The Krautrock Space

Limbus 3 - Oneway-trip from the record New Atlantic: Cosmic Music Experience (1969)

Inside the gatefold of the record you read a German extract of Francis Bacon's novel Nova Atlantis (1623) wherein is emphasized the unlimited possibilities of music-making as well as some notes written by the band member Gerd Kraus: "Es geht nicht um virtuose Beherrschung eines ausgeprägten Instrumentes, sondern um geistige Polyphonie. Das is eine Arbeitsmethode. Mandalas, Katalysatoren der meditation, feingewobene Teppiche, auf denen man sich unendlich weit tragen lassen kann"

Which means that it (music) is not about mastery of a well-known instrument, but about spiritual polyphony. Kraus gives hints how to listen to the record - you'll need a finely woven oriental rug and a meditative state of mind - perhaps catalysed by engaging in designing mandala (I use yoga postures) then you're ready to be taken infinitively far away by this cosmic music experience.

It's all very serious, and few records can bear titles like "cosmic music experience" without being subject to ridicule. This one is great, they know what they are doing - and it's probably my favourite meditative record. It's uncompromising, perhaps a difficult listening (little melody, loosely structured..) but it's very unique - primarily due to the many exotic acoustic instruments, for example the valiha - a Madagascan folk instrument.         

 

In 1970 Limbus 4 (addition of a band member) issued the follow-up Mandalas on the no. one kraut label Ohr. Even more instruments, better production and a little more focus on structure - just as good

 

If you like Limbus, there are a couple of others you might want to listen to that are very serious meditation stuff ... Wolff and Hemmings, of course, have a nice series with "Tibetan Bells" and all of the albums are excellent, and a total meditation.

 

Even better, and far more meditative and for the initiated and adept ONLY, would be Frank Perry's 2 albums, Deep Peace and New Atlantis ... and these are intense enough that I have only met one person that could listen to them at length before they freaked out and had to say something because they could not trip any further without distracting themselves, or getting away from it.

 

I have a whole bunch of Stephen Micus albums, and they are similar, but I can not tell you right now the connection, or if it is merely experimentation, which I don't think it is. I think his name is D. Parsons and has a pair of CD's relating to the Himalayas, whose title fails me right now. Lovely meditations!

 

Now you know why "progressive music" (and long cuts) are not appreciated by many folks ... they are not used to "concentrating" and "staying there" ... in order to learn more about the experience ... go ahead and ask Jean about that ... and in many ways, for me, this was the special side of "krautrock". You get Popol Vuh doing the meditations with hardcore electronics, and then you get Guru Guru and others doing it with rock music, and then this and that doing it with a little jazz ... and it was far out for me ... it was the "modern meditation" for me ... and I loved it with all my heart and then some.

 

In the end, it is an important "experiential" thing ... the rest, including my words ... not always valuable, because most people have never experienced to have any idea what I am talking about. And I consider myself a highschooler, when it comes to meditation and internal things -- but because of language and culture changes in my teens and later ... guess what my talent is ... "translating the unknown" ... and I love the internal life and living and loving ... and music that lives there is truly special.

 

One other German with music that is also out there ... Deuter ... although he says he devotes the music to the Rajneesh and his people, in the end, it is excellent music and very well attuned to the internal trip.

 

Most of us in the western world are not tuned to enjoying a raga or an internal trip ... we're way too mental to be able to get there -- and rock/jazz/classical/popular music, is not "free enough" to allow it to happen, at least not within the context we talk about here for the most part. There are some exceptions on the ECM label, but they are hard to find and understand.

 

Like the dreamers love to say ... it's about "the unknowable" ... and our communication with it!

 

And this is the only album that could/should/would be described as "krautrock", or at least it has passages in it that fit the description really well.

 

Eberhard Schoenner ... is gonna be tough for this place ... because he is all over the place, and very good, although in my book his later stuff went down hill a bit for my tastes. I think, can not verify it, that he is responsible for helping The Police come together.  Bali Agung is great, but one of my all time favorite albums for meditation ... is .... you got it ... Tranceformation ... it was the first album to mix Gregorian Chants, Electric Guitar and Electronics, I think. And the guitar? ... Andy Summers! ... and in the next two or three albums ... you got Sting singing.  ... "Why Don't You Answer?" ...

 

I would like to add Eberhard to this group here, but writing about him is gonna be tough ... not sure I have seen a whole lot about him ... I'll see what I can do about this.

 

There are a lot of electronic and experimental folks in the mid 70's, that was really exciting, and I hope to make a small list of them and the things I have ... both German and French were massive in this area.