DEUTSCH NEPAL – a phenomenon used to say nothing.

In 1993 or so, I received a record that made quite an impression on me. It was unusual – at that time I was fully in the world of heavy metal dissenting any other, calling all “non-metal” simply as “mainstream” trash. But the record was not of the metal music kind. It was the album “Benevolence” of “Deutsch Nepal”. I knew nothing about the project, and in fact I paid little interest to it, yet later I got more records of a similar type and clearly felt that rebelling against stereotype music may be not only based on brutal guitar sounds. More than that, new musical searches  found in the album “Benevolence” were subtler, deeper, darker than those offered by the metal music of that time. I guess that was grasped by the authors of one of the first publicist TV shows – “Abipus sienos” or “Krantas” I cannot recall – as they used the motive of a track of the “Benevolence” as their opening theme and that was astonishingly in line with topics discussed: vast, uncontrolled rampage of criminals in the country with reinstated independence.

10 years have passed, “Deutsch Nepal” has become the cult project of industrial music worldwide with an impressive discography. Apart from projects released under other titles (“Janitor”, “Bocksholm”, “Frozen Faces”– 2-3 albums each under different formats) Peter Andersson, the only creator of “Deutsch Nepal”, has created 9 long-play albums released by various labels as CDs. A couple of albums have been released as LP vinyl, while the exact number of singles and of participation in music compilations is a mystery to the creator himself.

Backward-looking at the history of “Deutsch Nepal” and at the fact that this project has remained relevant for 13 years proved by lightning sell-out of newly released expensive albums, forces to suggest that “Deutsch Nepal” is phenomenal in the world of music. Perhaps the grounds for mystery in the concept of this phenomenon or project overall is Peter Andersson himself, also called LINA BABY DOLL or DER GENERAL by his friends or industrial music fans for uncertain reasons. As I had been gradually immersing in “Deutsch Nepal”, I was confused for a long time reckoning that such music is created by female, but the peak of my astonishment was finding out that “Deutsch Nepal” is created by male carrying those bynames. I can explain DER GENERAL – hypnotic, anxious music can trigger some war associations, but LINA??? While Lina, the son of Swedish farmer, straightly sneers at the world by stating that this is a byname of himself as of the Go-Go dancer, and DER GENERAL has nothing common with the war. P. Andersson owns the music label company – GENERALSTAB. Consequently, should the owner of this company be called DER GENERAL? Moreover, the company is only one of Lina’s enjoyments. At its initial stage, the company was aimed at releasing his own musical projects only, but later on Der General decided to release the records he liked. The only thing remains uncertain: for whom Lina Go-Go dances – for homosexuals or females, as he manage to answer the following: “I dance for everyone”. Today in Leipzig, tomorrow in Nuremberg. Perhaps that is the way of publicists fooling as well as stating that previously he was a promising wrestler. Actually, I noticed that there was no interest in Lina’s sexual orientation in none of his interviews. Even when listening to “Deutch Nepal” music, no similar need arises. For his music overwhelms the pure spiritual experience. Perhaps the reason of not asking this is the overall awareness of Lina’s secluded life with the grand passion for alcohol. Lina has been repeatedly stating that he creates music exclusively for himself and releases his works just to buy some alcohol which is the main ground for creative process. Lina is crushed to his music to death. He frequently states his music is boring and purchasable only by those ignorant of money-spending. The reality is different. Critics are hunting for every new album of “Deutsch Nepal” followed by the continuous discussions. Enter “Deutsch Nepal” in the Internet search and you will assure yourselves. Still the fans are well-aware of being highly astonished for Lina never uses the same tunes in his releases. Every new album is totally different from the previous one and Lina Baby Doll comments this as following: “No point to repeat oneself as it is terribly boring”.

I suppose that only Lina himself can evaluate the role of alcohol in his life, still everyone participated at his performance for at least one time, can easily notice the direct alcohol influence to the charisma of “Deutsch Nepal” show. Beer sipping is the element of scene image of Lina, his unique sense of humor, preventing audience from boring (i.e. when Lina’s going on the stage in the old lady’s wear), psychedelic atmosphere hovering in his music and performance still with no leak of mastering. Actually, it seems that I was never happened to see the more professional performer than Lina. His washy alcohol eyes deliver the poetic, even archaic hue for the hard trance music. Lina underlined that all symbols created of his music are deeply archaic. During one interview, when Lina was asked about the drug influence on the “Deutsch Nepal” music, he suddenly became so serious (as it was very unusual to him when answering to the mindless questions of publicists) and stated that he is set against all drugs, except alcohol, and even being ill he never used to drink any medicine. The true fact is that there is no feeling of narcotic trance in none of the “Deutsch Nepal” works. Music can be described as hard, turbid, disturbing trance which is even closer to the tingled sense of delirium. Or even those moods are generated not only by alcohol, but due to Lina’s passion for the old, low-budget, pre-lowest category horror films? Sound track samples from those films are a plenty in the works of “Deutsch Nepal”, and being skillfully incorporated to the tissue of his production, definitely is not leading to the pre-lowest category. Actually, during the interview, the impression emerges that Lina apart of his music and beer sipping also spends many hours sitting and watching weird movies, as among his favorites are such film producers as Bergman and A. Tarkovsky rising only yawn to the statistical westerner. As Lina himself is bored from everything american, even politics. As the industrial music culture is being derived from the punk-nihilists movement and is assigned to the contraculture, Lina being provoked by the publicists to discuss on political issues, always speaks in a simple and correct manner: everything is obvious, consequently boring, so it is much more interesting to sip the beer and to communicate with nature. In one of his interviews, Lina dropped that he has the diploma in science of politics, still nobody knows nothing about Lina’s education. In 1998, he was preparing for studying languages, before that – criminology. However, I suspect that all these ideas remained as unfulfilled fantasies reflecting in visionary effect of Lina’s music. Otherwise, Lina describes his music as the recycle bin containing all terrible suspicions and experiences of his life, left unsolved and anxiety-inducing. Phenomenal fact is that extremely deep, weird and exotic suspicions are created by P. Anderson via the totally primitive technology. Once he stated that in order to extract the millions of musical combinations, only the audiocassette sounding-board and “distortion” effect should be set. His relations with cassette sounding-boards are very special, Lina is using them only as the sound source proceeded with effects. Merely to say, Lina is mixing with cassettes (definitely, using the tunes generated by himself – he is not a DJ), that would certainly rise a displeasure for the modern snob. After all, it is not a vinyl. Although paradoxical point emerges – both media have analogical, but not digital sound perceived when listening to “Deutsch Nepal”. Lina used to repeat that he is lazy to learn working with new and advanced music creating equipment, and that he doesn’t like PCs.

The same attitude as dealing with video backgrounds improving the effect of “Deutsch Nepal” music. They have no complex computer projection (actually, the pictures are very eclectic and interesting). Just images cut from environment with no concept inside. Images effecting various people in different ways. No wonder that it makes a perfect combination with the sound loops selected by Lina, which, he says, also are the amplified reflections of routine and surrounding – being so near, for so invisible. Talking about sampling, Lina dropped that he is aware of the kind of loop (certainly, sound loop:) to be selected for humans. It should be very simple and as repeated for many times, turn to something new and powerful. Although “Deutsch Nepal” was always considered as dark, melancholic, oppressive project, and Lina himself is keen on cynical jokes or misanthropic comments, that cannot be reckoned as detestation. In one of his interviews, Lina explained that detestation is a kind of manifestation of the fantasy lack and upon catching this feeling inside, he never expresses it, but generates to something more powerful that later applies to creative process.

To define the music style of “Deutsch Nepal” is quite tricky – this is also the object of critics discussions. Some assume his style as “dark ambient”, some state – “industrial ambient” and allocate Peter Andersson to the pioneers of constructionism in music, other propose that every stage of Lina’s creative process has its own sound and style. Certainly, those disagreements cannot diminish the effect of his music and all critics agree in one – humans are affected by “Deutsch Nepal” music as if by weird hypnosis transferring the audience to psychedelic trance.

It is impossible to describe all aspects of “Deutsch Nepal” and Lina Baby Doll in this short article. Actually, it is also impossible to infix P. Andersson and his production to the certain common frame, for doing this we encounter many controversial features specific to this phenomenon and challenge any logic. This is the sphere of pure intuition. I.e. by using almost primitive equipment, the complex, strong and forcible effect is generated; Lina creates dark music, but I never saw him being sad; his nihilistic views are absolutely reasoned and motivated; man declaring chaos creates total pure harmonies in his music. Perhaps this phenomenon never gonna be read, so we can only enjoy it. Mystery is the synonym of “Deutsch Nepal” phenomenon and this attitude is clearly perceived in his first album, even though would be hardly denied by Lina Baby Doll himself. One of his works starts from mantra repeated by the stranger in a hypnotic voice: “We shall hear nothing, we shall see nothing, we shall think nothing, and we shall be nothing”.

“Deutsch Nepal” loops code is for those who reached the extent of their mind and fantasy at which they felt trapped into the deadlock of boredom. And then “Deutsch Nepal” is the best cure. It can be compared with the close friend’s death. It is very hard and happens just once.

Written by Lashisha 2003-09-05, translated by Ruta Muller, 2005-04-28