ZickZack Platten

About

In the labyrinthine corridors of the German music scene, ZickZack Platten carved out an unmistakable niche. Born from the restless mind of Alfred Hilsberg in 1980 Hamburg, the label became a crucible for the underground pulse of Neue Deutsche Welle. Hilsberg, a former "Sounds" magazine journalist, wielded his pen to coin the term and then his vision to sculpt its sonic architecture. ZickZack was never about the polished veneer of mainstream appeal. Instead, it thrived in the liminal spaces where cultural innovation and musical rebellion intersected. The releases were a sculptural process, each LP, cassette, or even magazine a fragment of a larger interdisciplinary mosaic. Formats spanned from the traditional LPs dominating the catalog to the more exploratory magazines and even a rare reel, each piece a testament to the label's commitment to diversity in expression. Artists like FSK (Freiwillige Selbstkontrolle) and Kosmonautentraum found their voice through ZickZack, with releases such as "Original Gasman Band" and "Angst Ist Mein König" capturing the zeitgeist of an era. Blumfeld’s "Status Quo Vadis" marked the label’s twilight, a closing note on a narrative woven through 95 distinct releases. Each piece, whether the avant-garde chaos of Die Radierer or the eclecticism of Abwärts, contributed to a fractal history — a reflection of the label's foundational ethos: to innovate, to provoke, to remain fiercely underground.