Musically Proper

The dual legacy of the pioneering German electronic band Liaisons Dangereuses:

While their 1981 breakout hit ‘Los Niños Del Parque’ established the funky, syncopated groove of EBM, ‘Dias Cortas’ used synths as blunt force weapons, forging the raw, punishing blueprint for industrial techno.

If you pitch ‘Dias Cortas’ down just slightly, it shares the DNA of a dark, warehouse techno track by artists like Perc, Surgeon, or Ancient Methods…mechanized hypnosis.

While the track was famously performed during this iconic 1982 live concert at The Haçienda in Manchester, it wasn’t on their definitive 1981 self-titled studio album. It remained a sought-after live rarity until its official archival release on the compilation album Artificial Dancers - Waves of Synth.

After establishing the aggressive, raw blueprint for Electronic Body Music, German electronic pioneers DAF dropped this unexpected gem in 1985. ‘Absolute Body Control’ swaps their signature driving rhythm and sweat-soaked vocals for bright, melodic synth-pop hooks and a traditional dance groove. A catchy detour from one of industrial music’s most uncompromising duos.

“Delgado and Görl reunited in 1985 to record 1st Step to Heaven, their only album in English, which achieved one week in the Swedish album chart at no. 46. Delgado later noted: “So we wanted to break our own rules and said: OK, so now we sing in English, now we don’t wear black. (laughing) With purpose. Because we wanted to break our own rules.”

The songs title ‘Absolute Body Control’ was something of a meta reference. Named after the influential Belgian minimal-synth band Absolute Body Control as the Belgian band originally named themselves after the 1981 DAF song called ‘Absolute Körperkontrolle’.