| Krautrock | |
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.jpg) German krautrock bandCan performing in der Musikhalle Hamburg in 1972 | |
| Etymology | Kraut |
| Other names |
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| Stylistic origins | |
| Cultural origins | Late 1960s,West Germany |
| Derivative forms | |
| Other topics | |
Krautrock (also calledkosmische Musik, German for"cosmic music"[9][10][11]) is a broadgenre ofexperimental rock and music scene that developed inWest Germany in the late 1960s and early 1970s.[10] Artists blend elements ofpsychedelic rock,avant-garde composition, andelectronic music, among other eclectic sources.[12] Common elements included hypnotic rhythms, extendedimprovisation,musique concrète techniques, and earlysynthesizers,[13][12] while the music generally moved away from therhythm & blues roots andsong structure found in traditional Anglo-Americanrock music.[14] Prominent groups associated with the krautrock label includedNeu!,Can,Faust,Tangerine Dream,Kraftwerk,Cluster,Ash Ra Tempel,Popol Vuh,Amon Düül II andHarmonia.[5]
The term "krautrock" was popularised by British music journalists as a humorous umbrella-label for the diverse German scene,[15] and although many such artists disliked the term,[16] it is no longer considered controversial by German artists in the 21st century. Despite this, English-language authors remain critical of it.[17] The movement was partly born out of the radicalstudent protests of 1968,[18] as German youth rebelled against their country's legacy inWorld War II and sought apopular music distinct from traditional German music and American pop.[10] The period contributed to the development ofambient music andtechno,[8] and influenced subsequent genres such aspost-punk,new-age music, andpost-rock.[5][19]
Krautrock has been described as a broad genre encompassing varied approaches,[10][21] but commonly drawing onpsychedelia,avant-garde collage,electronic sounds, androck music, while typically featuring "improvisation and hypnotic,minimalistic rhythms."[12]Los Angeles Magazine summarized the genre as "American psychedelica meets icy Germanic detachment."[22]Melody Maker described the style as "where the over-reaching ambition and untethered freakitude of late '60sacid rock is checked and galvanised by aproto-punk minimalism ... music of immense scale that miraculously avoidedprog-rock's bombastics."[5]AllMusic described it as expanding on the territory associated withart rock and progressive rock, but diverging from the American and British groups' emphasis onjazz andclassical elements in favor of "a droning, pulsating sound that owed more to theavant garde than to rock & roll."[13]
Some common musical features exhibited by krautrock artists include:
Despite a common approach and generational attitude among artists, theNew Statesman argues that "in truth, no two Krautrock acts sound remotely alike. Compare the dreamy synthesiser washes ofTangerine Dream with the aliennoise collages ofFaust or thepsychedelic funk ofCan."[29] However, a common feature is the "motorik" beat: the 4/4 beat often used by drummers associated with krautrock,[28] characterised by akick drum-heavy, pulsating groove, that created a forward-flowing feel.[28] The motorik beat was used byCan in the song "Mother Sky", byNeu! on theirdebut album, and byKraftwerk in the song "Autobahn" on theiralbum of the same name,[30] later being adopted by other krautrock bands. It has been widely used in many different styles of music beyond krautrock.[31] According toXLR8R, the term krautrock is often used by critics to signify the "mesmerizing motorik rhythms pioneered by Can and Neu!", but contested that "they represent merely a tiny fraction of the music that emerged from Germany during krautrock's Golden Age".[15]
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Krautrock emerged in West Germany during the 1960s and early 1970s.[21] The music was partially inspired by broad cultural developments such as the revolutionary 1968German student movement,[10][32] with many young people having both political and aesthetic concerns.[33] Youth rebelled against both dominant American influence and conservative German entertainment such asschlager music,[33] seeking to liberate themselves from Germany'sNazi legacy inWorld War II and create a new popular culture.[15]Dieter Moebius, of the bandsCluster andHarmonia, noted that "we were a lot of the times on the streets instead of studying. As young people we were not very proud to be German [...] we were all tired of listening to bad German music and imitations of American music. Something had to happen."[33]
We were trying to put aside everything we had heard in rock 'n' roll, the three-chord pattern, the lyrics. We had the urge of saying something completely different.
The movement saw artists merge elements of varied genres such aspsychedelic rock,avant-garde forms ofelectronic music,funk rhythm,jazz improvisation and"ethnic" music styles,[5] typically reflecting a "genuine sense of awe and wonder".[21] A core influence on these German artists were rock acts such asFrank Zappa andthe Mothers of Invention,the Velvet Underground,Pink Floyd,[10]Captain Beefheart[34] andthe Beatles.[35]Hapshash and the Coloured Coat's debut albumFeaturing the Human Host and the Heavy Metal Kids (1967) was later regarded as being influential on the early works ofAmon Düül,[36] the student communeKommune 1, and other pioneers of German krautrock.[37][38][39] The influence ofJimi Hendrix andJames Brown on krautrock musicians was also notable.[26]
Another significant influence was the work ofavant-garde composers such asKarlheinz Stockhausen,Terry Riley,Tony Conrad, andLa Monte Young, as well as the late '60s albums of jazz musicianMiles Davis,[40] particularly hisjazz fusion work onIn a Silent Way (1969).[33] Some artists drew on ideas from20th century classical music andmusique concrète,[33] particularly composer Stockhausen (with whom, for example,Irmin Schmidt andHolger Czukay ofCan had previously studied), and from the new experimental directions that emerged injazz during the 1960s and 1970s (mainly thefree jazz pieces byOrnette Coleman orAlbert Ayler).[19] Moving away from the patterns of song structure and melody of much rock music in America and Britain, some in the movement were drawn to a more mechanical andelectronic sound.[19]
The Beatles' "Tomorrow Never Knows" has been noted for its "proto-krautrock groove".[41][42] American groupsSilver Apples andthe Monks were both described bythe Guardian as precursors to krautrock, with the former being compared toCan[43] and latter making early use of a "motorik" beat.[44]The Godz's "Soon the Moon" and "Permanent Green Light" were also noted as precursors.[45]
Until around 1973, the wordDeutsch-Rock ("German Rock") was used to refer to the new groups from West Germany.[46] Other names thrown around by the British and American music press were "Teutonic rock", "Überrock"[47] and "Götterdämmer rock".[48] West Germany's[dubious –discuss] music press initially usedKrautrock as a pejorative, but the term lost its stigma after the music gained success in Britain.[48] The term derives from the ethnic slur "kraut". "Kraut" in German can refer to herbs, weeds, and drugs.[48]
The term was originally used by Virgin records in 1972.[49] Various sources[who?] claim that "krautrock" was originally a humorous term coined in the early 1970s, either by British disc jockeyJohn Peel[50] or by the UK music newspaperMelody Maker, in which experimental German bands found an early and enthusiastic following.[51] The first use[failed verification] of the term however, was found in a full-page advertisement fromPopo Music Management andBacillus Records promoting German Rock in the UK, in April 1971.[52] The music emerging in Germany was first[failed verification] covered extensively in three concurrent issues of the UK music paperNew Musical Express in the month of December 1972, by journalistIan MacDonald.[53][independent source needed]
Its musicians tended to reject the name "krautrock".[54][48] This was also the case for "kosmische Musik".[48] MusicologistJulian Cope, in his bookKrautrocksampler, says "krautrock is a subjective British phenomenon", based on the way the music was received in the UK rather than on the actual West German music scene out of which it grew.[55] For instance, while one of the main groups originally tagged as krautrock,Faust, recorded a seminal 12-minute track they titled "Krautrock", they would later distance themselves from the term, saying: "When the English people started talking about krautrock, we thought they were justtaking the piss... and when you hear the so-called 'krautrock renaissance', it makes me think everything we did was for nothing."[14]
| Kosmische Musik | |
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| Stylistic origins | |
| Cultural origins | Early 1970s,West Germany |
| Derivative forms | |
| Other topics | |
Kosmische Musik ("cosmic music") is a term which came into regular use before "krautrock" and was preferred by some German artists who disliked the English label;[16] today, it is often used synonymously with krautrock.[56] More specifically, it may describe 1970s Germanelectronic music which usessynthesizers and incorporatesthemes related to space or otherworldliness;[56][57] it is also used as a German analogue to the English term "space rock".[58] The style was often instrumental and characterized by "spacy",ambient soundscapes.[57] Artists used synthesizers such as theEMS VCS 3 andMoog Modular, as well as sound processing effects and tape-based approaches.[56] They often rejectedrock music conventions, and instead drew on "serious" electronic compositions.[57]
The term "kosmische Musik" was coined byEdgar Froese and later used by record producerRolf-Ulrich Kaiser as a marketing name for bands such asAsh Ra Tempel, Tangerine Dream, andKlaus Schulze.[48] The following year,Rolf-Ulrich Kaiser'sOhr Records used the term when he released the compilationKosmische Musik (1972) featuring tracks by Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze, Ash Ra Tempel, andPopol Vuh.[56] Kaiser eventually began referring to the style as "cosmic rock" to signify that the music belonged in a rock idiom.[58] German producerConny Plank was a central figure in the kosmische sound, emphasizing texture,effects processing, and tape-based editing techniques.[16] Plank oversaw kosmische recordings such asKraftwerk'sAutobahn,Neu!'sNeu! 75, andCluster'sZuckerzeit.[16]
Several of these artists would later distance themselves from the term.[56] Other names for the style, and for sub-genres were "Berlin School" and "Düsseldorf School", both of which are recognised and actively contributed to by artists such as Node, Martin Sturtzer, Propaganda, Kraftwerk, Tannheuser and Fritz Mayr, from the 1980s through to the present day.[59] The style would later lead to the development ofnew-age music, with which it shared several characteristics.[57] It would also exert lasting influence on subsequent electronic music andavant-garde rock.[58]
Krautrock has proved to be highly influential on a succession of other musical styles and developments. Early contemporary enthusiasts outside Germany includedHawkwind and in particularDave Brock who supposedly penned the sleeve notes for the British edition of Neu!'s first album.[60] Faust's budget releaseThe Faust Tapes has been cited as a formative teenage influence by several musicians growing up in the early 1970s such asJulian Cope, who has always cited krautrock as an influence, and wrote the bookKrautrocksampler on the subject. Krautrock was a significant influence onSimple Minds albumsReal To Real Cacophony (1979) andEmpires and Dance (1980), as well as on artists such asBrian Eno,Gary Numan andUltravox.[61] The genre also had a strong influence onDavid Bowie'sStation to Station (1976) and the experimentation it inspired led to hisBerlin Trilogy.[62][63]
Krautrock has been cited as an influence bypost-punk artists such asJoy Division,Siouxsie and the Banshees,[64]Pere Ubu,[65]the Fall,[66]Public Image Ltd,[67]Wire,[68]Gang of Four,[69]the Pop Group,[70]Cabaret Voltaire,[71]Killing Joke,[72]Swell Maps,[73]This Heat,the Feelies,[74]Chrome,[75]Blurt,[76]Six Finger Satellite[77] as well aspost-rock artistsStereolab[78] andMogwai.[79][80]
Modern bands, such asOsees,King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard,Guerilla Toss,[81]DIIV,[82] andMinami Deutsch have been described as krautrock, or have noted krautrock as influential on their styles.[83]
Citations
[...] its origins in the 1960s student movement gave it a political hue expressed in the communal social organization of some of the bands, and sometimes in their music.
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