Herbst In Peking, named after Boris Vian’s novel, was formed by Rex Joswig in East Berlin in 1987. The anti-authoritarian stance and fierce criticism of the GDR regime of this punk band led to an official ban in 1989. While Rex Joswig ran his Grenzpunkt Null radio show from East Berlin after the GDR had collapsed, his band steadily assimilated influences from Dub, Industrial and Electronic Music. HIP’s line-up has changed over the years with Joswig as a constant member and their collaboration with Moloko Plus productive to this day. For Faust am Meer Herbst In Peking’s line-up consisted of Rex Joswig, King Snow (Torsten Füchsel) and Helmar Kreysig.
On their CD Faust am Meer Herbst In Peking explores good and evil as two sides of the same medal. The line Good is an evil Animal by HIP member Helmar Kreysig serves as a motto for this beautiful production, which was recorded in Cheetahs Cage, East-Berlin in 2024 and 2025. Other lines and lyrics in this vein are provided by Rex Joswig, Thomas Brasch, Rainer Maria Rilke and William Shakespeare. Sung, spoken and whispered by living repetition machine Rex Joswig and driven by HIP’s characteristic heavy beats and finely tuned electronica, Faust am Meer takes you to the edge of the world, where Thomas Brasch sighs after Shakespeare: I’ve just about had enough of the Sun / I wish this world were finally done.