KICK UP

I still haven't been able to find out exactly what Uli Trepte spent most of the 70's with after leaving Guru Guru in 72 and their third album Kan Guru. But indeed the double Guru lost a big part of its soul when he left them. Apparently he worked for a while with Faust and Neu! before creating this project around 75. But it was not before the late 70's (79 if memory serves) that he resurfaced (to the record buyers) with a new group called Spacebox, the present one dating from 83, but some certainly dating from 70's recordings (or else they were completely anachronistic), but the means were simply derisory: two mikes and a two-track recording deck - in 84.

In many ways the music on Kick-up is completely out of the 80's context and is much closer to early Guru Guru recordings than anything later. The recording quality is so-so as well, but this was most likely voluntary since the music is rough, raw, dirty and gritty. But there are some excellent moments also; most notably the opening Session Groove where Uli rules on his bass, but Hofman's flute leaves nothing to be desired. But some of those improvs can be a bit irritating, like the title track, but more because of the poor recording, than the spacebox through which goes Trepte's singing and most likely Golombeck's guitars. Intermodulator is one of the most interesting tracks (and better recorded too) with Hofman's sax verging on Arabian for a few second before coming back to more standard grounds. Other tracks are close to a straight blues (would you believe Blue Blues is one of them), while the closing Introfunction can sound like Floyd (Saucerful-era) on speed.

Not really essential, rather messy (as in raw and unfinished), but if you are a fan of early Guru stuff, this should be of some interest, although I wouldn't risk calling it essential.

SPACEBOX was the project of Uli Trepte who was the original bass player for GURU GURU, playing on their first three studio albums. He has help here from Edgar Hofmann the former EMBRYO member who adds a lot here with nagaswaram, mouth organ, sax, flute, violin and clarinet. We get a guitarist, as well as Lotus Schmidt on drums. "Kick Up" was their second and final album released in 1984, while their self titled debut, although recorded in 1979, it wasn't released until 1981.

Krautrock in the eighties eh? Uli played with FAUST early in his career, and they seem to be his inspiration here. I understand the SPACEBOX debut is very difficult, very experimental and raw. Both are tagged with the free rock and free jazz styles. Both were recorded live in studio and as they mention in the liner notes they would get it right on the second "take", so they were in the studio for only a couple of days. So yes, tons of improvs going on here, and so experimental! I mean listen to "Blue Blues", "Kick Up" and the "Earmike Song" and tell me what you think?

SPACEBOX by the way was Uli's term for his "effects system". It was after their debut that some of the members joined Lotus Schmidt's project LS BEARFORCE, including Edgar Hofmann and Winfried Beck who shared drumming duties with Lotus Schmidt on SPACEBOX's debut. LS BEARFORCE released their only album in 1983. And three drummers on it! Only one of them plays drums though. And Trepte did the cover art for that one. "Kick Up" might be a step up from the debut, but man this is tough going to say the least.

Fans of FAUST perhaps would be drawn to this, everyone else run! More like 2.5 stars, but out of respect for Uli I'm bumping this to 3 stars.