A Classic Lost
With the Quasimodo gig a massive success and the recording of the gig of excellent quality, Lustfaust decide to record a new album and release the Quasimodo recording as is, the recording operating as both a greatest hits compilation and a taste of things to come. Unfortunately the Quasimodo master tape is accidentally erased by an unknown source during the clean-up of the tape for release. The band fall low as a result with van Baelen pressing all his contacts to see if anyone made a bootleg of the gig, a search that yields no results. Lustfaust are devastated but still buoyed by the strength of their Quasimodo performance and the quality of the material they are working on in their extended jamming sessions. Kruger suggests the band return to their old haunt – Der Blaue Auster – to begin to record the new album using van Baelen’s more sophisticated equipment, appropriated from The Scorpions.
Lustfaust demo (collectively for the first time) various parts of their yet-to-be-titled ninth album. All think it will be their best and each member is given free reign for the first time. Kruger pushes his sex-swagger and ‘Nam era rock outs. Berger’s contributions are amongst his most far-out and mythical yet, benefiting from the extra-layering of van Baelen’s synth and loop based production (the album is the first Lustfaust album to be produced). Finally, van Baelen’s contribution is felt more in the sonic texture and overall structure of the album than his two songs, both of which reinforce his fascination with looping and overlaying multiple samples.
On listen-back all members agree that the album is their best yet, both sonically and conceptually. Ashworth suggests devoting an entire double bumper issue of Falke Tränen to the album. The album is titled Entspannen meinen Freund after the opening comment heard on the album’s initial demos (the comment – said by van Baelen to Kruger – literally translates as relax my friend). Kruger is keen to seek a professional pressing for the album but the rest of the band are reticent, feeling that they are at the beginning of something special and want time to develop their sound in a more focused direction.