The moment you hit play on Isolation by Die Anstalt, there’s no way out. The Berlin trio have re-recorded it for the reissue of their self-titled debut, and it sounds like an underground club in the small hours: a relentless beat, dark bass and production that pulls you right in until you just give in and let it take over.
In this new version, the backbone is still dry and mechanical, somewhere between synth-punk, EBM and industrial post-punk. But the surf twang, with its spaghetti western edge, comes through much more strongly. Instead of softening that cold sound, it makes everything feel even tenser, as if the whole machine were constantly running at its limit.
But the one really in charge here is Carmen Redeker. She sings as if she’s trapped inside the song, repeating phrases and questions over and over until it starts to feel like an interrogation. Even if you don’t speak a word of German, you get it straight away: her voice and attitude convey that sense of anxiety, of never being allowed to stop.
“Isolation isn’t about the physical concept of being cut off, but rather the value that society ascribes to you. You’re only worth something if you achieve something… So the pigeon flies, the rat runs, and in the end, no one is allowed to stand still.” (Carmen Redeker).
Isolation doesn’t just tell you about that anxiety, it makes you feel it. It won’t let you stop for a second, and it’s as danceable as it is suffocating. And in the end, it boils everything down to one simple order: the pigeon must fly and the rat must run.
Flieg, Taube, flieg. Renn, Ratte, renn.
Die Anstalt live dates:
2 October – Hof, DE – Galeriehaus
17 October – Hamburg, DE – M.S. Stubnitz
23 October – Nürnberg, DE – Bunker Rituals Festival IV
19 November – Berlin, DE – SO36
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