Fuelled by drink and drugs, his band Einstürzende Neubauten destroyed venues and invented industrial
music. Now they’re back – so why is he doing cookery classes on Instagram?
‘The
fire got a bit out of control,” says Blixa Bargeld, recalling a gig his band played in 1986. As Einstürzende Neubauten, which means Collapsing New Buildings, wrapped up their set of cacophonous industrial noise, Bargeld took a tray of lighter fluid and threw a match on it before squirting on more and watching the flames erupt. “Oh, it was gigantic,” he says with a wry smile. Panic and chaos ensued.
Today, thankfully, the only thing being toasted is a tablespoon of peppercorns Bargeld has instructed me to put in a pan as pasta bubbles away furiously. We are preparing spaghetti cacio e pepe. “My pasta is from Mancini,” he announces over Zoom, while opening a bottle of white wine. “He’s the only pasta-maker who grows his own wheat and has a doctorate.” Mine is from Co-op.