The music of Härte 10 represented an unprecedented opening into the new-old world of musical cultures and styles. Fragments of one genre intertwined with structures from another, linked by free improvisation, the sole aim of which was to support any and every idea. The musicians skilfully blended rhythm, electronics, lyrics, gestures and facial expressions to create the inimitable Härte 10 concoction.
Härte 10 were, and remain, very much in the tradition of and building upon the legacy of bands such as Can.
“Härte 10’s political message, however, does not come across as the know-it-all’s wagging finger, but rather slips unnoticed – and always with a twinkle in the eye – into the rousing musical interplay.”
Despite having released three studio albums, Härte 10 were always a quintessential live band, having played several hundred concerts worldwide. Not one of these concerts was even remotely identical to another, partly because Frank Köllges refused to learn the pieces by heart, and partly because the other two musicians could only stick to the set list in exceptional cases. “Härte 10 displays a constant creative restlessness, a strongly developed sense of form and an almost obsessive joy in playing.” There are live recordings of many of these concerts, of varying quality, which showcase the band’s creativity and vitality far better than the studio recordings ever managed to do.
Frank Köllges would be 66 years old today, had he made it that far. In honour of him and Härte 10, the group is releasing a compilation of this music under the title “Härte 10 – Tapes.”
