KRAUTROCK Listening Klub! - New Albums Every Wednesday

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