KRAUTROCK Listening Klub! - New Albums Every Wednesday

This ("Vuh") is a deep droning track that ambient artists 30 years later would have been proud to make

Track is pretty violent IMO, not very ambient at all!

(The Rother stuff in particular veers from average to dreadful and back.)

u r nuts IMO- I'm choosing a Michael Rother album when my week comes round...

worth checking out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3B89-69icyc&feature=related

u r nuts IMO- I'm choosing a Michael Rother album when my week comes round...

hah, this is exactly what I was thinking. I may even prefer rother solo! (I like neu! and all but find all of their albums a little patchy)

this kraftwerk documentary has tons of cool krautrock footage and reminiscing from various players:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1289806/

the documentary on BBC3 was pretty good.

I don't know man, the guitars on a lot of that Rother stuff is straight cheese.

Well hopefully my pick will persuade you otherwise...

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

My turn next, huh?

yup, hope you've managed to whittle your shortlist down to 3

Just about got to the last 'side' of Weg.

did you like it?

This is odd because I have recently listened to all three of these records recently without even opening this thread.

I can't say much of "Tarot" has ended up sticking with me, even though it sounded great the first time I heard it. As for Popol Vuh, I really enjoy "Affenstunde" and kinda wish Flortian would've stayed all electronic - nothing from Garten and Hosianna Mantra has really struck me in comparison.

I've always been perplexed by "Landed" - it's the only Can album that I've not been able to get into. Something about the vocals and the production really grates on me. On the other hand, I'd like to put in a good word for Flow Motion, Saw Delight, and Can, which I think are all very good and are deserving of a better reputation.

Did I like it...

It was ...nnn... alright.

I can see that if the KRock vein had been mined dry by an afficionado, this album's rediscovery might comeas a joy to them, there was nothing I hated about it, it hadquite a few 'take notice' bits, and ran nicely by. Walter came across as a nice bloke throughout (the track1 introducing the band was a nice touch and funny with it), and side 4 was a highlight, definitely.

Blimey, am I going to be able to keep up with three albums a week? It's work, jim, but not as we know it.

OK, let's chart them..

1. Viva
2. Walter
3. Phallus
4. Ashra

All very close together, and nothing below a line that is set at 'good'

OK, thanks to this thread I played Landed for probably the first time in 20 years, and it's really good! Probably they'd settled into a groove of making "Can records" by this point, but I could think of worse things to make, and how many bands are still coming up with something worthwhile on their seventh album?

The Popol Vuh sounds great in a church, as talked about here

tarot - a curious record. i remember when i 1st heard about it on blogs a couple of years back and enjoyed it well enough after dload. but it never seemed as good to me as other people stated. less an uncovered gem than a reasonable facsimile of one. i listened to it on the weekend again and it passed by pleasantly enough. some parts are definitely very good but overall it's mighty patchy.

Deutsche Elektronische Musik; Experimental German Rock and Electronic Music 1972-83

Soul Jazz Records

Tracklisting

1. Can — Aspectacle
2. Between — Devotion
3. Harmonia — Dino
4. Gila — This Morning
5. Kollectiv — Rambo Zambo
6. Michael Bundt — La Chasse Aux Microbes
7. E.M.A.K — Filmmusik
8. Popol Vuh — Morgengruss
9. Conrad Schnitzler — Auf Dem Schwarzen Kanal
10. La Düsseldorf — Rheinita
11. Harmonia — Veterano
12. Faust — It's A Rainy Day, Sunshine Girl
13. Neu! — Hallo Gallo
14. Cluster — Heisse Lippen
15. Ibliss — Hi Life
16. Dieter Moebius — Hasenheide
17. Amon Duul II — Fly United
18. Popol Vuh — Aguirre 1
19. Ash Ra Tempel — Daydream
20. Tangerine Dream — No Man's Land
21. Amon Duul II — Wie Der Wind Am Ende Einer Strasse
22. Roedelius — Geradewohl
23. Can — I Want More
24. Deuter — Soham

Working through the Can album now.

Track 2 sounds like a Pulp demo!

By the way, a bit of (title track of) "Viva" was played in that drama about Boy George that was on BBC2 last night

Yeah!

(post now to be reposted on a diff thread)

didnt see it

19/05 - ilxor
26/05 - Neil S
2/06 - Tom D
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

anyone else want in?

I didn't realize that week two had already gone into effect. I have never heard any Walter Wegmuller before and plan to tackle that link tomorrow.

Just got to the end of "Landed"..

I can see why people got underwhelmed by latter period Can, all that groundbreaking work early on, and a good quantity of albums, leaves the later ones less important.

Having said that, if this album and the second LP of Tago Mago were swapped, TM would still be highly regarded as a classic, save for "untitled" which has a lack of creativity in it's title, and is less 'out-there' than "Augm", but the other more 'traditional' songs make up for it in some ways.

Anyway, onwards to Popol Vuh..

listened to wegmuller last night and it didn't impress me. sloppy hippie mess. though there is a lot to digest so i'm gonna give it another try

Today, ilxor?

Tonight, I suppose. After work. If I can get my act together and pick a few albums.

Herman, can you assist with Spotify links?

Albums selected. I will post ASAP.

Alright, sticking to three decently well-known "classics" this time around.

Faust - Faust (1971)

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31s8ai2C7RL._SL500_AA300_.jpg

AMG review:

The impact of Faust cannot be overstated; their debut album was truly a revolutionary step forward in the progress of "rock music". It was pressed on clear vinyl, packaged in a clear sleeve, with a clear plastic lyric insert. The black X-ray of a fist on the cover graphically illustrates the hard core music contained in the grooves, an amalgamation of electronics, rock, tape edits, acoustic guitars, musique concrete, and industrial angst. The level of imagination is staggering, the concept is totally unique and it's fun to listen to as well.

Cluster - Sowiesoso (1976)

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41yfl42yTxL._SL500_AA300_.jpg

AMG review:

The evocative toybox melodies (usually the Roedelius compositions) on 1974's Zuckerzeit reached their peak with Sowiesoso, courtesy of ambling pieces like "Dem Wanderer," the title track, and the vaguely Oriental "Halwa." The drum programs are still irresistibly simplistic (not to say simple), but even when Sowiesoso stretches out into primarily beatless terrain ("Es War Einmal," "Zum Wohl"), the album retains its power.

Manuel Göttsching - E2-E4 (1984)

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/517S5GPG1YL._SL500_AA300_.jpg

AMG review:

E2-E4, one of the few records Göttsching released under his own name, has earned its place as one of the most important, influential electronic records ever released. It's also the earliest album to set the tone for electronic dance music; simply put, it just sounds like the mainstream house produced during the next two decades. Similar to previous Ashra albums like New Age of Earth and Blackouts, it does so with a short list of instruments -- just the nominal drum machine and a pulsing guitar line in the background plus some light synthesizer work. What sets it apart from music that came before is a steadfast refusal to follow the popular notions of development in melody and harmony. Instead, E2-E4 continues working through similar territory for close to an hour with an application to trance-state electronics missing from most of the music that preceded it. Though the various components repeat themselves incessantly, it's how they interact and build that determines the sound -- and that's the essence of most electronic dance music, that complex interplay between several repetitive elements.

My thoughts to come later.

By the way, if anyone could help out with links, that would be appreciated. I don't f/w downloads at all myself, so not well versed in that process... and also don't have Spotify access, of course.

Thanks all!

great picks - love the cluster and gottsching!

so, I was just listening to e2-24 last weekend. curious about how the guitar goes over w/new listeners...

Only one of the three on Spotify

Cluster - Sowiesoso (1976) http://open.spotify.com/album/3m9uV9nMHwiB3Cw96VwNB0

I can think of few pieces of music lovelier than the title track of Sowiesoso.

Cosign.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7i5lwRjLd_4

Was just listening Soweisoso earlier today - absolutely love that record. And the first Faust is not my favorite Faust but it's still genius. I'm not at all familiar with the Gottsching so I'm hoping someone's got a link to that one.

http://listen.grooveshark.com/#/album/E2+E4/4329331

thanks.

E2E4 is wonderful and i think its great its crossed over into the big canon in the past few years.

Not much of a fan of "E2-E4".

1st Faust isn't my favourite Faust either but still genius.

"Sowiesoso" - I got this, one lunchtime, in a little record shop called Casa in Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow. This was a shop which nobody seemed to buy anything out of, it appeared to be run by middle-aged women, their stock was ancient and mostly easy listening and Scottish folk music. This album was in a German folk music section (between the French and the Greek sections), alongside "Zero Set" by Moebius, Plank & Neumeier and "Double Cut" by Moebius & Beerbohm - hey, I don't know much about German folk music but I know what I like! So, yes, "Sowiesoso" is great, but not quite their best.

E2E4 does sound good. remember it being mentioned in the big observer article in, er, 2007

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2007/apr/22/features.musicmonthly7

casa cassettes? I never did find out where that shop actually was! used to see it listed all the time though

That's it, Casa Cassettes! It's amazing they managed to stumble into the 1990s.

It started as Casa Cassettes then shortened to Casa. The same woman also had a shop at the traffic lights on Oswald St (I think it became the AA test centre or it was next door to it?).

listened to In den Gärten Pharaos this afternoon. cool record but I have to admit that I strongly prefer the title track to "vuh".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DON-CogKcfk

i love that first faust record. it contains just the right mix of silliness and experimentalism that in other albums doesn't quite balance. and that x-ray cover - just fab. kurt graupner is the most unsung 'member' of the group. he built the boxes that helped produce the great 'synth' sounds on all their early records and his engineering and mixing is superlative - that snare drum sound: i've never heard it anywhere else.

"E2-E4". no-one gotta nottaspotifya ?

stream it here

http://listen.grooveshark.com/#/album/E2+E4/4329331

Streaming is nice, but..