By now pretty much everybody who cared for him ought to know that Armin Hoffman left the building on August 15th.
When someone I knew and cared about passes, I often find it helpful to write a small tribute, it helps me process the loss, grief or whatever emotions are being stirred.
With Armin however, I find it hard to describe what he meant to me. What I can say is that without him and X-Mist Records my life as a singer and lyricist would have taken a complete different route, maybe that path would have ended decades ago, who knows.
He took a chance on us with Attent!on and our first 12” ‘Hearts of Stone”, four guys from four different countries who said we’ll make a record, which we did. Two weekends for writing/rehearsing, another two weekends for recording and mixing respectively. Still one of the records I am the proudest of to this day – no one believed we could pull it off. Except Armin. He then took on the follow up project Ugly Food, again without having heard a single note, a selftitled 12” and a full length album ‘Seneca Boulevard’ followed – then the band broke up. We did another 7” with Attent!on for X-Mist Records’ sublabel SIS-Records, entitled ‘Greetings from Norway’. All within the course of three years.
My musical preferences changed, something Armin didn’t understand, he was never a friend of Cow Punk and Roots Music. Me I made the mistake of thinking I had what it would take to run a label as well, and pretty much ruined myself financially for the next +20 years. The biggest mistake of my life, I should have just stayed a singer (although back then maybe I was more of a poet and less of a singer as Armin’s partner Ute once diplomatically put it to me during a phone conversation).
After the early to mid 90s our interaction became sporadic, but when we did speak or write it was always in the spirit of mutual respect and appreciation, at least that is how it felt to me.
Armin was a pioneer and trailblazer, without that early crew around the Trust Fanzine staff, the mid 80s European Hardcore scene might never have happened the way it did. He was also a man of strict principles, ethics, music, finances, the lot of it. In hindsight, when we had disagreements over the years, I was usually the one in the wrong. During one of our last email exchanges he told me that he was having problems with his lungs, and would be entering the hospital for a more thorough examination, he was aware that bad news might be waiting around the corner. He mentioned he’d like to get up here on the coast on vacation and I spontaneously offered him my place, saying that I would just crash elsewhere for the time being. He politely declined, saying that it probably wouldn’t happen, but thanked me for the offer anyways.
I kept meaning to ask him what the diagnosis turned to be, but figured he might have dodged a bullet seeing that he seemed as active as ever online, getting into arguments about music in fb threads, in fact that became our last interaction and for once I stood my ground. The subject being a particular record I found to be in very poor taste, surprisingly Armin thought differently. I didn’t bother to get into a discussion, he and I would agree to disagree and that would be it.
Armin was opinionated, stubborn, 110% honest and so much more. If I had known how sick he really was, I would have made a point of thanking him properly for all he did for me and us.
Gods speed old trooper, it was an honor to record under the X-Mist banner. My sincere condolences to Ute, as well as Armin’s close friends and family.
- Kent, on behalf of Gustav, Marcin, Viggo, Torsten (Attent!on and Ugly Food) -
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