A to Z of Classic German Prog

The somewhat derogatory-sounding genre of Krautrock has always been a big favourite Between prog fans here at ProgArchives. Not surprisingly, German musicians tend to reject the term "Krautrock" as being a subjective British phenomenon, although the term is generally used in an affectionate way to describe the German music we love. Bearing in mind what Logan mentioned in his Message below - about no longer being allowed to embed full albums here - I've decided to give this interactive thread a total revamp and change it into a classic German prog blog instead. I'll post a link to each full album (if available) from the list of artists below, as well as featuring a favourite track from every album. I'll also be using the same A-Z format here as my Prog Britannia channels, in Between running my Out of Focus Dutch prog blog, and for fans of Tangerine Dream, I've also included Edgar Froese and Klaus Schulze in the first A-Z list (see below). Also, I just HAD to include Eloy in the list too, after seeing how highly regarded they are here at ProgArchives. This is your Passport to Krautrock Utopia, so feel free to Message me anytime without hesitation if you want to see any other classic German bands included here as I'm always friendly and Agitation Free. 

Edited by Psychedelic Paul - November 20 2023 at 04:09

^ Good Choice! I was thinking Brainticket too.

Edited by Psychedelic Paul - August 24 2020 at 18:23

I changed the title of this interactive thread from "The A to Z of Krautrock" to the subtly different "An A to Z of Krautrock" because this thread isn't intended to be a definitive A to Z of Krautrock. It's just a bit of fun.

moshkito wrote: Hi, The letter A has a problem ... I would never consider/vote for Agitation Free over Amon Duul 2.

^ I'm glad you came along Friede now we've reached the letter "E" because you're much more familiar with the music of Embryo than I am. I've never heard any of Embryo's albums before, but I'll definitely give "Rocksession" a listen now you've kindly posted it.

I can't think of any Krautrock bands beginning with "F", so I'll probably need to take a look at the Krautrock Top 100 if no one else comes up with an album first.

^ Ah, of course, Faust! It's so obvious now.

Edited by Psychedelic Paul - August 25 2020 at 14:28

I wouldn’t exclude the letter X, Xhol Caravan is good and in Pa’s Krautrock category. I like Electrip.

Of course PA’s Krautrock category has an alphabetical list, though I think it might be more fun if people only post albums they already had heard/are in their collection. Though then that sounds like a Just For Fun type of topic.
http://www.progarchives.com/subgenre.asp?style=17

For me there is too much focus at PA on lists and list making rather than ideas.

Anyway, I’ll do H, but we are supposed to avoid linking to full albums, especially discouraged from embedding full albums, samples or a track or two is okay I think, unless that is the whole album. People can always search for the whole album on YouTube if they want to (we especially make exceptions when it comes to suggesting bands).

For H, Hanuman. Here is a track from the self-titled album:



By the way, there are plenty of “Proggers” who are not big on Krautrock. It is one of my very favourite categories.


Edited by Logan - August 25 2020 at 18:07

It has been the expectation and request that people avoid posting full album videos (embeds) and significant material from albums (so not many tracks from an album) at the forums generally (not just this topic) without permission/allowance from the artists or labels. I would think that a hyperlink may be preferable (say to bandcamp, spotify or youtube) if wishing to exhibit more than a portion. This is partially out of respect for the artists, not just any risk of complaints, not all of which have approved of people sharing music this way. When it's come to formal evaluation for placement, full album embeds have been more common.

People who want to check out the music probably wouldn't mind clicking on, say, a youtube link anyway. I for one would rather just check out someone's favoured track from an album, and If I like that, then I will listen to more. I don't think that many people bother checking out the music in many of these topics anyway. I wish people did more because I like that kind of interactivity and to hear people's impressions of music. Of course with some albums they can only be found in full (and some albums have but one piece of music).

I guessed with Xhol Caravan that you didn't realise that.

By the way, I know that B was done, and I'm partially thinking of this because of your The Doors topic ("The End" by the Doors) but this is my favourite track off of one of my favourite albums in Krautrock:



Being the longest on the album, it is a big portion of the album.



Edited by Logan - August 26 2020 at 04:23

Bearing in mind what Logan mentioned in his Message above - about no longer being allowed to embed full albums here - I've decided to give this interactive thread a total revamp and change it into a classic German prog blog instead. I'll post a link to each full album (if available) from the list of artists below, as well as featuring a favourite track from every album. I'll also be using the same A-Z format here as my Prog Britannia channels, in Between running my Out of Focus Dutch prog blog, and for fans of Tangerine Dream, I've also included Edgar Froese and Klaus Schulze in the first A-Z list (see below). Also, I just HAD to include Eloy in the list too, after seeing how highly regarded they are here at ProgArchives. This is your Passport to Krautrock Utopia, so feel free to Message me anytime without hesitation if you want to see any other classic German bands included here as I'm always friendly and Agitation Free. 

Edited by Psychedelic Paul - March 22 2021 at 14:45