Gift (The 4AD Years)

Just announced as a 3LP set through 4AD, Gift is a must-have collection from Xmal Deutschland, the iconic German gothic band of the 80s. The group, made up of mostly women, turned heads and dominated the dark airwaves of Britain and beyond at the time, yet their story has become largely myth - until now. Twenty-four tracks of innovation, angst, and magic, ready to be unearthed again! - Flying Out

The extraordinary impact Xmal Deutschland had upon British audiences in the early Eighties is difficult to convey forty years on. A spell was cast by the staccato rhythms, unmediated channels and mysterious (to us) language of their music, and by the vision and strength of the women involved. Their breakthrough support slot with Cocteau Twins and first two albums with 4AD dazzled and dug deep, speaking in tones and temperatures unlike any band before or since. “And at some point, it seemed to people we just...disappeared”, muses singer Anja Huwe. “So this myth of Xmal Deutschland just got bigger and bigger over the years…”

Gift, which will fascinate newcomers just as it feeds the faithful, is brimming with presence. And if the word “gift” in German slyly relates to a kind of poison, nobody said this music was all sweetness and light. Even if its radiance resonates, four decades later. Xmal Deutschland’s 4AD years were a bold and bewitching boomerang. The magic’s back.

Tracklist

1. Qual
2. Geheimnis
3. Young Man
4. In Der Nacht
5. Orient
6. Hand In Hand
7. Kaempfen
8. Danthem
9. Boomerang
10. Stummes Kind
11. Qual (12" Remix)
12. Zeit
13. Sehnsucht
14. Mondlicht
15. Eiland
16. Reigen
17. Tag für Tag
18. Augen-blick
19. Begrab Mein Herz
20. Nachtschatten
21. Xmas in Australia
22. Derwisch
23. Incubus Succubus II
24. Vito