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Catharina "Nina" Hagen (born on March 11, 1955) is a singer from former East Berlin, German Democratic Republic; now Berlin, Germany. Her musical career began when she left school at age sixteen, and went to Poland in 1971. After that, she returned to Germany and joined the cover band Fritzens Dampferband (Fritz's Steamboat Band), together with Achim Mentzel and others. She added songs by Janis Joplin and Tina Turner to the "allowable" set lists during shows. Read more on Last.fm
An interesting record, to be sure – Nina Hagen is sort of a more psychedelic, deranged female counterpart to Klaus Nomi. The first side is a really busy amalgamation of artsy 80s reference points, with “Smack Jack” and “Dread Love” getting the most out of her weirdo fusion of synth pop and disco. The second side is a little more conventional, but that’s really only relatively speaking since there’s no sense of “normal” to be found anywhere here. The fun thing about this record is how Hagen is able to pull so many disparate influences – “Taitschi-Tarot” sounds oddly Phillip Glass-inspired, “Cosma Shiva” contains traces of dub – into something that is at once wholly unique and utterly fun and listenable. This is recommended for all fans of 80s art pop.