Haujobb is a German electronic musical project whose output has ranged drastically within the electronic music spectrum, from electro-industrial to ambient and techno. They have become a staple crossover act, bringing several forms of electro into the mainstream industrial music world.
History
Haujobb was formed in 1992 by Daniel Myer, Dejan Samardzic, and Björn Junemann. Hailing from Germany, the trio were inspired by the music of Skinny Puppy, as Myer recalls: "When Too Dark Park was released... this was the initiative for us to make this kind of music."[1] The name comes from the German translation of "skin job" from the film Blade Runner.[2][note 1] They were soon signed to Off Beat, and began distributing their music in North America via Pendragon Records.[3]
Following the release of Freeze Frame Reality in 1995 saw the departure of bandmate Björn, the lineup has consisted of Daniel and Dejan ever since.[4] After Metropolis Records acquired Pendragon, the two musicians have been able to spread their music to a larger fanbase in North America, and have remained continuously popular in the European industrial music scene.
Over the course of their subsequent releases in the 1990s, they wove increasing amounts of drum 'n' bass and IDM influence into their sound. 1996's Solutions for a Small Planet marked the first stylistic deviation, including production credits by Guido Fricke of dark ambient duo La Floa Maldita and saxophone credits from Fricke's brother Andreas.[5] 1999's NinetyNine deviated further into a sparse, downtempo collection of ambient electronic compositions.[6] They have since reintroduced some of the more rhythmic elements back into their sound on their more recent albums, but have continued to experiment, drawing concepts from a wide variety of musical styles.[7]
In 2011, Haujobb released a new album with the title New World March which according to the band uses more hardware, guitars, drums, and sound recordings compared to software based Vertical Theory of 2003.[citation needed]
In 2013 Haujobb created their own production label, Basic Unit Productions, and began releasing other artists such as Div|ider, Blush Response, and Black Nail Cabaret. Basic Unit Productions also released two compilations under the title Frost. In September 2015, Haujobb released the minimal-wave influenced, Blendwerk on Basic Unit Productions in Germany and on Negative Gain Productions in the United States. In early Haujobb liner notes and credits, Daniel was listed as D. Meier, however in more recent liner notes he is listed as Daniel Myer.
In 2024, Haujobb released a pair of singles in advance of their planned tenth album, The Machine in the Ghost. The first of the two singles, "In the Headlights", reached number two on the German Alternative Charts (DAC). The second single, "Opposition", featured a vocal collaboration with Emese Árvai-Illés of Black Nail Cabaret.[8]
Today, both Daniel Myer and Dejan Samardzic continue to record music under the name Haujobb – the duo also briefly recorded as Dots+Dashes. Myer has several other projects of his own, including Architect, Clear Vision (initially a collaboration with Thorsten Meier) as well as a number of other short-lived electronic projects. Myer, along with Claire Voyant's Victoria Lloyd, form HMB. While Newt is a collaboration with Andreas Meyer of Forma Tadre.[9] More recent side-project collaborations of Myer include Destroid, also featuring Rinaldo Ribi Bite and Sebastian Ullmann and Radioaktivists with Frank M. Spinath, Krischan Jan-Eric Wesenberg and Sascha Lange. Daniel Myer also created the soundtrack for the Xbox game Tao Feng: Fist of the Lotus.
Band members
Current members
Daniel Myer – programming, production, vocals (1992–present)
Dejan Samardzic – programming, production (1992–present)
Former members
Björn Jünemann – programming, sampler (1992–1995)
Session/touring musicians
Manuel G. Richter – synthesizer, noise, drums (2010–present) (aka Xabec) (also appeared on "New World March" (2011), "Input Error" (2015), "Blendwerk" (2015), "Alive" (2018))
Former session/touring musicians
Sven Jünemann – guitar (1994–1995) (on "Eye Over You" (1994) and "Freeze Frame Reality" (1995))
Gabriel Shaw – synthesizer, noise, drums (2012) (aka Ionnokx)
^"It's supposed to be "Hautjobb", from the movie "Bladerunner". In the movie it's "Skinjob", but when we watched the movie in German I couldn't hear the "T" sound, so I just heard "Haujobb" and it made kind of sense. In German "Haujobb" means something like... beating up someone. In the movie it’s a term for showing no respect to the androids... they call them "Skinjobs", like calling "nigger" a black guy. It sounded to me something negative for something that doesn't exist yet, and it was cool!"[2]
^Allen, Richard (Summer 1995). Valerio, Paul (ed.). "Haujobb - Homes and Gardens". Industrialnation. 1 (11). Iowa City, IA: Moon Mystique: 64. ISSN1062-449X.
^Raggett, Ned (Winter–Spring 1997). Valerio, Paul (ed.). "Haujobb - Solutions for a Small Planet". Industrialnation. 1 (14). Chicago, IL: Moon Mystique: 63. ISSN1062-449X.
^M. Tye Comer, ed. (24 August 1998). "RPM – Newt: Phaseshifting EP"(PDF). CMJ New Music Report. 55 (584). Great Neck, NY: College Media, Inc.: 31. ISSN0890-0795. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
^Comer, M. Tye (5 July 1999). "Haujobb: Ninety-Nine"(PDF). CMJ New Music Report. 59 (625). Great Neck, NY: College Media, Inc.: 31. ISSN0890-0795. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
^Comer, M. Tye (30 August 1999). "RPM"(PDF). CMJ New Music Report. 59 (633). Great Neck, NY: College Media, Inc.: 29. ISSN0890-0795. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
^Orlov, Piotr (31 December 2001). "RPM"(PDF). CMJ New Music Report. 70 (745). New York, NY: College Media, Inc.: 23. ISSN0890-0795. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
^"DAC Top 50 Albums 2005". Trendcharts oHG. AMC Alster Musik Consulting GmbH. 2006. Archived from the original on 23 April 2008. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
^Helms, Colin (22 March 1999). "RPM"(PDF). CMJ New Music Report. 57 (610). Great Neck, NY: College Media, Inc.: 28. ISSN0890-0795. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
