KMFDM

KMFDM (Kein Mehrheit Für Die Mitleid) is an industrial metal group that emerged from the multinational art group "Erste Hilfe" on February 29, 1984, during the opening of an exhibition of young European artists at the Grand Palais in Paris, on the initiative of Sascha Konietzko and Udo Sturm. KMFDM is an acronym for the intentionally nonsensical and grammatically incorrect German title "Kein Mehrheit Für Die Mitleid". Since the project's inception, musicians from various countries, including Germany, Great Britain, Sweden and the USA, have participated. Singer and frontman Sascha Konietzko is from Hamburg, Germany, which is why some album titles, music tracks and lyrics are partly or entirely written in German. The band's trademarks are mostly album titles consisting of five (font) characters as well as the weaving of the band's name into the lyrics.

Band history

After the formation, the Englishman Raymond "Pig" Watts and En Esch (Klaus Schandelmaier) on drums completed the lineup. KMFDM recorded some songs with different guest musicians like Bill Rieflin and Nivek Ogre from Skinny Puppy or Nina Hagen and partly went on tour with these artists.

KMFDM left the musical "Hamburg underground" after the first, unreleased album Opium. With the growing success of US industrial metal/industrial rock bands in the late 1980s, most notably Ministry, KMFDM also gained increasing notoriety. First, the band signed with the Wax Trax label in Chicago. This was followed by appearances as Ministry's opening act. Sascha Konietzko decided to move KMFDM to the USA, to Chicago, at the beginning of 1991. The first tour as headliner in the United States followed with the album Money.

When the band first toured the U.S., journalists who didn't know German were given various English word meanings for KMFDM, such as Kill Mother Fucking Depeche Mode, Kidnap Madonna For Drug Money and Kylie Minogue Fans Don't Masturbate. After the bankruptcy of Wax Trax, Sascha Konietzko moved to Seattle, En Esch moved to New Orleans. Seattle was the birthplace of the album Xtort and the album titled with five symbols from the comic form language (explosion radiation, skull, bomb, cringe, fist), cited either as "EMOJI" or as "Symbols". On both, a number of guest musicians brought their contributions.

On January 22, 1999 KMFDM disbanded and released Adios, their last album to date. En Esch founded a new project together with Guenter Schulz under the name Slick Idiot, while Sascha Konietzko founded MDFMK in 2000 together with Tim Skold (ex-Shotgun Messiah) and ex-Drill singer Lucia Cifarelli and released an album with this line-up on Republic Records.

Cast

In 2002 Sascha Konietzko reformed KMFDM with the following line-up:

• Sascha Konietzko
• Lucia Cifarelli
• Tim Skold, who joined Marilyn Manson the same year
• Raymond Watts
• Dorona Alberti
• Bill Rieflin, from 2003 drummer with R.E.M.
• Jules Hodgson

Live lineup since 2002:

• Sascha Konietzko: vocals, synthesizer
• Lucia Cifarelli: vocals, synthesizer
• Andy Selway: drums
• Jules Hodgson: guitar
• Steve White: guitar

Video albums