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.
Krautrock
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- Supreme Lord!
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Re: Krautrock
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.Massed Gadgets wrote: Some of my favourite Krautrock albums are: Tangerine Dream - "Alpha Centauri",.
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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!
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!
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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?
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?
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- Supreme Lord!
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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!)
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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?
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?