Guitar/Voice
Vally Cloud – Trombone / Voice
Moon de Marzahn – Drums / Voice
GIRLS – the female source of Krautrock / 1st concert since 1971
Saturday, 26th January 2019 | Doors 19:00 CET | Starts 20:00 CET
ORWO-Haus | Frank-Zappa-Straße 19 | 12681 Berlin
