KRAUTROCK Listening Klub! - New Albums Every Wednesday

Why not, eh?
#1 Amon Düül II - Phallus Dei
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_lRj5cgbiFlU/Rd1OoOwVItI/AAAAAAAAAMs/6W4cAFHecp8/s320/Amon+D%C3%BC%C3%BCl+-+Phallus+Dei+front2.jpg

"Kanaan" starts the album wonderfully, a melange of rumbling rock power, strings and sitars, Lothar Meid's almost Bowie-ish vocals with Renate Knaup's wordless chanting in the background, that's just as intoxicating many years after its first appearance as it was upon release. The slightly jazzy concluding minute avoids sounding forced, blending in beautifully with the song's general flow. "Dem Guten, Schoenen, Wahren" takes a truly wacked-out turn, with Meid's bizarre falsetto coming to the fore, swooping around the main melodies without regard for them in yelps and chants, while the music chugs along in what almost sounds like a beer-hall singalong at points, taking a more haunting, beautiful turn at others (the heavily produced violins are an especially spooky touch). "Luzifers Ghilom" brings out the psych-folk origins of the band a bit more with Shrat's bongos, while the rest of the band pulls off a nicely heroic rock piece that never sounds too inflated or stupid, with appropriately nutty vocal breaks and interjections along the way -- the sublime and the ridiculous never sounded so good together. "Henriette Krotenschwanz" ends the first side with a brief choral military march (if you will). The title track takes up the remainder of the album, a complex piece which never loses a sense of fun while always staying musically compelling. After a quiet start, the opening minutes consist of a variety of drones and noises constantly brought up and down in the mix, leading to a full band performance that builds and skips along with restrained fuzz power. Everything builds to a sudden climax halfway through, where all the members play a series of melodies in unison, while drums pound in the background. After a quick violin solo, everything settles into a fine percussion jam, with the full band kicking in shortly thereafter.

#2 Ash Ra Tempel - Ash Ra Tempel
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2yxShucczeo/SmtwuNbIynI/AAAAAAAAACg/iPFucrNIPRs/s400/AshRaTemple.jpg
AMG Review By Ned Raggett

n light of the 1990s post-rock scene and the often clear links back to Krautrock of all stripes, Ash Ra Tempel's monster debut album stands as being both astonishingly prescient and just flat out good, a logical extension of the space-jam-freakout ethos into rarified realms. Featuring the original trio of Enke, Gottsching and Schulze, Ash Ra Tempel consists of only two side-long tracks, both of which are gripping examples of technical ability mixed with rock power. If more progressive music was like it, there wouldn't be as many continuing complaints about that genre as a whole. "Amboss" contains the more upfront explosions of sound, though it mixes in restraint as much as crunch. Starting with Gottsching's extended guitar notes and Schulze's cymbals, it begins with a slow, ominous build that is equally haunting, as mysterious as the cryptic artwork of temples and figures found on the inside. Quick, rumbling drums slowly fade up some minutes in, with more crashing guitar mixing in with the previous tones, creating a disorienting drone experience. The active jam then takes over the rest of the song at the point, the three going off just as they want to (Gottsching's soloing in particular is fantastic) before all coming back together for an explosive, shuddering series of climaxes. "Traummaschine," in marked contrast, is a quieter affair, with Gottsching's deep drones setting and continuing the tone throughout. Fading in bit by bit, the guitars are accompanied by equally mesmerizing keyboards from Schulze, creating something that calls to mind everything from Eno's ambient works to Lull's doom-laden soundscapes and, after more distinct guitar pluckings start to surface, Flying Saucer Attack's rural psychedelia. Halfway through, soft percussion blends with the music to create a gentle but persistent intensity, cue for a series of shifts between calmer and more active sections, but all kept more restrained than on "Amboss."

Not A Spotify Link

#3 La Düsseldorf - Viva
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_uCwtP5BpIng/SANg3Lw5jqI/AAAAAAAAAA0/FGJo8AA5NBc/s400/viva.jpg

La Dusseldorf's Viva crystallized Klaus Dinger's progressive rock vision into a symphony of swirling guitars, rich keyboard melodies and driving percussive beats. The magnum opus "Cha, Cha 2000," will forever stand as one of the all-time anthems of futurist rock & roll.

Not A Spotify Link

Anyone can book a week to curate. Post now if you want in. Happy listening and please post your thoughts on these albums whether you know them inside our or you are new to them. A certain P.oster might not agree with my La Düsseldorf pick but this is the better album!

This may be a dumb question, but is this just going to be German Krautrock or is similar-sounding stuff from other countries allowed?

Nice... I know the first and third but not the Ash Ra Tempel. Glad to have it. By the way anyone way into krautrock or looking to get way into krautrock may like this post I wrote a few months ago. A helpful list, if nothing else.

I'll need to give all three of these records a listen this week. If I remember right I really love every other song on the ADII album, the others being kinda dreck. And I know I like Viva but I got it on the same day as their first, s/t album, so the two have always blended together for me.

This is a cool idea.

I did d/l all the Cope 50, but never got round to playing 90% of them.

This may be a dumb question, but is this just going to be German Krautrock or is similar-sounding stuff from other countries allowed?

I dunno, I guess you can pick whatever you like?

Who wants a week?

I'll take a week.

is this just going to be German Krautrock

I wasn't aware there was any other kind

Love that La Dusseldorf record (and their ST one is great also), don't know the others. Only Ash Ra stuff I know is "New Age of Man", which I think is a later incarnation of the above band. Amon Duul II-wise, I only have Yeti, which is also great, if very different to what many consider to be the classic krautrock sound.

Another listening club to keep up with...

the Ash Ra Tempel is thoroughly awesome, and I decided to leave out Yeti as I figured most people had heard it but may not know this one.

"Phallus Dei" starts out like it's going to be the greatest album you've ever heard in your life but then doesn't follow up on it, IMO. Still wonder how they came up with it though. In Munich. In 1969.

I blow hot and cold on Ash Ra Tempel (I prefer Ashra!)

La D is obv. great.

... "Viva" is prob. the La D album that most convinces me Klaus Dinger was a fan of the Glitter Band!

I'm in.

Damn you for making another listening club that I absolutely have to follow.

Love the Amon Duul and La Dusseldorf albums, both staples of my listening habits during the past 5 years or so, especially. I still haven't managed to track down a copy of the Ash Ra Tempel, however...

tom d you want to curate a week?

I should really, shouldn't I? What do I do?

On your week you choose 3 albums, post in the style of the 1st post with album covers, spotify links etc. You can add your own thoughts or post reviews. Whatever you like.

12/05 - fit and working again
19/05 - Tom D

Anyone else?

Hold on there, don't pencil me in for the 19th just yet, give me time to think of stuff!

its 2 weeks!

Anyone else?

ME! As mentioned upthread.

Hey, some of us might be busy for the next two weeks! Also I want to see what other people are posting and the general direction the whole thing's headed (xp)

alright
12/05 - fit and working again
19/05 - ilxor

dont blame me if 20 people jump in ahead of you and you dont get a shot until next year, tom.

Already have my three albums lined up (in my head).

^ deserves to go before me

Actually, I might prefer to go later... unless Herman's down for having me highlight some Kraut-influenced stuff instead of a bunch of the "classic" '60s/'70s era stuff. I'm gonna switch it up a bit!

My immediate thought is that it might be best to get some of the "classics" out of the way first, though.

yes, get the "classics" out of the way. I dont think we need do Stereolab ever on this thread.

I've never heard VIVA. I'll have to grab it later. This is the first listening club thread I've opened.
I'm a big fan of the first two bands, but neither of those records are my favorite. They are pretty great debuts, though.

yes, get the "classics" out of the way. I dont think we need do Stereolab ever on this thread.

Hmmmm, you may want to push back my contribution week? I've got one classic lined up, then two heavily Kraut-influenced things from the '90s/'00s that are well worth hearing.

1st round of goes we definitely stick to the classics, "influenced" stuff comes much later as we run out, i think)

I cant push you back as noone else has volunteered and tom needs 3 months to pick his albums.

I'll give it a go Herman!

Can I have a week for classics, then another week for influenced stuff a bit later on?

Greedy

sure.

I'll be having multiple goes myself, hopefully not too many though as lots of you will volunteer.

12/05 - fit and working again
19/05 - ilxor
26/05 - Neil S
2/06 - Tom D (provisionally)

ta. Now I have to get thinking, should be relatively easy if we're the more canonical end of things.

i think we can be loose on the 70s end of things

tom is digging out his early Scorpions lps as we speak. I heard he liked a bit of Frumpy and Hairy Chapter too.

Promise to avoid crap German heavy rock and crap German jazz rock - and there's a shitload of the latter

...that you own?

... a lot of it, yes, unfortunately

you hippy!

What do you have then german jazz-rock wise?

Oh, various shite

name some names!

I bet he has Scorpions albums

Hey, select portions of "Lonesome Crow" are fairly krautrockish! (Particularly the Echoplexed bits.)

Hairy Chapter's "Can't Get Through" lp is a thud-rock classic, imo.
Early Scorps certainly ain't bad, either.

I'm a bit fuzzy on the concept: What are the responsibilities involved in volunteering to do a week?

1) Pick three albums!

2) Get wasted.

Yes, except you've got it in reverse order.

1) Get wasted.

2) Pick three albums!

3) Get wasteder.

Alright, I want a week. But it couldn't really be until like the middle of June because I'm packing up my records and moving across the country...

you goin' back to cali? like LL?

Yeah. Except not nearly as cool, and I gotta figure out how to get my music out there with me.

good luck!

Thx dude! Wish I would've had more warning, would've come up to your store.

(And a few hundred others.)

ok
I'll put you down provisionally then

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

THX

Can we get a week for Geir?

geir only does prog club

Anyone else want in?

Listening to Phallus Dei, this was the first Amon Düül II I ever bought. I read about them somewhere in the mid 90s and one of my mates ran me into Glasgow to Tower Records one evening (it opened til midnight). I got this and tanz der lemmings(they didnt have yeti) and 2 Neu! cds. It still sounds bizarre now, love it. I remember finding yeti a few weeks later 2nd hand along with the other Neu! cd. Great times.

This thread/club I will most likely follow than any other one.

sidenote: the Neu! box set is now available

sidenote: the Neu! box set is now available

she be expensive

much? (didn't even know there was one)

120 euro plus post

I got an email from amazon and it said the sale price was $333

get it from gronland

http://www.neu2010-shop.com/content/produktdetail.aspx?a=11284&s=78

119 euros = to about 150 usd?

I really want that set

way too spendy for me

Shipping cost will be a real bastard too

Oh they have that 12" single!

you paying 130 euros for the single then?

I'd like to take a week if I can. I have paid stupid amounts of money for Second Battle/Garden of Delights/Brain reissues and need to turn it into some kind of worthwhile social contribution. I should be able to provide some good stuff depending on where you guys take this thread.

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

That date suit you?

I like VIVA but wish that Klaus's vocals would get more unhinged or something.
I feel like he's not making his HERO effort.

He's actually trying be understood on this album though - that boy had something to say on this album, even had a lyric sheet!

No shit?
Makes sense. I was listening to Cha Cha 2000 on my way to work and imagining utopia.

I could possibly do a week of ones that I own on record. Won't be able to join in all of them as I can't use my computer for listening.

Viva is an odd one for me, as a fair few of my friends think 'White Overalls' is the best La Dusseldorf song, so I'm always put off it slightly due to my unwavering stance that the first side of La Dusseldorf is much better. And quite possibly the best side of music ever. It's a slightly unfair attitude to take to what is an otherwise great record in its own right.

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

that suit you?

Always think of "Viva/White Overalls" as one song. Actually the 1st album had a lyric sheet too but don't think he was being as profound there (xxp)

Sounds good. If anything comes up that means I can't do it then I should be able to let you know with plenty of time to spare. Not entirely sure what I've got that others won't know/have already taken, though!

xpost

tom d wanted to go later so maybe he will swap with you?

I think the idea of was for people who aren't as familiar with this stuff to visit these threads - but I don't know if it's working out that way!

tom d wanted to go later so maybe he will swap with you?

Oh no, I've already chosen my albums... but what happens if they're not on Spotify?

That would be far too early, I'm afraid. I think that's the day I get back from Primavera, and the rest of May is hella busy.

xposts!

then you provide a not on spotify
xp

ok works out fine then.

then you provide a not on spotify

Y'what?

I think the idea of was for people who aren't as familiar with this stuff to visit these threads - but I don't know if it's working out that way!

Haha, yeah - I can't join in with the others as I don't own any of them and can't play music from the computer without pestering the mister to use his. So at least with this one I already own some of them.

tom, but those who want to discover krautrock need those who know about it to post albums for them to check out? Its for everyone! Everyone can post what they think of the albums whether its the first time they heard them or not.

tom check my 1st post for a not on spotify

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

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_qt_-tcF1HIs/SkAeidbLg8I/AAAAAAAAALw/5fjMnh8-hKk/s400/3.jpg

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

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_kcKsEe3sI50/ST8iUc86B1I/AAAAAAAAAEQ/TrtkjQUAmZ4/s320/41W4M91H6HL._SS500_.jpg

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...

Just moved onto the La Dusseldorf one from finishing the AshRaTempel.

A bit like following The Orb with the Glitter band, but "..hey"

Bloody 'ell that Walter one is long. Is there a track I can knock off so I can fit it onto 1 CD?

Doubt it! These are great choices. Walter Wegmuller album is the best thing to come out of all that RU Kaiser Cosmic jamming hoohah.

OK, so my options be:

1) Write it as mp3s to a data disc
2) Write 2CDrs, one LP per
3) Write one as sides one to three, and get a 3" cdr for side 4 (going by the review above)..

Option 3 sounds good to me

Yeah, decided I like that one...

(oh, which track kicks off side 4?)

"Die Sterne"

tku

Mark what did you think of my choices from last week?

I enjoyed the AmonDuul2, I do have a real copy of the Yeti CD, it's a bit big and too much 'improvisation' to really have a handle on but then it does have their big hit song...

Side 2 was good fun, Side 1 a bit more structured and fine.

The Ashra tempel side 1 was too much like Santana on a paralell universe to grab me, but I did enjoy side 2.

Onto Viva, and after the first three tracks, enjoying it as a 'new Neu!' as you all said. I did hear it before, I had it on my mobile on earphones, but I have now decided I can't listen to or take in music that's directly into ears like that, it doesn't register really.

I kind of had an idea of all these three before hearing, so no major surprises. The next two I don't have too much clue about. (I might have "Landed" somewhere laready)

God knows if I'll be able to keep up with 3 KRock albums a week, we'll see...

Sorry about lack of real 'analysis' re the music, I'm not great with that above the interesting/boring level, but I'll certainly give it a go as far as I can...

Speaking of "new Neu!" - I recently acquired Harmonia's "Deluxe" as well as Michael Rother's first three solo albums. Taken with the La Dusseldorf, it's almost overwhelming how much the post-Neu stuff resembles the Neu formula... it really does become too much after a while. (The Rother stuff in particular veers from average to dreadful and back.)

Also - spent the morning listening to the Popol Vuh and Ash Ra Tempel albums. Both are pretty complementary to each other. The PV album is awesome... it feels spacious yet composed, unlike the ART record which is clearly improv. The PV album may well be improv too (I have no idea), but if it is then it's done better.

Mark, I had the opposite reaction to the Ash Ra Tempel album. I found the first track exhilerating, mostly because once that guitar got going it just never stopped. The second, more ambient track was good but weightless. Probably didn't help that I was in a Starbucks and the noise of the customers as well as the house stereo was bleeding into my ears.

Landed has become one of my favorite Can records in the last couple of years.
I like it more than Soon Over Babaluma, even, which is sacrilege in some circles.
It's more fun.

I've never understood the love for Soon Over Babaluma. Of the later records I much prefer Landed and Saw Delight.

Tarot is a really interesting record, but always struck me more as a curiosity than as something to love.

I've not ever heard Landed! Does this strike me out of Can fandom?

I hadn't heard it until the last round of reissues, I think you're okay.

I've not ever heard Landed! Does this strike me out of Can fandom?

I don't think any of the post-Damo records are essential. They are usually spotty and, if you've listened to early Can first, tend to be underwhelming. But in my opinion they do contain some great music.

Agreed

I do really like Soon Over Babaluma. And, while not strictly Can, there have been very few records made as preposterous* as 'Cool in the Pool'.

*This is a good thing.

I was put off by people from listening past the "classic" era but ignore them, some good stuff was made.

My experience of the 'latter' Can period was limited to the second CD of "Anthology", where tracks went by without registering until "I want more" kicked in...

We'll see...

I've never understood the love for Soon Over Babaluma. Of the later records I much prefer Landed and Saw Delight.

Yes. I'd put Saw Delight and Can in my top five Can albums, maybe Landed too. Tago and Ege would be in there from the 'classic period'. I'm a little bored with Future Days. Reebop and Rosko certainly brought the funk!

What's Out Of Reach like? - I've never heard it, or even knowingly seen a copy, but I think I might like it :)

I've never understood the love for Soon Over Babaluma. Of the later records I much prefer Landed and Saw Delight.

Well, "Soon Over Babaluma" has gradually become my favourite Can album (it's certainly the one I play most), so I can't agree there!

What's Out Of Reach like? - I've never heard it, or even knowingly seen a copy, but I think I might like it :)

Holger's absence is keenly felt I think, it's really murky and muddy sounding and cluttered and sort of incontinent - it's not a total disaster though.

soon over babaluma has the best side 2 of all can albums.

^ the truth

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!

Future Days is my fave these days

future days has always been my fave. it's gorgeous.

Mine used to be Tago Mago but Future Days has taken over the past few years.

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..

whisky's quicker

krautrocks slower with liquor

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vqlx_8MtoSk

where's that from? couldn't see any credits and it's too long to be the recent(ish) bbc4 documentary.

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

Neil are you primed?

Hope everyone's enjoyed my picks!

there wasnt much chat, was there?

Hey, Koogs, that youtube clip is from a film called Kraftwerk and The Electronic Revolution. It is available on DVD.
It's a doc about Kraftwerk that delves into the rest of the krautrock phenomenon with some detail.

thanks. dvd probably a better option than sneaking 18 10 minute segments whilst at work.

was something that covered similar ground on BBC4 at the end of last year. might be taken from the same sources though.

actually, amazon has recommended that to me before, but i'd thought it was a book 8)

Right, it's today!

Something coming shortly...

Then after that you will post this weeks albums?

It's a Michael Rother themed week this week- my favourite of Neu!'s unimpeachable run of first three records, a well-known collaboration with Cluster, and a perhaps less well known solo record.

Neu! - Neu!

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_IeVEawIpC_k/SaaJAf6N0bI/AAAAAAAAHYM/L9gkXYCWqj8/s320/neu_1235647396_crop_300x300.jpg

AMG review by Thom Jurek:

Fresh after leaving Kraftwerk in the fall of 1971 for what they perceived to be a lack of vision, guitarist Michael Rother and drummer Klaus Dinger formed their own unit and changed the face of German rock forever -- eventually influencing their former employer, Florian Schneider of Kraftwerk. The 1974 album Autobahn was a genteel reconsideration of the music played here. Neu! created a sound that was literally made for cruising in an automobile. While here in the States people were flipping out over "Radar Love" by Golden Earring, if they'd known about this first Neu! disc, they would never have bothered. Dinger's mechanical, cut time drumming and Rother's two-note bass runs adorned with cleverly manipulated and dreamy guitar riffs and fills were the hallmarks of the "motorik" sound that would become the band's trademark.

Spotify link
Last.fm link

2. Harmonia - Musik Von Harmonia

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f0/MusikVonHarmonia.jpg

AMG review by Ned Raggett:

The debut Harmonia album is at once a product of their source bands and a fine new twist on them, resulting in music that captures what for many is the Krautrock ideal, or more accurately, the motorik ideal. It's not Kraftwerk's all-synth, clean, clinical pulse, nor Neu!'s seemingly effortless glide, nor Can's stomping art world funk. Instead it's at once playful and murky, steady and mechanical, a supergroup of sorts who easily achieves and maintains such a seemingly overstated status by embracing a variety of approaches that work wonders. The players bring their usual multi-instrumental roles to the fore, ensuring that the end results achieve their own distinct sound -- this isn't simply Cluster with Rother's assistance or Rother trying for a solo record with Cluster's backing.

Last.fm link
Grooveshark link
(sorry, no Spotify!)

3. Michael Rother - Sterntaler

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_l3447Elf0wM/ScfqJZ-5rXI/AAAAAAAAAOE/ATs2YLqKS6M/s320/michael_rother_sterntaler_rem07.jpg

AMG review by Thom Jurek:

Sterntaler marked the beginning of Michael Rother's deep preoccupation with introspective melodies projected outward. Where Flammende Herzen was full of anthemic instrumental rock that was constructed to be just that, Sterntaler is more reflective even if its drive is as insistent and mechanically accurate. Again collaborating with producer Conny Plank and Can's drummer, Jaki Leibzeit, Rother set out with Sterntaler to create true electronic rock music -- even if what he came up with was the first real ambient trance music. Unlike his former bandmates in Kraftwerk and Harmonia who had wholeheartedly embraced electronic music as an end in and of itself, Rother was deeply entrenched in the idea that the entire idea for synthesizers and drum machines was to make rock & roll itself more futuristic. What's so odd about that notion is his method of composition.

Last.fm link
(sorry, no Spotify!)

All fairly "obvious" choices, but I hope people will have some strong views- I know that Michael Rother solo has already split opinion!

Obvious schmobvious. I like "Sterntaler" but I'm not sure that anything Rother did beyond the first three tracks of "Flammende Herzen" is particularly vital. It's nice, polite music but...

That was the objection upthread- it has the tendency to be too blissed out and polite. I think there's enough going on with Rother's guitar paying and the subtly changing motorik rhythyms to keep you interested, though.

Interested yes, excited no IMO... by the time you get to "Lust" (and he's ditched Jaki) you're not even interested

Love the first two albums you mentioned (though Neu! never quite did it for me like Neu! '75, which is their high water mark). I have not heard the Rother solo album, I'll have to check that one out...

Rother is a giant imo. I've heard all the Neu!/Harmonia stuff, Flammende Herzen and Sterntaler, but not the rest of the solo stuff.
It would be very nice to see the reunited Harmonia, but I that probably won't happen for me.
I wouldn't mind hearing other solo things, but even if they are bland beyond words, I'll still think he rules.

the harmonia albums are basically the pinnacle of krautrock for me

I bought all three Neu! albums in relatively quick succession a year or two ago, so in some ways they all blend together for me. None are pure genius front-to-back, but their highest points are transcendent, or nearly so.

I re-listened to the first album this morning on my way to work and it reminded me how varied Neu! could be from song to song, yet how myopic people's view of them (or of "krautrock") can be. I suppose we have Stereolab to thank for ripping off/shining the spotlight on "Hallogallo" - but what would this album be without "Sonderangebot" or "Im Gluck"? It needs those more abstract songs to make the others really shine, especially "Weissensee," in my opinion. (That said, the last track still sounds like Rother and Dinger were on drugs both when they recorded the song and when they listened to it and deemed it worthy of putting on the record.)

I have De-Luxe, which I like, though I've yet to hear the first Harmonia album - need to find time to listen to it this week. I do know the song "Watussi" which I think is genius.

As with Neu!, I came across Rother's first three albums all at once, so it's taken some time for me to tell them apart. After the other day's Rother debate (upthread), I went back and listened to his album Katzenmusik, which I actually realized I liked! I'm still unconvinced about Sterntaler though. One of the things I like so much about Rother's playing on the first Neu! album is how textural it often is. Those albums are so rhythm-oriented with Rother providing an almost abstract backdrop. Sterntaler on the other hand is extremely melodic, and I'm not really certain that melody was Rother's strongest point. I'll listen to the album again this week, however, just to be sure I'm not totally misguided. (I'm sure you'll all tell me if I am.)

Nice thoughts Scott.

I need to get hold of Deluxe. The rest of Musik... doesn't quite live up to the incredibly high standard of "Watussi" (like Cluster's Zuckerzeit a pre-figuration of huge swathes of electronic music that followed it), but is still excellent.

Just listened to Sterntaler again... taken as a whole I think it's mostly pleasant and inoffensive, but never truly awesome. Kinda reminds me of Brian May's guitar tone without the epic-ness of Queen's songwriting. Also, "Lichter von Kairo" is truly dreck... god, that synth! That one song nearly torpedos the whole record!

Lichter von Kairo is a bonus track from circa '93. That might explain its awfulness.

Original tracklist is
A1 Sonnenrad 6:01
A2 Blauer Regen 3:09
A3 Stromlinien 8:11
B1 Sterntaler 6:46
B2 Fontana Di Luna 6:39
B3 Orchestrion 3:40

I need to get hold of Deluxe.

Title track is one the greatest things I've ever heard in my life. I prefer that album to the first.

^what he said

Okay, will be having a look for that in Fopp this lunchtime.

Re. Lichter von Kairo: that track sounds like a poor Enigma out-take, and ruins the end of that album.

I've been checking up if my albums for next week are on Spotify, I hate the idea that people might think that bonus tracks have anything to do with the orignal albums!

oh yeah, those bonus tracks are straight-up garbage!

I knew the last dance remix was a bonus, but not the others. That definitely makes this a better album than I'd realized. (Still not my favorite though.)

Gonna chip in a weekend bonus album here since it kinda ties in with this weeks choices as he was once in a band with Michael Rother (And Wolfgang Flur)

RIECHMANN - wunderbar
http://shopbase.finetunes.net/shopserver/BinaryCacheServlet?albumid=1237809461132&datatype=fc300

Reissued from the vaults of the legendary Sky Records, Wunderbar was the first, and sadly only solo album by Wolfgang Riechmann, whose life was tragically cut short after a knife attack in 1978, just three weeks before this record was released. Riechmann's musical background stretched back to the late sixties when he met Michael Rother (of Harmonia and Neu!) and Wolfgang Flur (of Kraftwerk) with whom he formed the band Spirits Of Sound. Through the mid-seventies Riechmann played with the popular group Phonix, who released two albums on the Streetmark label, but once they disbanded in 1977 he devoted all his energies into this oft-overlooked classic of synthesizer music, recalling the sounds of Tangerine Dream and Klaus Schulze in addition to the Dusseldorf school from which he emerged. In the most literal sense of the word, there's a mercurial feel to this music - the album brimming with a slippery, metallic quality thanks to the sweeping synth motions running through tracks like 'Silberland' and 'Abendlicht'. Wonderful stuff, and highly recommended to fans of both pioneers like Cluster to more recent exponents like Emeralds.

Hope you all enjoy!

Again, mit der bonuses! Dude was murdered, by the way, else killed in a bar room brawl

Album's good but not up to Cluster's standards

it's well worth checking out though!

Oh yeah, absolutely

and it just fits nicely with this weeks picks

do you own it tom?

nice one, thanks Herman!

So what do you think of those albums above? I know you're a Neu! fan...

well i love the neu and harmonia. need ti hear the rother again, its been a while.

oooh, this REICHMANN album sounds right up my alley...

do you own it tom?

What a terribly old fashioned question

The answer is yes,isn't it?

Alan N , I think it most probably is.

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
21/07 - pashmina

I'll trade my place with someone else already in that list who hasn't gone yet if they like, in interests of fairness. First call gets it.

ME!

Done

2/06 - Tom D
9/06 - pashmina
16/06- GOTT PUNCH II HAWKWINDZ
23/06 - Von Kelson
30/06 - emil.y
7/07 - Matt #2
14/07 - Alan N
21/07 - pfunkboy

Any thoughts on the Riechmann?

Won't be on the internet this Wednesday, so thought I'd jump the gun by posting my selections today:

1. POPOL VUH - Sei still, wisse ICH BIN (1981)

http://image-7.verycd.com/abef9b9b09b236ca59c8a84cf462e05f54887%28600x%29/thumb.jpg

Here's what I said about it here, a long long time ago:

Probably the most idiosyncratic Popol Vuh album of them all and one of the best. Soundtrack to Fricke’s extremely odd “film” of the same name (sometimes also called “Sinai Desert”) The mantra-like chanting and extreme repetition that Fricke had been exploring in more and more detail finds its ultimate expression on this truly unique album. Using the choir of the Bavarian State Opera, Fricke builds dense and rather unsettling walls of vocals over thundering, thumping percussion and Fichelscher’s pleasingly primitive guitar or else strips the music right down to simple modal melodies. Pretty special.

So, this is one of my favourite Vuh albums, still can't think what or who sounds like this... and the punk rockers got it wrong, three chords is still two chords too many.

Spotify Link (First seven tracks are the album, last track has nothing to do with it.)

2. ROEDELIUS - Jardin Au Fou (1980)

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5jqVJD9To-A/SxeHUIGOwzI/AAAAAAAAAbM/TJw7qkQT_lo/s320/Roedelius+-+1979+-+Jardin+Au+Fou.jpg

I got given this as a birthday present by a friend of mine years ago, which was nice! Recorded at Peter Baumann's studio in Berlin, this is better produced and a bit more focused than a lot of his other solo albums. Basically, if you like the melodic, twinkly, childlike side of Cluster then this is the fellow for you. The fact that so many of the song titles are in French makes me wonder if this album isn't, in some way, an homage to Erik Satie, whose ghostly presence hovers over much of it. (By the way, does anyone have a version of Roedelius' first album, "Durch die Wuste" which isn't in mono?)

Spotify Link (First ten tracks are the album, don't know what the rest of it is.)

3. SYPH - Pst/SYPH (1980/81)

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_7St4jD20p0o/Rbva6ji88FI/AAAAAAAAA58/kQ86jcpIBEg/s400/syph_pst.jpg

Ever wondered if there was any kind of missing link between Krautrock and Punk Rock? Well look no further! SYPH were one of the first German punk bands and a punk band they definitely were, there's enough ramalama shoutiness in their back catalogue to satisfy even our own Colonel Poo. There was always something else going on with SYPH however, hence Holger Czukay producing (and playing on) "Pst", their second album, at Can's Inner Space studio. Czukay persuaded the band to adopt the Can approach to composition and recording, doesn't always come off tbf - 20 year old punk rockers being less adept at improvising than 30-something former students of Stockhausen perhaps. Their fourth, self-titled, album consisted of more (exploratory) material from the sessions with Czukay, so these two albums truly belong together, think of this pairing as the punk rock "Tago Mago"! Includes the classic (to my earholes anyway) "Little Nemo", which Czukay edited down, added a bunch of silly vocals to, and made the title track of his second solo album, claiming sole authorship in the process, naughty Holger!

Non Spotify Link

Bollocks. Crappy PV cover:

http://www.enricobassi.it/seistillfront.JPG

SYPH intriguing

Nice, 2 out of 3 on Spotify too!

That SYPH double pack's great.

Durch die Wüste isn't mono originally is it? Do you have a weird rip of it? I've got no setup to rip vinyl unfortunately. Bureau B has reissued high quality Roedelius/Cluster vinyl last year that I highly recommend (got Cluster II and Grosses Wasser for my birthday a few monts ago).

Interesting choices Mr D

Durch die Wüste isn't mono originally is it? Do you have a weird rip of it?

Weird rip, yeah. I only noticed because I have "Johanneslust", which is one of the greatest things Roedelius ever did, on a compilation called "Auf Leisen Sohlen", and when I was listening to it on my copy of "Durch die Wüste", I was thinking, "Hold on, this isn't very good", then I realised it was mono - and that's one track that definitely benefits from stereo!

... oh and "Durch die Wüste" is awesome too

good choices now to listen to syph..

Bonus album:

4. CONRAD SCHNITZLER - Con (1978)

http://www.enricobassi.it/krauto_pic005.JPG

Couldn't really begin to describe Conrad Schnitzler's discography, how many albums is it now? 50? 75? 100? The majority of them private releases, on cassettes, on vinyl, on CD-Rs, in limited runs from 25 upwards, some sold in galleries, some sold on the streets of various German towns by Con himself. On his earliest albums you really get the sense of a musician finding his milieu, coming home even, I swear this guy IS electronic! This particular album (aka "Ballet Statique") however was his first for a proper record label (his release schedule becomes truly ridiculous from hereon!) and was recorded and produced by Peter Baumann at his Paragon Studios in Berlin - clearly a man of great taste and refinement! I wouldn't describe this as exactly commercial but it's a lot more so than most of his stuff. Suffice to say, to make music as minimal as "Con" and still make it so compelling demonstrates an understanding of pure sound that is, well. profound. Lots of musicians are described as "experimental", Con is the real deal.

Non Spotify Link

the roedelius is pleasant enough. i love harmonia and cluster but their solos things leave me a little unimpressed. finally listened to the reichmann today - certainly has a lot of strings pads and sounds like vangellis or other sountracky electronic music. not my cuppa.

9/06 - pashmina
16/06- GOTT PUNCH II HAWKWINDZ
23/06 - Von Kelson
30/06 - emil.y
7/07 - Matt #2
14/07 - Alan N
21/07 - pfunkboy

I like the Reichmann! Got it from Ultima Thule a while back - it is nowhere near as good as yr classic electronic instrumental kraut stuff, but it has its own charm.

Will try to download the SYPH on the mister's computer as I know nothing about it - sounds interesting.

Pashmina's pRoxy picks

#1 Klaus Schulze - Timewind
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_6SchU8D-e1s/SODMwR8xnZI/AAAAAAAADqA/aT58csAMrUg/s400/klaus-schulze-timewind-cover.jpg

Spotify Link

#2 Amon Düül II - Yeti
http://blogs.creativeloafing.com/tampacalling/files/2009/07/amonduulyeti.jpg

Spotify Link

#3 Popul Vuh - Das Hoheleid Salomos
http://dreamchimney.com/slvs/07_big_20070322043220.jpg

Not A Spotify

Popol Vuh be ruling this thread

What an album cover!

Listened to that Conrad Schnitzler album yesterday - it's pretty good. I actually like the four short tracks more than the intro long track...

Yeah, my favourite track is actually "Metall I"

Popol Vuh be ruling this thread

So it would appear.

that's one PV i haven't heard.

Listening to the excellently named "Timewind" now, very nice it is too. The only other Klaus Schulze record I've heard is "Moondawn", which is also excellent.

Cyborg is great too.

Cant go wrong with any of his early-ish albums.

I've only ever heard "Irrlicht" and "Picture Music" and didn't like either of them

.. and "Black Dance", didn't like that either

You're fae Paisley though.

They didn't like modern sounding stuff there. It was all C&W clubs round there when you were a lad, admit it!

You saying Chou Pharot weren't modern sounding?

Chou Pahrot even

hah, I remember you ysi-ing that once.

Gotta support yr local artists!

other famous sons of Paisley: Andrew Neil, Paulo Nutini, my dad.

I had no idea paulo nutini was from Paisley.

Sadly true. Also Tom Conti. But, in our defence, there's Fulton Mackay. And David Tennant.

Gerard Butler too, apparently: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paisley#Notable_people

Oh yes, I think his maw lives in near my maw

Still, Krautrock, eh? Ye cannae whack it!

isnt steven moffat from paisley too?

hey tom was Krautrock popular in paisley when you were a lad?

In my household, for sure. My sister had "Neu 2", and Faust "So Far" (think she borrowed that one).

When did you leave Paisley?

Not soon enough... also remember a guy at school bringing in one of his big brother's Amon Duul II albums to play

See, yer wrong, it was a veritable hotbed of Krautrock!

I started primary school in East Kilbride in 77 then moved to Blackwood march 78, and I dont recall any krautrock at all funnily enough :). Most of us boys were into Madness in about 1980-ish. Dont recall anything before that musically tbh.

EK has had a few famous folk too.

I bet the Reid brothers had Krautrock lps.

I bet they didn't. Older brothers and sisters required - the older the better.

Tago Mago, certainly.

Was there record shops in Paisley that sold krautrock? or was that glasgow only?

More than one. Stereo One, for instance, that's where I bought "Bruder des Schattens, Sohne des Lichts".

I remember the Kraftwerk double album being in our local Newsagent's Lp racks. This'd be just after Autobahn was a hit.

Plus that second hand shop where I got "Live at the Crypt" by AMM (not Krautrock, but you get the idea) and countless others (xp)

Got this in Paisley:

http://www.feelmybicep.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/R-793715-1163194517-500x525.jpg

Lots of stuff

TBH, there was as prolly much K/rock available in Paisley as Glasgow, later on Stereo One opened up an upper floor that was absolutely crammed with new + 2nd hand 70s albums - over-priced because people had started collecting stuff by then

was paisley as good in the 80s for buying music as the 70s?

Dunno, there was a branch of Listen in Paisley in the 70s. Not my era though. Record collecting, as a LOL-U-Nerd hobby, didn't really take off to the mid-to-late 80s, I think?

Oh I thought you had bought all this Krautrock in the mid-late 70s , lol.

Cheers for that

I thought you were of marcello's age and was buying stuff as a young teen, before you think I thought you were ancient!

xp

too late!

its your own fault, you kept talking about 70s stuff, i assumed that was when you were buying it all.

Marcello was buying Stockhausen when he was 9 and shit tho! In his local Woolies.

its your own fault, you kept talking about 70s stuff, i assumed that was when you were buying it all.

Yes, in the 80s and 90s!

Funnily enough, that woolies was where I was buying my Madness singles!

never heard this popol vuh before. took like a second and i knew i loved it.

Big in Paisley in the late 80s and 90s apparently!

Well, no, I'd never heard that one then. This stuff was still next-to-impossible to find, you might occasionally luck out tho.

Sort of surprised you don't hear more about this particular Vuh record, actually.
It sounds of a piece with their epics "Letzte Tage, Letzte Nacht" and "Einsjager und Siebenjager."
That is Renate I hear, right?

Djong Yun

Ah.

^ Opening track on "Hosianna Mantra"!

I also bought all of this stuff (IE krautrock, also lesser-known UK progressive rock and folk rock) in the '80's. I remember getting into Klaus Schulze, not knowing shit about him, and winding up with three copies of "Irrlicht" all with different covers becuase I kept forgetting I had that one/went on the record cover rather than the title.

"Timewind" is I guess kind of typical of KS albums from the time and probably interchangeable in places with "Moondawn" and maybe bits of "X" which I was listening to the other day. I like all this stuff loads but I must admit I rarely sit through a whole piece, he did tend to go on a bit. I like the musical primitivism of his approach at this time, all cool-sounding synthi noises and pounding sequencers (the latter moreso on "X" than "Timewind") but sometimes the uh tunelessness of it all gets to me.

"Yeti" is I think not just a fantastic album, but a fantastic whole package, the cover is great in its own right and matches with the music perfectly. The music is great, totally driving feel and sonically intense. this is one of those albums where no matter how loud you turn it up, you still want to turn it up one louder. I went through a phase of digging heavy rock w/electric violin and bits of this are second only to High Tide for "that" sound. I dig some other ad2, but I don't think anything else they did even came close to this.

Popol Vuh link to KS and AD2 because KS bought Florian Fricke's big Moog off of him and also Danny Fischelsher used to drum for AD I think. My favourite kind of Popol Vuh music is this period - layered electric guitars, splashy, cymbal-heavy drums, other-worldly female vox, and I think this is the best one. I try to think of why I like this so much, but it's really hard to explain. The music just sounds magical and "other" to me in some way, I can't really put it any other way than that.

I need to play this one now. not heard it (popol vuh)

Really enjoying the Popol Vuh! Great pick Norm!

16/06- GOTT PUNCH II HAWKWINDZ
23/06 - Von Kelson
30/06 - emil.y
7/07 - Matt #2
14/07 - Alan N
21/07 - pfunkboy

HEY krautduders

I will have my picks ready in a few hours, sorry. I don't actually have my record collection with me atm so I'll have to find DL links or Spotify or something.

DOM - Edge of Time (1971)

http://i45.tinypic.com/2ppable.jpg

"You will meet me there at the edge of time
the fire-sea licking my feet
gas and damp,
wind and rain,
snow, heat, waters, ice and pain
damned souls cry "forgiveness!"
the past will be future and future will be past
not one thing in our world that will ever last
only you and me
until eternity shall that spirit
one containing two
wander through space and peace we knew"

One of those albums you can really get lost into. A concept album about an acid trip, and it does sound like it. A very creative interpretation, expressing and evoking a host of different states of consciousness and deep internal emotion. The album is a trip to listen to, especially if you're already under a psychedelic influence, as this is psychedelic, tangential, breathing, pulsing, exploratory music. It took me a while to really appreciate, so i suggest at least a few spins (preferably in different mind states, and when you can really be present with the music).

The music is mostly a mixture of krautrock flavors, psychedelic folk, electronic textures/effects, and ambient atmospheres, with the latter being the most pervasive. The music is very dreamy and psychedelic, and is imbued with a melancholic atmosphere not unlike many other more reflective kraut bands of the era. There is no electric guitar here, mostly just acoustic guitar, organ, percussion, flute, some harp-like instrument, bells, probably a few other instruments. The music is mostly instrumental, though there is a bit of soft spoken word type talking.

Not A Spotify Link (and they're not from Denmark despite the filename, and ignore the bonus tracks!)

Silberbart - 4 Times Sound Razing
http://i46.tinypic.com/2u6iqsy.jpg

Really, really, really heavy freakout rock stuff. Really. Kind of reminds me of Guru Guru's Hinten but with ridiculous vocals and more straight-up rocking out, almost metallic, especially on "Chub Chub Cherry." But then there's "Brain Brain," which goes all kraut-y and subtle until the guitars tear reality like a paper curtain.

Not A Spotify Link

A.R. & Machines (Achim Reichel) - Die grüne Reise

http://i49.tinypic.com/v6j4na.jpg

Originally issued by Polydor in Germany in 1971, Reichel played all the instruments here, and produced the entire thing himself in partnership with Frank Dostal, who also penned the English lyrics and had previously done time with Reichel in the popular West German beatgruppe, The Rattles. The Green Journey is a masterpiece of doubly/triply-tracked, tape-machined, echo-plexed and looped space-guitar-madness, with a host of skronk, thunderous percussion, tribal whoops, and head-busting, three-dimensional, lysergic lyrics. As the artist himself proclaimed, "I was just trying something out with my guitar, when out of the blue, the Akai X-3300 began to repeat endless cascades of guitar echoes. My guitar suddenly sounded like ten." Initially, The Green Voyage was intended as "a soundtrack for an imaginary movie," and this has now been achieved by some 60 students of the Lippe and H�xter's University of Applied Sciences, who, over the course of two terms produced a 42-minute video for the ten album tracks.

This record isn't as "krauty" as his later releases, especially Echo.

Not A Spotify link

God I hope all of these links work. Apologies for the lateness of the post, but all of my records are on the east coast, this computer sucks, and I had to jack the links from blogs.

Blimey. I actually haven't heard any of these.

i've been meaning to check out Achim Reichel for a long time. nice picks.

I know the Dom and A.R. & Machines very well but don't know Silberbart at all.

Just catching up to that last Popol Vuh album... first track is awesome but the rest I have mixed feelings about. I think most the album is set to simmer but it never boils - wish a few of these tracks would coalesce into something that was bigger, more crushing. But instead they just kinda noodle around. That said, the whole is better than the parts. Also, it reminded me of Fairport Convention in spots (not a bad thing but it also suffered by comparison).

I really enjoyed that popol vuh, and I had not heard it before.

People still listening to the krautrock klub albums?

I grabbed the Silberbart but haven't listened to it yet.
Been sidetracked by a ninety minute Springsteen mix project.

i've been playing along. for some reason i always overlook that a.r. & machines album so thanks for reminding me to pull it out- i want to see that film!

only was able to casually listen to dom, but i was into what i did hear. will check out the silberbart next.

I think I'm gonna play Brain Brain on the radio show this week.
Maybe.

You should! Practically guaranteed to get at least one bewildered/amazed caller!

Nice choices. Was getting a bit too Popol Vuh and/or Motorik there. Having said that, the Dom album's never impressed me. Silberbart isn't really my bag either, but if you like that sort of post-Hendrix heavy acid rock freakout thing then it's a really very very good example of a post-Hendrix heavy acid rock freakout thing! Wonder whatever happened to that band? Achim Reichel album is, at its worst, entertainingly nutty and, at its best, pretty mindblowing. Technically, 1971 after all, it's awesome and bits of it will have you wondering how on earth he did it!

Von Kelson you are up

My picks are all from the heavy psych side, which is more my cup of meat. All descriptions from The Crack in the Cosmic Egg:

Golem - Orion Awakes
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_nBxphzetGjo/SJos66DEdcI/AAAAAAAAAHU/RAUwFUdSnl4/s320/orion.JPG

A space-rockin' hybrid of Gila and instrumental Hendrix type moves, Golem were another band from the lost Pyramid Records archive. Totally instrumental, and a feast for guitar fans, Golem's style was highly derivative, yet also full of invention. On first listen Golem come across as a lost classic of Krautrock without a doubt, with a music that blends everything from Neu! to Novalis, and all crammed full of solos. But, after a few listens, it's easy to see that this was never intended as an album originally, as it's distinctly taken from at least three different sessions, each with a different studio sound and style. The slightly new-wave edge that dogs the last track would indicate that the recordings here vary from around 1972 to 1976, however no firm details are known.

Lots of guitar work, but also a lot of heavy synths on this one. Good stuff.
Not a Spotify Link

Gomorrha - I Turned To See Whose Voice It Was
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Cgo7YYXogcM/SFqk59RBKbI/AAAAAAAAAvQ/QorbEVIpWn0/s320/portaduquihe2%5B1%5D.jpg

Gomorrha's finest moment however was I TURNED TO SEE WHOSE VOICE IT WAS, where Gomorrha's identity had become firmly established: complex psychedelic rock fronted by angry guitars and organ, that could be simultaneously aggressive and spacious, with bizarre lyrics about life, religion, death, etc. They presented a unique, adventurous and constantly surprising form of rock music that has become an island unto itself.

A bit more of a hippie/free jazz vibe - a proggier version of Agitation Free, in a way.
Not a Spotify Link

Guru Guru - UFO
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_TtrAN5tGS0s/SHR9B1FQlbI/AAAAAAAAAos/p4V5QFXVIUU/s400/UFO.jpg

Formed in Zurich in summer 1968 by former Irene Schweizer trio musicians: Mani Neumeier (drums) and Uli Trepte (bass) as Guru Guru Groove. the history is abridged here, but they were quick to develop an original music from their free-jazz roots, moving on and developing a new type of psychedelic rock music. Ex Agitation Free Ax Genrich joined a guitarist who could do unbelievable things with his instrument - he could even make it talk! Instantly Guru Guru were one of the hottest bands on the scene and were promptly signed by Ohr Records, making the extraordinary free-form rock album UFO. This proved to be amongst the ultimate musical acid-trips, with greatly condensed versions of music thrashed out in concert jams. Titles like "Stone In" and "Der LSD-Marsh" instantly tell us where they were at! With rattling drums, scuttling, shuddering bass, and a swamp full of guitars, with vocals used mainly for effect, incredible through and through, right down to the ultimate space-trip, "UFO" itself!

Couldn't leave this one out, since no one has posted it yet. Probably the best guitar freakout album of the genre.
Not a Spotify Link

I love Guru Guru. I have heard the Golem before but cant remember much about it other than i liked it. Not familiar with Gomorrha at all. Tom D probably will though..

... I think I almost bought that album but I'd had my fingers burned too many times by then. Don't know Golem. Fave Guru Guru's are "Hinten" and "Kanguru".

this thread makes me want to take a lot of acid and listen to krautrock all summer

UFO is awesome! gonna check out gomorrha. the a.r & machines from last week was also pretty cool so thank you for that.

UFO is really great, a lot more unhinged than pretty much all the other Guru Guru albums.
Reminds me most of Tangerine Dream's Electronic Meditation.

there's so much stuff in the 'a crack in the cosmic egg' book that i've been meaning to check out but could never find, so thanks for picking stuff like this! stoked for both golem and gommorha

A Golem song just came up on shuffle and I thought it was Wooden Shjips.
I know that's not too crazy, but it still surprised me. Record is cool, it's hard for me to pay attention through a whole instro lp sometimes, tho.

gomorrha is amazing, thanks for posting that!

wikipedia discography page for conrad schnitzler is a laff - "partial discography" lists 99 albums!

I wonder if there exists someone who has all of his records....

who wants a friday bonus pick?

OK, have one lying around I didn't use first time, give me a minute or two

ok!

Friday Bonus:

DEUTER - Aum

http://www.frenzy-distortion.de/Bigware_Shop_2_0/picture/o719843.jpg

1972 album from Georg Deuter. A lot of people prefer his 1st album, which is more Krautrocky I suppose, it's good but this is better. Herr Deuter ended up as an avowed "New Age" musician but I will try not to hold that against him - after all Roedelius, Popol Vuh and other worthies have flirted with New Age. This album has New Age elements, some of it reminds me of what Popol Vuh were doing 6/7 years after this was released. Album flows together really well, you don't really notice just how sparse the instrumentation is.

Non spotify link

... don't know if this is on Spotify, it wouldn't surprise me if it was though.

It isn't. I've not even heard of it.

Listening to Dom now - the electronics and effects are awesome. It's very woozy and trippy, but I don't feel like it's overly tainted with the hippiness that some peripheral kraut bands tarnish themselves with.

my neighbor is in the band von himmel (contemporary krautrock group), told him about this thread and he said DOM is his favorite krautrock album of all time, will listen tonight

*the Dom album posted above

Oh man, 'Let Me Explain' is on now. IMMENSE.

Why ignore the bonus tracks when they're THIS GOOD?

Oh, I've just checked, and it was recorded one hell of a long time afterwards. But it is great.

Should've specified I actually haven't heard the bonus tracks in a long time, I've got the earlier reissue with only four tracks.

emil.y it's your go
30/06 - emil.y
7/07 - Matt #2
14/07 - Alan N
21/07 - pfunkboy

Okay, cool. Should have them up by mid-afternoon, though I am still fluctuating over one album choice. If I mail you in advance of putting them up do you think you could track down links? I could probably find some but have no way of checking they're the right thing.

sure, you know my email or you can pass via msn

The Cosmic Jokers - Planeten Sit-In

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_YJjO71Wur0w/SlQieCFixeI/AAAAAAAAAXo/A9VkVag9yGs/s400/R-318517-1210581252.jpeg

In 1972, Rolf Ulrich Kaiser founded "Die Kosmischen Kuriere" where will be signed all the Cosmic jokers albums. The COSMIC JOKERS is not really a band but a reunion of several German musicians and personalities from the 70s psychedelic and esoteric philosophies (the mystic Sergius Golowin in the Lord Krishna project or the gipsy folk artist Walter Wegmuller in Tarot). The interest of this side project was to create a cosmic music with a virtual musical tribe to develop the world consciousness thanks to LSD. The COSMIC musical team gathered around the same message a bunch of well known musicians from the Berlin scene (Klaus Schulze, Manuel Gottsching...). The COSMIC JOKERS is an extreme musical trip, a unique adventure throw time and space. The music is for a large part improvised with proto-electronic gadgets combined to bluesy & spacey musical sentences built around the talented Manuel Gottsching's electric guitar style (always spacey and bluesy). This is real German acid music, a 'music of paradise', transcending music, breaking of the materialistic world, a protest against the reality. The combination of acid, music and fun acted as a catalyst for Kaiser's visionary powers.
- from Prog Archives

La Dusseldorf - La Dusseldorf

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_j-p64PbHheA/Sj25KGV0YgI/AAAAAAAAABs/JCV9lIdFGFk/s400/la-dusseldorf-la-dusseldorf-1976.jpg

La Düsseldorfisn’t even the most revered La Düsseldorf work, ceding that title to Viva, which contains the frothy 19-minute opus, “Cha Cha 2000” and decidedly Neu!-like cover art. But Dinger never crafted a more glowingly seamless full-length than La Düsseldorf. Built on four lengthy tracks, La Düsseldorf laid floorboards over Neu!’s famous rhythm-mongering and fearlessly stacked punk’s rallying instincts, disco’s body-reverent trance, and pop’s vain sheen on top.
- from Stylus

Brainticket - Cottonwoodhill

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vERXdKOTltE/SfYHtynMdDI/AAAAAAAAAR0/BTnf1HXcmUI/s400/Cottonwoodhill.jpg

Cottonwoodhill is one of the trippiest records ever made, capturing the intensity of the peak LSD experience far more successfully than any Timothy Leary recording, and even today, when many such documents from that era can sound silly and dated, Brainticket's fascinating debut still holds hallucinogenic potency. The record has only two proper songs, "Black Sand" and "Places of Light," with a side and a half of the album taken up by the three-part "Brainticket." "Black Sand" opens the disc with a driving funk beat and powerful organ and guitar interplay, adding in vocals distorted beyond coherency. "Places of Light" begins in a slightly lighter vein as a flute leads the proceedings, a looser jazzier piece that throws in some of Dawn Muir's odd spoken word vocals. Before one realizes what has happened, the piece has faded out and there is suddenly a crashing sound, car horns, and engines starting up. "Brainticket" is a bizarre roller coaster ride through weird sound effects and electronics, an endless organ riff, and Muir's acid-rush ramblings from hushed whisper to urgent screams, as any coherency she had earlier becomes lost to mind-expanding visions. Rather than the laid-back mellow groove of some psychedelic music from this era, Cottonwoodhill has a hyper energy in the frenetic organ riff and Muir's voice, like an acid trip out of control, while at times the various sound effects take over completely.
- from Allmusic

La Düsseldorf isn’t even the most revered La Düsseldorf work, ceding that title to Viva

This is a comparatively recent development

Before anyone else (i.e. another pedant) butts in, Brainticket were not German

It is also a terribly terribly wrong development.

Oh, and I know Brainticket were (mostly) not German, and in fact I don't even count this album as krautrock (I'd say it was psychedelia). However, they are consistently listed as a krautrock band these days, and it's an amazing record, so I thought it was better to put up an album that I completely adore, rather than something like Eloy that I only like half of.

Of course, I posted a punk record after all. I don't think any of Brainticket were German. Swiss/Belgian/English based in Italy, something like that?

It is also a terribly terribly wrong development.

Absolutely!

I was sure there was at least one German member, but the only evidence I can find is wikipedia, which doesn't really count. Looking at the LP now, maybe Werni Frohlich or Wolfgang Paap? Both names sound kind of German (more so than Joel Vandroogenbroeck, anyway).

Joel Vandroogenbroeck was the band basically... probably still is

Oh yeah, definitely. There's some other project that he was involved in that I remember the guys from Ultima Thule saying was completely batshit mental, but I can't think for the moment. Can't even remember if I picked it up after that recommendation. Come on, brain.

Okay, in searching for that, I found the bit from Crack in the Cosmic Egg on Brainticket, which seems to affirm that there is at least some German connection.

Brainticket were born out of a 60's jazz group featuring Belgian born keyboardist Joel Vandroogenbroeck, and as history was made, Brainticket became (like many other bands) the project of a visionary talent.

The early primeral roots of Brainticket can be traced back to 1968, as the nucleus of 'Dee Dee, Barry and The Movements, with Joel Vandroogenbroeck (organ, flute), Ron Bryer (guitar), and Wolfgang Paap (drums), thought this was more typical soul-spiced jazz and pop, typical of the era, and far away from the music they were later to create, as what Brainticket would unleash was extraordinary!

Together with a few like-minded musicians active in the South of Germany, Joel and friends inevitably gotcaught up in the fertile Krautrock scene, and like many other bands from the area, they formed an internationalcombo that drew on a wide range of influences.

Their debut COTTONWOODHILL has long been one of the most revered of psychedelic albums. Based next in Italy, a new version of Brainticket had evolved and the second album PSYCHONAUT covered a wide range of styles.

Yah, quite like "Psychonaut" too

emil.y i posted those links to you

Thank you for the Kerrautrock!

The Cosmic Jokers - Planeten Sit-In
Not a Spotify link

La Dusseldorf - La Dusseldorf
Not a Spotify link

Brainticket - Cottonwoodhill
Spotify link

I suppose, for those who don't know the Cosmic Jokers story, I should give you the potted wiki version:

The Cosmic Jokers was never an ensemble, per se; its members did not play together as Cosmic Jokers, and in fact were not even asked to join the group. Their music was created from sessions put together by Rolf-Ulrich Kaiser early in 1973. He arranged for several acid parties to be held at the sound studio owned by Dieter Dierks, where musicians were offered drugs in exchange for recording tracks. Participants included Manuel Göttsching and Klaus Schulze of Ash Ra Tempel, Jurgen Dollase and Harold Grosskopf of Wallenstein, and Dierks. Prior to this, all of the musicians involved had been in the Cosmic Couriers, which had played on experimental recordings by Sergius Golowin, Walter Wegmüller, and Timothy Leary.

Kaiser took the tapes from these sessions, edited and mixed them with Dierks, and released them on his label, Kosmische Musik, complete with the musicians' pictures on the LP sleeve, without asking for their permission. Göttsching didn't find out about the record release until he heard it playing in a record store in Berlin and asked the counter help what was playing. Kaiser released five records under the name Cosmic Jokers in 1974, one of which was actually a label sampler and a second, Gilles Zeitschiff, consisted of Kaiser's then-girlfriend Gille Lettmann speaking over sounds taken from prior label releases. While none of the musicians were very happy with the recordings, Schulze was so angry after the release of Gilles Zeitschiff that he sued Kaiser. In 1975, Kaiser was forced to discontinue and withdraw the recordings, and he fled the country over the affair, abandoning the record label over the threat of impending legal problems.

always been curious about the cosmic jokers, but was turned off by, yknow. that story.

and cottonwood hill is a great psych record! looking forward to giving it another listen

Tom D & Emil.y and I will never agree on the best La Dusseldorf album, will we?

Well, me and Emily agree, you're the one that's wrong

nah, I'm right.

emil.y I'm interested in why you'd pick that Cosmic Jokers album over their first two, which I like a lot. I consider Planeten Sit-In and the subsequent ones to be diminishing returns with the same material remixed over-and-over.

I'm going to fence-sit, and say that I like Viva and La Dusseldorf equally- both great records. Looking forward to hearing the Cosmic Jokers and Brainticket.

emil.y I'm interested in why you'd pick that Cosmic Jokers album over their first two, which I like a lot. I consider Planeten Sit-In and the subsequent ones to be diminishing returns with the same material remixed over-and-over.

I'm afraid the answer to this is rather prosaic - I only own Planeten Sit-In, Gilles Zeitschiff and the label sampler for the US on vinyl, and I have computer problems so can only listen along sporadically if I'm relying on mp3. Out of the three, I thought that Planeten Sit-In was probably more representative of the whole thing, so chose that. I do know and like the others, but I would rate them all about equal in terms of quality.

Fair enough. Oh, and for anyone interested, by "first two" I meant "Cosmic Jokers" and "Galactic Supermarket". I think their albums were all released at the same time and I'm not sure where I got the order I have them listed in.

I forget which I liked best as it's been so long. I remember reading an anti krautrock thing on perfect sound forever that hated cosmic jokers especially

http://www.furious.com/perfect/krautrock.html

Florian Fricke of Popol Vuh comes off even worse in the article

It didn't seem that way to me--more that the author of whatever article misrepresented or oversold Fricke.

he kept slagging him off!

Was there more to the article than just that one page?

The most funny thing was that a man who is known for literally HATING electronics from about 1974 until recently, Florian Fricke (of "Popol Vuh"), was called THE EXPERT of electronic instrumentation in that magazine. Disgusting. The same author was named as "authority" and "adviser" when a German film company asked us to take part in a TV film about "Krautrock". We said no. As long as this man was a "authority" for them, we didn't want to participate in a film like that. Ask the people who were present, and who have no interest to make promotion, who are not just (foreign) fans, and who tell the simple truth. Today, all musicians tell the press that they used "electronics" since ages just because "electronic" has finally won. And who want to be the loser?

I have a German friend like the guy who wrote that article - "Ach! These bands, they are a joke in Germany! You crazy English kinder!" (and then proceeds to exoticise the Canterbury scene). Thing is, we actually got him to admit he was an idiot and that Faust were great, once he got over the fact that other Germans didn't like them.

anyway, Individuellos is the best album *runs away*

YOU OF ALL PEOPLE are not allowed to speak such heresy.

(The first time I ever heard of La Dusseldorf was when you showed me, with much glee, the title/tracklisting/credits list of the first side of La Dusseldorf. It's all your fault.)

haha! seriously tho Menschen 1 to Sentimental on Individuellos is as good as anything on the 1st & 2nd albums. side 2 isn't too hot tho. I AM OLD, I TALK ABOUT SIDES.

I read with much surprise that Stylus review suggesting that side 2 of La Dusseldorf is its crowning glory. I mean, wtf?

Will have to give Individuellos more of a listen. I remember liking it quite a bit when I first picked it up, but if I'm feeling Dusseldorfy I'll go for the first, and my mates only ever play Viva, so it gets neglected.

Viva forever

but this can only be settled by emil.y doing a poll

guess i better listen to that Brainticket album then, i've nearly bought it twice (once from Loz of VTB!) but somehow i've managed to avoid listening to the damn thing. until now, dun dun DUN!

I am a bit shy of starting polls. Maybe after this has run its course we can poll all the albums and decide a winner (I'm guessing this thread has a limited lifespan - there aren't THAT many krautrock albums. It's not even that late on and we're already cheating a bit).

Also, man, how have you failed to hear Brainticket? It is AWESOME.

but someone will pick all 367675066 stereolab albums before it ends

But, I must warn you, a) after listening to this record your friends won't know you any more, and b) don't listen more than once a day - your mind could be destroyed!

(Genuine words of warning from the record sleeve, there.)

xpost to zappi

im just worried someone might post albums by scorpions or frumpy or hairy chapter

Inga Rumpf was in a band with Dagmar Krause at one point, so can't be all that bad. I'm sure there's at least one Frumpy track that's good (though I remember them being more bluesy-soul, is that right?)

i cant really remember, i didn't get through the whole thing and we're talking back in the days of napster here where it took a long time to get an album yet i still couldnt play it through.

this was the one i heard
http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:hzfexqu5ld0e

cant see the hairy chapter album i heard. tom d probably owned them all.

hi krautrockers, i would do a week if anyone is still inerrested. thinkin' progressive german folk-rock/psych stuff, which ya'll don't seem to discuss too much.. Kalacakra record is great, so are some Witthuser & Westrupp moments. Def worth listening to imo.

been enjoying reading along with this thread too.

Yeah, that review sounds pretty close to what I remember - not normally my sort of thing, but the guy who played it to me is one of those crate diggers who will find the gems if they are there to be found. Whereas I usually just go 'meh' and tune out.

xpost re: Frumpy

thinkin' progressive german folk-rock/psych stuff, which ya'll don't seem to discuss too much..

Not a bad idea if we're going to extend this thing out a bit. I thought about Emtidi for my week, but wasn't sure if it was close enough to the remit.

W&W always seem to be counted as 'canon krautrock', though, which I am dubious about, but will save those comments.

Witthuser & Westrupp

yeah that stuff is good. some great youtube footage abound

7/07 - Matt #2
14/07 - Alan N
21/07 - pfunkboy

Ian you can take my week and I'll do the week after. Emil.y or anyone want another shot?

I won't book in yet but I might do another one at some point.

Was possibly this one http://www.headheritage.co.uk/unsung/albumofthemonth/150 I probably read this.

tbh I totally would post Hairy Chapter's "Can't Get Through" if I had a week.
Reality has gotta DIE

then take a week. Maybe I'll like hairy chapter and frumpy now even if i hated it some years ago. Wont be the first.

I was considering picking the first Scorpions album "Lonesome Crow", it's the nearest they ever got to Krautrock but in reality it's more post-Hendrix psychy hard rock.

Inga Rumpf was in a band with Dagmar Krause at one point

And here's the proof...

http://www.citypreachers.de/images/1970.jpg

That Klaus D. Mueller guy is famous Krautrock troll. Germans I met, before Krautrock got hip, were generally dismissive of what they considered to be a load of old hairy hippy music.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J87aCyjxavQ

any chance i could snag a week too? there will be no stereolab or scorpions, honest

sure i'll bump you up ahead of myself again

7/07 - Matt #2
14/07 - Alan N
21/07 - Ian
28/07 psychgawsple
04/08 pfunkboy

Anyone else want to book in? (just dont forget when it's your turn.)

sweet! tho i must say i totally would have chosen that conrad schniz album if it wasn't already a 'bonus' (that deuter is also a p good record)

Do we get a 2nd bite of the cherry too?

of course. book away

11th August suit you?

Any time, let others who haven't had a go yet go first

i dont think anyones left who hasnt had a shot that wants one
7/07 - Matt #2
14/07 - Alan N
21/07 - Ian
28/07 - psychgawsple
04/08 - pfunkboy
11/08 - Tom D

i'll have a go, sirrah

11/08 or 18/08 ?

either are fine by me

so i've been poking around for stuff on mutant sounds and other kraut-y blogs, and stumbled across some comments that basically insinuated that a bunch of stuff 'rereleased' on pyramid in the '90s, including that golem record, were actually recorded in the '90s and that it was all some type of hoax where people wanted to cash-in on the rare-krautrock-reissue madness. or something. anyways, feel free to dispel the rumors in these comments if you know them not to be true... http://mutant-sounds.blogspot.com/2007/12/ultimate-spinach-mind-flowers.html

... heard those rumours before, and avoided all that stuff for that reason

I had not heard that, and unfortunate if true (which it may very well be). http://translate.google.ca/translate?hl=en&sl=de&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.krautrock-world.com%2FForum%2FmyBB%2Fshowthread.php%3Ftid%3D2594

I suppose if its a good album it doesn't matter?

^ exactly. a very well-executed hoax! the story almost makes me appreciate it more tbh

Yeah, I somehow don't really mind. It is interesting.

Verdammte Englanders!

I think the Golem album is quite good regardless - as is the similarly-impugned album by the band "Pyramid" - but I will admit to thinking it more impressive if it is in fact 20 years older. No big deal.

Is there room for me to take a shot at another week? End of the line is fine by me.

Sure, anytime.
7/07 - Matt #2
14/07 - Alan N
21/07 - Ian
28/07 - psychgawsple
04/08 - pfunkboy
11/08 - Tom D
18/08 - von kelson

Matt #2 if you're around you can post now if you like.

Not seen him post in a while actually. Not in here anyway.

Yeah sorry for being quiet, gimme a minute even though it's 2.45 am here

OK, sorry for the lack of download links, if someone wants to help me out with that feel free as I am a luddite.

KLAUS SCHULZE – Cyborg
http://www.insideoutshop.de/images/Cyborg72dpi.jpg
Schulze's second album was a double one, consisting of four 25-minute long pieces of dark, sinister and spacey progressive electronics. You got to be quite a hardcore fan of this kind of progressive music to manage to listen through this monster in a row, but it would be ultimately rewarding if you are. The first track "Synphära" is a gloomy and sinister composition that sounds quite a bit Wagner-ish, and it's no big secret that Wagner is one of Schulze's favourite composers. "Conphära" is based on a flowing carpet of electronic sound with improvisations by a mellotron-sounding orchestra on top of it. "Chromengel" is a beautiful track with spacey electronic sounds built around a floating and warm organ. "Neuronengesang" is probably the spaceiest track on the record, with lots of primitive spacey electronic sounds that surrounds the orchestral improvisations. "Cyborg" is a monumental slice of early German progressive electronic music in its heaviest form.

ORGANISATION – Tone Float
http://www.poecker.homepage.t-online.de/02/2bocdorg.jpg
PERSONNEL:
Ralf Hütter – Hammond organ.
Florian Schneider-Esleben – electric flute, alto flute, bell, triangle, tambourine, electro-violin, percussion
Basil Hammoudi – glockenspiel, conga gong, musical box, bongos, percussion, voice
Butch Hauf – bass guitar, shaky tube, small bells, plastic hammer, percussion
Alfred Mönicks – drums, bongos, maracas, cowbell, tambourine, percussion
Konrad "Conny" Plank – sound engineering
Tone Float is an LP by the German band Organisation. Organisation was a pre-Kraftwerk band, having only produced and released one album, Tone Float. After the release, members of the group went on to form Kraftwerk.

The album has not been officially reissued on compact disc.

The album sold few copies on its UK-only release in August 1970, and is remembered because two of the band members, Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider-Esleben, later went on to form the group Kraftwerk. It was produced by Konrad "Conny" Plank."
The studio was in the middle of an oil refinery. When we came out of the door we could hear the sound of those big flames burning off the fumes – all kinds of industrial noises." —Ralf Hütter
Sales were poor and RCA opted to drop the band, which then dissolved.

ANIMA-SOUND – Musik Für Alle
http://www.discogs.com/image/R-150-130347-1124346456.jpg
Paul and Limpe Fuchs music, better known as Anima, represents the most original and obscure event among German Kraut Rock. Here they play a wonderful and very inspired duet on Paul Fuch's self-built instruments with the pot-production collaboration of Will Neubauer's Echolette Ringmodulater. Privately issued on LP record in 1972 for the artists' own label Altepfarhof, these two 17 minute long improvisations titled 'n da da uum da' and 'traktor go go go' can surely be considered as one of the best psychedelic experiences ever created.

“In the summer of 1971 the authors of this record parked their wooden stage caravan, hauled by a Hanomag tractor, in front of Willy Neubauer's recording studio in Dusseldorf. They had been travelling for 6 months at a speed of 20 km/h through the country, chugging and building up their stage. After touring, they spent three isolated days in the studio and let Willy and his newly discovered electronics add wings to their minds.”

Would appreciate links for that Anima-Sound album!

hmmm my bookmark didnt work.

here is the Klaus Schulze spotify http://open.spotify.com/album/0TH15JSqX9JMYlyTPxhCRp

here is ANIMA-SOUND – Musik Für Alle
http://open.spotify.com/album/7JmMtuSvCx4WKRQvdCHLPb

Non Spotify links at all?