"Power" is the first track on the KMFDM album Xtort. It was used to promote the album before its release in the summer of 1996. It was released in two limited edition vinyl pressings and as a CD single.

Background[link]

KMFDM was preparing to release their ninth studio album Xtort. TVT Records was heavily promoting its release, and used "Power" as the single to help spread awareness of the upcoming album. "Power" was featured on the "Wax Trax! Summer Swindle", a cassette sampler included with 45,000 issues of the July 1996 issue of Alternative Press.^[1] Another 50,000 copies of the sampler were handed out at summer college and beach events and given away to radio stations.^[1]

Release[link]

"Power" was released as a 12" vinyl pressing of 3000 individually numbered copies^[2] on August 15, 1996.^[3] The A-side contained the track, while the B-side had an etched KMFDM logo.^[2] A CD single was also released^[4] containing an edited version of the track.^[2]

On August 1, 2009, the single was released as a 7" vinyl pressing of 250 copies.^[5] This release included the track "Dogma" as a B-side.^[5]

References[link]

Look up power in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Power may refer to:

Philosophy[link]

• Power (philosophy), the ability to control people or events

Physics[link]

• Power (physics), the rate at which work is performed or energy is converted
• Electric power, the rate at which electrical energy is transferred by a circuit
• Human power, the rate of work performed by a human
• Motive power, an agent used to create motion
• AC power, power in an alternating current electric circuit
• Optical power, the degree to which a lens converges or diverges light
• Transmitter power output, the power used by a radio transmitter
• Effective radiated power, a standardized theoretical measurement of the power of a radio transmitter
• Power spectral density, a real function denoting the power or energy of a signal
• Electrical power industry, companies generating electricity for the electrical grid

Mathematics[link]

• Exponentiation
• Statistical power
• Power of a point

Surname[link]

• Power (name)

Computing[link]

• IBM Power (software), an IBM systems software operating system enhancement package that provided spooling facilities for the IBM/370
• IBM POWER, a RISC microprocessor architecture developed by IBM
• POW-R, a set of commercial dithering and noise shaping algorithms used in digital audio bit-depth reduction

Film[link]

• Power (1986 film), a 1986 film about how political power affects both those who wield it and the people they try to control
• Power (2012 film), an upcoming Bollywood film
• The Power (film), a 1968 science fiction film, based on the Frank M. Robinson novel

Music[link]

Albums

• Power (Barrabás album)
• Power (Boys Noize album)
• Power (Ice-T album)
• Power (Kansas album)
• Power (Q and Not U album)
• The Power (album), an album by Vanessa Amorosi
• Power, an album by SSD (band)
• Power, an album by Lakeside (band)

Songs

• "Power" (Helloween song)
• "Power" (Kanye West song)
• "The Power" (Snap! song)
• "Power", a song by Lipps Inc. from Mouth to Mouth
• "Power", a song by Rainbow from Straight Between the Eyes
• "Power", a song by The Temptations
• "Power" (KMFDM song)
• "The Power", a song by Manowar from Louder Than Hell
• "The Power", a song by Cher from Believe
• "Power" (Juvenile song)
• "Power", a song by Fields of the Nephilim
• Power, a song by B.A.P

Literature[link]

• Power (novel), a 1962 novel by Howard Fast detailing the rise of the fictional Benjamin Holt to lead a powerful labor union
• Power (2004 novel), a by J. A. Stiehl novel about a boy who develops superhuman abilities of nearly god-like proportions
• Power (play), a play by Nick Dear that explores the events that led King Louis XIV of France to become absolute monarch
• The Power (novel), a 1956 book by Frank M. Robinson, on which the 1968 film is based
• The Power (self-help book), a 2010 book by Rhonda Byrne
• Girl Got Game, originally Power!! a manga series about a girl whose father forces her to pretend to be a boy to play on a basketball team
• Power: A New Social Analysis, a sociology book by Bertrand Russell that defines powers as one's ability to achieve goals

Sports and games[link]

• West Virginia Power, a minor league baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the Class A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates
• Port Adelaide Football Club, nicknamed "Power", an Australian rules football club based in Port Adelaide, South Australia
• Phil Taylor, an English darts champion, nicknamed "The Power", who has won a record 15 World Championships

Other[link]

• 2C-P, this psychedelic phenethylamine is popularly known as power
• Power, Montana, a census-designated place in Teton County, Montana, United States
• Power98FM, an English-language radio station in Singapore, owned by SAFRA Radio
• De Coelesti Hierarchia, a Pseudo-Dionysian work on angelology which has an order of angels called "Powers"
• The Power (XM), an XM satellite radio channel
• Pittsburgh Power, American Football League team in Pittsburgh, PA
• J. D. Power and Associates, a global marketing information services firm
• Power Corporation of Canada, a Canadian conglomerate known for its active participation in Canadian politics

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

KMFDM
Sascha Konietzko performing with KMFDM in Lawrence, Kansas, October 2005
Background information
Origin	Hamburg, Germany
Genres	Industrial rock, industrial metal, electro-industrial
Years active	1984–1999 2002–present
Labels	Z, Skysaw, Wax Trax!, Metropolis, Sanctuary, KMFDM Records
Associated acts	MDFMK, Excessive Force, PIG, KGC, Slick Idiot, The Spittin' Cobras
Website	Official website
Members
Sascha Konietzko Lucia Cifarelli Jules Hodgson Andy Selway Steve White
Past members
Mark Durante En Esch Rudolf Naomi Bill Rieflin Günter Schulz Tim Skold Raymond Watts

KMFDM (originally Kein Mehrheit Für Die Mitleid, loosely translated as "no pity for the majority")^[1] is an industrial band led by German multi-instrumentalist Sascha Konietzko, who founded the group in 1984 as a performance art project. KMFDM has released seventeen studio albums and dozens of singles, selling millions of records in the United States alone.

The band has undergone many line-up changes, including countless guest appearances by other musicians. The earliest incarnation of the band included German drummer En Esch and British vocalist Raymond Watts, the latter of whom would leave and rejoin the group several times over its history. Guitarist Günter Schulz joined in 1990, and both he and Esch continued with the band until KMFDM broke up in 1999. Konietzko resurrected KMFDM in 2002 (with Esch and Schulz declining to rejoin), and by 2005 a consistent line-up emerged, including American singer Lucia Cifarelli, British guitarists Jules Hodgson and Steve White, and British drummer Andy Selway.

KMFDM is considered one of the first bands to bring industrial music to mainstream audiences, though Konietzko refers to the band's music as "The Ultra-Heavy Beat". While the band has always used guitars extensively, the addition of Schulz throughout the 1990s moved the band in a more industrial metal direction. The band incorporates heavy guitar riffs, electronic music, samples, and often female vocals in their music.

KMFDM has toured almost two dozen times, normally at least once after each album, and has invited more fan participation at concerts since reforming. The band has spawned many side projects, primarily Watts' Pig in 1988, Konietzko's Excessive Force in 1991, and Esch and Schulz' Slick Idiot in 2001.

History[link]

Early years in Germany (1984–89)[link]

KMFDM was founded in Paris, France on February 29, 1984^[1][2] as a joint effort between Sascha Konietzko and German painter/multi-media performer Udo Sturm to perform for the opening of an exhibition of young European artists at the Grand Palais.^[2] Their first performance consisted of Sturm playing a synthesizer, Konietzko treating five amplified bass guitars, and four Polish coal miners pounding on the foundations of the Grand Palais.^[1] Sturm had no lasting musical aspirations, and Konietzko was more interested in studio recordings than the occasional art performance, so he began collaborating with then-Hamburg-based studio owner Raymond Watts and drummer Nicklaus Schandelmaier,^[3] who adopted the stage name En Esch.

The band's first album, Opium, was recorded in 1984, and cassette copies of it began circulating through the underground clubs and bars of Hamburg.^[1] The next album, What Do You Know, Deutschland?, which was recorded from 1983–86, was released in December 1986.^[1] The album was re-released in the UK on Skysaw Records, who introduced the band to visual artist Aidan Hughes, usually credited as Brute! in their albums. Hughes created a new design for the album cover,^[1] and would go on to design almost every KMFDM cover from then on.^[4]

After working the Hamburg underground music scene and releasing albums on European labels, the band began its long-standing relationship with Wax Trax! Records when their 1988 album Don't Blow Your Top was licensed to the label for US distribution.^[1] Watts left the band at this time to start his own project, Pig.^[5]

Success in America (1990–94)[link]

After arriving in America for the first time on December 16, 1989,^[6] KMFDM toured the U.S. with Ministry in 1990 in support of their fourth album, UAIOE,^[1] which was licensed for distribution in both the U.S. and Europe. They returned to Europe to record their fifth album, Naïve,^[1] which included the debut of long-time guitarist Schulz, known as Svetlana Ambrosius at the time. They signed directly to Wax Trax!^[1] to distribute this album.

Konietzko then moved to Chicago in early 1991,^[1][7] and Esch followed a year later. KMFDM quickly became a part of the industrial music scene in Chicago that included Ministry, Front 242, My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult, and Revolting Cocks.^[8] In 1991, they released the single "Split", which was their first club hit, reaching No. 46 on the Billboard Dance/Club Play Songs Chart.^[9] During this time, Konietzko and Esch began working on their halves of what would have been their sixth album, Apart, but became two separate albums.^[10] Esch's half was used later in his solo album, Cheesy.^[10] The official KMFDM album used Konietzko's material, and was renamed Money.^[10] It spawned two more club hits in 1992, first "Vogue", their biggest club hit, which reached No. 19 on the Billboard Dance/Club Play Songs Chart in April,^[9] and then the title track, which reached No. 36 on that same chart in July.^[9]

After touring in 1992 with drummer Chris Vrenna,^[11] the then-core of KMFDM (Konietzko, Esch, Schulz, and second guitarist Mark Durante) returned to Chicago to find that Wax Trax! had filed bankruptcy^[1] in November 1992.^[12] The band went back into the studio as a group to record their seventh album, Angst, in 1993, which went on to sell more than 100,000 copies over the next two years.^[3] KMFDM received their first exposure to the mainstream with their single "A Drug Against War". Despite the band's anti-MTV,^[13] "anti-mainstream" attitude, the video of "A Drug Against War" received airplay on MTV^[2] and was shown on the MTV cartoon Beavis and Butt-head.^[14] Meanwhile, the track "Light" reached No. 31 on the Billboard Dance/Club Play Songs Chart in May 1994.^[9]

The song "Liebeslied" from Naïve originally contained an unlicensed sample of "O Fortuna" from Carl Orff's Carmina Burana.^[15] The band was threatened with legal action by Orff's publisher,^[16] and the album was withdrawn from production in 1993. The following year, a new version of the album was released entitled Naïve/Hell to Go,^[1] containing remixes of several songs, including the offending track (with the sample removed) which was renamed "Leibesleid (Infringement Mix)".^[17]

By March 1994, Wax Trax! had been saved from bankruptcy by an infusion of funds from TVT Records^[1] and was planning the release of a new compilation set, Black Box – Wax Trax! Records: The First 13 Years,^[12] which came to include the KMFDM songs "Virus" and "Godlike".^[18]

Peak popularity (1994–99)[link]

The mid to late 1990s were KMFDM's most successful years in terms of album sales and mainstream awareness. In 1994, Konietzko moved to Seattle, and Esch moved to New Orleans.^[15] Watts rejoined the band to work on their eighth album, Nihil, which sold over 120,000 copies.^[19] It marked the first contributions by drummer Bill Rieflin, who would also work with the band on their next five albums. Nihil featured KMFDM's most widely known song, "Juke Joint Jezebel", versions of which appeared on both the Bad Boys and Mortal Kombat soundtracks, the latter of which peaked at No. 10 on the Billboard 200^[20] and sold over 1.8 million copies.^[21]

In late 1995, close friend and president of Chicago's Wax Trax! Records Jim Nash died of an illness complicated by AIDS,^[8] and Seattle became the official headquarters of KMFDM.^[1] Watts toured with KMFDM throughout 1995 in support of Nihil, but then left the group to return to working with his own band, Pig, once again. Esch also separated from the group temporarily, and Xtort was created in 1996 almost entirely without his input.^[22][23] Instead, Konietzko brought in a number of other industrial artists, such as F.M. Einheit and Chris Connelly, to assist with the album.^[22] Xtort was the first KMFDM album to chart on the Billboard 200, and it was also the highest-charting and best-selling album in the band's history, reaching No. 92,^[24] and selling more than 200,000 copies.^[25]

Esch was back for the Symbols album, which was released in 1997, and featured Abby Travis and Skinny Puppy's Nivek Ogre.^[26] Symbols reached No. 137 on the Billboard 200.^[24] Tim Skold, formerly of the band Shotgun Messiah, helped write "Anarchy" for the Symbols album,^[27] and became a full member of the band after touring with them in 1997 in support of the album.^[28]

[edit] Adios (1999)

The album Adios was written almost exclusively by Konietzko and Skold.^[29] The album again included vocals from Nivek Ogre, as well as a song with vocals by German musician Nina Hagen.^[29][30] The album reached No. 189 on the Billboard 200.^[24] Esch and Schulz wrote very little, and did not contribute as much musically to the album,^[29] foreshadowing the coming breakup.

KMFDM disbanded, albeit temporarily, on January 22, 1999. Konietzko said the split was due to "lots of stress and pressure, as well as differences in vision and drive".^[31] Esch said "There was a lot of negative energy between Sascha and Günter Schulz and myself and we all decided on the phone to call the band quits."^[32] Adios was released three months later, with the album originally being the fulfillment of the band's ten record contract with Wax Trax!/TVT,^[33] but later signaling the break-up of the band itself.^[30]

In the wake of the Columbine High School massacre, it was revealed that lyrics to KMFDM songs ("Son of a Gun", "Stray Bullet", "Waste") were posted on the website of shooter Eric Harris,^[34] and that the date of the massacre, April 20, coincided with both the release date of the album Adios^[35] and the birthday of Adolf Hitler.^[36] The media was quick to jump on the apparent connection of the massacre to violent entertainment and Nazism.^[37] In response, Konietzko issued a statement:

"First and foremost, KMFDM would like to express their deep and heartfelt sympathy for the parents, families and friends of the murdered and injured children in Littleton. We are sick and appalled, as is the rest of the nation, by what took place in Colorado yesterday.^[35][38]

"KMFDM are an art form—not a political party. From the beginning, our music has been a statement against war, oppression, fascism and violence against others. While some of the former band members are German as reported in the media, none of us condone any Nazi beliefs whatsoever."^[38][39]

Slick Idiot, MDFMK, and reformation (2000–02)[link]

En Esch performing with Slick Idiot in Washington D.C. in May 2006

After the group disbanded, Schulz and Esch formed the band Slick Idiot,^[40] while Konietzko and Skold temporarily regrouped as MDFMK with the addition of singer Lucia Cifarelli.^[41] MDFMK released one self-titled album with Republic/Universal Records and toured in the United States and Japan.^[42] KMFDM reformed in 2002 with Konietzko, Skold, Cifarelli, and former collaborators Watts and Rieflin, due to "public demand",^[31] according to Konietzko. He also said that Schulz and Esch were invited to rejoin the band but declined.^[43] Esch said "I was happy about my new creative freedom at that time and so I refused the concept of a fast reunion of the original KMFDM."^[32]

New line-up (2003–07)[link]

Skold left after Attak to join Marilyn Manson.^[44] Meanwhile, Watts' bandmates from Pig joined KMFDM one by one, with Jules Hodgson playing guitars on a couple tracks of 2002's Attak,^[45] Andy Selway showing up as the drummer for WWIII,^[46] which was released the following year, and Steve White helping with 2005's Hau Ruck after touring with the band.^[47]

Shortly after the release of WWIII, Konietzko began work on the soundtrack for the Spider-Man 2 video game,^[43] which was released in 2004. The album Opium was re-released in 2002 as KMFDM001 on the band's new record label, KMFDM Records,^[48] and a collection of songs recorded between 1984–86 was released in 2004.^[49] With the band line-up now stable,^[50] Tohuvabohu was released in 2007.^[51] During the summer of 2006, Metropolis Records announced that it would reissue KMFDM's entire Wax Trax!-era studio album back catalog, which had been out of print since the early 2000s. The albums were released in chronological order in groups of two or three every couple of months from September 2006 to May 2007.^[52]

Following the Finnish school shootings of 2007 and 2008, some media reports again attempted to draw a connection from the shooters to the band, noting that both listed KMFDM among their favorite bands.^[53][54] Konietzko, in an interview with Norwegian broadcaster NRK shortly after the 2008 incident, rebutted any claims of connection as being purely a by-product of the copycat mentality and the Finnish shooters' desire to emulate the lifestyles and actions of the Columbine shooters, "One of my biggest concerns immediately following this incident [the Columbine shooting] was that there would be copycats repeating such things in the future, as there often are when people commit heinous crimes and acts of violence. I was, unfortunately, right."^[55]

Steve White and Lucia Cifarelli performing with KMFDM in October 2005.

Back in Germany (2007–present)[link]

Konietzko and Lucia Cifarelli moved to Hamburg, Germany.^[56] In February 2009, KMFDM Records released Skold vs. KMFDM, a collaboration between Skold and Konietzko, completed entirely over the Internet without the two ever being on the same continent.^[57] KMFDM's sixteenth studio album, Blitz, was released in March 2009, featuring contributions from Skold and less input from the band members not living in Germany. WWIII, Hau Ruck, Tohuvabohu, and Blitz have all charted in the top ten on Billboard's Dance/Electronic Albums Chart.^[58]

KMFDM released two compilation albums, Würst and Greatest Shit, in September 2010.^[59] Konietzko has said that he and Skold have plans for a follow-up to their 2009 collaboration, but that it was not a high priority.^[60]

On December 14, 2010, the official KMFDM website was changed to include a single image with the text "All Systems Have Been Ripped. The Internet Has Been Shut Down." There was also a new song titled "Rebels in Control" available for listening and download on the site. KMFDM posted the song in support of Julian Assange with regards to the controversy over WikiLeaks.^[61][62]

In April 2011, former band members Esch, Schulz, and Watts appeared with Mona Mur at the Wax Trax! Retrospectacle in Chicago, a charity event celebrating the industrial music label.^[63] The group performed KMFDM songs from the Wax Trax! era, including "Juke Joint Jezebel" and "A Drug Against War".^[63] Konietzko expressed a desire to perform with the current band line-up, but was turned down by event organizers.^[64]

KMFDM released WTF?!^[61] in April 2011, featuring what Konietzko called "a slew of guest musicians"^[65] including Rieflin and Koichi Fukuda.^[60] The band began work on a new album in February 2012.^[66]

Musical style[link]

KMFDM's earliest output was performance art,^[62] as Konietzko incorporated not only visuals, such as burning beds and exploding televisions,^[3] but non-musical devices as instruments, e.g. vacuum cleaners.^[3][67][68] Their albums from the 1980s featured heavy sampling and studio manipulations, and the primary instruments used were synthesizers and drum machines. Konietzko has cited T.Rex,^[25] David Bowie, and Frank Zappa^[6] as inspiration in the early stages of KMFDM.^[69] The band's music has been described as industrial,^[70] industrial rock,^[71] industrial metal,^[72] and techno-industrial.^[73]

According to Konietzko, the band has made heavy use of guitars since its inception.^[74] Although not a metal fan, he said his "infatuation with ripping off metal licks" stemmed from his experiments with E-mu's Emax sampler in late 1986, continuing, "What I always hated most about heavy metal was that the best riffs came only once and were never repeated. So the fascination, actually, was to sample a great riff, loop it, and play it over and over again."^[72]

While the album Don't Blow Your Top was more sparse in content, due to the influence of producer Adrian Sherwood,^[74][75] it was the exception rather than the rule. Shortly after the release of 1989's UAIOE and while on tour with the band, Ministry founder and frontman Al Jourgensen described KMFDM as "a battalion of guitars marching through Europe."^[74]

KMFDM's music has since been a fusion of electronic and heavy metal,^[74][75] with occasional elements of dub,^[75][76] as well as orchestral samples^[77] and live horns.^[22][78] Many songs feature prominent backing vocals by female singers^[79] such as Dorona Alberti,^[80] Abby Travis, and Lucia Cifarelli. Guitarist Schulz provided most of the heavy guitar riffs driving KMFDM's sound throughout the 1990s. After the band's three-year hiatus ended in 2002, KMFDM adopted a more "traditional" rock sound, that is, recording and performing with a typical band lineup—lead vocalist, lead and rhythm guitarists, bassist, and drummer—while continuing to incorporate electronics and sampling.^[43]

From KMFDM's inception, the band has been "politically charged", according to Konietzko.^[81] Their lyrics often express their political concerns,^[79][80] calling for the rejection of and resistance to terrorism, violence, oppression, censorship, and war.^[78] Their songs sometimes feature samples of news broadcasts and speeches by political leaders.^[75] Many albums also feature one or more songs in which they lampoon themselves, notably in the lyrics to "Sucks"^[80] and "Inane".^[23]

While recognized along with Ministry, Nine Inch Nails, and Skinny Puppy as pioneers in introducing industrial music to mainstream audiences,^[74] KMFDM describes its sound as "The Ultra-Heavy Beat".^[67] Konietzko once stated, "If I was to give myself a label it would be industrial-alternative-electronic-crossover-rock and danceabilly."^[74]

Reception[link]

Critics have been widely positive of KMFDM. In 1999, Greg Rule declared that KMFDM had "produced nine high-impact records that have earned them a large, loyal fanbase strewn across the planet."^[82] Stephen Thomas Erlewine called the band "one of Wax Trax's first industrial superstars", "an underground sensation", and "one of the major industrial bands of the '90s."^[70] Dave Thompson stated that KMFDM's guitar-heavy sound inspired Ministry's own embrace of the instrument after the bands toured together at the dawn of the 1990s.^[74] Piero Scaruffi called the influence of the band's "aggro" style "ubiquitous."^[83] As of September 2003, KMFDM had sold approximately two million records in the United States alone.^[81]

Touring and fanbase[link]

KMFDM guitarist Jules Hodgson performing live in October 2004

KMFDM has released an album on average every year and a half, and usually tours at least once in support of each album. Previously confined to touring the United States and only portions of Europe and Japan, KMFDM embarked on a 2004 world tour in which they performed in Australia, Russia, Canada, and much of Europe in addition to the US.^[84]

KMFDM has a history of personal interaction with their fans. Konietzko keeps in contact with fans via e-mail and the band's website.^[85] At most concert venues, KMFDM typically mingles with the fans before and after the show to sign autographs, pose for photos, and answer questions.^[86] Konietzko and the band's representatives have experimented with ways for fans to interact directly with the band. In 2002, KMFDM launched the "Horde", an exclusive fan club in which members had the opportunity to attend a private meet-and-greet with the band before every show, as well as gaining access to members-only music and footage online. The band included a featurette on the Horde fan club on its WWIII Live 2003 DVD.^[87]

In 2004, they experimented with Fankam, a project in which a member of the audience was selected to record that night's show, as well as some back-stage antics, with a hand-held digital video camera. The resulting footage was incorporated into the 20th Anniversary World Tour DVD the following year, which also included fan photos submitted to the KMFDM official website. In March 2007, KMFDM encouraged fans to call a special "FanPhone" and leave a voice message.^[88] The song "Superpower" from 2007's Tohuvabohu includes sound-clips from these messages.^[89] The band used the Fankam project again for its 2011 "Kein Mitleid" tour in the United States.^[90]

List of tours[link]

All tours featured KMFDM headlining, except where noted.

Etymology[link]

KMFDM is an initialism for the nonsensical and grammatically incorrect German phrase Kein Mehrheit Für Die Mitleid, which literally translates as "no majority for the pity", but is typically given the loose translation of "no pity for the majority".^[1] The most common account of the origin of the name involves Konietzko cutting headlines from German newspapers and shuffling around the words to produce the now infamous expression.^[93] The name was shortened to KMFDM in 1985 in order to simplify the long phrase, with one popular account having Watts originating the initialism to avoid the difficulties he had in pronouncing the German.^[94]

In the original phrase, the articles preceding the nouns Mehrheit and Mitleid are inflected for the wrong gender, as the proper declension would be Keine Mehrheit für das Mitleid. However, swapping the two nouns yields the grammatically correct Kein Mitleid Für Die Mehrheit, which additionally translates directly as "no pity for the majority". Adding to the confusion is the fact that this version of the phrase appears within the lyrics to the song "Megalomaniac", which Konietzko revealed was done in order to confuse people who were always telling the band their name was wrong.^[95]

When the band first toured the US in 1989–1990, band members and their associates began using alternate English meanings for their name to tease journalists who did not understand German. After the release of Angst, TVT/Wax Trax! Records launched a promotion, without the participation or approval of the band,^[1] in which fans were encouraged to come up with at least 1,001 different meanings for KMFDM. College radio DJs Kinslow and Smith of WKGC Florida won the contest with an entry of more than 1,200 potential meanings.^[96] The lyrics to the song "Moron" feature a slight variant of the traditional translation: "no pity for the masses".^[97] Likewise, the song "Light" reveals another possible alternate meaning: Keiner macht für dich mehr,^[98] which translates as "no one does more for you".

Album artwork[link]

KMFDM has a long-standing relationship with commercial artist Aidan "Brute!" Hughes, who creates the iconic artwork adorning almost all of the band's albums and singles.^[4] Hughes' artwork is also featured in KMFDM's music videos for "A Drug Against War" and "Son of a Gun", and on the band's promotional t-shirts.^[99]

All of his work shares a distinct visual style inspired by Golden Age comic artists, Russian Constructivists, Italian Futurists, and woodcut artists.^[100] In an interview with Brian Sherwin, Hughes stated, "KMFDM have cornered the market in industrial post-modern angst and so my work reflects that."^[101]

The only studio album covers not designed by Hughes were Opium, which consists of a black and white photo, and Nihil, which was designed by Francesca Sundsten,^[102] wife of drummer Rieflin.

Prior to the 2006–07 remastering and re-release of KMFDM's back catalog, the design and packaging of the albums were inconsistent. Upon their release on KMFDM Records, they were repackaged by designer Justin Gammon to be visually similar. These changes included standard organization of the liner notes, lyrics, photos, and songwriting/guest musician credits.^[103]

Members[link]

Official line-up[link]

The official line-up^[104] of KMFDM consists of:

• Sascha Konietzko – vocals, guitar, bass, programming, keyboards, synthesizer, percussion
• Lucia Cifarelli – vocals, keyboards
• Jules Hodgson – guitar, bass, keyboards
• Andy Selway – drums
• Steve White – guitar

Key former members[link]

• En Esch – vocals, drums, guitar, programming
• Raymond Watts – vocals, programming
• Günter Schulz – guitar, programming
• Tim Skold – vocals, guitar, bass, drums, programming

Other contributors[link]

Other notable musicians who have contributed to KMFDM projects include: Mark Durante; Chris Connelly of Ministry; Bill Rieflin of Ministry and R.E.M.; Nivek Ogre of Skinny Puppy and ohGr; John DeSalvo of Chemlab; F. M. Einheit of Einstürzende Neubauten; Jr. Blackmale; Abby Travis; Nina Hagen; and spoken word artist Nicole Blackman. Additionally, Chemlab, Die Warzau, Nine Inch Nails, My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult, Combichrist, and Giorgio Moroder have remixed music for KMFDM.

Discography[link]

Studio albums

• Opium (1984)
• What Do You Know, Deutschland? (1986)
• Don't Blow Your Top (1988)
• UAIOE (1989)
• Naïve (1990)
• Money (1992)
• Angst (1993)
• Nihil (1995)
• Xtort (1996)
• Symbols (1997)
• Adios (1999)
• Attak (2002)
• WWIII (2003)
• Hau Ruck (2005)
• Tohuvabohu (2007)
• Blitz (2009)
• WTF?! (2011)

Associated acts[link]

Members of KMFDM have either fronted or supported numerous other bands throughout the band's history, often simultaneously with their work in KMFDM. Former members have also formed new groups.

• Pig – Raymond Watts (1988–present)^[105] (PIG members Jules Hodgson, Andy Selway, and Steve White joined KMFDM in 2002), Günter Schulz (touring guitarist 2006–present)
• Pigface – En Esch (1990–1993, 1999–2005), Günter Schulz (1999–2005)^[106]
• Excessive Force – Sascha Konietzko, En Esch, Günter Schulz, Mark Durante (1991–1994)^[107]
• En Esch released the solo album Cheesy in 1993^[108]
• Schaft – Raymond Watts (1994)^[109]
• Drill – was fronted by Lucia Cifarelli prior to her involvement with KMFDM/MDFMK. (1995–1996)^[110]
• Skold was a solo album released by Tim Skold in 1996, prior to his involvement with KMFDM.^[111]
• Slick Idiot – Formed by En Esch and Günter Schulz following the 1999 break-up of KMFDM (2001–present)^[112]
• MDFMK – Formed by Sascha Konietzko, Tim Skold, and Lucia Cifarelli during KMFDM's hiatus (2000–2001)^[41]
• Schwein – Raymond Watts, Sascha Konietzko, Jules Hodgson, Steve White, Lucia Cifarelli (2001)^[113]
• Lucia Cifarelli released the solo album From the Land of Volcanos in 2003.^[114]
• Schulz – Günter Schulz's solo project (2004–2006)^[115]
• Mona Mur & En Esch – En Eschs's collaboration with German vocalist Mona Mur (2007–present)
• KGC – Sascha Konietzko, Lucia Cifarelli (2006)^[116]
• The Spittin' Cobras – Jules Hodgson, Andy Selway (2009–present)^[117]

References[link]