Monday's Long Song

 

Our house has been covered in scaffolding for a few weeks now, as the façade and the wooden window frames need to be replaced. I admire the guys who have to do this hard physical labour in temperatures of well over 30 degrees Celsius. To make it easier for them, they listen to music from a portable player while they work. I would have expected to have to listen to a lot of mainstream music and was surprised to hear harder sounds from the scaffolding. As well as Pavement, they also played a song by TRAAMS, an indie rock band from West Sussex, active since more than ten years. Their musical influences reach from early Television to the motorik beats of Kraftwerk. A House On Fire is a nearly nine minutes tour de force of highstrung beat, pounding bass and simple guitar riffs that takes a leading guitar to excursions and feedbacks.

TRAAMS - A House On Fire

Fontana Di Luna

 

It is time to feature one of the best composer and musician once again at these pages. I think Michael Rother is well known for his works with NEU!, Kraftwerk and La Düsseldorf. He was one of those who created krautrock and his influence to new sounds in the 70's was immense. Together with Jaki Liebezeit on drums he recorded three albums under his own name and every one is worth to be listened. If I have to describe his music I would call it relaxed psychedelia with a get out of hand guitar over a steady beat. This one is from his second album Sterntaler and a great start into another sunny Sunday.

Michael Rother - Fontana Di Luna

Monday's Long Song

 

The good things about re-releases are that you can remember the times you listened first to it or you can hear something new you missed but the lot of releases from this time. This happened to me when I listened to the latest release by Stereolab. In 1997 they released their collaboration with Nurse With Wounds as a limited single. On this two songs Stereolab combined their mighty organ sound with the krautrock inspired avant-garde of Steven Stapleton and he couldn't hide his experiences working with Guru Guru and Faust. Tripping With The Birds is an experimental mix of Kraftwerk's Autobahn, combined with a Rother-esque guitar and the spoken words by Stereolab. A nugget of forgotten release.

Monday's Long Song

 

50 years ago German krautrock band NEU! released their self titled and epic album with the same name. After leaving a first incarnation of Kraftwerk Michael Rother and Klaus Dinger with Conny Plank at the controllers one of the most influential albums of electronic music. Small, inconspicuous melodies, loose rhythms, the technical means available at the time and a large portion of improvisation created music that floats in the Neu! cosmos like the elf in fairytale land. Hallogallo is probably the best example how great this new music could be and it isn't astonishing that John Peel played this song so often that NEU! got well known in many countries except Germany.

NEU! - Hallogallo

Ballet Statique

Conrad Schnitzler was another electronic artist that was almost forgotten. He was a forming member of Kluster in 1969 and later a part of Tangerine Dream and the one who bought Kraftwerk their first synthesizer. He was always looking for new sounds in electronic music and one of the first ones experimentalise in ambient music. I found his record in a second hand store a few days before all the shops had to close. It is a warm and relaxed music and perfect to lose time when all public life is not welcome.

Conrad Schnitzler - Ballet Statique 

Florian Schneider-Esleben RIP

Just the sad news arrived that co-former of Kraftwerk Florian Schneider-Esleben died after suffering on cancer today at the age of 73. He was far ahead of times when he turned into electronic music while the rest stuck in classic rock. I don't have to repeat what influence Kraftwerk had on electronic music but I remember very well when I first saw them on TV in 1971 and couldn't believe what I heard because it was totally different what we heard on radio before.

Rest well Florian

Monday's Long Song

In 1974 Kraftwerk released the groundbreaking album Autobahn. Groundbreaking because it marked the end of Krautrock as we knew it. Since then electronic music was just a part of the sound by Can, Amon Düül or Birth Control. Now Kraftwerk's guitarist Klaus Roeder was just a small part of the sound any more. No more conventional instruments were used in the future and Kraftwerk made the blueprint of many other artists working with synthesizers and electronic equipment. It was also these days a lot of my friends had to decide which road they will follow. Some of them found themself in electronic music or in the jazz-fusion thing and the most turned into the upcoming guitar sound of punk and new wave. Anyway - this is a classic song and it's flow still grabs me.


Kraftwerk - Autobahn

Autobahn

If a band choose their name in Autobahn most of you would think this is a reminiscence to Krautwerk and especially to Kraftwerk. But this band from Leeds has musically nothing to do with this kind of music. The sound on their new album The Mortal Crossing is dark, dramatic and some kind of post-punk into new-wave music. I don't know how old this kids are but their sound is clear, fresh, guitar based and reclined to mid 80's post punk and vintage goth style. And they also have no fear to add their sound with a cello and it fits well on Torment.

Solarised Sound

A few days ago Caverns Of Anti Matter released their newest long player Hormone Lemonade. Another great record for me with their very unique sound. Mostly based on programmed drums and added with low-down industrial keyboard and guitar guitar basics. It it not new or groundbreaking but it is much more different to many things I know today. Music inspired by Kraftwertk, Krautrock and American high-school music makes a lot of fun these days to me.

Preoccupations Again

Canadian post-punk band Preoccupations released their new album today. Probably better known as Viet Cong they they were well known as one of those bands that could transfer the spirit of the early 80's into today. Their songs were a perfect combination of electronic music (sometimes they remind me with their steady rhythms to Kraftwertk) and guitar inspired sounds of the early 80's. I really like them and would like to see them once live.

 

Young Marble Giants

It was back in 1980 when a Welsh band released one the best records in the post punk /new wave are. Young Marble Giants made an extraordinary record that stood the test of time. I listened to this records very often during the last decades. Philip and Stuart Moxham made a great sound with a Rickenbacker guitar and the influences of Brian Eno and Kraftwertk. But the best they did was to combine this extraordinary sound with the voice of Alison Statton. Colossal Youth is one of the few and everlasting albums from this era. This is one more a session John Peel arranged in 1980 and still worth to listen after all these years. Different from the versions from the album it has an very unique atmosphere. Still worth to listen to.

The Ice Saints are gone and the summer is still not in sight. In Germany and other parts of continental Europe it is a popular belief that in a period of May the last days of night frost is falling on the feast days of certain saints and after these days summer will appear. Now it's Whitsuntide and looking out of the window I can only see rain and cold outside. Like many others I have enough of the cold and wet days and looking forward to brighter days. Otherwise you weren't led to outdoor activities and you have time to read a good book or listen to your music.

Cavern Of Anti-Matter are a Berlin based krautrock-inspired band featuring Tim Gane and Joe Dilworth both from Stereolab. A few months ago they released their latest record and now I got the time to listen to it closely. There sound is based on the synths of Holger Zapf. He prepared the ground for guitars and drums. It is psychedelic, krautrock and modern. Of course they learned by Can, Neu and Kraftwerk - but this weren't the worst teachers.

Continental Tuesday # 2

Another German band/project appeared during the last days and made me listen to them. They call oneself Die Wilde Jagd (The Wild Hunt) and it a collaboration of two guy met in Düsseldorf at a meeting place for new and established musicians and artists at the so called as Germany's postpunk Hacienda. Their music is full of small references to local acts of the 80 such as Kraftwerk, NEU!, DAF, Liaison Dangereuses, Pyrolator and The Krupps. Their soundscape is marked by repetitive guitar loops, electronic percussion, drums and synthesizers. Most of the songs are grounded by crystalline beats and their pulsing bass lines. Their name is based on a German myth I had my mother to ask for if she knows something about it. And she agreed that it is an old legend that every year anew, during the so called Rauhnächte (those harsh nights between Christmas and Twelfth Day), the Wild Hunt rides across the country: raucous, jeering hunters from the netherworld, whose path is better not to cross. I love the myth and the music as well. Don't be afraid of the sound.

Die Wilde Jagd - Wah Wah Wallenstein
Die Wilde Jagd - Der Elektrische Reiter
Die Wilde Jagd - Morgenrot

The Foreign Corresondent Returns - Stories About German (Rock) Music # 50

The will be the last post in this series. As said, I couldn't imagine that this series continued until now. I offered you a big bunch of music that was made by German musicians - in a lot of different styles all over the last 40 years. How to finish this series? That was the question I asked myself a lot of times. Should I feature my favorite artist, album, song or what ever? Finally I decided to none of them. Let me show you some artists/songs that came out the last years or maybe long time ago. All of them mean a lot to me in any way. So thank you for following me during the last year in this series. And I'm sure the foreign correspondent will return again if there is something new that is worth listening to.

The Foreign Correspondent Returns - Stories About German Rock Music # 42

When I have brought his series to life, I would not have thought that so many results become from it. And so I will continue until number 50 in this series. Todays band takes us back to the days of Krautrock. Formed in 1975 by Klaus Dinger (who played with Kraftwerk and Neu! before), his brother Thomas and Hans Lampe. Typically for the music of La Dusseldorf are long, about wide distances the instrumental pieces which contains with sound collages and scanty song, often only German, English or now and again also French linguistic scraps are complemented. Lots of folks back then blamed this kind of music as too arty and not earthy enough. I remember many discussions I had with a couple of friends about the pros and cons of this music. Most of them I couldn't convince to open their ears for something new. The same thing happened again when another new music showed up the following years. Nevertheless, there were enough musicians in other countries which appreciated these music. Thus the music from Neu! and La Dusseldorf has big influence on the music of Brian Eno and David Bowie exercised. Bowie called La Dusseldorf "the soundtrack of the eighties". So take 13 minutes and listen to this little masterpiece that was recorded 40 years ago.

La Düsseldorf - Düsseldorf

The Foreign Correspondent Returns - Stories About German Rock Music # 38

This series wouldn't be complete if I don't feature one of the well respected German bands worldwide. Kraftwerk is a band that has influenced the music scene with lasting effects and changed as well. The complete history you can read here. I have grown up with the music of the heroes from the 60s and the entrance in their music was not easy. In the early 70s some dope smoking friends introduced me to upcoming electronic music made by German musicians. They introduced me to to early Krautrock and the especially the music of Michael Rother who would become a member of Kraftwerk in their early days. For me Kraftwerk started in 1974 with the release of their album Autobahn. I've never heard a sound like this before. One side of a record just with one song based on a simple melody with a lot of variations. The improvisation I used to know by guitar slingers was transported to electronic sounds. It wasn't a music to be played for masses or on regular radio stations. We played this record for our very own personal delight - mostly late at night. The greatest gift they gave me was open ears for new sounds. And I agree to most of the critics that they had a heavy influence to electronic music as we know it.

Kraftwerk - Trans Europa Express
Kraftwerk - The Model

The road to Wembley

Today I have recompensed myself, while I have looked at the football match live by my local pub. Although I am certainty no fan of Bayern Munich I have hoped that they will win the play. Only for one reason that I like Barcelona still less than them. Reasons therefor will be told another time. And they did! They beat the 'best team in the world' 4:0

Came home after the play and wasn't tired enough to go to sleep. So I checked my box for some music to relax and have a final drink to. I found an old Krautrock-record by Neu!. It was released in 1972 and I am still astonished what they did with their synthesizers and guitars. Combining a pulsate rhythm with electronic effects made them almost incredibly at this time. Some members of Neu! joined later Kraftwerk - also band with the same influence and also produced by  Conny Plank . 

Enjoy some Krautrock an have a good time

Neu - Für Immer (Forever)

Flaming Hearts

This week I was very busy talking to C. what happened during the last weeks and also watching the German team in the Champions League so that I hadn't enough time working on my block. It is now between dinner and going out with my brother in law that I write this post.

Today's music comes from a German musician who had great influence in electronic music. In his early days he was a co-member of Kraftwerk an a full-member of NEU! They made fantastic music to relax (lot of people used to smoke to this music in these days). Nowadays you can hear this kind of music in rotten versions all over the esoteric wave or in the supermarket. But the originals were never beaten. 

I read in wiki, that Michael Rother did some jams with Joe Frusicante from RHCP. If it's true - great respect to them.

Enjoy people and have a good week

Michael Rother - Flammende Herzen