Alexander Hacke

Alexander Hacke, one of the most influential figures of the German avant-garde, celebrated his sixtieth birthday in October 2025. His gripping, completely revised and expanded autobiography KRACH – Verzerrte Erinnerungen (BLAST – Distorted Memories) traces his path through punk, experimental music and the wild years of West Berlin – and, of course, tells the story of the legendary band with which he has made music history for decades: Einstürzende Neubauten, whose sonic worlds remain groundbreaking to this day.

What began as a casual idea during a conversation with Michael Martinek from Fabrique soon became reality: together with producer and long-time Fabrique collaborator Peter Zirbs, Hacke spent several intense days in his Berlin studio in late summer 2025 recording and narrating the German audiobook version of KRACH – Verzerrte Erinnerungen. The book and audiobook will be released alongside an extensive reading tour. The English edition will follow soon.

KRACH – Verzerrte Erinnerungen (2025)

The autobiography of an extraordinary artist between Berlin’s underground and international acclaim. KRACH – Verzerrte Erinnerungen is a vivid testament to the wild West Berlin of the pre-reunification years, the rise of Einstürzende Neubauten, and the captivating life story of a restless polymath. For this fully revised and expanded edition, Hacke adds the last ten years to his memoirs, first published in 2015, reflecting on a singular artistic career spanning avant-garde art, film music, and modern nomadism.

Hacke’s early obsession with classical music soon led him to drop out of school and plunge into West Berlin’s underground scene of punks, squatters, and free-spirited bohemians. After early musical ventures under the pseudonym Alexander von Borsig, he joined the newly founded Einstürzende Neubauten in 1980 — at just fourteen years old.

As the Neubauten evolved into a pioneering and highly successful group, Hacke not only experimented with various stimulants but also continued his musical exploration and reinvention — as an internationally acclaimed solo artist alongside his then-partner Christiane F., as guitarist on Gianna Nannini’s album Dispetto, and as film composer for Fatih Akin.

Born in Berlin in 1965, Alexander Hacke is a musician, producer, and composer. He has been active in numerous formative underground bands and has collaborated with artists such as Crime & The City Solution and Gianna Nannini. As a producer and composer, he has created music for theater, documentaries, and feature films (Crossing the Bridge, Head-On).

Since 2001, he has been working with his wife, the multidisciplinary artist Danielle de Picciotto, under the name hackedepicciotto. Together, they have toured extensively around the globe and released a series of acclaimed albums combining experimental soundscapes with poetic intensity.

KRACH – Verzerrte Erinnerungen was published on October 31, 2025, by Ventil Verlag (320 pages) and as an audiobook (running time: 10 hours and 45 minutes) narrated by the author himself via Fabrique Records. The English edition BLAST – Distorted Memories will be released shortly thereafter in spring 2026.

photo © by Tobias Schuetze