Editing Knorkator

{{Short description|German band}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2021}}
{{more citations needed|date=December 2013}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name                = Knorkator
| image               = Pressefoto knorkator 2011.jpg
| caption             = Stumpen, Buzz Dee, Alf Ator (from left)
| origin              = Berlin, Germany
| genre               = {{hlist|[[Heavy metal music|Heavy metal]]|[[Neue Deutsche Härte]]|[[comedy rock]]}}
| years_active        = 1994–2008, 2011–present
| label               = Tubareckorz, [[Nuclear Blast]]
| website             = {{URL|knorkator.de}}
| current_members     = {{unbulleted list|Gero Ivers|Alexander Thomas|Sebastian Baur|Rajko Gohlke|Philipp Schwab}}
| past_members        = {{unbulleted list|J. Kirk Thiele|Thomas Görsch|Christian Gerlach|Tim Schallenberg|Sebastian Meyer|Nicolaj Gogow}}
}}

'''Knorkator''' is a German band from Berlin that combines [[Heavy metal music|heavy metal]] with comical elements. They proclaim themselves to be "Germany's {{sic|hide=y|most}} band in the world" ({{langx|de|Deutschlands meiste Band der Welt}}), as the title "The best band in the world" was already taken by [[Die Ärzte]]. The name {{lang|de|Knorkator}} is a personification of {{lang|de|knorke}}, a dated adjective used in Berlin and the [[Ruhr (river)|Ruhr]] basin meaning "great" or "fabulous" (similar to the English slang word "swell"). The band was founded in 1994, but only played in the Berlin/[[Brandenburg]] area until 1998.
[[File:Knorkator Rockharz 2016 18.jpg|thumb|Singer Stumpen at Rockharz Open Air 2016]]
[[File:Knorkator Rockharz Open Air 2014 02.JPG|thumb|Keyboardist Alf Ator at Rockharz 2014]]
[[File:Knorkator Rockharz 2018 14.jpg|thumb|Rajko Gohlke and Buzz Dee at Rockharz Open Air 2018]]

Knorkator gained further fame (and some notoriety) in 2000 with their performance of {{lang|de|Ick wer zun Schwein}} (sic; literally, in Berlin dialect, "I'm turning into a pig") in the German national qualification for the [[Eurovision Song Contest]]. After the qualification show, German tabloid [[Bild]] notoriously headlined "{{lang|de|Wer ließ diese Irren ins Fernsehen?}}" ("Who let these lunatics on TV?").<ref>[http://www.berliner-zeitung.de/die-berliner-band-knorkator--die-beim-vorausscheid-nur-vierte-wurde--drueckt-ihrem-freund-und-konkurrenten-die-daumen-stefan-raab-gewinnt---oder--ick-wer-zun-schwein--16399672 Article in the newspaper "Berliner Zeitung", retrieved: November 21, 2016 (in German)]</ref>

Knorkator announced the end of the band in a MySpace bulletin on 14 June 2008, the last concert was played on 5 December that year in Berlin. The official reason given for the band's breakup was that Alf Ator wanted to leave Germany to start a new life in Thailand. In autumn 2010 a bulletin by Stumpen announced the bands' reunion. A first "small" tour followed in April 2011 as well as some concerts at well-known festivals like [[Wacken Open Air]]. The tour was called the "77 minutes tour", as the setlist was planned to be exactly 77 minutes long. A digital clock that counted down the minutes was placed on stage to make sure the time limit was not exceeded. Their new album {{lang|de|Es werde Nicht}} (translates to "Let there be Not" or "Let Not Be", a pun on {{lang|de|Es werde '''L'''icht}} – "Let there be Light") was in September 2011, followed by a big tour with concerts of regular length.

== Style ==
Knorkator's music can be largely classified as [[industrial metal]], somewhat akin to [[White Zombie (band)|White Zombie]] and [[Ministry (band)|Ministry]]. Knorkator, however, strongly features a comedic element. Most songs escalate into [[falsetto]] vocals and bombastic, over-the-top anthemic choruses, with crushing guitars and subtle samplers. Due to the amusing message, however, the band's considerable technical and artistic merit is sometimes overlooked.

Knorkator's lyrics are somewhat explicit, but always very humorous. Most of the band's lyrics are in German; however, some songs also feature English ("beating around the bush", "[[Ma Baker]]", etc.), [[Thai language|Thai]] ({{transliteration|th|Mai khao djai}}, {{transliteration|th|Khid tyng baan}}), [[Latin language|Latin]] ({{lang|la|Aeger sum}}), or French ({{lang|fr|Ma belle fêmme}}, {{lang|de|Franz Hose}}) lyrics. Their famous song {{lang|de|Wir werden alle sterben}} ("We're all going to die") has also been translated into the [[Arabic language]].
The songs in English are often extreme covers of previously well-known hit songs.

The song {{lang|de|Buchstabe}} is featured as a music video in the 3rd episode of Adult Swim's ''[[Off the Air (TV series)|Off the Air]]'' (2011).

== Live performances ==
Knorkator's wild stage shows and appearance are chaotic: half of Stumpen's body is tattooed black, and he usually performs in his goofy underpants; Buzz Dee's appearance is often cited as being a clone of [[Jim Martin (musician)|Big Jim Martin]].

Knorkator are (in)famous for their wild stage shows. Alf Ator has been known to hit the audience with a large foam club, throw toast slices and wet autumn foliage at the crowd. Sometimes a modified shredder was used to distribute shredded vegetables and fruit over the crowd, which was announced as "vegetarian airway-catering". Their live performances are also well known for extensive acts of [[instrument destruction]] where especially keyboarder Alf Ator used to deconstruct one or more [[electronic organ]]s that he had been playing on with a toilet brush or similar before. Singer Stumpen is known for the frequent smashing of [[TV set]]s on stage, from which he suffered a glass splinter getting stuck in his thigh that had to be removed by surgery some years later and was then auctioned on the internet. In earlier shows, a lot of furniture pieces were placed on the stage which were then destroyed during the show by Alf or Stumpen, mostly with an axe or a baseball bat. Stumpen is also known for wearing almost nothing on stage except for a woman's bathing suit or underpants.

[[Crowd surfing]] is another important element of Knorkator's shows, not only performed by the musicians themselves, but also directing the crowd to perform exceptional exercises, such as racing duels between spectators over the hands of the crowd, piggyback [[moshing]], woman-throwing competitions, instructing the crowd to separate and then run into each other (known as the ''[[Wall of death (moshing)|Wall of Death]]''), or lifting and surfing the heavily overweight sound engineer from the mixing desk to the stage and back.

== Members ==
* Stumpen (Gero Ivers) – vocals
* Alf Ator (Alexander Thomas) – keyboards
* Buzz Dee (Sebastian Baur) – guitars (1996–present)
* Rajko Gohlke – bass (2010–present)
* Philipp Schwab – drums (2020–present)

=== Former members ===
* J. Kirk Thiele – guitars (until 1997)
* Thomas Görsch – drums (until 1998)
* Chrish Chrash (Christian Gerlach) – drums (1998–2003)
* Tim Buktu (Tim Schallenberg) – bass (2003–2008)
* Sebhead Emm (Sebastian Meyer) – drums (2012–2014)
* Nick Aragua (Nicolaj Gogow) – drums (2003–2012, 2014–2020)

=== Touring members ===
* [[Jen Majura]] – guitars (2012–2014)
* Philipp Schwab – drums (2014–2015)

== Discography ==
[[File:Hasenchartbreaker neu.jpg|thumb|upright|The album cover of 1999's ''Hasenchartbreaker'']]
=== CD ===
* 1998: {{lang|mis|The Schlechtst of Knorkator}} (The baddest of Knorkator)
* 1999: {{lang|mis|Hasenchartbreaker}} (pun with Hasenscharte (harelip) and chartbreaker)
* 2000: {{lang|mis|Tribute to uns selbst}} (Tribute to ourselves)
* 2003: {{lang|de|Ich hasse Musik}} (I hate music)
* 2007: {{lang|de|Das nächste Album aller Zeiten}} (The next album of all time)
* 2011: {{lang|de|Es werde Nicht}} (Let there be not / pun with Let there be light ["Licht"])
* 2014: {{lang|mis|We Want Mohr}} (We want Moore)
* 2016: {{lang|mis|Ich bin der Boss}} (I am the Boss)
* 2019: {{lang|de|Widerstand ist zwecklos}} (Resistance [or: resistor] is futile)
* 2022: {{lang|de|Sieg der Vernunft}} (Victory of reason)
* 2025: {{lang|de|Weltherrschaft für alle}} (World domination for all)

=== CD (Live) ===
* 2005: {{lang|de|Zu alt}} (Too old)
* 2015: {{lang|de|KnorkaTourette}}

=== CD (compilations) ===
* 2002: {{lang|mis|High Mud Leader}} (Heimatlieder – Songs of [our] home)
* 2010: {{lang|de|Knorkator – Mein Leben als Single}} (3 CD-Box Ltd. Ed.) (My life as a single)

=== DVD ===
* 2005: {{lang|de|Zu alt}} (Too old)
* 2007: {{lang|de|Gastspiel mit 143.425 Bildern}} (Guest performance with 143.425 images, {{lang|de|Das nächste Album aller Zeiten}} bonus DVD)
* 2008: {{lang|de|Weg nach unten}} (The Way down)
* 2011: {{lang|de|Abschiedskonzert}} (Farewell Concert, {{lang|de|Es werde Nicht}} bonus DVD)
* 2014: {{lang|de|Zitadelle}} (Citadel, {{lang|mis|We Want Mohr}} bonus DVD)
* 2015: {{lang|de|KnorkaTourette}}
* 2016: {{lang|de|Karaoke}} ({{lang|de|Ich bin der Boss}} bonus DVD)

=== Singles / EP ===
* 1995: {{lang|mis|A}}
* 1998: {{lang|de|Böse}} (Evil)
* 1999: {{lang|de|Weg nach unten}} (Way down)
* 1999: {{lang|de|Buchstabe}} (Letter)
* 2000: {{lang|de|Ick wer zun Schwein}} (I turn into a pig)
* 2000: {{lang|de|Ich lass mich klonen}} (I let myself be cloned)
* 2000: {{lang|de|Komm wieder her}} (Come back)
* 2003: {{lang|de|Der ultimative Mann}} (The ultimate man)
* 2006: {{lang|de|Wir werden alle sterben}} (We will all die)
* 2007: {{lang|de|Alter Mann}} (Old Man)
* 2007: {{lang|de|www.einliebeslied.com}} (www.alovesong.com)
* 2008: {{lang|de|Kinderlied}} (Children's Song)

== {{lang|mis|We Want Mohr}} controversy ==

Knorkator were planning to go on tour in spring 2014 to present their new album {{lang|de|We Want Mohr}}, which was released on 17 January 2014.<ref>[https://www.fantotal.de/de/knorkator-kaufmannsladen/tontraeger/cddvd-knorkator-luxus-edition-we-want-mohr.html Album "We Want Mohr" on www.fantotal.de (in German)]</ref> The album name is a pun, replacing "more" by the German word {{lang|de|Mohr}}, which is a dated term for black people that today is only used in a historical or literary context. The tour was advertised with a poster showing the five (white) band members in a big pot on a fire and a black person with bones in their hair and a knife in their hand next to it. This is a reenactment of a scene in the 19th-century child's book {{lang|de|[[Struwwelpeter]]}}.<ref>[http://www.gutenberg.org/files/12116/12116-h/12116-h.htm#The_Story_of_the_Inky_Boys "The Story of the Ink Boys,"] ''The Project Gutenberg EBook of Struwwelpeter.''</ref> The poster caused outrage in some German anti-racist [[blogosphere|blogs]], and the {{lang|de|Initiative Schwarze Menschen in Deutschland}}, an organisation representing black people in Germany, published a statement calling the poster racist, unreflected and degrading.<ref>[http://neu.isdonline.de/rassistische-bewerbung-des-albums-der-rockband-knorkator/ Statement of the Initiative Schwarze Menschen in Deutschland about the poster advertising "We Want Mohr" (in German)]</ref> Knorkator singer Gero Ivers published a response in which he claims to be shocked and disappointed by the statement and argues that the intention of the poster had been misunderstood and not seen in context.<ref>[http://neu.isdonline.de/rassistische-bewerbung-des-albums-der-rockband-knorkator/#comment-3385 Gero Ivers's response to the statement of the ISD (in German)], also on [https://www.facebook.com/knorkatormusik/posts/619100771481835 Facebook (Google Cache)]</ref> Subsequently, the band stopped using the advertising poster but refused ISD's demand to change the album cover as they viewed the content of the reenacted scene as "profoundly anti-racist".<ref>[http://www.taz.de/!5050709 Article in the newspaper "taz", retrieved: November 21, 2016 (in German)]</ref>

== Bibliography ==
* {{cite book| author = Knorkator| title = Des Wurzels Zweig.| date = June 2002| publisher = Eulenspiegel-Verlag| isbn = 978-3-359-01448-5 }}
* {{cite book| author = Knorkator| title = Am Anfang war das Am| year = 2004| publisher = Eulenspiegel-Verlag| isbn = 978-3-359-01609-0 }}
* {{cite book| author = Alf Ator| title = Die satanischen Achillesferse| date = 15 March 2008| publisher = Eulenspiegel-Verlag| isbn = 978-3-359-02200-8 }}
* {{cite book| author = Alf Ator| title = The Best of fast allen Comics| year = 2011 | publisher = Eulenspiegel-Verlag| isbn = 978-3-359-02316-6 }}
* {{cite book| author = Alf Ator| title = The noch Besteren of Alf Ator, COMICS| year = 2015| publisher = Eulenspiegel-Verlag| isbn = 978-3-359-02460-6 }}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category}}
* [http://www.knorkator.de/ Official site]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20170701025203/http://www.alf-ator.de/ Alf Ator's site]

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:German heavy metal musical groups]]
[[Category:German musical quintets]]
[[Category:Musical groups established in 1994]]
[[Category:Musical groups disestablished in 2008]]
[[Category:Musical groups reestablished in 2011]]
[[Category:Musical groups from Berlin]]
[[Category:Nuclear Blast artists]]
[[Category:1994 establishments in Germany]]