SPARIFANKAL

Prog Folk • Germany

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Sparifankal biography
Formed: Munich, Bavaria, (West) Germany in 1972 - Hiatus between 1981-1999 - Disbanded in 2005 - Reformed as "Sparifankal 2" in 2009
Status as of March 2018: occasional

SPARIFANKAL is a very unique rock group from Bavaria. In 1972 the Bavarian anarchist rock band SPARIFANKAL developed and practised the so-called ruebel-music, together with musical laymen, children and "patients", as a kind of harmonic/disharmonic therapy. SPARIFANKAL utilized genuine Bavarian lyrics which differ drastically from higher German. With this approach, the band developed a new concept: rock music sung in Bavarian. The lyrics often had a political bent, influenced by the collective consciousness of which they formed a part. A Bavarian AMON DUUL II if you will, though they claimed mostly American influences such as Crazy Horse, Captain Beefheart, Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane.

During 1976 the band recorded their first vinyl "Bayern Rock" (Bavarian Rock). It was released under Trikont/Schneeball/April, the first German independent label founded by several German underground bands such as Embryo, Missus Beastly and Checkpoint Charlie. SPARIFANKAL toured mainly in southern Germany, but also found time to perform at several large festivals all over the country. SPARIFANKAL released two more albums, the acoustic "Huraxdax Drudnhax", which set new standards in traditional German music, and the 2LP-album "Negamusi", which helped to bring the band international exposure. But during 1981 SPARIFANKAL played their final concert... In 1999 the members of SPARIFANKAL came together again to do a punk-benefit-concert for a former member of the group. The band found that this reunion concert was too much fun not to reunite. The current lineup reflects the history of the band, and SPARIFANKAL still works against any supposed trends and is not interested in walking beaten paths.

After very successful concerts at some larger festivals in southern Germany the band found it necessary to record an album with the new songs. During the hot summer of 2003 "Dahoam Is Wo Andas" (Home is Somewhere Else) was recorded on an analog machine without any "frickelfrackel" by William Faendrich in Huglfing. It is still real "Bayern Rock", and totally different and opposed to all that polished global-touristic Alpinyodelrock. You will get the picture!

Updated by Ken Levine (kenethlevine) March 2018

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SPARIFANKAL discography

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SPARIFANKAL top albums (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

2.07 | 6 ratings

Bayern-Rock
1976

2.00 | 1 ratings

Huraxdax Drudnhax
1978

0.00 | 0 ratings

Negamusi
1981

0.00 | 0 ratings

Dahoam Is Wo Andas
2004

SPARIFANKAL Live Albums (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

SPARIFANKAL Videos (DVD, Blu-ray, VHS etc)

SPARIFANKAL Boxset & Compilations (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

SPARIFANKAL Official Singles, EPs, Fan Club & Promo (CD, EP/LP, MC, Digital Media Download)

SPARIFANKAL Reviews

Showing last 10 reviews only

Huraxdax Drudnhax by SPARIFANKAL album cover

Studio Album, 1978
2.00 | 1 ratings
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Huraxdax Drudnhax
Sparifankal Prog Folk

Review by kenethlevine
Special Collaborator Prog-Folk Team

— First review of this album —

It starts off with a "riff" on kazoo and amazingly doesn't get better from there. While this sophomore effort from Bavarian collective SPARIFANKAL is decidedly more folk oriented than their debut, such a superficial impression is largely based on the acoustic instrumentation. The unplugged mix includes guitars, flute, dulcimer, harmonica, and banjo, and the overall mood is more laid back. The distinctiveness of the Bavarian dialect aside, "Hurazdax Drudnhax" owes more to psychedelic US roots rock of an earlier time than to their countrymen. This doesn't make the usually plodding but sometimes flighty funky blues any more interesting. Like on the first album, I'm hard pressed to find a highlight passage let alone track, and would rather just move along and recommend you do the same. OK, how about the goofy "Im Joar 2000" with its oom pa pa oomf?

Studio Album, 1976
2.07 | 6 ratings
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Bayern-Rock
Sparifankal Prog Folk

Review by kenethlevine
Special Collaborator Prog-Folk Team

As with most bands of this type, it's hard to say exactly when SPARIFANKAL actually formed, but by the time their debut was released in 1976, their style had been developed, refined and ultimately left behind by their numerous psych and Kraut influences. As a result, this album in particular is only noteworthy for its chosen language/dialect of Bavarian, which sounds quite different from standard German even to the untrained ear.

While the term "commune" was used differently back them, SPARIFANKAL were definitely a collective whose catchment embraced far more members than whatever musicians happened to appear on the recording and live performances. Apparently and not surprisingly, the subject matter tilted left politically and tackled topics like rising consumerism. Unfortunately, your run of the mill free translation program does not deign to translate these titles let alone in depth lyrical content.

With a few exceptions, the style is a driving acid rock with a repetitive beat, distorted guitars and occasional woodwinds and brass. It's well if loosely played, an undistinguished cross between AMON DUUL II circa "Vive la Trance" and Jane circa "Here we Are". As such, it is only peripherally folk oriented, and the band would more fully merit that categorization on their strikingly different second album. Recommended only for musty historians with silty spectacles.

Studio Album, 1976
2.07 | 6 ratings
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Bayern-Rock
Sparifankal Prog Folk

Review by ClemofNazareth
Special Collaborator Prog Folk Researcher

I think these guys get classified as progressive folk just because they are Bavarian, but in my mind they really should belong in the Krautrock family. I won’t pretend to understand the ethnic nuances to that statement, but the music in this debut album has many of the traits of other Krautrock albums in my collection – extended instrumental sections that are somewhat haphazard and experimental; plenty of avant-garde brass; and socio-political themes. While the band seems to have roots in psych music, there aren’t a whole lot of traditional psych characteristics like fuzz guitar, dippy lyrics or freak-out jam sessions (except for “Bluus fo da Peamanentn Razzia”, which features both fuzz and jamming. Most of the rest of the music seems to be loose but largely adherent to some measure of predetermined structure.

In fact, the only track on this album I would classify as progressive folk would be the flute-infused “I Mechd Di Gean Amoi Nackad Seng”, and that’s mostly thanks to the flute itself, and secondarily to the dulcimer that weaves around the guitar. The cadence is closer to traditional folk though, and it’s the only song of its kind on the album, although “Wans ums Farecka Nimma Ged” also features some acoustic pieces and folksy vocals.

The vocals are Bavarian, which I gather is different than German but in any case I can’t understand any of them. No matter, it seems evident the themes are cultural in nature anyway and will likely appeal mostly to those of the same or similar social bents.

The ‘bonus’ tracks on the CD reissue apparently come from earlier sessions, and are for the most part even more sparse and primitive than the album itself.

These guys must have their fans because they reformed around 2004 for more live shows and another album, but I have to say that this record is something that isn’t going to fit with the collections of most progressive folk fans (unless they are Bavarian, I suppose). For that reason I’ll say this is a collectors- only recording, and therefore will leave it with two stars.

peace

Thanks to ProgLucky for the artist addition. and to Quinino for the last updates