S.Y.P.H.

Originally little known outside Germany despite their devoted following there, S.Y.P.H. share affinities with Blurt, the Fall, Wire, the Plastic People of the Universe, and similar enduring groups that shape rock music from its outer margins. Peter "Harry Bag" Braatz, Uwe Jahnke, and Thomas Schwebel established the group in Solingen during 1977; its moniker began without acronym status but was later altered and at one point said to represent "Smashed Yankee Pummels Homo," though alternate interpretations surfaced across subsequent years. Their first release, the 1979 single "Viel Feind, Viel Her," preceded the 1980 album S.Y.P.H. (Hello to the Mipau). The experimental quality already present in that punk-leaning debut received further development on PST, issued the same year and helmed by Can's Holger Czukay. Following Schwebel's departure to Die Fehlfarben, the remaining members contributed to Czukay's On the Way to the Peak of Normal before the band dissolved.

Even so, 1981 brought several archival projects when Braatz released two collections of previously unheard recordings along with a live set. Braatz and Jahnke revived the group in 1982, resulting in Harbeitslose, whose tracks ranged across expansive free-form compositions and post-punk material. Another split occurred soon afterward, yet they reconvened in 1985 to produce the more immediately approachable, synthesizer-driven Wieleicht. Two years later they reversed direction again with the guitar-centered Am Rhein, whose brittle sound culminated in an avant-reggae piece lasting nearly sixteen minutes. After a period of inactivity they returned in 1993 with Rot, Geld, Blau and promptly declared another dissolution. The hiatus continued until 2004, when Braatz and Jahnke resurfaced on the Fall tribute album Perverted by Mark E. The full-length -1 appeared in 2006, accompanied by a contribution to Silver Monk Time: A Tribute to the Monks. By this stage the band's name had come to signify "Save Your Pretty Hearts."