These words are my favourite opening line to any novel ever written. It is of course Franz Kafka's the Trial, a seriously important novel and as relevant now as it was in 1920s Prague. The book itself is a collection of chapters written in a non-linear order and collated into a best-fit by his literary executor, Max Brod, after Kafka's death. An interesting musical side note is that David Bowie was heavily influenced by this and when writing songs he has lots of rhyming couplets that he splices into what he considers the best arrangement for the tune.
Why have I chosen to discuss books? Well, Wolfgang Voigt has released all 3 (very) limited edition Kafkatrax EPs together into a (very) limited edition CD. It even has the hand painted cover, it features the copy number and also within the CD there is a bonus track - "Rueckverzauberung 4", which is an ambient CD that spans one hour and explains more than three centuries of musical history through the use of instrumental sounds that are used today, and dating all the way back to the Baroque period.
Naturally, I'm very excited about this and have bought my copy today but for those doubters who don't share Voigt's belief that Kafka would be a minimal techno fan if alive today then please just listen to the sample. I've been giving it some thought as to who else might be. I think there's a certain amount of anal retention/OCD/all round quirkiness required to be a fan of the genre but without a doubt it has to be Ludwig Wittgenstein. This was a man who had a house built in Vienna to his exacting standards and had the roof re-built because it was a few inches off his instructions for the height. I love it when a true genius is also a bit wonky in the head.
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