Streetmark -

Streetmark was a German symphonic-rock band behind the 1976/77 Sky albums Nordland and Eileen, the latter with Wolfgang Riechmann. A trimmed lineup under co-founder Dorothea Raukes made the 1979–81 albums Dry and Sky Racer.

Members: Dorothea Raukes (keyboards, vocals), Thomas Schreiber (guitar, vocals), Georg Buschmann (vocals), Wolfgang Westphal (bass), Hans Schweiß (drums), Wolfgang Riechmann (vocals, synthesizers), Manfred Knauf (bass), Bogdan Skowronek (drums, percussion), Dickie Hank (guitar), Stephan Jehring (bass)

Background

Streetmark formed in Düsseldorf in 1968 when classically trained keyboardist Dorothea Raukes met brothers Thomas and Bernd Schreiber, both guitarists. The trio launched Streetmark as a cover act, performing songs by The Beatles, John Mayall, and Deep Purple. After declining an early label offer in 1969, the band developed original material over the next several years, shaped by Raukes’ formal piano training and influences from Procol Harum, Focus, and ELP.

By the mid-1970s, Dorothea married Bernd, who shifted to a behind-the-scenes role as producer and engineer, while Raukes and Thomas Schreiber remained the group’s creative core. In 1975, Streetmark signed to Hamburg-based Sky Records and recorded their debut with Conny Plank.

Nordland

Streetmark released their debut album, Nordland, in February 1976 on Sky.

Dorothea Raukes and Thomas Schreiber trade extended leads across the album’s two long-form suites, pairing sharp tonal shifts with layered, episodic structures. Bassist Wolfgang Westphal anchors the arrangements with steady low-end pacing while drummer Hans Schweiß holds a firm backbeat through dynamic transitions.

Nordland opens with “House of Three Windows,” a three-part sequence that shifts between drifting organ passages and angular keyboard accents, anchored by Georg Buschmann’s vocal phrasing and punctuated by short guitar climbs from Thomas Schreiber. The suite closes on a sharply paced take on “Eleanor Rigby,” which trades the original’s tension for clipped ensemble attacks and a more percussive dynamic. “Amleth Saga” unfolds with layered keys and harpsichord figures underpinned by slower pacing and rounded guitar voicings that drift into a diffuse close. “Italian Concert in Rock” moves in rigid staccato, stacking synthesizer lines over a blunt rhythmic frame.

Side B centers on the four-part title piece, beginning with suspended organ textures and open spacing before pivoting into “Lyster Fjord,” which carries a looser rhythmic flow with slight jazz inflection. “Ladoga” slows to a more exposed structure, resting on a plaintive keyboard line with a strained vocal delivery that breaks under its own weight. “Reality Airport” closes the set on firmer rhythmic ground, pressing into a brisker pace with sharper structural turns and brief sectional changes.

A1. House of Three Windows
— a. “House for Hire” (3:15)
— b. “Green Velvet Curtains” (2:20)
— c. “Eleanor Rigby” (5:20)
A2. “Amleth Saga” (7:10)
A3. “Italian Concert in Rock” (2:30)

B1. Nordland
— a. “Waves and Visions” (2:50)
— b. “Lyster Fjord” (7:24)
— c. “Ladoga” (3:45)
— d. “Reality Airport” (6:20)

Streetmark recorded and mixed Nordland in October 1975 at Conny’s Studio in Neunkirchen. Conny Plank produced and engineered the album with Bernd Schreiber, assisted by Petrus Wippel. Helga Bartkowiak designed the sleeve. The non-album track “Da Capo” (2:46) appears on CD reissues.

Between albums, Westphal cleared for bassist Manfred Knauf and Buschmann stepped aside for singer and multi-instrumentalist Wolfgang Riechmann, a onetime member of Spirit of Sound, the pre-NEU! vehicle of Michael Rother. Buschmann formed Straight Shooter a hard-rock band with ex-Prosper drummer Friedhelm Misiejuk.

Eileen

Streetmark released their second album, Eileen, in August 1977 on Sky.

The album centers on the dual presence of co-composers Wolfgang Riechmann and Thomas Schreiber, who alternate and intertwine lead lines on guitar and synthesizer, shifting focus across layered sequences and split-section structures. Dorothea Raukes adds keyboard filigree and harmonic support, while the rhythm section—anchored by Manfred Knauf and Hans Schweiß—provides a solid fulcrum beneath the album’s varied pacing and tonal shifts.

Eileen opens with “Crazy Notion,” where alternating piano, organ, and synth passages intersect with short-tone guitar lines under a staggered mid-tempo pulse. “Passage” shifts into a narrowed frame, built on cycling keyboard figures and minimalist structure. “Sea of Melted Lead” moves from subdued textures into layered synth motion and ends on a contoured guitar break. Side B stretches out with “Dreams,” which threads vaporous keyboard overlays through steady low-end pacing and distant vocal placement. “Eileen” sustains a static pulse under modulating synths and layered keyboard voicings, while “Choral” closes on a slower harmonic blend shaped by echo-treated voices and circular bass phrasing.

A1. “Crazy Notion” (7:52)
— a. Crazy Notion (2:25)
— b. I Like You (3:40)
— c. All Day Long (1:47)
A2. “Passage” (4:25)
A3. “Sea of Melted Lead” (5:45)
A4. “Tomorrow” (1:11)

B1. “Eileen” (5:33)
B2. “Dreams” (12:17)
B3. “Choral” (3:08)

Streetmark self-produced Eileen, which they released through German News Musikverlag. Sigrid von Spreckelsen designed the cover artwork.

After this album, Knauf and Schweiß cleared for bassist Jürgen Pluta and drummer Bogdan Skowronek. Pluta played in a pre-record Prosper lineup and anchored the 1977 Wallenstein release No More Love.

Wolfgang Riechmann followed Eileen with a solo project, Wunderbar, comprised of electronic instrumentals in the vein of Kraftwerk and Space Art. Schweiß (en route to Flaming Bess) drummed on the otherwise self-contained album. To complement the music’s space-age theme, Riechmann donned slick blue hair and frosty makeup for the cover. In August 1978, between the album’s completion and release, he was murdered by two assailants on the streets of Düsseldorf.

Dry

Streetmark released their third album, Dry, in April 1979 on Sky.

The music sharpens around keyboardist Dorothea Raukes and guitarist Thomas Schreiber, who trade foreground roles across linear builds and layered motifs, often mirroring each other’s phrasing or pulling apart into separate harmonic paths. Jürgen Pluta and Bogdan Skowronek establish a steady underpinning, locking taut basslines against a clipped, processed backbeat that shapes the album’s rhythmic frame.

Dry opens with “Intro,” where isolated synth tones stretch into a pulsing sequence wrapped in reverberant percussion and gradual pace acceleration. “Welcome” enters with a denser mix—layered keyboards over a steady rhythmic base—punctuated by alternating lead guitar and organ lines and quickened by double-time drum runs beneath stacked vocal harmonies. “Sunny Queen” begins with suspended chords and delayed motion, then tilts into a brighter section marked by shifting textures and arcing guitar figures.

“Lovers” pairs a somber organ base with a vocal duet, pulled forward by tight rhythmic escalation and accented by sharp keyboard bursts. “Drifting” strips down to a slower acoustic pattern and light vocal phrasing, while “Disco Dry” builds from heavy-handed percussion and clustered synth layers into an overdriven march. “Watch Out” closes the album with a compact blues-inflected pulse and short vocal refrains.

Streetmark group-wrote all seven tracks under their collection psuedonym, Henry Street.

A1. “Intro” (6:20)
A2. “Welcome” (5:20)
A3. “Sunny Queen” (7:28)

B1. “Lovers” (5:10)
B2. “Drifting” (4:55)
B3. “Disco Dry” (3:42)
B4. “Watch Out” (4:13)

Streetmark recorded and mixed Dry at Conny’s Studio in Neunkirchen between January and February 1979 with engineering by Jürgen Krämer. Bernd Schreiber produced the album, with Conny Plank providing drum tuning.

Heinz Dofflein supplied the cover illustration, based on a photo by Willibald Diefenbach of the somber, grief-stricken trio. They scored a German chart hit with “Lovers,” released as a single with “Disco Dry” and “Watch Out.”

After Dry, Streetmark co-founder Thomas Schreiber left the music industry. Pluta recorded a 1980 solo album, Blanche, and formed the synth-rock trio Pluta Connexion. Streetmark continued with bassist Stephan Jehring and guitarist Dickie Hank, a budding sound engineer who earned an early credit on the 1980 Selected Sound release On the Move, the first of two albums under the Birdy moniker by electronic musician Eddy F. Müller.

Sky Racer

Streetmark released their fourth album, Sky Racer, in January 1981 on Sky.

Keyboardist Dorothea Raukes takes the lead across concise, pattern-driven arrangements, alternating sharp phrasings and layered accents with guitarist Dickie Hank, whose clipped figures often interlock or echo her motifs. Stephan Jehring provides a steady underpinning on bass, locking into tight backbeat patterns from drummer Bogdan Skowronek that anchor the album’s streamlined pacing.

A1. “We Have Won” (3:32) – Raukes
A2. “I Will Follow You” (3:58) – Raukes
A3. “Lullaby” (5:22) – Raukes
A4. “When You Got That Feeling” (3:05) – Raukes

B1. “Stick to Reggae” (2:41) – Jehring
B2. “Sky Racer” (4:28) – Jehring
B3. “Settlers to the West” (3:48) – Raukes
B4. “You Want It” (3:12) – Raukes
B5. “Streaming” (3:32) – Hank

Streetmark recorded and mixed Sky Racer during July and August 1980 at Dierks Studios with engineer Jürgen Krämer. Bernd Schreiber produced the sessions, and German News Musikverlag handled publishing. W. Schneemann designed the cover artwork.

Sky issued Sky Racer (sky 050) immediately after Deutsche Wertarbeit (sky 049), a Berlin-school electronic solo venture by Dorothea Raukes, who subsequently left the industry.

Discography: