The Wonderful And Frightening World Of... Von Südenfed-ah

The Fall are the featured artist/band in The Vinyl Villain's latest Sunday series, delivering a fascinating and comprehensive look at (& listen to) the band, single by single, with the occasional and worthwhile detour into albums, mini-albums, EPs and other oddities. The series is currently at Part 10 and 1982, and every week it has been a compelling read with some great music, including some that I've heard for the first time.

Fast forward a quarter of a century to 2007 and I took a punt on a promo CD of Von Südenfed's debut (and only) album, Tromatic Reflexxions. I hadn't heard a single song by them, but the fact that Von Südenfed was a collaboration between Andi Toma and Jan St. Werner of Mouse On Mars and The Fall's Mark E. Smith was enough for me to shell out a few quid. It's a challenging and rewarding album, chock full of typically divergent MES references to German DJ Sven Väth, imaginary dialogue with long-gone friends, playing pool for £10 a day and boiling a chicken. Musically, the album veers from club cuts to songs that wouldn't seem too out of place on a Fall album.
 
There were two singles, both on 12" vinyl and promo CD, including a great B-side and mostly inessential remixes. And that was it. The same year, The Fall released their 25th album, Reformation! Post - TLC, with a new line-up following an acrimonious split (what else?) during a US tour the previous year. Von Südenfed might therefore be seen as a fun diversion from the headache of the day job, but it's so much more than that.

1) The Rhinohead (Album Version)
2) Flooded (Album Version)
3) Fledermaus Can't Get It (Album Version)
4) Slow Down Ronnie
5) Dearest Friends
6) Chicken Yiamas
7) The Rhinohead (Pilooski Edit) 
 
1,2,3,5,6 taken from Tromatic Reflexxions
4,7 taken from The Rhinohead 12" single

The Wonderful And Frightening World Of... Von Südenfed (31:48)