LIEBE is Rue Oberkampf’s long-awaited second Album and can be seen as a reflection on the last two years – what we’ve lost, what we’re longing for. Singer Julia de Jouy mourns the loss of club culture and life’s ecstatic moments in general, blending English/French spoken words with unexpected melodic vocals.
The diversity of all those kinds of missing “LIEBE” (love) matches Rue Oberkampf’s sounds, moving back and forth between 90s EBM- and techno-fused stompers to surprisingly gothy synth pop and darkwave tracks.
Rue Oberkampf, which is DJ/producer team Julia de Jouy, Oliver Maier and Damien De-Vir, have their roots in early industrial, techno and goth music and are always forging a bridge between different electronic subcultures.
In combination with the on-point mixing by Daniel Hallhuber (Young and Cold Records), LIEBE creates a heavy, but crystal clear sound.
LIEBE is mastered by industrial artist Eric van Wonterghem (Absolute Body Control, Monolith, Klinik), whose style is a perfect match to Rue Oberkampf since their first release in 2018. With her album artwork, Merchbabe (Kinnat Sóley) created the perfect visual twin for LIEBE.
Based on a photography by Silvie Tillard and combined with a lettering by tattoo artist Ehidne Slime, the design confuses the observer with an eerie uncanny valley effect that reminds them of 90s punk and techno aesthetics.
“When nothing’s left but hope and fear” – the first words on LIEBE reflect on all those days we spent in uncertainty and fear, missing those ecstatic joyful moments we were used to in the past. The official video for the main single “Hope and Fear” was shot in Vienna, one day after a Rue Oberkampf gig, with the three band members, the local promoters and a friend in front of the camera. Artist duo Christina Stuhlberger (Brussels/Vienna), who already created the band’s most watched video “Es versucht”, and Christian Störzer (Vienna) are experimenting with layering effects and animations – visualising closeness and touch between different distant persons.
“When nothing’s left but hope and fear” – unintentionally and unfortunatley, those words are more topical than eve in these hard times of Putin madness…

Tracks:
A1 Hope and Fear A2 Happiness A3 Somebody Else A4 1994
B1 Control B2 Rise B3 Lou et Noah B4 Blanc Poney