Volkmar Andrä Archive

Born in 1944, Volkmar Andrä studied musicology, cultural studies, and German literature. In 1966, he founded the Hootenanny-Klubs (renamed the Oktoberklub in 1967) and was a member until 1968. From 1968 to 1972, he worked for DDRFernsehen (East German television) as an editor in the entertainment division, responsible for the programs “Schlagerstudio” and “Notenbank.” From 1972 to 1996, he worked for AMIGA (the popular music division of VEB Deutsche Schallplatten, the German Democratic Republic’s state-controlled record company) as a music editor. In that capacity he produced a number of pop and rock sampler LPs, such as “Kleeblatt,” “Hallo,” “Rhythmus,” and “Die großen Erfolge.” Before leaving VEB Deutsche Schallplatten, Andrä founded Firma BTM, a label dedicated to the release of light rock and folk music (from Herbert Roth to De Plattfööt) from the newly reunited German states.

The cataloging and digitization of this collection was made possible by the support of Arcadia – a charitable fund of Lisbet Rausing and Peter Baldwin.