"Unraveled Secret: The Enigmatic Melody Mostly Known Online"
A track that's been referred to as the "Most Elusive Tune on the Interweb" has at long last been unearthed. This melody has been making the rounds since at least the '80s and has been circulating online since 2007, but despite all efforts, nobody has ever managed to crack its title or source—until now.
According to 404 Media, the track is believed to have orginated from a German radio station. Back in 1984, someone captured the song off the airwaves over there. 404 claims that it's widely accepted that NDR1 was the radio station and the program was Musik Für Junge Leute or "Music for Young People."
For your listening pleasure, here's what the song sounds like:
Fast forward to 2007, the song's recording was posted to various internet forums by the track's creator's sister, in the hope of finding its identity. Sadly, no one came forward with an answer.
Fast forward 12 years: the track made its debut on Reddit, becoming a topic of conversation in 44 different music subreddits. It was popularly known as r/TheElusiveTune, sparking a lengthy search for information about the track.
Lo and behold, the song's true identity has come to light. The track is titled "Subways Of the Mind," and it's performed by a band named FEX.
The big reveal was made by a Redditor named "marijn1412." They claimed to have stumbled upon an old newspaper article from the German newspaper Nordwest Zeitung, which mentioned the band behind the song.
"The article was about a band called FEX from Kiel who won a talent contest in Bremen in [September] 1984," marijn1412 wrote on the /r/ET subreddit. "Their music was described as Rock with Wave and Pop influences." They also mentioned the band's members, including one who they recognized from the band Phret, who played at Hörfest 83. 404 Media reports this band member's name was Michael Hädrich.
"I managed to get in touch with him and asked him if he still had some old material from those bands," marijn1412 wrote. "He then sent me some of the songs he made with FEX and Phret... and voila, one of them was titled Subways Of Your Mind."
And there you have it. Another "where in the world is Carmen San Diego"-style mystery has been solved. You can listen to the full track on the music platform Vocaroo here. As always, it's quite the headbanger.
In the realm of future technological advancements, this discovery could inspire new methods of tracking down long-lost songs. The unearthed track, titled "Subways Of the Mind," was created by a band known as FEX, showcasing the impact of tech and technology on music production.
