When I first heard Cha Cha 2000 I got pretty emotional because here is a track that incorporates so many elements I can relate to, probably more than any other music I've ever heard. Some people think it's hippy idealism, but that is just a get-out clause in the same way as "well theres nothing we can do about it so why worry?" or "What are you doing about it?". It was released on La! Dusseldorf - Viva in 1977 and lyrically it is idealistic but its full of attitude and motivation to strive for a better planet. I really hooked into Klaus Dinger when I realised there was someone who hated the capitalist system as much as I do, a generation before me. On top of that he's still going strong, fighting for something better. I'll probably be writing a lot more about it if I get to Viva :)

This album is a live gig recorded in Tokyo in 1996 and is a double CD running at almost 2 hours, and the majority of it is all based around Cha Cha 2000. When I saw this I was drooling and it is no disapointment, in fact it's right up there in my all time favourite albums. It's seriously loose with lots of improvisation and totally refreshing. It starts out totally mellow with rembrant lensink on piano and Viktoria Whehrmeister on vocals which takes up the first 15 minutes or so. There's lots of movement on the stage & talking and strange noises, it's beautiful, atmospheric and intriguing, I wish there was a video :) I really like Rembrant's piano playing, after hearing Year of the Tiger (which I will be raving about later on) I need to get more.

Next up comes the drums which start out methodically slow and build up slowly into a pounding tribal rhythm. There's loads of improvised chanting & I imagine after seeing the la! dusseldorf video clip at www.la-dusseldorf.de theres probably lots of wierdness. It sounds like they're having fun. I am listening to it now and it is so hard to put any of it into words :) It's just incredible. About 10 minutes in, the familiar cha cha starts to come in on keyboard and guitar totally organic and trancy. This is what live music should be about, it is so opposite to the tight, rehearsed crap we are supposed to admire. This is real, exciting, exposed and right out on the edge. If you think VU's Sister Ray is a work of art then this is the next level. At 30 mins in it really transcends with familiar bits of lead guitar coming through and then gradually mellows out and leaps into "dance through the future with me...." and the familiar territory :) This is as punk as punk gets.

CD2 goes through another 50 min version of Cha Cha 2000 which demonstrates the true power of these musicians to improvise and keep the whole thing fresh all the way through. The audio clip above is an excerpt from cd2, I highly recommend this CD especially to anyone who loves the original, it's an in depth exploration of the music, if you are new to KD then probably start with NEU! 75, La! Dusseldorf Viva and come to this a bit later.

This album is only half the gig and I've just seen on Captain Trip that the rest has been released as another double CD Featuring; Viva, America, Hero '96...etc! That's at the top of my wants list.