Ludwig's Law
| Ludwig's Law | |
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| Studio album by Moebius, Conny Plank, Mayo Thompson | |
| Released | November 16, 1998 |
| Recorded | 1983 |
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| Label |  Drag City
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Track list
Background
Recorded 1983
Released 1998
- Angst Vor Nice (Ludwig's Law) - book by Werner Büttner and Albert Oehlen published in 1985 by Meterverlag
Personnel
Moebius, Conny Plank, Mayo Thompson
Cover art
The cover photo is a sculpture called the Capitoline Wolf which depicts the mythical founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus. The photo was edited to have three infants, probably representing the three collaborating artists.
Retrospectives
Mayo Thompson, 2020[1]
Moebius and Conny had been making a record every year, for Sky Records, and this time they wanted to do something slightly different. I’d done some work in Conny’s studio. And they called me and they wanted me to do some singing. I went down to Conny’s studio and spent a crazy week with him, making it up as we went along. He had some sequencer tracks all made on Emu, Emulator, and they were easy to work with. When I would start singing I would think, Ahhh, no, no. Singing just felt wrong on that record, to me. I’d come up with some lyrics, and they were all sort of situational. I could pull it off in Red Krayola but it just didn’t apply here. But Albert Oehlen and Werner Büttner made a book called Angst Vor Nice, which translates as Anxiety Before Being Nice – it scares me to be nice to people, something like that, the texts were hilarious. So I started reading this stuff, and Conny and Moebius thought that’s cool too. So we were fine. Conny listened to that tune on there “Farmer Gabriel” and said, ‘I hear money here.’ And he would know; I mean, he made “Vienna” with Midge Ure (laughs), he would know the difference. I think that that’s a funny record, but when Sky heard it they thought it was crap.
Mayo Thompson, 2023
I moved to Germany where I reorganized the band yet again and tried to get a deal, all to no avail. We did some recording at Conny Plank’s studio. ‘Ludwig’s Law’ happened because Conny and Dieter Moebius had been making a record a year together for ten years and wanted something fresh for a new one. All their earlier ones were instrumental. They asked me to write lyrics and sing. I joined in but when I thought of singing, I had no lyric ideas. Luckily, hanging about in the art scene I had met Albert Oehlen and Werner Buettner. They had written a book I found hilarious fun—Angst vor Nice. I gave up thinking about singing and instead read from their book—in the spirit of “An Harangue” on Corrected Slogans. Conny and Moebius’ label hated it. They wound up ditching the vocals. The version with me reading was finally put out by Drag City Records. It’s funny, I think. I recommend reading the book though, if you can find a copy. It may not be easy but would be worth it.
Mayo Thompson, 1999[2]
Red Crayola were in Germany doing some work with Conny and I met Moebius at a little festival in his hometown. He wanted to try something different, so he asked me to write the lyrics and sing on this Ludwig's Law. The guy at Moebius's record company Sky hated it. It wasn't Krautrock as he knew it.
Reviews
- Magnet - Jud Cost
- Philadelphia City Paper - A.D. Amorosi
- AP
Forced Exposure
First ever issue of this unreleased collaborative album from the mid-80s (although the instrumental tracks are theoretically the same as those found on the Moebius/Plank En Route CD, released by the Curious Music label in the US). "Ludwig's Law is a relative puzzle that is only now taking a coherent shape. By 1985 the final releases of the second generation Red Crayola were behind. It was at this time that Mayo Thompson met Moebius. Moebius has been delivering an album a year to Sky, often producing them with Conny Plank. Moebius and Conny had been building basic tracks in an emulator. They invited Mayo Thompson to write lyrics and sing. Mayo Thompson had just discovered the work of Werner Büttner and Albert Oehlen -- artists whose language played on pretense and the potential for misrepresentation, among other things. Mayo senses a place to start in their book Angst vor Nice. For lyrics, a selection was 'sampled.' Sky rejected the master, Ludwig's Law was regulated to the vault."
Earpiece
Spring 1999[4]
b.wildered
1983 sessions apparently rejected by moebius' label due to an inability to make head or tail of this project. for the unitiated, dieter moebius is one-half of the duo known as cluster (aka kluster), who have been responsible for a series of recordings emanating from germany since 1970 or so, sometimes included in the amorphously inclusive genre known as "kraut-rock". the late conny plank is best known for his role as a producer of "euro-disco" dance music. mayo thompson has intermittently led the tactical noise/art-rock collective the red crayola (aka the red krayola- does anyone see a pattern here?) since 1966, as well as participating in various forays as producer and label head (rough trade, in the early eighties). thompson was invited to add words and vocals to this predominantly drum machine and synth-oriented set. topics include the fate of chickens owned by a "farmer gabriel" and the effect of lack of sunlight on human intelligence. heady stuff, but i love it a lot. i must warn you that i am not in any way objective when it comes to projects involving mayo thompson, having been a pursuer of his work since i first stumbled on a used copy of the parable of arable land. nevertheless, i unreservedly recommend this one. i think it has some accessible appeal to anyone who likes to think about the music they listen to. kudos for the cover which features a clever manipulation of the duo of romulus and remus into a trio.