Berlin school Krautrock

(that youtube video includes both albums: the Cultural Noise one starts at the beginning and the Bizarre Ko.Ko.Ko one starts at around 40:40)

Oh, fortuitous revive. I've recently discovered three early 80s electronic albums by Reinhard Lakomy: Das geheime Leben (1982), Der Traum von Asgard (1983), Zeiten (1985). These are definitely Berlin school but East Berlin as Lakomy was a sort of DDR state-sanctioned Jack-of-all-trades musician/composer who seems to have played in every genre going but was apparently best known for children's music. Anyway, it seems he was friendly with Edgar Froese and was somehow involved in Tangerine Dream's concerts in East Berlin in 1980 and bought TD's giant moog (which had once belonged to Mick Jagger!) off them. Also, it's said Froese wanted him to join TD but Reinhard didn't want to leave East Berlin.

So these three albums are very early 80s Tangerine Dream, with occasional hints of Jean-Michel Jarre and Vangelis. I had assumed these albums would be like sonic Trabants but they are technically pretty sophisticated, some clunky drum machines on the first album aside, with some great synth sounds (apparently mostly East German or Soviet synths). Third album is mostly digital (I think?). All three are good albums.

I love the Lakomy I've heard, which is just Das Geheime Leben tbh. Discovered him through this great compilation and stumbled upon a copy of DGL shortly after. Lovely stuff. I used "Das Unendliche Rätsel" in a kraut-themed mix recently.