The Krautrock Thread

Okay, I finally got some Faust recently and it's so weird yet accessible (to me anyway).  Their debut, which I bought on vinyl (a reissue not the original pressing, still with original sleeve design though), is amazing.  Although I'm not a fan of the random talking-with-no-music-parts, which (miss)fortunately there isn't much of, the actual music is some of the most ahead-of-its-time and far out I've heard.  So Far isn't nearly as experimental or interesting, but still a great album.  I'd probably give the debut 4.5 stars and So Far 4. 

Next up is Faust Tapes (kind of hesitant towards that) and Faust IV.  I also finally ordered Cluster 71, another one of those new LP pressings, I'll post my thoughts on it later.  Lately I've strayed from prog and am getting into other genres.  VERY blasphemic, I know.

Edited by Bluesaga - January 06 2008 at 21:20

What about the twenty minute improv session?  

Phallus Dei is my favorite, but the next three are close.  If you want something similar to Tanz, get Yeti (even more improv though), if you want something dark, very psychedelic, powerful, and brilliant get Phallus Dei.  And for something accessible, even catchy, yet still flowing with much talent and prog, get Wolf City.

Haven't heard Amon Duul I yet, seems even more drugged out, maybe overbearingly much so, but I'd like to get something.  Uschi Obermaier ist sehr heiss. :D

Oh yeah, I forgot to post this earlier, but Heavy Christmas is great, my favorite X-mas album. 

If anyone's interested, here's a new addition to the Krautrock genre:

Aluk Todolo
With the goal to create a timeless, organic mix of krautrock’s strangeness and black metal’s coldness, combining Striborg with Faust, Burzum with This Heat, Svest with Paul Chain, or Ildjarn with Can, Aluk Todolo conjures rabid obsessive rhythms and abyssal disharmonic guitars, subliminal spiritualist vibrations and bizarre, magick summonings. By reducing psychedelic improvisation to a bare, telluric instrumentation, and basking in the archaic rawness of lo-fi production, the trio elaborates on an audio ritual meant to be monolithic and stabbing, hypnotic but unpredictable, minimalist yet teeming. Aluk Todolo features members from the legendary, underground black metal acts, Diamatregon (tUMULt) & Vediog Svaor (Paragon International).

Here's a sample of their debut:
http://www.publicguilt.com/at-disease.mp3


Its like Neu!, but darker, noisier and satanic.

What I definitely don't get is how Grobschnitt belongs to the same cathegory with Tangerine Dream or CAN...

rileydog22 wrote: cuncuna wrote: What I definitely don't get is how Grobschnitt belongs to the same cathegory with Tangerine Dream or CAN... They don't.  Grobschnitt is in sympho.

Thandrus wrote: Bj-1 wrote: rileydog22 wrote: cuncuna wrote: What I definitely don't get is how Grobschnitt belongs to the same cathegory with Tangerine Dream or CAN... They don't.  Grobschnitt is in sympho.      I've heard they have been compared to both, but that's only because they're from Germany as well. They are indeed Symph.   BTW, Tangerine Dream belongs to Progressive Electronic here

I love Amun Duul II up until Wolf City and early Can, Neu! and Faust. I can't find any of the other Krautrock stuff, which is annoying, apart from the more electro/techno stuff, of which I do not like, Tangerine Dream Kraftwerk etc just annoy me. Can any one advise any other Krautrock bands similar to AMII Can and Neu! please?

I have recently been checking out some neo Krautrock too, Electric Orange are brilliant! :D

Have you hear EARLY Kraftwerk or TaDream?  You could very well like the first two Kraftwerk albums, as both are quite NEU!ish and even feature Klaus Dinger on drums.  Of particular interest to NEU! fans is a brief period of time in which Kraftwerk gigged as a lineup of Rother, Dinger, and Florian whatver-his-last-name-is, before Rother and Dinger split off to form NEU!  There's a couple of audience recordings of the largely-improvised gigs by the lineup, and they are quite good if you can find them.