Günther Fischer Quintett & Hansi Klemm - Kosmoslied [1978 Space Rock Prog Electronica GDR Germany ]

Album: Die Erde Dreht Sich Linksherum
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The haunting electronically infused closer of this set is true space rock; it comes from a 1978 Amiga compilation LP called "Die Erde Dreht Sich Linksherum" that was made in honour of Soyuz 29, a space mission with cosmonauts Siegmund Jähn (the first German in space) and Soviet Valery Bykovsky.

Hansi Klemm became known singing in the Klaus Lenz Big Band in East Berlin. Later he was in Fusion, Mondie and the Modern Soul Band, and back in a newly-formed Klaus Lenz band in the 2010s. You can read more about Hansi at wikipedia (link) and discogs (link).

Günther Fischer
Günther Fischer was born in Teplitz-Schönau (Czechoslovakia) and later moved to Zwickau (Germany) with his family. As a child and teenager, Fischer received violin and piano lessons. After completing his studies and in addition to his main work as a musician and composer, Günther Fischer became a lecturer in the dance music department (composition and arrangement) in 1972 at the Hanns Eisler Music Academy in Berlin, where he had previously studied.

Fischer first specialised piano, saxophone, flute and clarinet. He founded his first group in 1960, a trio consisting of guitar, bass and accordion. Between 1960 and 1963 Fischer studied music education at the Robert Schumann Conservatory in Zwickau. He continued his studies between 1965 and 1969 at the Hanns Eisler Academy of Music in East Berlin and added the subjects clarinet, saxophone, composition and arrangement, and conducting. During this time, Fischer played in the Klaus Lenz Band and founded the Günther Fischer Quartet in 1967 together with Reinhard Lakomy (piano), Wolfgang "Zicke" Schneider (drums) and Hans Schätzke (bass), which over time became a quintet (from 1969 with the guitarist Fred Baumert) and sextet (from 1979 with the Hans-Joachim Graswurm on trumpet).

Die Erde Dreht Sich Linksherum - 1978
(rear side)
The Günther Fischer Quartet produced their first own songs in 1968. In the same year, the titles "Das Schloss" and "Vorspann" were published on an Amiga compilation. Günther Fischer's group played their own songs and over the years accompanied various musicians, including Manfred Krug, Uschi Brüning, Veronika Fischer, Eberhard Büchner and Dagmar Koller, for whom he sometimes also composed. The first completely solo record (without acting as an accompaniment for other performers) was released in 1978 as the LP "Kombination" by the Günther Fischer Quintet.

In the late 1970s and 1980s, Günther Fischer composed numerous film scores that were also released on records, such as "Schöner Gigolo, armer Gigolo" (FRG, 1978) or "Didi und die Rache der Enterbten" (FRG, 1985). The most well-known composition is probably "Solo Sunny". The title is now an evergreen that Fischer performs together with his daughter Laura (vocals) on select occasions, including the "Ostrock in Klassik" festival series. Before the fall of communism in Germany, concert tours took him and his various formations to several European countries and as far as Asia and Africa.

After the fall of the Wall, more compositions followed for theater, TV (e.g. "Unser Lehrer Doktor Specht", "Für alle Fälle Stefani"), film and ballet, including for the Schauspielhaus in Zurich and the Burgtheater in Vienna.

Günther Fischer now lives in the Irish town of Cork and is still active as a musician and composer. In his adopted country of Ireland, he works together with the musician Tom O'Hare, with whom he has already produced and released two albums, which unfortunately are not available in Germany. In recent years, Fischer has also been a guest at the festival series "Ostrock in Klassik" mentioned above, or with the Putensen Beat Ensemble. To this day, Günther Fischer has worked with many well-known artists, including Christine Ufholz, Uschi Brüning, Manfred Krug, Veronika Fischer, the Puhdys and Regine Dobberschütz. More complete information on Fischer can be read at deutsche-mugge.de (link).