FSK (band)

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Thomas Meinecke, Michaela Melián and Carl Oesterheld of FSK (2005)

FSK (Freiwillige Selbstkontrolle, German meaning "voluntary self control") is a German band that was formed in Munich in 1980. It became involved in the underground-part of the German New-Wave-Scene of the early 1980s. The band name is a reference to the German motion picture rating organisation Freiwillige Selbstkontrolle der Filmwirtschaft, which uses the same acronym. Their records were released on the legendary Zickzack-Label owned by Punk-guru Alfred Hilsberg. Later in the decade, they became favourites of British radio-guru John Peel, and were themselves strongly influencesd by the independent British music scene of the 1980s. In the late 1980s they became interested in country music, influenced by bands like the Mekons, who also had a special approach to country music. FSK played a lot with David Lowery of Camper Van Beethoven and Cracker and recorded in his Studio in Richmond, VA. In the mid-1990s they discoved Techno and House for themselves. Since then they have been recording in Weilheim in Germany which boasts a rich music scene around bands like the Notwist. Their latest album, First Take Then Shake, was recorded with Detroit House-producer Anthony Shake Shakir.