Krautrock

Talk about any music other than Pink Floyd/Solo Stuff
User avatar
nosaj
Supreme Lord!
Supreme Lord!
Posts: 8263
Joined: Mon Aug 25, 2003 5:33 pm
Location: Vortex spiral...its cool!

Re: Krautrock

Post by nosaj »

Stephen wrote:Just ordered this from Amazon having meant to get it months ago.

Wow, looks good! Do give us a book report young man. I shall make my purchasing decision based on your review!! <.8.>
User avatar
Stephen
Supreme Lord!
Supreme Lord!
Posts: 9202
Joined: Mon Apr 21, 2003 6:08 pm
Gender: Male
Location: Cheshire

Re: Krautrock

Post by Stephen »

I started reading it a couple of days ago and now I'm about half way through.Up to now it's been a really interesting read with a couple of lengthy essays setting up the background to the movement before the section on the band biogs. One of those essays was a bit arty but finally got round to it's point but it was interesting to read that Krautrock is very much a forgotten and ignored genre in its own country, if the writer is to be believed. This seems odd as it was the searching for a national identity that was the start of the whole movement, something I would have thought that more people would have been proud of. Anyway as a history of Krautrock and an insight into the workings of some of the lesser known artists along with the major ones I'd recommend buying it.
User avatar
Massed Gadgets
Supreme Lord!
Supreme Lord!
Posts: 5001
Joined: Thu Feb 24, 2005 8:16 am
Location: Take it easy, man

Re: Krautrock

Post by Massed Gadgets »

I find it amazing...everytime I meet someone from Germany, I mention the genre of Krautrock and how I love all that late 60's, early 70's music that came out of Germany. So far, not a single one of them has had a clue what I'm talking about. It surprises me too, considering how influential Krautrock has been on so much of modern music since then.
User avatar
Stephen
Supreme Lord!
Supreme Lord!
Posts: 9202
Joined: Mon Apr 21, 2003 6:08 pm
Gender: Male
Location: Cheshire

Re: Krautrock

Post by Stephen »

Another thing that becomes apparent is that most of these bands didn't make fortunes from their music, in fact in many cases quite the opposite. The well known story of how the Cosmic Jokers albums came about is told here along with the moment that a virtually penniless Manuel Gottsching realised that the space rock he was listening to in a record shop featured his guitar playing, recorded without his knowledge. In light of that kind of revelation I suppose it's understandable when a band such as Tangerine Dream have decided that suffering for their art is not for them any more and prefer to travel along a (presumably)more commercial route these days.
User avatar
my breakfast.
Supreme Lord!
Supreme Lord!
Posts: 10918
Joined: Wed May 05, 2004 8:17 pm
Gender: Male
Location: Edinburgh - Scotland

Re: Krautrock

Post by my breakfast. »

I understand why Tangerine Dream did what they did, but everything after the Sourcerer soundtrack is just annoying to my ears. :D

I'm really liking Zuckerzeit by Cluster at the moment. I was surprised by the first Cluster albums by their harsh and crude electronica. Its some of the most uncompromising music in both its basicness and just how grating it is. Zuckerzeit is almost completely the opposite with warm squishy electronica instead. I like the opener Hollywood with the ever changing drum beats and warm crackly sound.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4NTzxIrpFA
User avatar
Stephen
Supreme Lord!
Supreme Lord!
Posts: 9202
Joined: Mon Apr 21, 2003 6:08 pm
Gender: Male
Location: Cheshire

Re: Krautrock

Post by Stephen »

I think it's fair to say that those first two Cluster albums were continuing where Dieter Moebius and Hans- Joachim Roedelius left off in Kluster before Conrad Schnitzler departed. He seems to have been the more atonal influence as the other two proved in both Zuckerzeit and Sowiesoso along with the Harmonia material.
User avatar
Massed Gadgets
Supreme Lord!
Supreme Lord!
Posts: 5001
Joined: Thu Feb 24, 2005 8:16 am
Location: Take it easy, man

Re: Krautrock

Post by Massed Gadgets »

I love the album Cluster '71. It's harsh and extremely experimental, yet I find this album a very easy listen. It's a very strange contradiction. Klopfzeichen I find a much more difficult listen.

As for Harmonia, I could never quite get into their studio stuff that much, but Harmonia Live in 1974 is one of my most favourite albums. I just love the contrasting elements on the album; the gentle, robotic electronic percussion with all this rich, organic expression going on around, as the band delves deeper and further into each exploration. Over the last couple of years it's probably been my most listened to Krautrock album.
voxish
Axe
Axe
Posts: 37
Joined: Sun Dec 19, 2010 3:14 pm

Re: Krautrock

Post by voxish »

Hmmmm
Amon Duul II was my first introduction to Krautrock (it was never called that at the time), it was my first ever rock concert at the newly opened Chancellor Hall in Chelmsford in 1972 or 73. The LP 'Live in London' was from the same tour IIRC. I also saw Focus and Can during the same period - I hitched to the Corn Exchange Cambridge for Can - and saw them again in Manchester as a student. Very atmospheric shows (in all senses of the word). Once hgooked on rock concerts it became quite an expensive addiction - however Manchester was an ideal place to see live bands given the huge student population and large number of venues (I should mention good, cheap beer as well - 12p a pint in Tommy Ducks behind the Free Trade Hall).

Anyway favourite albums of the time Monster Movie, Tago Mago, Future Days (Can) got played to death. Amon Duul's Yeti was a classic but I never had it at the time as it was a double, Phallus Dei and Live in London were excellent though (and both came out on cheap labels - which was a novelty in the early 70s as LPs were very expensive). Another band I got into was Faust (again the Faust Tapes was issued at 49p) my favourite of theirs though was the all-black LP 'So Far' with the extraordinary 'It's a Rainy Day. Sunshine Baby.' play it loud with good equipment for full effect. Neu arrived out of nowhere, produced 3 great albums then disappeared - HalloGallo is one of my favourite tracks - first heard at Uni on PA standard hifi -after a few beers and spliffs.. woo!

The Grateful Dead kinda summed it up in one of their album titles: 'What a Long Strange Trip it's Been!' however I've recently discovered modern bands who are into experimentation - I especially like Wooden Schjips, they're a bit samey at times but hey, at least they try something new (Ripley has another band called Moon Duo also worth a listen). Take a look at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJMFTVenGJk Fujiya and Miyagi from Brighton are interesting.

Julian Cope wrote a book (long deleted and hard to find) called Kraurrocksampler - I'd be interested to see how it compares to the new one mentioned earlier in the thread.

Just to round things off - other bands more well known for different genres were producing pretty far-out stuff at the time. Could anyone but Grateful Dead get away with 'What's Become of Baby...?' on Aoxomoxoa?
User avatar
Massed Gadgets
Supreme Lord!
Supreme Lord!
Posts: 5001
Joined: Thu Feb 24, 2005 8:16 am
Location: Take it easy, man

Re: Krautrock

Post by Massed Gadgets »

Listening to the new album by Qluster right now...a duo consisting of Hans-Joachim Roedelius of Cluster/Kluster and Harmonia and Onnen Bock of Zeitkratzer. Not really rock, it's more ambient/experimental with lots of analog synth. Really nice stuff with a very retro feel, but not at all like the piano based pseudo-classical/ambient stuff Roedelius has been doing for the last 2 decades, this more hearkens back to the early Cluster/Kluster stuff.
User avatar
Stephen
Supreme Lord!
Supreme Lord!
Posts: 9202
Joined: Mon Apr 21, 2003 6:08 pm
Gender: Male
Location: Cheshire

Re: Krautrock

Post by Stephen »

voxish wrote: Julian Cope wrote a book (long deleted and hard to find) called Kraurrocksampler - I'd be interested to see how it compares to the new one mentioned earlier in the thread.
I don't know whether that means you haven't read the Julian Cope one or you have, but if not then you can download it as a PDF from here http://blog.swanfungus.com/2006/10/krau ... mpler.html . As it's long been out of print then posting the link shouldn't be an issue.
voxish
Axe
Axe
Posts: 37
Joined: Sun Dec 19, 2010 3:14 pm

Re: Krautrock

Post by voxish »

Stephen wrote:
voxish wrote: Julian Cope wrote a book (long deleted and hard to find) called Kraurrocksampler - I'd be interested to see how it compares to the new one mentioned earlier in the thread.
I don't know whether that means you haven't read the Julian Cope one or you have, but if not then you can download it as a PDF from here http://blog.swanfungus.com/2006/10/krau ... mpler.html . As it's long been out of print then posting the link shouldn't be an issue.
I've been looking for Krautrocksampler for years - finally! Many thanks for the link (and to the person who took the trouble to pdf every page!)

Going to see Wooden Shjips on 4 Sept in London (KX Scala) not quite the same as Can etc but one of the few modern bands who are anything like Krautrock!
mojoman
Blade
Blade
Posts: 132
Joined: Wed Nov 29, 2006 5:03 am
Location: jersey

Re: Krautrock

Post by mojoman »

Massed Gadgets wrote:Listening to the new album by Qluster right now...a duo consisting of Hans-Joachim Roedelius of Cluster/Kluster and Harmonia and Onnen Bock of Zeitkratzer. Not really rock, it's more ambient/experimental with lots of analog synth. Really nice stuff with a very retro feel, but not at all like the piano based pseudo-classical/ambient stuff Roedelius has been doing for the last 2 decades, this more hearkens back to the early Cluster/Kluster stuff.

looking forward to seeing them in october
User avatar
flashback
Lord!!
Lord!!
Posts: 3766
Joined: Tue Dec 10, 2002 5:03 am
Gender: Male
Location: making a run to the heart of the sun

Re: Krautrock

Post by flashback »

found 1 I don't think is listed in this tread but should be.
Dennis
This is progarchives says
Dennis biography
Carsten Bohn was a pilllar of the first wave of German Rock bands. He drummed for the 'City Preachers' (1969) , then for 'Frumpy' (1970-1972) before creating in 1973, the band 'Dennis', named after his son, with 'Frumpy' bandmate Thomas Kretschmer. The band's headquarters was an old village school outside of Hamburg, where the band lived and rehearsed with often-changing line-ups including Manfred Rürup ('Tommorrow's Gift') and Michael Kops on keyboards, Thomas Kretschmer (Ex-Frumpy) on guitar, Klaus Briest ('Xhol') and Hans Hartmann on bass, Willi Pape ('Thirsty Moon') on sax and flute, Olaf Cassalich ('Ougenweide') on percussion and Carsten Bohn on drums & percussion. The music itself was based on collective improvisation, with either a rockier edge or a jazzier feeling, depending on the musicians, recalling 'Thirsty Moon' or 'Tommorrow's Gift'. In 1973, the band released 'Hyperthalamus' which presented different sessions with one rockier side and a side-long Jazz-Rock inspired track. Although an all-instrumental record, some field recordings, were credited, as a pun, to "M.I. .Real on lyrics". The band ceased to exist at the end of 1974.

here are some of the tracks I found on youtube
Dennis-Grey Present Tense
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4yYZhqb ... ture=feedu
Dennis - Others Do, Already
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fU3m2oe ... re=related
User avatar
my breakfast.
Supreme Lord!
Supreme Lord!
Posts: 10918
Joined: Wed May 05, 2004 8:17 pm
Gender: Male
Location: Edinburgh - Scotland

Re: Krautrock

Post by my breakfast. »

I'm listening to Can again after a long holiday from their music. I forgot how itchy and groovy their music is. They had such dry studio sounds... Tago Mago was the first album I listened to when really stoned, and at that point I was blown away by how each instrument added just a little 5% to the overall music in such a cunning way. I listened to classic '60s psychedelic albums when stoned and they all seemed massively trying too hard in terms of sheer weirdness and effects. Can seem to have used minimal effects but had such a strange attitude to playing that it all worked out anyway. Their bassist lightly plucked the bass and didn't actually use a lot of bass in his signal at all. The guitarist had a dry funky tone that occasionally added a searing fuzz or other harsh effect when needed. The keyboard player did the most minimal job ever of adding minor background detail and the drummer just kept ploughing on until you almost don't hear him, except you are him.
User avatar
nosaj
Supreme Lord!
Supreme Lord!
Posts: 8263
Joined: Mon Aug 25, 2003 5:33 pm
Location: Vortex spiral...its cool!

Re: Krautrock

Post by nosaj »

Massed Gadgets wrote:I find it amazing...everytime I meet someone from Germany, I mention the genre of Krautrock and how I love all that late 60's, early 70's music that came out of Germany. So far, not a single one of them has had a clue what I'm talking about. It surprises me too, considering how influential Krautrock has been on so much of modern music since then.
I had never heard of Krautrock until a few years ago. Perhaps it is like calling Brit Pop "Limey Pop"...a little too much of an outsider labeling something with a bit of a condescending tone.