En Esch | |
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 En Esch, 2005 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Nicklaus Schandelmaier |
| Also known as | Klaus Schandelmaier, Nick |
| Born | 23 March 1968 |
| Genres | Industrial rock, electro-industrial, industrial music |
| Occupation | Musician |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals, percussion, guitar, programming |
Nicklaus Schandelmaier, [1] (born 23 March 1968) is a German musician, better known by his stage name En Esch, and has been a member of the bands KMFDM, Pigface, Slick Idiot, and <PIG>.
En Esch, born near Frankfurt, is an orchestra percussionist, [1] drummer, programmer, producer, sound mixer, guitarist and singer. He was a member of the German industrial rock group, KMFDM, from 1985 to 1999, during which time he contributed to ten studio albums and more than a dozen singles as musician, composer and producer.
Sascha Konietzko claims to have given Esch his nickname because the latter felt that his real name was inappropriate for the stage. It is derived from the German pronunciation of his initials (N. Sch.). Esch lived in Germany until 1992, when he moved to Chicago to join Konietzko, who had moved there a year earlier.
It was at this time that Esch first worked with Pigface, whom he also toured with in the early 1990s. This would be the first time Esch "left" KMFDM and Sascha would proclaim Money as their last album together. After moving to New Orleans he released a solo album, Cheesy , in 1993. While Konietzko eventually relocated to Seattle, WA, Esch would adhere to his nomadic ways and eventually wind up in NYC in the mid to late 90's. Esch would also "leave the band" in 1996 resulting in minimal output into the album Xtort , although Sascha did not proclaim the band "done" this time, not until 1999's poignantly titled Adios . Esch would not return when KMFDM "reformed" in 2002 and has not appeared on any albums post-Adios.
When KMFDM broke up in 1999, Esch briefly worked with the band Pizza Whore, which changed its name to Barely Legal, and included Trixie Reiss of The Crystal Method. [1] The band did not last, and Esch began traveling to Canada to visit Günter Schulz, the former KMFDM guitarist. They formed Slick Idiot, and released their first album in 2001. They have released two more albums under that moniker since then.
Esch has since begun working actively with Pigface again, joining them on tour in 2005.
Esch was rumored to be the replacement lead singer of industrial group Rammstein, but this turned out to be a hoax. [2]
In 2007, he began collaborating with fellow German musician Mona Mur. The two released the album 120 Tage in February 2009, and toured together in support of the release over the next two years. Esch and Mur joined Schulz, Raymond Watts, and Mark Durante to perform at the Wax Trax! Retrospectacle in Chicago, a charity event celebrating the industrial music label, and performed KMFDM songs from the 1990s. [3] A second album by the duo of Esch and Mur was released in 2011.
A second solo album, Spänk, was successfully crowdfunded and released in late 2014. His third solo album, Trash Chic, was originally scheduled for release on 31 May 2016, but was postponed to 1 July. [4] Esch would hit the road in support of Trash Chic, opening for, and playing guitar, in <PIG>'s live band, alongside former Slick Idiot guitarist Guenter Shulz.
Esch is a vegetarian and an animal rights activist. [5] He currently resides in Berlin. [6]
KMFDM is a multinational industrial rock band from Hamburg led by Sascha Konietzko, who founded the band in 1984 as a performance art project.
Nihil is the seventh studio album by German industrial band KMFDM, released on April 4, 1995, by Wax Trax! Records. The album marked the return of former band member Raymond Watts and the first appearance of session drummer Bill Rieflin, and was mostly written by frontman Sascha Konietzko.
Slick Idiot is a German electronic and industrial band.
Money is the fifth studio album by German industrial band KMFDM, released in February 1992 by Wax Trax! Records. It was originally intended to be titled Apart, with each of the two core members, Sascha Konietzko and En Esch, recording half an album and combining their work. The album ended up using only Konietzko's half, along with additional songs. It received mixed reviews, but spawned a number of club hits. It went out of print in the late 1990s and was re-released in 2006.
What Do You Know, Deutschland? is the debut studio album by German industrial band KMFDM, released in December 1986 by Z and Skysaw Records.
Adios is the tenth studio album released by German industrial band KMFDM. The album was originally conceived as the group's parting shot to its longtime record label, Wax Trax! Records, but it ended up also signaling the break-up of KMFDM itself until the band reformed in 2002. Recorded in Seattle, Washington, this was the last album to feature En Esch and Günter Schulz, who both went on to form Slick Idiot. Following the break-up, founding member Sascha Konietzko created the band MDFMK, before reforming KMFDM in 2002 without Esch or Schulz.
Angst is the sixth studio album by German industrial band KMFDM, released on 12 October 1993 by Wax Trax! Records.
Sascha Kegel Konietzko, also known as Sascha K and Käpt'n K, is a German musician and record producer. He is the founder, frontman and "anchor" of the industrial band KMFDM. Konietzko jokingly purports himself to be the father of industrial rock. Keyboard Magazine wrote of him, "You won't find a more imaginative or effective keyboardist on the hard-core scene."
The ninth studio album by German industrial band KMFDM, titled with a set of five unpronounceable, non-alphabetic symbols and commonly known as Symbols, was released on 23 September 1997 by Wax Trax! Records. Officially referred to as simply self-titled 'KMFDM' in some media markets.
Xtort is the eighth studio album by German industrial band KMFDM, released on June 25, 1996, by Wax Trax! Records. It was recorded from the end of 1995 through early 1996, shortly after the death of Wax Trax! co-founder and band friend Jim Nash. Xtort features a variety of guest artists from the industrial music scene and studio musicians from other genres, but includes limited participation from core member En Esch.
Günter Schulz is a German musician, songwriter and former member of the industrial band KMFDM.
UAIOE is the third studio album by the German industrial band KMFDM. It was released on 7 October 1989 by Cash Beat Records. Several 1970's "rock" bands are referenced: The album's title track borrows heavily from the lyrical tropes of Frank Zappa, whereas the song "En Esch" is, lyrically, a cover version of Deep Purple's "Demon's Eye".
Don't Blow Your Top is the second studio album by German industrial band KMFDM, released on 12 February 1988 by Cash Beat Records.
84–86 is a double compilation album released by the industrial music band KMFDM in 2004. The album's 27 tracks on two compact discs were recorded from 1984 to 1986 but previously unreleased on CD. Certain noted selections have never been released at all prior to this album. Personnel featured on this recording include Sascha Konietzko, En Esch Jr. Blackmail, Nico Blank, "Tamsi" Tamsjadi, and several others.
Cheesy is a solo album by En Esch of KMFDM and Slick Idiot. It was released on August 31, 1993, on TVT.
"Split" is a song by industrial rock band KMFDM, released in 1991 between their albums Naïve and Money. The song reached No. 46 on Billboard's Dance/Club Play Songs Chart in July 1991. The tracks on the single are also included on the singles compilation album, Extra, Vol. 1.
"Juke Joint Jezebel" is a song by industrial rock group KMFDM from their 1995 album Nihil. It is KMFDM's most widely known song to date, with around three million copies of the song sold across various releases.
"Godlike" is a song by industrial rock band KMFDM.
120 Tage - The Fine Art of Beauty and Violence is an electro-industrial studio collaboration between German musicians Mona Mur and En Esch. It was released on February 15, 2009, on Pale Music International. The English translation of the album's title is 120 Days.
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