Krautrock

[Massed Gadgets]

I notice there seem to be at least a few people in here who are into the so-called Krautrock or Kosmische Musik that came out of Germany in the late 60's/early 70's and which has since influenced many musicians, especially in the 90's and preset day scene. Sooooooooo...I thought I'd start a thread to talk all about one of my favourite "genres" of music. So what Krautrock bands do you like? Know of any obscure or hidden gems? Anything really.

I have long been into a lot of the classic stuff like Can, Amon Du?l II, Ash Ra Tempel, Neu!, Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schultze...more recently have gotten into acts like Faust, Cosmic Jokers, and Guru Guru, plus a lot of other more obscure ones. The Roland Kovac New Set, anyone? How about Kalacakra?

Some people say that the symphonic rock tradition that emerged from Germany (Grobschnitt, Eloy, Epidaurus, etc.) is not part of the Krautrock genre. That the Krautrock genre is defined more by experimentation, industrial influenced rhythms, etc. What do you think? What defines the genre?

Some of my favourite Krautrock albums are: Tangerine Dream - "Alpha Centauri", Neu! - "Neu!", Ash Ra Tempel - "Schwingungin", Amon Du?l II - "Tanz der Lemmings", Can - "Tago Mago".

Well, I know this is a rather broad topic, so I just thought I'd throw in a few things to start it off.

[Stephen]

Some of my favourite Krautrock albums are: Tangerine Dream - "Alpha Centauri",.

Two of my favourite Tangerine Dream albums are Phaedra and Ricochet but if you can track it down, try and get hold of Antarktis by them, its a live album but i'm not sure whether its a b**t**g or not, i got it off Li**w**e. ....pretty amazing any way.

[The Gnome]

Can & Amon Du?l II are -by my standars- the best of the lot, and Popul Vuh of course. But they are more folkrockish, but they came out of the krautrock movement.

What defines the genre? Can does, its space prog rock. Kraut is slang for hashish in german, and that says it all

[Anna-Roza]

Massed Gadget's list is very long... I'd add the amazing Kraan to it
And Holger Czukay's solo stuff

[J Ed]

Kraut is slang for hashish in german...

never knew that! see what I get for ass-u-me-ing?
but when I plug Kraut into Googles translation thingie, it outputs "herb",
which is related, but a little bit broader in meaning...

J Ed

[ganaffe]

I don't know much Krautrock, but I definitely love Tangerine Dream and some soloalbums by their members...

Stuff like Stratosfear, Rubycon or Phaedra are amazing records. They predate any ambient record by at least 15 years, but fit right into the genre. They invented it, and are even better than most modern ambient records, if you ask me!

[The Gnome]

plug Kraut into Googles translation thingie, it outputs "herb"

Yeah, thats the direct translation of the word. From there its not that far

[my breakfast.]

Kraut is slang for hashish in german, and that says it all

Not cabbage? Damn I should have listened more in German classes...

[The Gnome]

Not cabbage? Damn I should have listened more in German classes...

Not saurkraut, but kraut. Kraut is herb, and slang for hashish. (this from a german)

German is actually great fun...

[gonza_ms]

I believe there’s a little trouble with style definitions – what is Kraut and what is, say, Goth… It’s all so stereotypical
Damn glad so many folks have mentioned CAN
Some works by incomparable German performer Nico may be regarded as Kraut, for instance, her 1974 co-operation with Brian Eno and John Cale “The End”.
Some years ago I came across such a definition of her 1981 album “Drama of Exile” as “where Goth meets new wave”. Still can’t decide – should I put smiles here or not?

[Massed Gadgets]

Nico was in a league unto herself...I think it's really difficult to pigeonhole her music into any type of genre, including a rather wide genre descriptor like Krautrock. Oddly enough, I actually heard her version of "The End" before I ever heard The Doors' version, and I still like hers better (I guess that's one I could have put in that thread about covers that are better than the originals!)

[Massed Gadgets]

when I plug Kraut into Googles translation thingie, it outputs "herb"

Woo hoo! HERB ROCK RULES!!!!

[gonza_ms]

Massed Gadgets
“I think it's really difficult to pigeonhole her music into any type of genre, “
Absolutely!

[The Gnome]

[9flowing]

What interesting questions Massed Gadgets If it's industrial and experimental then you have to include Kraftwerk but if it's symphonic rock you cannot include Kraftwerk...equally but with qualifications reversed there's Focus

One thing that I don't think has been mentioned is "production" and it's role in the sound. I've always thought that a lot of German produced music has a very elegant and smooth sound...maybe as a result of the German classical music industry?