In the Prog Seat: Our Favorite Krautrock Albums
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 6 มิ.ย. 2022
- Join the In the Prog Seat crew as they rank their Top 5 Krautrock albums. #krautrock
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Pete's picks:
1) Ash Ra Tempel -Ash Ra Tempel (1971)
2) Amon Duul II-Tanz Der Lemminge (1971)
3) Guru Guru-Hinten (1971)
4) Can-Live in Stuttgart 1975 (1975)
5) Agitation Free-Malesch (1972)
Chuck's picks:
5 Hintin-Guru Guru
4 Autobahn-Kraftwerk
3 Neu!-Neu!
2 Faust-Faust
1 Future Days-CAN
Steve's picks:
Guru Guru 'Live in Germany 71'
Agitation Free "At The Cliffs Of The River Rhine"
Faust "So Far"
Popol Vuh "Letze Tage - Letze Nachte"
Harmonia "Deluxe"
Ken's picks:
Essential picks (random order)
Agitation Free - Malesch
Ash Ra Tempel - Same
Yatha Sidhra - A Meditation Mass
The Cosmic Jokers - a) Galactic Supermarket + b) The Cosmic Jokers
Dzyan - a) Electric Silence + b) Time Machine
Ibliss - Supernova
Honorable Mentions:
Guru Guru - Hinten
Guru Guru - UFO
Popol Vuh - Affenstunde
Embryo - Rock Session
Embryo - Steig Aus
Gila - Same + I Buried My Heart At Wounded Knee
Kollektiv - Same
Walter Wegmuller - Tarot
Thirsty Moon - Same (not really krautrock but I don’t care!)
Ash Ra Temple first album is probably my favourite too love the diversity of your shows pete rock on
PETE / thank you for the list. Not gonna lie, I’m usually a very good student, this genre I definitely need “ Summer school”. I’m clueless “but always willing to learn. Thank you 👍💯
you forgot to put down kens picks
@@ashleygeisler1003 Coming this morning
Thanks y’all. As a huge fan of KR, and this channel, plus with the milestones for SoT, this was really special. I loved it! ✌️🤘
To me, Krautrock is prog rock, more progressive and forward looking than most English Prog bands could ever be. They wanted to create music that represented a rejection of recent German history, as well as setting themselves apart from everything else that was happening. German youth wanted something for themselves.
German guy here, Krautrock lover. I appreciate this episode very much. ;)
Having come back to this essential primer, possibly the best on YT, one thing the guys forgot to mention is the importance of soundtracks to the overall Krautrock scene, and the close connections to the New German Cinema. Directors like Werner Herzog, Reiner Fassbender, Wolfgang Petersen later became big Hollywood names, but in the early days their and others would produce equally radical films, often with krautrock bands providing the soundtrack.
Tangerine Dream would later become an almost soundtrack only act, the famous 'Love on a Real Train' from the film Risky Business starring Tom Cruise would be an obvious pick, but Klaus Schulze would do many film and documentary scores, and my personal favorite, the astonishing opening for Aguirre:Wrath of God would be provided by Popul Vuh, no doubt inspiring artists like Vangelis to produce the equally evocative soundtracks like Bladerunner and Cosmos.
Today many people are familiar with the track 'Vitamin C' from Can for providing both TV and soundtracks for films like Inherent Vice, while Kraftwerk and Neu! are often used as incidental music. While many people might not 'know' Krautrock, no doubt many have heard at least one of the many artist from this most inspiring movement.
1. Can - _Tago Mago_
2. Kraftwerk - _Autobahn_
3. Amon Düül II - _Tanz der Lemminge_
4. Neu! - _Neu! 75_
5. Faust - _Faust_
(Note: My No. 1 is ranked - the rest are not.)
The list of artists Chuck mentioned as initial influences on this kind of music was spot-on, but I'd also add The Velvet Underground as another important one. Popol Vuh and Ash Ra Tempel are fantastic!
Ken - that was the BEST gift for Pete's 75K-day. Steve's gift was equally nifty; I was SCREAMING with laughter!!!
Fantastic episode, guys!
You’re spot on with the Velvet Underground, particularly the first two albums where John Cale was present. I believe CAN and Faust members talked openly about that influence, and I’m sure many others were influenced by them, whether directly or not.
In my comment I mention Tony Conrad and Faust.. Conrad played with John Cale, they were both in that minimalist NYC scene before John Cale joined VU, and so really that influence is rooted in that NYC scene of minimalism and drone and avant-garde, in general. ✌️🤘
Ege Bamyasi is my favorite CAN album. The drums on One More Night are something close to what Miles was going for on On the Corner. Just tight and nasty. But tons of space for other instruments. I've listened to this track so many times just listening to one PART of the drums. Try it yourself. Listen to just the high hat. Or the snare. Jaki was from another planet.
An absolute classic outing, chaps. A wealth of diamond, Krautrock info. Where else would you get this quality, if not for SoT. What a treat...
I love getting an education on Sea of Tranquility. This was nothing less than a master class. And so cool to see the great Steve Feigenbaum, upping the stakes.
Hi Luis. I was half expecting to see you on the show, but can if you are dipping your toes into Krautrock, the TWO live Can LP's recently released by Mute (the aforementioned Stuttgart show, and Brighton UK both from 1975), this is a masterpiece of improvisation and sheer musicality. When you put on one of the greatest drummers (Jaki Liebezeit) at the FRONT of your live show, you know your in for a treat. Check out the Beat Club (which was a West German rock show featuring live performances) on YT, which feature both Amon Duul II, Guru and Can, then you really get the vibe.
Can alone have influenced so many bands and artists, from John Frusciante to Mark E Smith, from the Happy Mondays and Oasis, to Radiohead and Kanye West, via Sonic Youth Swans, Joy Division and UNKLE. Indeed there are few bands that are either directly or indirectly influenced by KR.
Enjoy!
Hey Luis, I saw your mean comment to the guitarist Tyson Graf. It seemed really wrong and immature of you to try and put down his musicianship. I've been following Tyson for awhile and he's an incredible guitarist. That clip of him improvising on Giant Steps is crazy good. Takes a high level of musicianship to play like that. He's played and studied with some of the best in the world, and his musicianship is respected by lots of great musicians like Wayne Krantz. Wayne actually included Tyson in his book. It seems to me that your comment to him says more about you than it does about him.
@@MrThinkingahead there is a whole thread. The fact you make a statement based on part of it tells me that you didn’t read it, which tells me also you haven’t gotten all the facts before making a public opinion. It’s cool, but I stand by my opinion - which is all this is, no matter how desperately other people wish to draw attention to themselves just because they disagree with someone else’s opinion. And for the record, I am well aware of the chord changes in Giant Steps. It’s not something easy to do to play over them. I just didn’t hear anything in that video that would match the bravado of the poster. I mean, if he went to school, he better be able to play those changes; Coltrane didn’t go to that school and he wrote them, you know?
@@lahloonatic Coltrane attended a music school in Philadelphia for 4 years. And I read the whole thread and you clearly came off like a total asshole putting down a great musician like Tyson. Let's hear you play; I'm sure it's amazing, lol!
Hearing Mark E Smith name checked on an SoT show makes me insanely happy.
Word. The Fall absolutely bear a strong KR influence. As do Wire, This Heat, PIL, Magazine… hell, Suicide even. I think KR had a massive impact on post punk and new wave, in general.
@@nikolademitri731 I’m not familiar with the Fall. Can you suggest an album I can listen to. Thanks
@@carlsalazar4490 hahahaha omg, do you know how many freaking albums The Fall released (let alone other things Mark E Smith lent himself to). It’s definitely 30-40 studio albums, and probably twice that in live releases. And yeah, as you might imagine, the quality with such a catalogue REALLY varies, as does the style (though there’s always a distinct Fall identity, largely bc of MES). Some of their albums are masterpieces imo. Some of them released in the same year, or very close to those masterpieces suck!
How about this, if you don’t mind: what kind of music/bands are you generally into? If you give me an idea, I’ll try to recommend albums I think might suit your fancy.
Sorry, it’s just that they’re a hard band to just recommend any album, or to get someone into imo (which is why I laughed).
@@carlsalazar4490 try This Nation's Saving Grace. One of the tracks on that album is actually called "I am Damo Suzuki"
My music tastes are all over the map. I listen to classics rock, heavy metal, thrash metal, fusion jazz, traditional jazz, blues, classical and pretty much everything in between. So anything you can recommend, I’m willing to give a try.
This a Happy 75th Birthday wish to the one and only Prog vocal goddess Annie Haslam of Renaissance!
A truly brilliant episode and education on the eclectic German experimental rock scene. I have to listen to some of the mentions as I have mostly only heard the bigger bands and celebrated works by them barring a few. An episode for the ages. Was a complete joy to listen to
My picks
Can-tago mago
Kraan-kraan
Amon duul II-yeti
Ash ra tempel-ash ra tempel
Tangerine dream-rubycon
Honorable mentions
Kraftwerk-computer world
Agitation free-malesch
Neu!-neu!
Awesome video to get into Krautrock! Thank you for making it !!!
The first six Can albums are the epitome of Krautrock, and especially Tago Mago and Ege Bamyasi. Damo Suzuki is so important to the sound. Mother Sky from Soundtracks is the #1 Krautrock anthem for me. Plus I so love Soon over Babaluma after Suzuki had left, I bought it on release in 1974 and is the band that recorded the Live in Stuttgart album.
I play Mother Sky after James Brown on the jukebox at a bar in Manhattan and it kills every time.
@@rickschricter That sounds like a great follow on track to James Brown..I will try it myself.
The most out there version of that track is by Vibravoid. A superb German psych band from Dresden. There are several live versions, but the one on Live at Berg Herzberg festival is incredible at 44 minutes long. check it out if not heard it. I saw them in London few years ago and they did shorter version but still bloody amazing.
First 7 albums for me. I love Landed, actually prefer it to Babaluma.
The Magma belt buckle nearly caused me to choke with laughter, but then Steve knocked it out of the park. Absolutely fucking incredible. If that photo-op ever happens, i will make the album happen for the cover... I haven't been this happy in a while.
That was excellent! Pete's face was gold! :-)
Only on SoT….lol
@@sotdude7 Fantastic! :-)
I have an involuntary attraction to Amon Duul II- They talk directly to me. I can hear all their 70´s albuns over and over and I never get tired, on the contrary, I find them more and more underrated. I think I have never heard an album so many repeated times than "Wolf City". I heard it all day long once, and I never get tired - I also absolutelly LOVE Grobschnitt and Wallenstein
Near-similar sentiments regarding Amon Düül II. I also love 1981's _Vortex_ - it's not quite like the output from the '70s, as the songs are shorter, and the production slicker, but I listen to it frequently.
@@knightvisioniixv Van der Graaf and Amon Duull II are two of my 10 favorite bands. I believe they weren´t greater hits because - at least for my ears - they don´t sound so great live as they sound in their records - specially the vocals. And I absolutelly love the vocals in the studio albuns
Wolf City is my favorite Amon Duul album. I love Van der Graf. They both have so much variation with their music it’s always exciting to listen to. An important factor for me to like a band.
@@reinaldofavoreto7160 So I am not the only one who can listen to Wolf City all day long… 😂 It is truly mind-blowing in all its richness. Love ADII esp their first couple of years of output.
1. Yatha Sidhra - A Meditation Mass
2. Ask Ra Temple - Le Berceau de Cristal
3. Manuel Gottsching - E2-E4
4. Can - Flow Motion
5. Agitation free - At the Cliffs of River Rhine
Excellent show, In The Prog Seat is essential viewing for me.
Thanks guys, I really enjoyed this episode, learned a lot and it's given me a couple of albums to check out. How about a Part 2?
Incredible episode
You guys are speaking to my heart with this episode. I would love to see a show on french prog.
One of my favourite genres.I could pick lots of albums by each artist.Thank you Peter.Made my week.
Special video. Thanks so much guys. Can remain the Krautrock masters for me and Jaki Liebeziet is one of the best drummers of all time in my eyes. Legend has it that his polyrhythmic pummelling could often induce members of the audience to vomit. That's some heavy shit
Loved this discussion
Excelent presentation. The Krautrock is an experimental music and requires more attention and discipline to listeners but opens wide musical horizons.
always an extra joy to see Steve in the racks!
1) Epitaph - s/t
2) Eloy - Floating
3) Gila - s/t
4) Wind - Seasons
5) Out Of Focus - s/t
Wind's Morning, Seasons & especially Keeping Me Occupied are really good
I wasn’t sure what to expect with a show on Krautrock but it turned out to be a really informative episode also full of gentle laughs. No sure Krautrock is for me but this is SOT at best.
guys you're shouting out some absolutely great music in this vid. wonderful podcast, enjoyed it while eating a solid pack of chips
Hi guys. Great show. I was a GI stationed in Germany in the '70s and was introduced to Krautrock. There's some good stuff there for sure. Pete, you're my go-to channel for rock tips. Thanks. PS-I'm listening to Hinten right now.
Found this highly informative in making a killer krautrock radio list on my Spotify thank you for your knowledge! Music is drug of choice.
Great show .
I listened to both Harmonia's albums and i quite dig it ! I wouldn't be surprised if I go on a Krautrock kick sooner than later. Thanks for another fantastic episode guys !
Kraut rock is a notoriously difficult genre to pin down, so the discussion between all four of you about its origins, influences, and directions was both informative and entertaining. Good choices, too, by all of you. Also consider for a future show examining the Japanese progressive/electronic rock scene from the 70s (I've sometimes seen it referred to as "Zen rock"), which was heavily indebted to the legacy of Kraut rock. There's much to choose from, including Far East Family Band, Far Out, Stomu Yamashta, Cosmos Factory, Chronicle, Crosswind, Kitaro, Sadistic Mika Band, Prism, Osamu Kitajima, Condition Green, Travelin' Flower Band, Mariner, Ain Soph, Ghost, Fried Egg, and many more.
Spot on. Julian Cope has written two excellent books about krautrocksampler and japrocksampler, really worthy to check them out! Also on a similar vein of psychedelic experimentation were plenty of swedish bands in the 70's!!
I know nothing about Krautrock.By watching this show i learned a lot.Thanks gentlemen!
Kraut rock is a really special subgenre. My picks would be:
Amon Duul II - Wolf city
CAN - Future days
CAN - Soon over babaluma
Agitation Free - 2nd
Tangerine Dream - Rubicon
Ash Ra Tempel, Popol Vuh are really great, too.
There are some bands I can't really get into, like Faust, Guru Guru.
Faust has some amazing songs. But The Faust Tapes is probably their most audible material.
Great show, mine 6 best Krautrock albums are.
1. Embryo Steig Aus 1972
2. Amon Duul Yeti 1970
3. Xhol Caravan Electrip 1969
4. Agitation Free Fragments 1974
5. Brainticket Past, present, future 2015
6. Ashra Tempel Join Inn 1973
Xhol Caravan or Xhol this is special because this is the first Krautrock band, a must have for the Krautrock lovers.
Hello from the 🇬🇧. Another great episode from Pete and the guys. Some great albums chosen and some I'm not that familiar with.
🤘🤘🤘
One of my favorite Krautrock tracks is Popol Vuh’s "Hüter der Schwelle" (Guardian of the Threshold) from their 1977 album Herz aus Glas. Stately, ceremonial music with fantastic multi-tracked electric guitars and enveloping drums and cymbals. Brilliant stuff. Great episode, guys, and very informative - thanks!
Steve’s shelf behind him is driving my OCD crazy!!! Lol! Very informative episode since I have NO experience with Kraut Rock. Looking forward to checking these bands!
Very good show excelent information and details of krautrock.
In honor of 75k subs Pete will get the Magma discography with a few extra copies of The Final Cut
Currently my top 5 favorite Krautrock albums in no particular order is Ash Ra Tempel - Ash Ra Tempel, Amon Duul II - Yeti, Popol Vuh - Hossiana Mantra, Klaus Schulz - Timewind and Tangerine Dream - Zeit. Just getting into Krautrock in the past couple years and looking forward to seeing the Prog Seat crew recommendations.
My Top 5 Krautrock albums:
1. Message - From Books and Dreams (1973)
2. Twenty Sixty Six and Then - Reflections of The Future (1972)
3. Virus - Thoughts (1971)
4. MC Church Soundroom - Delusion (1971)
5. Orange Peel - [s/t] (1970)
HM: Lightshine - Feeling (1976)
Frumpy - All Will Be Changed (1970)
Good call on Message!
I've always love Krautrock.
It's true its the only genre that brings people from different genres together.
Love this! My favourites are: Faust - so far, Tangerine Dream - Zeit, Can - monster movie, Amon Duul 2 - yeti, Cluster - 2 - but loads more besides.. agitation free, popol vuh, ash ra tempel, cosmic jokers, witthuser and westrupp, embryo, early kraftwerk etc. etc.
Good afternoon All, I had a wonderful time yet again with these gents talking about a fantastic genre of music.
Thanks for your input as always Chuck.
Loved your picks, Chuck. I agreed with basically everything you said this episode, and also my favorite all time KR album is Can’s, ‘Future Days’, as well!
A fabulous primer on Krautrock only ever owned one album. Which I no longer own so plenty food for thought there, thanks a lot everyone.
1. Amon Duul II - Yeti
2. Can - Future Days
3. Faust- IV
4. NEU 75
5. Ash Ra Tempel - Self titled
For the uninitiated, Agitation Free's album title Malesch means "Never Mind" in Arabic :-)
Bravo pour des anglophones de connaître si bien le Krautrock
In 1977 we drove to Berlin, and we took the autobahn (wir fahren fahren) to Berlin you needed a visa and couldn't leave the autobahn at any moment and of course we played the song Autobahn that's when you really appreciate what the song is about. Also would like to mention I really like the band La Dusseldorf, didn't think it would make it into anyone's list but love their debut album,
Klaus Dinger of Neu! Formed the band along with his brother!! Love that album too
Nice that Autobahn got a mention. I did comment on the album on an SOT best albums of 1975 or something as well as the obvious rock albums of that year but Autobahn was actually 1974.
Love this episode. krautrock is such a fascinating movement. Really adore Guru Guru, Amon Duul and Can, along with so much of the other stuff, some bands only releasing a single album. A weird one I found years ago that I've never heard anyone talk about is lied des Teufeuls 9Songs of the Devil!). It's kind of more on the jazz/blues rock end of things but really good. there's also the extremely heavya nd dark necronomicon (no, not the 80s German thrash band, the 70s german heavyweights!).
Wunderbar! Also check out Weserbergland, a great modern-day Krautrock band. Here's my Top 5:
1. Tago Mago - Can
2. 2nd - Agitation Frei (Gotta put this in second place lol!)
3. Neu! - Neu!
4. Ege Bamyasi - Can
5. Wolf City - Amon Duul II
There was an actual ad placed by Peter Hauke of Bacillus records that coined the term "Krautrock" before the British press ad.
Galactic supermarket
Unforgettable
Impossible to unhear
Wow, you guys know your stuff!
Thanks for mentioning WALLENSTEIN, Ken. What a lovely band they were.
And it's always great to hear about GURU GURU. For those who are not so keen on the experimental, crazy stuff, I'd recommend the album "Globetrotter" released on Brain Records in 1977. Very pleasant and enjoyable music. Mani Neumeier is still playing live, by the way.
Love the whole genre, so many great and interesting bands came out of Germany. Some of my favorites:
Amon Duul - Yeti
Kraan - debut album
Dzyan - Electric Silence
Ash Ra Temple - Join In
Eloy - Floating
Oh nice, more stuff that I haven't heard. I'm more of the Berlin school of electronic music fan, but I do have a few of these and, apparently, a lot that I don't. I did used to own the "wrong" Amon Duul 2 album "Hijackers my first one. I found it at a record store and it was NOT what I expected... I probably would like it now though. From what I remember, It reminded me of weird new wave/post punk music, but way before that scene.
Umm... okay...
1. Delay 1968 - Can
(Played at proper volumes, the rhythm section destroys everything in it's path. Jaki Freaking Liebezeit! Genius songs sung by a genius vocalist.)
2. Monster Movie - Can
(Malcolm Mooney is back. Nuff said.)
3. Tago Mago - Can
(Did Malcolm break Can? Whatever. Damo Suzuki joins the band and helps them create one of the best albums of all time.)
4. Faust - Faust
(Experimental is the real progressive.)
5. Lieder von Vampiren, Nonnen und Toten - Bernd Witthüser
(Amazing cover. Amazing music. I've been told it translates rather silly. Still, a personal obsession.)
HM. Fließbandbabys Beat-Show - Floh de Cologne
(Another personal obsession.)
Really enjoyed this I bought a few albums from this discussion.
Wanted to mention a really cool comp called Kraut is from Bear Family Records in Germany. I got the third volume and it's really enjoyable they're on sale right now at Deep Discount for real cheap bear family does an excellent job
Was waiting for Ken to mention Gila. I want to be buried with Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee. Beautiful, beautiful sounding album, albeit about some fairly grim content.
1. So Far - Faust
2. Autobahn - Kraftwerk
3. Live In London - Amon Düül II
4. Tago Mago - Can
5. Neu 2 - neu
As much as I love Future Days,and am ambivalent about Tago Mago, my favorite Can album,and my favorite Krautrock album is Ege Bamyasi. Second would be Tanz Der Lemminge by Amon Duul II
J’ai toujours mon album de
-ASH RA TEMPLE ´schwingungen’ 1972 Ohr. OMM 556020
-Edgar Froese ´macula transfer ´ Brain Label 1976
-CAN ´futur days ´
-JANE ´ III ´ BRAIN Label 1048
-NEU ´1975 Brain 1062
The song Read Air, in Guru Guru's In the Guru Lounge is good. Guitar and drum beat, repetition, love it.
I’m gonna name drop a ton of bands (and some albums) for people to check out, and then talk a bit about the genre, what I included/why/etc (I tried to not include bands talked about here):
*60s/70s:* My Solid Ground, Michael Rother solo, Klaus Dinger solo, Tony Conrad with Faust, Ashra, Cluster (and the the Moebius/Roedilius/Eno album “After The Heat”), Harmonia with Eno, Klaus Schultze solo, Edgar Froese solo, Peter Baumann solo, Gomorrah (album ‘Trauma’ particularly), Hairy Chapter, Wallenstein, Ibliss, Niagara, Sunbirds, Wolfgang Dauner (early stuff, especially ‘Output’… yes it’s on ECM, but I see the kinship), Kraftwerk (the album ‘Ralf und Florian’), DZYAN, Kraan, Grobschnitt (KR? idk but close enough for me), Birth Control, Riechmann (album ‘Wunderbar’), David Bowie (krautrock starts creeping in on ‘Station to Station’, and is full bloom by ‘Low’ and ‘Heroes’), Brian Eno (his later 70s work is all highly influenced by KR, like Bowie), Roxy Music (the song “The Bogus Man” is essential imo, and definitely KR)
*80s:* Holger Kzukay, Jaki Liebzeit, and Irmin Schmidt (all of CAN) released excellent solo albums/performed on great KR albums in the 80s and onward (Holger’s ‘Movies’ and ‘Full Circle’ are just as essential as the best CAN albums imo), Phantom Band, Phew (particularly the debut), Bill Laswell (his debut ‘Baselines’ is highly influenced by KR), Yello (album ‘Solid Pleasure’), Harald Grosskopf, Moebius and Plank (particularly their 1980 debut together), Cabaret Voltaire (70s through early 80s work), Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft (aka DAF… their earlier work particularly, that EBM sound is very KR influenced)….
As mentioned in the episode, KR heavily influenced bands like The Fall, Wire, This Heat, P.I.L., and many other great post punk/new wave groups, with the above often having multiple songs that would sound perfectly in place on earlier KR albums..
*90s:* Stereolab is incredibly important (and incredibly excellent) and arguably most responsible for re-popularizing the KR sound in the 90s and early 2000s… Broadcast, Lali Puna, Portishead (particularly their 3rd album, very heavy KR influence), Burnt Friedman (who later worked with Jaki Liebzeit on some excellent LPs)
21st Century: Eat Lights Become Lights, Moon Duo (particularly ‘Stars Are The Light’, and their more recent work), Beak>, Plank!, Gnod (holy crap, this band’s brand of KR and psychedelia is terrorizing), Cavern of Anti-Matter, Föllakzoid, Mugstar, Lumarians, Cult of Dom Keller, The Advisory Circle, Belbury Poly, Vanishing Twin, The Soft Moon, Gnoomes, White Manna
…. That’s just to name a few… Most of these bands are definitely krautrock, some are just clearly very influenced by it where it’s definitely part of their sound. Many of the post-70s bands here are not German, but frankly the way I see it by the late 70s a few sounds had been established that were “krautrock”, and so nationality becomes completely irrelevant to the genre (frankly there are some early 70s bands doing something very much like the German bands who made the sound, though not German, that may as well be included imo).
For example, if I’m giving my favorite KR, I feel required to include David Bowie (and Eno, to a lesser extent), because ‘Low’ and ‘Heroes’ (the two albums where he most explored Krautrock/Elektronische/Ambient) were my gateway to KR as a teenager. Also, they just are a part of that lineage, and musical movement, however we want to qualify the genre, or further subdivide the Trve Krautrock™️ artists, and counterfeits.
When it comes to deciding what to include: I hear sounds, those sounds are distinct to a certain style broadly labeled Krautrock, whether purely KR or not, so I’m not discounting something based on location or presence of other sub-genres in my list. If you’re reading this and you think that’s improper, that’s ok. Ultimately, whether or not you actually like the sounds being produced is what matters. Hopefully this helps someone find some cool bands, old and new (and sorry, I wanted to post a list last night, but I fell asleep while choosing bands I think fit). ✌️🤘
I think this panel would exclude many of these bands as not really being Krautrock, as you say, but there are some cool ones here. I'm not that big on "true" Krautrock, the rub for me is the experimental element & I'm just not adventurous enough musically. A lot of this music is too "out there" for me, I'm too married to melody. I've tried getting into many of the above at various times but mostly can't do it. Sunbirds (s/t & Zagara) is one that broke through, definitely Kraan (though I like their later albums post-reforming much more), Birth Control had at least 4 good albums
@@wolf1977 Well I did say that some are straight KR, and some are just influenced by it, and/or some are generally psych/space/prog/kraut, but everything I included is KR in one way or another, per that genre sound. I’m sure some wouldn’t agree, but also I think Ken was correct to say that at some point we get into semantics with the whole, “well is it space rock or krautrock or German progressive rock?”… I’m just not someone who thinks similar sub-genres can typically have hard lines drawn between them. I think that’s definitely the case here.
I tried to include a list that could be for a newbie to Krautrock, and tried to spell out what was what, but I had to also attempt to be brief. I mean, it’s probably unreadable to most people, because it’s too long, but that’s fine by me really as long as curious people try out some of the bands I listed.
As far as ability to get into this or that, I can understand. It took me a long time to get into KR. Frankly, I think psychedelics (and cannabis) during my “hippy years” were a big part of what opened me up to so much more, but I’m definitely not suggesting that as a path to get into new music (and even there, it did still take a while for many of these albums to click for me.
My suggestion is to just try things similar to what you like, and slowly branch out, if you actually want to expand your tastes. It takes time, and frankly complex and experimental music does take some effort quite often on the part of the listener, but it’s so incredibly rewarding when that song/album/band finally clicks, so it’s worth it to me. If you want suggestions, I can try to give you some, if you give me an idea of what you do/don’t like, or have/haven’t tried. If not, then enjoy what you like, and it’s no biggie. You can’t like everything (let alone hear it). ✌️
@@nikolademitri731 Enjoyed reading this list - a number of things I've heard, and some I haven't. Especially loved seeing Stereolab; one of my utmost faves for the longest time!
@@nikolademitri731 I'm actually not trying to get into more KR as I've "sampled" the genre more than a few times. I have a good idea what I like/don't like after about 50 years of listening. Sure no one can hear everything but you get to know your musical limits when you "branch out" from what you do like, as you say. I've done that & I know what I will/won't go for as soon as I do hear it (sure there are a few exceptions but that's usually the case). BTW: My current music library includes about 3,000 prog tracks from the 70's alone, and over 15,000 prog tracks in all...
I know for example that I don't like much of the "hard core" KR (Popol Vuh, Amon Duul, Guru, Neu!, Can, Ash Ra, most of Magma, etc), in other words MANY of the core bands that make up the genre. How do I know that? By listening to them. Also I know that I don't like many other "experimental" artists, again by listening to them (this I think kind of goes hand in hand with not liking free form jazz/bebop, or much "straight" jazz, in general & really needing melody in my music). Since that experimental spirit & sound is pretty much essential to a band qualifying as true KR it makes it somewhat unlikely that I'd enjoy their music.
"KR-adjacent" bands (like Embryo, Birth Control, Sunbirds, Kraan, Agitation Free, etc) are a totally different story but it's also very different music & to me much more accessible. That experimental side is kept under control, many of them aren't even really that progressive. I lived in Germany until the early 70's but TBH left before really seriously getting into music, so none of Krautrock was anything I was even vaguely aware of (same with prog in general) at the time, and not until much later
@@knightvisioniixv Stereolab is definitely my favorite non-German, non-70s bands that undoubtedly play a more modernized krautrock, along with other influences (like Can, Faust, and others, they definitely also have a Velvet Underground influence). I don’t think they released a bad album, and frankly at least half of their 90s output is classic to near perfect, and at worst was just really good. ✌️
In anticipation for a Kosmische Musik extravaganza I'll put my favorite on here as well:
5. Manuel Gottsching: E2-E4
4. Steve Roach- Structures from Silence
3. Klaus Schulze: Timewind
2. Tangerine Dream: Phaedra
1. Jean-Michel Jarre: Oxygen
I like Faust 4 which has an actual track called "Krautrock".
This episode reminds me of some lunchtimes in the mid-90s spent in the Ultima Thule record shop, around the corner from Leicester train station.
I visited there several times in the 80's while on vacation. What a great store!
In no particular order:
Popol Vuh - Best Of Popol Vuh: Werner Herzog Soundtracks
Tangerine Dream - Rubycon
Edgar Froese - Epsilon In Malaysian Pale
Faust - Faust IV
Can - Tago Mago
Michael Rother - Flammende Herzen (Mike is my Spirit Animal and OMG he's so hawt!)
Manuel Göttsching - E2-E4
Harmonia & Eno -Tracks & Traces
Emtidi - Saat
Brainticket - Cottonwoodhill
Congrats on a 🔥 episode guys!
And those aren't my real all-time favorites, just favs that weren't mentioned. At least I think they weren't mentioned, I can't remember now that my edible is starting to climb up my back all warm and sinister... 🚀
Hahahaha! Michael Rother is a smoke show as the kids say. I remember when I first got into KR as a teen, and I developed a serious crush…. Then I went to Germany for a vacation, and discovered that this isn’t uncommon in Deutschland..
You know he just released a new album yeah? It’s a collaboration, I can’t remember the name of the female artist on it, but it’s pretty good!
Novalis - Sommerabend (1976) - The Best in all times!!! 👍 #2 Novalis - Banished Bridge (1973), #3 Novalis - Novalis (1975)
Neat video. Hoping to see stuff on The Cure possibly?
Not likely.
@@seaoftranquilityprog aaa ok thats fine. Aint my channel.
@@mr.krinkle952 how about Primus, Mr Krinkle? I actually do wonder what Pete thinks of them. I imagine he loves the musicianship, but not Claypool’s vocals?
@@nikolademitri731 yeah Pete is a metalhead but not a hillbilly
Oh yeah ,,,,finally ! 🙂🙂🙂🤘🤘🤘
Krautrock is definitely a top genre for me, glad to see it finally get it's own episode. Top 5, one album/one artist only (otherwise it would just be mostly Can)
1. Can - Future Days
2. Amon Duul II - Yeti
3. Neu! - Neu! '75
4. La Dusseldorf - S/T
5. Faust - IV
I always loved Guru Guru Agitation free 2nd love the jazziness
Great episode, 5 of my picks:
A.R. & Machines - Echo
Popol Vuh - Letzte Tage - Letzte Nachte
Kollektiv - s/t
Dom - Edge of Time
Neu! - s/t
Can " Peel Seasons " are great . Old but totally new songs with Damo . Green album , first issue long after Can - 1995 .
A fun theme for an episode could be "Near-Kraut" albums. I could probably list a dozen Non-German bands that I was convinced were German "Keaut-rocK" albums on the first listening - but turned out to be from other countries.
Great.
My faves~
(1) Kraftwerk- Trans Europe Express
(2) Can- Ege Bamyasi
(3) Amon Düül II- Tanz der Lemminge
(4) Faust- IV
(5) Neu- 75
5. Kraftwerk: Autobahn
4. Guru Guru: Kanguru
3. Popol Vuh: Nosferatu
2. Ash Ra Tempel: Schwingun
1. Amon Duul II: Yeti
I bought Ash Ra Tempel for £1 in Aberdeen years ago in a bargain bin, and I can't find it anywhere, since it was first mentioned on here a few weeks ago as a classic album.
"Electronic Meditation" by Tangerine Dream is good krautrock
Interesting episode lads, with some interesting definitions, but honestly it’s a difficult thing to define. I stopped trying, it was more a time, place and approach. Here’s my top 5 and some honourable mentions.
1. CAN - Future Days
2. Amon Duul II - Viva La Trance
3. Neu! - 75
4. Faust - IV
5. Brainticket - Cottonwoodhill (actually Swiss, but often considered part of the scene)
Honourable mentions:
Kraan - Self titled.
Floh De Cologne - Geyer-Symphonie
Can - Tago Mago
P.S. it wasn’t Shrat with the scythe on the cover of Yeti. It was their roadie/man Wolfgang Krischke. I believe Shrat guested with Amon Duul 1 for a while, they soon split after they recorded
Paradieswärts Düül.
Great discussion as always gents... for me it's:
5. Code III - "Planet of Man"
4. Neu! - "Neu!"
3. Guru Guru - "UFO"
2. Ash Ra Tempel - "Ash Ra Tempel"
1. Amon Duul II - "Tanz Der Lemminge"
HMs: Faust - "So Far" ; Harmonia "Musik von Harmonia" ; Amon Duul II - "Yeti" and "Phallus Dei" ; Cosmic Jokers "Galactic Supermarket"
I can’t believe that the 70’s Michael Rother album “ Flammende Herzen / Flaming hearts” didn’t get a mention
I would say it’s the German / Krautrock equivalent to Tubular Bells by Mike Oldfield
Thanks for the recommendation. I’m listening to it, as I’m writing this comment.
@@carlsalazar4490 That’s excellent news Carl,. It’s a nice feeling that someone else is discovering Michael Rother music .
Please let me know what you think of Flammende Hertzen after you’ve played it .
I live in England and I think he’s criminally under rated
I first became aware of that album when I was visiting my German relatives and because a German tv station devoted a whole programme to it on its release in the 70’s
If you like my album recommendation then maybe try his following album Katzenmusic ,( Kat music) which was well received on its release .
Michael Rother is still over 40 years later making new music
He’s an interesting artist, his music pre and after these couple of albums are worth investigating . Some more than others ,of course !
He’s certainly very influential and in fact he’s had a bit of an increase of interest in his music in recent years
@@christopherdavies3079 I enjoyed the music. I found the beat that runs through the music is very tranquil almost hypnotic. I plan to explore more of his music. Cheers
@@carlsalazar4490 I would agree with your description of the music on that album .
Really pleased that you enjoyed it hopefully other people will read this thread and also investigate this timeless album
Incredible album, but I think his work in Neu! and Harmonia always overshadow it, though it’s just as great. Many of his solo albums are imo.
1) Can -- Tago Mago
2) Neu! (debut)
3) Harmonia - Deluxe
4) Brainticket - Cottonwoodhill
5) AR & Machines - Echo
1 Nosferatu - Nosferatu, 2 McChurch Soundroom - Delusion, 3 Necronomicon - Tips zum selbtsmord, 4 Guru Guru - UFO, 5 - Ash ra temple - Ash ra temple, 6 Kraftwerk - Kraftwerk (UK compilation 1st two albums). Amon Duul II - Wolf city, Gila - Gila, Can - Tago mago, Walter wegmuller - Tarot, Technical space composer's crew - Canaxis 5, Hairy chapter - Can't get through, Xhol caravan - xhol caravan, Zarathustra - Zarathustra.
Great episode!
Assuming the groundbreaking Julian Cope book has gotten it’s mention here
Well, back in the seventies, I came to 'Krautrock' via Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze and Kraftwerk and would never have considered not labelling them as such. Neu!, Can and Amon Duul were later discoveries for me and, while I accept that their style is different (and more guitar based than the keyboards of the other bands) they're still the same scene as far as I'm concerned. Top 5: 1. Tangerine Dream - Rubycon 2. Kraftwerk - Autobahn 3. Neu! - Neu! 4. Klaus Schulze - Body Love 2 5. Can - Out of Reach
Yea put them all together as well, I just call the more electronic bands "Krautronic"
Its great how opinions can differ..ive always listened to Can and never for one second thought I could do without Damo Suzuki, but quite a few other bands have me thinking they would be better with no vocals...!...as for faust ive tried but for me they dont grab me...just opinions but terrific discussion anyway, thoroughly enjoying it..Im not at the end yet...so im hoping someone includes amon duuls yeti....
As Ken mentioned, my fav is Gila - Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee. I prefer Popol Vuh’s more introspective folk/indigenous vibe and I think that record is a great balance between that and more traditional western style folk songs. A beautiful melancholy record that anyone could get into.
Gila's Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee is very good, I liked 6 tracks off that one. Is it experimental enough though for "real" KR? I find it very melodic...
@@wolf1977 ya I agree it’s not as representative of the genre in that it’s more composed but it’s the one I tend to gravitate to the most.
1. can - future days
2. guru guru - hinten
3. neu! - '75
4. tangerine dream - phaedra
5. amon düül II - phallus dei
alternative:
embryo - embryos reise
ash ra themple - schwingungen
cluster - '71
kraftwerk - autobahn
kraan - live
I would recommend the following, actually top 10, bands:
Agitation Free - Malesch (their live albums are good as well)
Popul Vuh - Letze Tag Letze Nache (I like most of theirs)
Klaus Schulz - Mirage
Cluster - Cluster II (also Cluster w/Eno)
Can - Future Days/Monster Movie/Soon Over...
Tangerine Dream - Phaedra/Rubycon
Harmonia - Musik von Harmonia
Neu: 1 and 2 (also La Dusseldorf - Viva)
Embryo- Opal
Faust - Faust
HM:
Guru Guru - Hey Du
Michael Hoenig - Early Water
Grobbschnitt
Jane "Together" and Jane "Here We Are" Loved this band from the early 70's!
Great band but this panel specifically excluded them as not real KR. I've got 7 of their albums, really really good stuff
Love Jane...not really krautrock though.
Superb band yet more Symphonic like Eloy.
@@seaoftranquilityprog They've probably played at almost every Krautrock Festival in the last 30 years for some reason. We agree to disagree. Best wishes!
I Never Heard any of these records I guess I need to listen to more Krautrock!!!!, I love Tangerine Dream & Klaus Schulze.
Conny Plank's production on the Krautrock bands he worked with is great (I think he produced the early Scorpions stuff too). SoT should dedicate a show just to feature/highlight his work. Short of that, there is a great documentary about him called The Potential of Noise which I would highly, highly recommend if you have even the slightest interest in this subject or 70s/80s music.
Conny Plank is a legend!
I'm probably the only one here who can say their first listen of any Can is Stuttgart '75. It was Kiss Alive in '75 for me at age 14, but I have turned prog / fusion (and all the sub genres) in the last few years, via this channel and others, and I might never listen to a Can album with vocals. Pete's ok with that, I'm sure. Love In the Prog Seat.
The comments n lp offeringsare thrilling