Silberbart -

Silberbart was a German Krautrock trio behind the 1971 Philips album 4 Times Sound Razing.

Members: Hans Joachim “Hajo” Teschner (guitar, vocals), Werner Klug (bass), Peter Behrens (drums)

Background

Silberbart (German for “Silver Beard”) formed in 1969 in Varel, Niedersachsen, when guitarist/singer Hans Joachim “Hajo” Teschner teamed with bassist Werner Klug and drummer Peter Behrens. Teschner (b. 1945, Marienberg) played recently in The Tonics, a Hamburg beat group. Behrens (b. September 4, 1947, Sanderbusch) quit college near Jaderberg and played in local bands. They cultivated a post-psychedelic jam style and signed with Philips.

4 Times Sound Razing

Silberbart released their singular album, 4 Times Sound Razing, in November 1971 on Philips.

4 Times pivots on abrupt contrasts between restrained openings and violent release, with each long-form piece unfolding as a sequence of shocks rather than linear development. “Chub Chub Cherry” moves quickly through a compact structure, driven by clipped riff figures and strained vocal delivery, before yielding to the album’s more volatile core. “Brain Brain” begins in near-stasis—soft bass pulse, sparse cymbal work, and distant vocal phrasing—then detonates into rapid-fire guitar spirals and tumbling drum patterns, repeatedly collapsing and reforming across its length.

“God” sustains a heavier forward drive, alternating between blunt rhythmic surges and sections where the guitar veers into sustained feedback arcs and jagged slides, the drums responding with sudden accents and tom-heavy bridges. “Head Tear of the Drunken Sun” closes by cycling through multiple states: aggressive chord barrages, blues-rooted pacing, and eerie breakdowns where clean guitar tones and echo effects suspend momentum before another violent return. Across the album, the trio favors tension over resolution, using tempo lurches, atonal overlaps, and prolonged instrumental detours to keep the music in a constant state of imbalance.

A1. “Chub Chub Cherry” (4:23)
A2. “Brain Brain” (16:16)

B1. “God” (10:07)
B2. “Head Tear of the Drunken Sun” (12:00)

Sessions occurred in April-May 1971 at Hirschpark Blankenese, a Hamburg deer park on 17th century estate grounds. They recorded the album with aspiring producer/engineer Thomas Kukuck (ex-Beathovens), a soundman on subsequent titles by Birth Control, Brave New World, Cornucopia, Frumpy, Karthago, Kravetz, Lucifer’s Friend, and Scope.

Philips artist Klaus Witt designed the 4 Times Sound Razing cover, which pairs 1970s psychedelic typography with late-’60s underground comix graphics, framing a metallic gnome bust streaked with blood-red paint. Rendered in high-gloss airbrush style, the figure echoes the band’s name—Silberbart (“silver beard”)—while slogans like “Sharp Creations” and “Stainless Steel Silver Blends” parody consumer branding with sinister overtones. Witt’s visuals also grace 1971/72 covers for Alcatraz, Cluster, Eiliff, Franz K, Thrice Mice, and the red circular winged imagery for the German issue of The Man Who Sold the World by David Bowie.