Epidermis -

Epidermis was a German symphonic/art-rock band that released the 1977 album Genius of Original Force on Kerston Records. They resurfaced at intervals with the albums Muster-Burger (1982) and Feel Me (1990).

Members: Michael Kurz (keyboards, vocals), Rolf Lonz (guitar, vocals), Reiner Neeb (drums, vocals), Wolfgang Wünsche (bass, vocals)

Background

Epidermis hailed from Wiesbaden, Hessen, with members who’d played together as early as 1966. By the mid-1970s, they’d built a repertoire of intricate, multi-movement pieces. Their name refers to the outermost layer of skin on the human body.

Genius of Original Force

Genius of Original Force appeared in 1977 on small-press Kerston (GÄA, Proton 1). Each side consists of a 10/11-minute epic (“The Non Existent Surroundings of God,” the title-track) followed by a medium-length song (“A Riddle to Myself,” “Prime Origin”).

Musical characteristics include contrapuntal arrangements, overlapping vocal lines, and flourishes of glockenspiel and recorder (played by two members). The album is often likened to mid-period Gentle Giant (The Power and the Glory, Free Hand).

Epidermis returned in 1982 with the album Muster-Burger on three-press Tontraeger. The six-song album features new members Hedij Heine (keyboards) and Tanja Ludwig (vocals). Guitarist Rolf Lonz handles bass, accounting for the departed Wolfgang Wünsche.

Lonz assumed ownership of Kerston Records, originally founded in 1965 by producer Fred Kerston.

Genius of Original Force was reissued in 1991 by specialists Music Is Intelligence with different cover art and a bonus track, “Feelings.” That same year, Epidermis issued the comeback CD Feel Me, also on MII.

In 2020, archivists Garden of Delights issued the first-recorded Epidermis album, June 1975. It contains five songs from the title-period, including the 20-minute “A Speck, a Dream.” The original bootleg disc (2010) contains nine additional tracks, including two versions of “Feelings.”

Discography: