NOAJ002
Plaza Hotel —
Bewegliche Ziele
Plaza Hotel was an early 80’s studio project by DAF co-found- ing member Wolfgang Spelmanns and his wife, singer Tabu (Claudia Sennlaub).
The 12inch “Bewegliche Ziele” was pressed and privately distributed in 1983 and remains the band’s only release. Its two tracks are the result of two separate recording sessions. The rst one was an experimental recording of Can drummer Jaki Liebezeit playing over synth drum percussions. During a second session in Berlin, Wolfgang’s synths and guitars and Tabu’s vocals were added to the rhythm tracks. “Bewegliche Ziele” is an irresistible mixture of driving mesmeric afro-in u- enced rhythms, the synth wave sound of the early 80s with dreamy pop vocals verging on dub.
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Tracklisting
- A — Bewegliche Ziele
Composed by Wolfgang Spelmans/Lyrics by Tabu - B — Schön Sein In Uniform
Composed by Wolfgang Spelmans/Lyrics by Tabu
Credits
- Tabu – Gesang
Wolfgang Spelmans – Instrumente
Gast Jaki Liebezeit – DrumsComputerpercussion on Bewegliche Ziele by Werner Lambertz.
Recorded at Caet Studio Berlin and Studio Lambertz, Düsseldorf.
Mixed by Charly Steinberg at Brunwey-Studio, Hamburg.
Produced by Plaza Hotel for Delphin. - All tracks published by Edition Notes On A Journey / Fondue Publishing.
- Re-mastered from original master tapes by Bo Kondren at Calyx Mastering, Berlin.
Liner Notes —
It’s 1981. Everything seems possible in the realms of music.
Let’s take the guitar player, Wolfgang Spelmanns. After leaving DAF (Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft) in December 1980, his head was full of ideas and an exuberant compulsion to express himself in as many ways as possible. A singular focus is impossible. One of these endeavors is a visit to Werner Lambertz‘s studio in Düsseldorf. While the first few takes, of what later would become “Bewegliche Ziele”, are being recorded, the main object is putting Lambertz’s self-designed modular percussion computer to the test. But the shenanigans don’t end here. Soon after, Jaki Liebezeit, the drummer of Can, is invited to jam freestyle over the programmed beats. New technologies and innovative methods have drawn the attention of Liebezeit, challenging him to play as monotonously as if he were a machine himself (or a computer in this case). It takes him less than 90 minutes to ad-lib two stunning drum tracks for Spelmanns’ still nameless project. Spelmanns however, is not in a hurry to finish the tracks. Unlike the bustling drummer, his focus has a much broader horizon. Instead he wanders off and forms Mau Mau, a new band with his old flat mate and former partner in DAF, the bass player and member of Düsseldorf group Fehlfarben, Michael Kemner. Consequently, the recordings are left to the side and almost forgotten about.
Almost. Two years later, living in West Berlin, Spelmanns remembers the tapes and brings them, along with his girlfriend and singer Claudia Sennlaub (alias Tabu), to the Caet Studio on Kreuzberg’s Mehringdamm. Vocals and the guitar are recorded and in-studio synthesizers are enthusiastically thrown into the mix allowing the two songs to finally take on a concrete form. “Bewegliche Ziele” and “Schön Sein In Uniform” are mixed and mastered by none other than Charly Steinberg, the founder of Steinberg GmbH and developer of one of the first DAWs (Digital Audio Workstations), Cubase.

Our Exclusive —
The video
Here you can watch a video made by Spelman’s new project “Generic Art Ensemble” with pictures from that time. Enjoy this exclusive material at Notes On A Journey.