Josef K

United Kingdom, 1979–1982

Edinburgh band on Postcard, named after the Kafka character and gone inside three years, leaving one album. Trebly, fast, nervously funny guitar music that a generation of Scottish bands took apart afterwards.

MusicRoots documents 3 artists who influenced Josef K and 1 artist Josef K influenced in turn. Every connection cites a published source.

Who influenced Josef K?

• The Velvet Underground — The starting point, as it was for most of Postcard — Reed's chord shapes and the flat, unimpressed delivery.
• Talking Heads — The arty New York end of things, which is what Haig actually wanted — he formed TV Art in 1978 with that scene in mind, and it became Josef K.
• Wire — The other British half: short, hard, deliberately shaped songs played fast, with nothing left in that does not need to be there.

Which artists did Josef K influence?

• Franz Ferdinand — The jerky rhythm and the dry wit are Josef K's. Paul Haig put it less modestly: without Josef K, Franz Ferdinand would not have existed.