La Düsseldorf
Viva

THE REVIEW

Solar year 1978, Klaus Dinger (formerly of NEU!) along with his La Düsseldorf returns to the studio to bring to life the follow-up to their (fantastic) self-titled debut LP. The title will be "Viva". Just four letters that encapsulate the essence of these six tracks.

Here, the first thing that might catch the eye is the length of the tracks, which are much shorter than Dinger's typical approach to music-making (except for the closing "Cha Cha 2000"). Moreover, here all the tracks seem somewhat similar, sometimes blending and flowing into each other almost at the risk of self-plagiarizing. But that's a risk we take. Yes, because the four from Düsseldorf don't care about that (or so it seems): here they have fun, here they rise from the ground, unleashing their creative ideas without rules or sound limits.

Here everything changes while everything remains the same. This phrase might seem banal and/or senseless to most, but if you're a fan or have at least listened attentively to "La Düsseldorf" or when Dinger together with Rother created music under the NEU! banner, then you surely wouldn't have had this impression.

But I'd say it's definitely time to hit the Play button:

Here are the first two tracks "Viva" and "White Overalls" that clarify what this album is like: two fast, aggressive pieces that almost seem improvised with voices singing and shouting like in a folk festival.

The third track is "Rheinita". Clearly different from the first two, here from nowhere (actually from Dinger's percussion) arises a heavenly melody crafted in the La style, that is, with the least effort: a few piano notes, a few splashes of synth, a few special effects and we find ourselves lying on a cloud, detached from the outside world (I invite everyone to find on YouTube the live video of this track where you can grasp their vision of music).

And just while you're there listening to this almost liturgical melody, barely time to breathe and two other small sound splinters start: they are "Vogel" and "Geld" which, just like the first two tracks, travel in parallel, proving irresistible.

We are almost at the end. The sensation on our lips is that of an above-average record. And it's right then that you realize that the "great" is yet to come: indeed the last track is "Cha Cha 2000", a fanfare of almost 20 minutes, where one dances towards the future with an incredibly catchy and obsessive rhythm, lacking a well-composed structure and you don't know what might happen next.

But then nothing will actually happen. The record will end just as it began.

You find yourself wondering how to judge it, whether to put it on the white list or the black one or simply in your purgatory. Then you look at the white cover with a spray-painted inscription that says "viva", you smirk and realize you’ve witnessed something more than just listening to a simple record. This is what music is: fun.