L’Age d’Or

L’Age d’Or was a German independent record label based in Hamburg, active from 1988 until 2007. It grew out of an agency of the same name founded on 6 June 1986 by Carol von Rautenkranz and Pascal Fuhlbrügge, who had met while writing music reports for the comic fanzine Eisbrecher. The pair organised a series of festivals in the Altona district every three months, and von Rautenkranz and his brother Chris von Rautenkranz set up a recording studio and compiled the sampler Vorwärts Hamburg '87. In 1988 they founded the label L’Age d’Or. The label’s first release was Fishing For Compliments by Die-Gants, Carol von Rautenkranz’s own group. It followed with Der Endgültige Abschluß Des Erdgasröhrengeschäftes!, the album by The Black Channel, whose members Eike Bohlken and Andre Rattay would later form Blumfeld with Jochen Distelmeyer. The third release was the debut of Kolossale Jugend, Heile Heile Boches. Its first employee was Thorsten Weßel of Ostzonensuppenwürfelmachenkrebs, while Pascal Fuhlbrügge withdrew after five years of cooperation. L’Age d’Or’s releases came out of the Hamburger Schule movement and achieved financial success with Die Sterne and Tocotronic in the mid-1990s. In 1994 the sub-label Ladomat2000 was founded for electronic music. Both L’Age d’Or and Ladomat2000 ceased operations in 2007 because of liquidity problems. The label remains a notable chapter in German independent music, associated with the rise of Hamburg’s alternative and indie scene.

L’Age d’Or began as an agency founded on 6 June 1986 by Carol von Rautenkranz and Pascal Fuhlbrügge, who met through the music reports they wrote for the comic fanzine Eisbrecher. Every three months they organised a series of festivals in Altona. Meanwhile, Carol von Rautenkranz and his brother Chris von Rautenkranz created a recording studio and produced the compilation Vorwärts Hamburg '87. In 1988 they founded the record label L’Age d’Or. The first record was Fishing For Compliments by Die-Gants, Carol von Rautenkranz’s group. Then came Der Endgültige Abschluß Des Erdgasröhrengeschäftes!, the album by The Black Channel, featuring Eike Bohlken and Andre Rattay, who would later form Blumfeld with Jochen Distelmeyer. The third release was the first by Kolossale Jugend, Heile Heile Boches. The label’s first employee was Thorsten Weßel of Ostzonensuppenwürfelmachenkrebs, while Pascal Fuhlbrügge withdrew after five years of cooperation. The releases came from the Hamburger Schule scene and achieved financial success with Die Sterne and Tocotronic in the mid-1990s. In 1994 the sub-label Ladomat2000 for electronic music was founded. L’Age d’Or and Ladomat2000 ceased operations in 2007 due to liquidity problems.

• 2007

  L’Age d’Or and Ladomat2000 cease operations due to liquidity problems.

• 1994

  Sub-label Ladomat2000 founded for electronic music.

• 1988

  Record label L’Age d’Or founded; first release Fishing For Compliments by Die-Gants.

• 1987

  Compilation Vorwärts Hamburg '87 created by Carol and Chris von Rautenkranz.

• 1986

  Agency L’Age d’Or founded on 6 June by Carol von Rautenkranz and Pascal Fuhlbrügge.

Independent German record label associated with the Hamburger Schule movement, later expanding into electronic music via Ladomat2000.

• 1988

  Fishing For Compliments

• Der Endgültige Abschluß Des Erdgasröhrengeschäftes!

• Heile Heile Boches

• Releases by Die Sterne

• Releases by Tocotronic

• Ladomat2000 electronic music releases

1. 1Wikidata: L’Age d’Orwikidata.org
2. 2Wikipédia: L'Âge d'or (label)fr.wikipedia.org