KRAUTROCK Listening Klub! - New Albums Every Wednesday

Right, got ya

emil.y do you know the other 2 records i posted?

23rd works for me, or earlier if anyone wants to switch. Mentally I always divide this stuff between heavy psych and kosmiche/electronic stuff, so I will try to post a little of each.

many xposts re; NEU! boxset: Hey Mark G. - the single is available separately: http://www.neu2010-shop.com/content/produktekategorie.aspx?k=9&s=78

ooohh

I know, that's what I was meaning up there...

Really enjoying Viva now. This never grabbed me before like the first album. I'll have to track down Individuellos.

The muffled vocals are a bit annoying though.

Really? I think it fits the music.

Yes, don't get that. "Individuellos" is not as good but is possibly even more ABBAtastic than the 1st two.

I shouldn't have said "annoying" as I don't think it's bad really. Just that the contrast between the bright shiny synth-motorik and the vocals is striking (on Geld, for example).

that ash ra is str8 fire

you're not kidding, which track was your fave?

dont recall tracks, i just let it run and i wasnt at my computer so the part where there was spooky guitar ambience

heh, both tracks have that, the 2nd track it's a bit longer I suppose.

I'm usually incoherent by the time AMBOSS ends.
Not sure I've ever made it all the way through "Traummaschine" tbh.

yo, I'll do a week.

p.s. that la dusseldorf album rules hard. "cha cha 2000" is the happiest/most uplifting music of all time. the other two are OK too.

"Viva" is totally the best La Dusseldorf album, but "Zeit" is my favorite song by them.

I listened to the Ash Ra the other night (first time in a while), it's so great and one of those albums where I'm never quite sure what's making what sound, instrumentally. I think "Schwingungen" is still my favorite, and "Jenseits" is my favorite of their really cosmic tracks. Probably gonna play "Traummaschine" on my radio show tomorrow.

Also, I highly recommend searching out "Le Berceau De Cristal" by Ash Ra Tempel, pretty cool soundtrack to a movie I'm not sure exists, sounds kind of transitional between ART and Ashra.

Ash Ra Tempel: 1st listen: not terribly digging it, way too noodly for me. Like the ambience and the rhythm backing but that near-constant soloing makes me loopy and not in a good way.

La Dusseldorf: Hm, the missing link between NEU! and the Chariots of Fire theme (thinking in particular of Cha Cha 2K, the synth textures). Will have to spend more time with it.

the soloing is fucking awesome, its not pointless, its fantastic stuff!

My fave of the LD is Rheinita

emil.y do you know the other 2 records i posted?

Only just noticed this question. I have heard both more than once, but not for a while, so to make sweeping statements on them would perhaps be unwise. I remember them both being good, but they don't really exemplify the side of krautrock that I love - although I will probably regret this description, that'd be roughly (non-trippy kosmiche) synths and motorik rhythms. The full-on guitar rock hippies don't really turn me on musically. Although me'n'Craig do own Yeti so when that inevitably turns up I'll be full of praise for it. And even while writing this I'm thinking of more counter-examples and exceptions. Gah.

Phallus Dei is a lot weirder and more tripped out than Yeti (imo). I decided to go for Phallus Dei as I assumed most people on this thread would have heard it, so I left it for someone else to pick.

I am tempted to post another bonus album just to show the electronic side of "krautrock"

Phallus Dei is a lot weirder and more tripped out than Yeti (imo).

^^^ Yes. Both records are excellent of course.

it's obvious that amon duul and ashra and can and quite a few others were heavily informed by the late 60s psych - lots of zappa and west coast free form drugged up improvs and so on. they can get a little annoying after a bit but, like any great improvs, when it hits that centre it hits hard. i can't make myself listen to la d again - they always reminded me how much i missed neu!

I think of it as, yes! more awesome music!

Any more volunteers?
12/05 - fit and working again
19/05 - ilxor
26/05 - Neil S
2/06 - Tom D (provisionally)
9/06 - pfunkboy
16/06- GOTT PUNCH II HAWKWINDZ
23/06 - Von Kelson
30/06 - emil.y

Kicked off with AD2....

live blog?

it's obvious that amon duul and ashra and can and quite a few others were heavily informed by the late 60s psych - lots of zappa and west coast free form drugged up improvs and so on

Absolutely. Krautrock apologists are always going on about how the music was like a year zero, deliberately distancing itself from Anglo-American rock. That's not the case at all (but it doesn't make krautrock any less great)

Well, some of it did, some of the proponents even said as much

I'm up for doing a week...

12/05 - fit and working again
19/05 - ilxor
26/05 - Neil S
2/06 - Tom D (provisionally)
9/06 - pfunkboy
16/06- GOTT PUNCH II HAWKWINDZ
23/06 - Von Kelson
30/06 - emil.y
7/07 - Matt #2

that suit you?

can you slot me in as well? thanks.

Sure

12/05 - fit and working again
19/05 - ilxor
26/05 - Neil S
2/06 - Tom D (provisionally)
9/06 - pfunkboy
16/06- GOTT PUNCH II HAWKWINDZ
23/06 - Von Kelson
30/06 - emil.y
7/07 - Matt #2
14/07 - Alan N

That suit you?

yep. thanks!

ok, anyone else want in?

Ask me in June or July...

By the way, has anyone seen/read/discussed this book? It looks great. I bought it but have not had a chance to crack it open yet.

it's a beautiful coffee table book with fantastic glossy pictures. the writing is fairly basic but seems to hit all the right details, what I read wasn't telling me anything new but wasn't rubbing me the wrong way either & I'm fine with Krautrock now being a glossy coffee table book that makes a great present

Seconded. I haven't had a chance to read more than maybe 1/5 of it yet, but it's a really nice "coffee table" book. Great photos, not so in-depth as to be off-putting to someone who might randomly start reading it while sitting at said coffee table.

WEEK TWO!

Three of my favorite Krautrock records, none of them too obscure. I can't use Spotify from where I am so maybe someone can post the relevant links if these records are available there. Also, can someone else change the thread title please?

Walter Wegmuller - Tarot

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TAROT is amongst the most remarkable projects in Krautrock, covering the whole range of cosmic music, and aptly elaborately packaged in a box with numerous cards and inserts. The first three sides cover a wide range of moods, with folky touches, strange electronic diversions and fiery space-rock drives, fronted by guitars, synthesizers and Mellotron. The fourth side is encompassed by a single suite that surges beyond Ash Ra Tempel, previewing the sound of The Cosmic Jokers. Throughout, Walter is our guide, narrating in a most imaginative manner his visions of the Tarot, in a weirdly accented German.

This huge double-LP is as all-emcompassing as rock'n'roll gets, proving that Krautrock's greatest strength was its ability to consume all American and British music, assimilate it, and then regurgitate it all as though the Mothers, the Velvets, the Doors, the Stones, the Fugs, the freerock and free-jazz of Detroit, and the experimentalism of Germany could all be thrown into some Kosmische pot.

A record that's much-fêted in Krautrock circles, but that hasn't been mentioned much on ILM. Given the Ash Ra Tempel love in this thread so far some of you might have something to say about this.

Not a Spotify link.

Popol Vuh - In den Gärten Pharaos

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In Den Gärten Pharaos contains very similar elements as their first album; same Moog, same percussion, same deep space exploration, but this is an altogether more mature and unified work where Fricke & Company have corralled the beastly Moog III synthesizer into a more workable partner as opposed to just a fun toy, creating an early classic, the first of many.

Doubtlessly the 17:38 title track has accompanied many a psychedelic trip, along with the background music to some adventurous meditation. We start off with the sound of water, a recurring theme throughout the song, before we're suddenly plunged headfirst underwater with distant drums and Moog accompaniment to guide us on our journey. The song shifts and changes, carries us along, and it's a very satisfying piece that is literally dripping with atmosphere.

Side two, "Vuh," was recorded live in a church, and has a somewhat different sonic palette, consisting of sustained church organ notes, some chanting and crashing cymbals to go along with the Moog and occasional bongos. This is a deep droning track that ambient artists 30 years later would have been proud to make. A very different feel from side one, although just as spacey.

A note for the uninitiated: this record (their second) sounds little like the band's many subsequent releases. Hopefully someone else will post one of their more characteristic albums. The s/d Popol Vuh thread contains some excellent posts by Dadaismus describing their discography.

Not a Spotify link.

Can - Landed

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_8eLgBaf5eTI/SfwZ5x4aWgI/AAAAAAAABiI/1r1HFMtmLrI/s320/can-landed.jpg

The album opener "Full Moon on the Highway" seems almost (gasp) post-modern in its cut-and-paste assemblage of bar-band James Brown-meets-Booker T. rhythm section, ridiculously fuzzed guitar, sped up tape chorus, and Holger's tuneless crazy German professor vocals. It all comes together masterfully, and it swings with a rock'n'roll swagger even if the mix is so clear and separated that it sounds mechanical in a Kraftwerk sense. The weird chipmunk chorus and acid out-of-control guitar adds an (insane) human touch. "Half Past One", "Hunters and Collectors", and "Red Hot Indians" are slightly more controlled pop songs that retain the weird collaged feel of "Full Moon on the Highway" but except for maybe "Hunters and Collectors" seem less deranged. They feature a mix of appropriated "ethnic" rhythms and chirpy German melodies, all tied together by the superb mixing and production, which seems intended to confuse, surprise and disorient the listener, and uses the band members (plus a guest on Sax) the way modern music makers use samples and turntables. "Hunters and Collectors" features an opening noise blast (guitar? synth? tape?) that will knock you senseless with its abrasive fury. "Vernal Equinox" is a nearly nine minute monster instrumental with a relentless beat over which the sounds of the band's expert jamming are mixed around with the same dynamic collaged flair that sparks "Full Moon on the Highway". The percussive sounds on this track resemble the sounds of Indonesian gamelan, played with the instantly recognizable panache of Jaki Leibezeit. The closing track, the 13-minute "Unfinished" is a Holger Czukay tape piece that drops the beats and shimmers with a contemporary classical energy on the order of Xenakis, Ligeti or Penderecki, but throws in other elements that add a little humor to the mix. Mainly cheesy submerged melodies and electronic roars, and as the track closes, you can hear the clicks and pops of whatever scratchy record Holger is "sampling". Sounds like a weepy Nino Rota/Morricone string section over a rumbling earthquake. A truly original, exciting album, generally considered to be their last "GREAT" album, it might just be their best as far as I'm concerned, mainly due to the variety of styles displayed, all played (and perhaps more importantly, mixed, produced, and recorded) with a tremendous degree of skill and confidence.

I don't think any of the post-Damo records can be called "their best" as in the quote above but this is probably the most solid of them. There's a thread about this album but I guess there are some people who won't have ventured beyond the early records.

Not a Spotify link.

excellent choices!

Popol Vuh - In den Gärten Pharaos Spotify Link

Can - Landed Spotify Link

You better ask a mod to update title, i think they will be fed up with me.

so as you guys are all listening to these albums together, do your menstrual cycles start to sync up?

So far I've only managed to listen to Amon Düül II but I'll try to catch up this week/weekend.

Yeah, I'm halfway through AshRaTempel, but hey.

Looking forward to hearing that Can one- I've never ventured beyond their "Can"onical records (sorry)

nice. I've never heard the wegmuller before.

and while I do think landed is underrated, I can't say that I love it. here's hoping it really clicks when I revisit...