The early 1970s was a fruitful time for popular music. Genres like art rock, glam, progressive, fusion, funk, folk and jazz were mixed together liberally, making this era a goldmine for music fanatics and record collectors.
Some of the most exciting music of this time period came from Germany. The avant garde was embraced by the mainstream, resulting in the birth of “kosmiche muzik” or “krautrock.” It’s been very trendy to mention Can and Neu for some time now, but it wasn’t always that easy to track their records down on vinyl. There are now plenty of German psych records available thanks to the reissue market. Here’s a brief guide to some of these discs.
NOTE: The popularity of vinyl reissues has led to the appearance of many unofficial bootlegs. These are often close replicas of the original LPs, down to the date and logo on the label. The Vinyl District will make every attempt to only promote legitimate releases where the artists are involved.
Kraftwerk – The Man Machine (Kling Klang)
I grew up with an aversion to electronic music that came from being bludgeoned over the head with techno and hip-hop throughout the 1980s and well into the 2000s. The Man Machine recalls a time before all that, when electronic music was made by robots in a top secret laboratory in Germany. OK, not quite – but you get the point. Many synth pop bands tried to re-capture the hypnotic beauty of this record in the ensuing decade, but few came close to the warm waves of analogue sound present on this disc.
As great as the sound is, the packaging also deserves praise. The Man Machine features a thick cardstock booklet with color photographs of the band in all their synthetic glory. The whole “produkt” was overseen by Ralf Hutter and Florian Schneider of Kraftwerk, making a great argument for involving the artists in the reissue process.
Neu! – 75 (Astralwerks)
Former Kraftwerk members Michael Rother and Klaus Dinger formed Neu in 1971. Neu records are all pretty much variations on a theme, so it’s tough to single one out as a “must own.” The first album features “Hallogallo,” which is the ultimate Neu track and possibly the greatest minimalist rock song ever recorded.
Neu 75 has a few more tricks up its sleeve. You get the mellow vibe of Rother on “Isi,” as well as the proto-punk mania of Dinger on “Hero.” The other Neu albums are more for completists: Neu 2 is basically a remix album, and Neu 86 suffers from 80s production techniques that leave a shiny metallic residue over the music.
Much credit for the Neu sound should go to producer Conny Plank, who also worked with Kraftwerk, Can and Cluster among others. He was as important to German psych as Tony Visconti was to British glam rock.
Cluster and Eno (4 Men With Beards)
One of the later releases to come out of Plank’s studio was this collaboration between Brian Eno and the German group Cluster. It’s an instrumental affair that will appeal to fans of Eno’s ambient works. The individual tracks are each quite different, showcasing not just electronic instruments but also piano and Indian style drones.
4 Men With Beards have also released two albums by Cluster, as well as another collaboration with Eno featuring principal members of Cluster (After the Heat by Eno / Moebius / Rodelius).
There is plenty more to discover in the realm of German psych, including several releases by Can on their own label Spoon. I’ll probably come back to this topic in the near future. Stay tuned for next week’s mystery genre!
