The Krautrock Space - Progressive Rock Music Forum

1974. German, Rare and Beautiful.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8qDkqV3UAo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbbLyFxAjz4

The return of the Krautrock space!

Been spinning a lot of Krautrock lately especially during the weeeeeeeee hours of the night. Quite a few modern acts too such as Vespero and Lumerians, which both are bands that lie very close to the early German strain.

Another band I've completely fallen for is American act Grails. Man these guys are unique! The closest thing I can get sonically speaking, is perhaps calling them a modern take on Popol Vuh. Now that I think about it, I'm not sure I've ever come across anyone who's reminded me of Florian and the boys....

With Grails you get rock too - like in LOUD crashing sections showing tiny hints of the band's early post rock days. Now though, they've evolved into this beautiful meeting between east and west - not like you normally get when rock bands tend to merge these things and all you really get is a lukewarm sitar and some clumsily played tablas. Grails take their inspiration from the long breathing almost droning quality of reeds and harmoniums you hear in the far east. The guy playing the acoustic twelve string guitar does it through some kind of pedal coming off distinctively Indian in feel. Then again there's also blues in there - Hank Marvin The Shadows vibe rolling along in the more quiet electric guitar passages.

Judge for yourself, I found some rather crude live vids of them - I hope you get the gist of what I'm saying:

Here's two studio cuts, if you're interested in a better sound quality:

“The Guide says there is an art to flying or rather a knack. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss.”

- Douglas Adams

hellogoodbye wrote:

Strange to see how the french people have always be passionate by the avant garde in rock and in jazz too. Kevin ayers was the first to say that.

Nope ... it was already around during the days of Edith Piaf, Gilbert Becaud and whoever else was there.

I've always thought their jazz was off the wall! ... with no bricks!

Music is not just for listening ... it is for LIVING ... you got to feel it to know what's it about! Not being told!
www.pedrosena.com

hellogoodbye wrote:

Austrian Kraut Question

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RR6LW2LNEE

Great album Pierre and it has that Krautrock spirit for sure.

"The wind is slowly tearing her apart"

"Sad Rain" ANEKDOTEN

All I can say is MAGMA.

I love CAN, Guru Guru, Kraftwerk, Ash Ra Temple, Torok Adam and Mini, Neu!, Space Debris, Architectural Metaphor (especially when they had a chic playing drums). But for me it all starts with Magma.

I threw five clocks down on my bed
The chimes danced out on golden threads
And turned to footprints on my wall
Sequined Tears began to fall...

^ That is so good! Thanks man

So I just played my new 2007 version of Amon Düül ll's Wolf City, and it was as brilliant as ever. I know this album like the back of my hand, so I was pretty surprised when I suddenly got 3 bonus tracks to boot.

First two tracks are out of this world! First one called Kindermörderlied(childkillersong if I'm not mistaken) is this beautiful Karrer lead symphonic piece. I had never heard this before, and it literally blew me out of my socks.This is without a doubt my new favourite song:

The next tune had me returning rather confused to my stereo, checking if it indeed still was the same band, and that my music hadn't suddenly developed a mind on its own and switched records on me. Mystic Blutsturz is the name - meaning mystic bloodrush, and mystic it certainly is. Call me crazy but this is Amon Düül ll gone proto IDM. Completely electronic piece that reeks of The Orb and FSOL. I thought it was a remix at first, some underground hipster dj who had come across this band and made some kind of dance version of it, but no. This is a piece credited to John and Renate - and it's a killer electronic track Shocked

Check out for yourselves, it's so bizarre LOL

“The Guide says there is an art to flying or rather a knack. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss.”

- Douglas Adams

Back in the late '70's & early '80's when record stores had an "Import" section I bought two records from that bin. I had no idea what the music or the artist was about. I was pleasantly surprised when I got home and played it on my turntable. I loved both albums and was proud and happy I'd made a great discovery. Anyway, the other night I was relocating my vinyl lp collection to another part of the room and came across those two particular albums.

Krautrock guitarist MICHAEL ROTHER (Of NEU, later a short stint with Kraftwerk & Cluster), two solo albums, "Flammande Herzen" ('77), and "Sterntaler," ('78) became a mainstay in my daily playlist. On both albums he teamed up with CAN drummer Jaki Liebezeit, Rother on guitar & keyboards. But Rother's style was very different from the manic psychedelic jazz & rock improv style of the other Krautrock bands. It was a softer, dream-like, and at times almost ambient-like melodic style which I found very enjoyable. Sterntaler is my favorite of the two. At the time I didn't know anything of his background, but did my best to find out more up to the late '80's. I'm glad I relocated my albums and rediscovered him. I hope he's still around and playing.

- Music is Life, that's why our hearts have beats -

Haven't been to this forum for years so I apologize if this has been brought up before over the course of a 40-something page thread, but Krautrock and the related progressive electronic scene's basically the only kind of prog I still listen to regularly... and I've started wondering what it is with the Ancient Egyptian vibe much of that music gives off to me, more so than with other countries' prog/psych rock scenes.

In the cases of Agitation Free and Ash Ra Tempel it's obviously intentional, but I also get some of that vibe from the first Cosmic Jokers LP as well as quite a bit of Tangerine Dream's material: Phaedra, Rubycon, especially Ricochet as well as the Tangerine Tree recordings from Le Ponts de Cé 1973 and Adelaide 1975 concerts. Not sure how much of it's just me, though, going by the titles of those two TD studio albums it's probably more a Greek/Roman mythological atmosphere they were aiming for.