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Ash Ra Tempel (Ashra)Abacus Originally a 60's pop group known as Fashion, Abacus started their career as support to many British progressive bands touring Germany. Influenced by such music, and with the addition of English vocalist Chris Williams, they became Abacus in 1971. We've never encountered their debut LP (which is reputedly very good), but later on they still had a borderline pop sound - hints of Bonzo's and The Move in a bluesy rock with a 60's beat feel, and some psychedelic touches - occasionally mad or eccentric. Rarely would you know that Abacus were German, and in fact another English musician later took over the drum stool on their final (but still patchy) album MIDWAY. At their best, Abacus could surprise and be really creative, yet they were generally too unfocused and schizophrenic. Hans-Rolf Schade (guitar, percussion, sitar, vocals), Felix Hans (drums, percussion, vocals), Chris Williams (vocals, guitar), Klaus Kohlhase (bass, percussion, harmonica), Christoph Barutzky (piano, organ) ABACUS (8/71) Seasong / Love You Till The Cows Come Home JUST A DAY'S JOURNEY AWAY (2-3/72) EVERYTHING YOU NEED (6/72) Fly With Us / The Big Moody MIDWAY (8/73) Indian Dancer / Be That Way Achtzehn Karat Gold An early supergroup borne out of the prolific Munich scene fronted by American-German Klaus Ebert. The idea behind 18 Karat Gold seems to have been to present Krautrock in a commercial dilute form to the pop public, but not surprisingly, the idea didn't work on any level, and the band barely lasted a year. Much of the time Achtzehn Karat Gold made their living by working as pop singer Peter Maffay's backing band. Their sole album contained a few minor surprises, but considering the calibre of the musicians, it is generally a disappointing and rather average record, hinting at the direction Amon Düül II were to take in the late-70's. Jörg Evers (guitar), Keith Forsey (drums), Klaus Ebert (guitar), Lothar Meid (bass) ALL BUMM (6/73) Aera Aera come from the great tradition of Bavarian jazz-rock oriented progressive bands like Embryo, Missus Beastly, Munju, Moira, etc., with a style unique to that area, originating as a highly inventive fusion band, with strong percussion, driving rhythms and lots of space for solos from guitar, sax and flute. Whilst lead by Muck Groh they recorded two albums: HUMANUM EST which presented a most proficient instrumental band with a strong identity, with multi-tracked guitar riffing and near on ever-present wind solos, and then HAND UND FUSS, which was a touch more varied, due to the addition of violin and with Lucky Schmidt dealing more forceful rhythms in a jazzier concoction. As happens with most bands, Aera lost many members to other groups, and the third album TÜRKIS, saw a big change in personnel, with wheelchair-bound Klaus Kreuzeder taking over as leader. Fronting a more symphonic band featuring lots of keyboards and also multi-percussives from almost everyone involved, a new Aera sound was forged. Interestingly, being touted as a German Brand X or Turning Point, there were rumours of a UK tour, and an LP release on the Gull label was announced, but unfortunately this came to nothing, no doubt due to changes happening in the band. The LIVE album, recorded with (ex-Embryo regular) Roman Bunka, was an odd follow-up indeed. Roman's songs didn't really hit-off with the Aera style, especially with a funky focus to the music. And then, TOO MUCH lost the magic even further. But, all was not lost, finally, they got their act back together with AKATAKI, which saw another change in style, partly a step back to the energy of HAND UND FUSS, though the high-tech setting of Achim Gieseler's computer keyboards against a heavy jazz-fusion base led to unusual and often startling results. Whilst being Aera at their jazziest, it's also their most experimental and shows a band still striving for the ideals set a decade before. Wolfgang Teske (drums), Klaus Kreuzeder (sax, flute), Dieter Bauer (bass), Muck Groh (guitar), + Peter Malinowski (bass), Jonas Porst (keyboards) HUMANUM EST (8-10/11/74) HAND UND FUSS (14-18/9/76) featured on: LIVE NÜRNBERGER SZENE 1976 TÜRKIS (1-2/79) LIVE (11/79) TOO MUCH (2/81) AKATAKI (11/81) Ag A.M. The full name of Ag A.M. is Arbeitsgemeinschaft Ante Meridiem, (which means something totally weird like "The Anti-Meridian Study Group"). They were a varied kind of folky politico band with a very German sound, and a music that drew in an extremely wide range of styles, ranging from theatrical Floh De Cologne territory, via trippy psychedelia, all sorts of progressive rock styles, and on to country rock even! Oddball stuff indeed, certainly their music was an acquired taste and original too.Nothing historical whatsoever is known about Ag A.M., no, not even the musicians full names! All that they left behind is an odd album that is full of surprises, yet doesn't really fit into any genre comfortably. It's a curiosity, and aptly it's one of the most obscure of 70's self produced obscurities. P. Deltlaff (vocals, guitar), G. Westenberger (vocals, guitar, accordion), B. Gausloser (vocals, bass), G. Müller (clarinet, flute, organ) ERINNERUNGEN AN EINE POSITIVE PHASE (5-6/77) Agitation Free One of the most legendary, formative and seminal Berlin bands of the 60's, whose early incarnations featured the likes of Christoph Franke (drums) who went on to Tangerine Dream, Ax Genrich (guitar) who after three months was nabbed by Guru Guru, and John L. "the mad-man of Berlin" a notorious eccentric who also played with Ash Ra Tempel. The full history is quite complex. Although in the spirit of Ash Ra Tempel and Pink Floyd, they had their own individual identity, with a largely improvised music that was predominantly instrumental, featuring lots of electronics, keyboards and dual guitars, and a great flair for invention. MALESCH documents their trip to North Africa and the Middle East, blending location recordings together with their own compositions and improvisations, and is still quite a unique experience even today, combining cosmic, avant-garde and ethnic musics with great invention. Much more a proper studio album, and also more typical of the patent Agitation Free sound, 2ND took them more towards the realms of progressive rock, whilst also stretching out the cosmic elements even more. It contains what was their only "song" documented on LP, the powerful Mellotron driven "Haunted Island" based on Edgar Allan Poe's "Dreamtime". It's unfortunate really that Agitation Free only really gained success in France, being barely noticed in their homeland, and totally ignored by the British media. Still, two studio albums were not the end of Agitation Free, and they kept on recording right up to their final session. The album LAST was posthumously released (only in France), it contains recordings from two concerts and is certainly the best document of the improvisational capabilities of this most innovative group of Teutonic pioneers, developing the Agitation Free sound beyond the guitar based music of Ash Ra Tempel onto purely cosmic floating realms. The more recently released FRAGMENTS was recorded at the final Agitation Free sessions, where they attempted to recapture the early free-form jamming psychedelic sound, and is also notable for featuring original members Chris Franke and Micky Duwe. Many more musicians passed through Agitation Free's ranks than are mentioned here, including members of Os Mundi and Metropolis. Synthesist Michael Hoenig went on to work with Klaus Schulze, Tangerine Dream, and later established himself as a successful soloist. Rhythm guitarist Lutz Ulbrich went on to Ashra, and also has recorded some new-wave styled pop albums under the guise of Lüül. Lutz Ulbrich (guitars, zither, organ), Jörg Schwenke (guitar), Burghard Rausch (drums, marimba, vocals), Michael Hoenig (synthesizer, electronics, steel guitar), Michael Günther (bass, tapes) MALESCH (6/72) 2ND (7/73) LAST (3/73+2/74) Ainigma An obscure early band that gained recognition as one of the darkest of heavy German progressives. Little is known about Ainigma, except that they existed for some time before making their sole album DILUVIUM, and the truth is that Ainigma were actually quite typical of the more mainstream Krautrock of the era. Ainigma played a raw and slightly messy kind of hard-edged bluesy rock, sometimes recalling Frumpy, but with a more psychedelic underlying Vanilla Fudge type sound. Lyrically though Ainigma weren't too hot, and it would have been better if they had sung in German, as the lyrics do come across as somewhat naïve. Featuring chunky organ and guitar, the instrumental feel and production style (or lack of production) draws comparisons with Necronomicon, with a similar stoned feel, featuring long tracks, extensive instrumentals, and a really gloomy atmosphere. Willi Klüter (organ, vocals), Wolfgang Netzer (guitar, bass, choir), Michael Klüter (drums), + Michael Freise (acoustic guitar) DILUVIUM (4-5/73) Ak Musick As far as we recall (having only heard their album once several years back), these were some sort of radical experimental rock outfit. Their album was a self-produced and home-made affair, recorded live in concert. Alfred Leil, Winfried Koch, Angela Weber, Hans Kumpf, Helmut Grab AK MUSICK (11/72) Albatros Obscure melodic hard-rock band comparable to Harlis, Epitaph and other bands of the era. Just 3 long tracks. Peter Breitbarth (guitar), Thomas Büscher (drums), Achim Hubricht (bass), Harald Hubricht (keyboards), Christian Köppen (piano), Hansi Köppen (vocals), + Jürgen Polzin (congas) GARDEN OF EDEN (1978) Alcatraz A mysterious band, Alcatraz recorded just the one album at the notorious Wümme Studio (as used by Faust) and then promptly disappeared. Nothing at all is known of their history. But, what an album they left behind! With that unmistakable Faustian Kurt Graupner recording sound, their music featured fuzzed guitars and effects overdose in a heavy and bluesy over-the-top Krautrock akin to Frumpy and Nosferatu. Rüdiger Berghahn sounds like a male Inga Rumpf by the way! Though barely known, Alcatraz were remarkable in that they bridged and mixed together genres that no one else did. In fact, they pulled out all the stops to come up with one of the finest slabs of eccentric heady Krautrock. It's a masterpiece beyond doubt, right down to the deranged guitar blitz finale "Piss Off!" Rüdiger Berghahn (pianett, vocals), Klaus Holst (guitar), Klaus Nagurski (flute, tenor sax), Ronald Wilson (bass), Jan Rieck (drums, bongos) VAMPIRE STATE BUILDING (9-11/10/71) ENERGIE PROGRAMM IN ROCK TROCKENEIS ZUM FRÜHSTÜCK (1981) NO. 4 (12-13/9/82) Alma Ata These were typical of German late-70's melodic rock, with an indistinguishable Anglo-American style, made at least a little unique with the singer's German accent and some nice arrangements. We have only heard their LP, which is pleasant, but only marginally progressive or of interest. Phil Dreher (vocals), Leslie Förster (bass), Dagmar Horn (guitar, vocals), Joe Schäfer (guitar, vocals), Tommy Vieweg (drums), Randy Kwizorowski (keyboards, vocals), + Ludwig Götz (trombone), Jörg Seemann (trumpet), Martin Urigshardt (sax) Marplot / Magic Man featured on: KLANGSTADT DREAMS Alto Alto was the name for the short-lived rock and fusion project fronted by former Kraan saxophone player Johannes "Alto" Pappert. They were never really a proper band, as Alto (check the LP covers) was really more of an ego trip for Johannes Pappert, showing off his talent as a multi-instrumentalist, and featuring a hoard of top musicians and Kraan friends as guests. Typical of many such late-70's productions, despite all the talent involved, the results were nothing special, just a lighter more varied twist on the Kraan of the era. Better than most such projects, but very dilute all the same. Johannes Pappert (saxes, percussion, 12-string guitar), + Andy Göldner (vocals, guitar), Lou Marignan (bass), Bernd Kiefer (bass), Micky Stickdorn (drums), Hellmut Hattler (bass), Zabba Lindner (drums, percussion), Ellen Meier (vocals), Peter Wolbrandt (guitars, banjo, vocals), Wolfgang Grasekamp (keyboards), Jan Fride (percussion, drums) ALTO (11/77) HAPPY AMBROSIA (1979) Altona With their roots as ex-Thrice Mice members, Altona wisely chose this new name (Altona is a town on the edge of Hamburg) when dropping the former band's classical edge in preference for a jazzier front. On their debut Altona played a lively fusion that crossed many boundaries, but kept the Blodwyn Pig feel that dominated the early Thrice Mice recordings. Notably, they sounded almost like a hybrid of Birth Control and Creative Rock, occasionally hinting at Eiliff, with songs and instrumentals that were full of surprises! In contrast, their second album CHICKENFARM, disappointed as it saw a mellowing of style, to funky edged jazz-rock with blues and soul tendencies, and an indistinctive Anglo-American type brassy-rock sound. A few Altona members later reappeared in the obscure band Dirty Dogs. Fritz Kahl (bass), Karl-Heinz Blumenberg (vocals, bass/soprano saxes, bass), Klaus Gerlach (guitar), Wolfgang Wulff (tenor sax), Karl-Heinz Gossler (drums), Werner von Gosen (guitar), Michael von Rönn (tenor sax) ALTONA (1974) CHICKENFARM (1974) Amon Düül The original Munich commune group, formed in 1967, Amon Düül were not your normal outfit of political activists or hippies, they were much more than that. Living together, they were constantly attempting to create or explore new genres in music. Psychedelic drugs, free-love, and a shared community were all factors, as was the new psychedelic music from Britain and the USA, especially so Hapshash & The Coloured Coat. Inevitably, due to political and musical differences, tempers got frayed and just before a legendary concert they split into two separate bands. Founder members, including Chris Karrer and others, went on to front the internationally successful Amon Düül II. In sharp contrast, the original Amon Düül (who were more concerned with being politically active) recorded on very few occasions. A great part of their work was all recorded during the very same early sessions in 1969 within a matter of days. Typical of commune bands, Amon Düül were often quite wild and free-form. They played a high-energy bare-bones aggressive rock that was totally over-the-top in the percussion department, with raw grating guitars and wailing vocals. Their debut AMON DÜÜL (originally untitled, but generally referred to as "PSYCHEDELIC UNDERGROUND") and its follow-up COLLAPSING: SINGVÖGEL RÜCKWÄRTS & CO., both also displayed an eccentric use of studio effects, sound manipulation and sonic gags (like jumps, stuck-grooves, scratches, etc.), which gained them a curious notoriety. A total of four albums (two of them double LP's) were eventually released from those early sessions, and all are essential listening for fans of aggressive 60's rock. The later incarnation (which grew out of an association with the "Berlin Commune 1") were different, and only recorded one album and a single. Still a touch hippy-political in concept the album PARA DIESWÄRTS DÜÜL was a more relaxed, albeit unusual, folky rock with the accent on multiple guitars, featuring lengthy improvised instrumental sections, closer to Quintessence or Popol Vuh, yet still quite unique. Members of this version of the band also guested on the similarly styled "Sandoz In The Rain" on Amon Düül II's YETI. The actual history of this incarnation of Amon Düül is virtually undocumented, though we do know that Karl-Heinz Hausmann of the "Berlin Commune 1" passed through and followed Peter Leopold to Amon Düül II. They also played live quite extensively when based in Berlin, and even Klaus Schulze is reputed to have played in concert with them! Rayner Bauer (guitar, vocals), Ulrich Leopold (basses), Helge Filanda (congas, vocals), Peter "Krischke" Leopold (drums, piano), Ella Bauer (drums, vocals), Angelika Filanda (drums, vocals), Uschi Obermaier (maracas) AMON DÜÜL "PSYCHEDELIC UNDERGROUND" (1969) COLLAPSING: SINGVÖGEL RÜCKWÄRTS & CO. (1969) Eternal Flow / Paramechanical World PARA DIESWÄRTS DÜÜL (11-12/70) DISASTER (1969) EXPERIMENTE (1969) Amon Düül II Amon Düül II were instigated in Autumn 1968 out of a loose collection of musicians who were involved with the Munich Amon Düül commune. As the story goes, Amon Düül (the original band/commune) were booked to play at the Essener Songtag Festival, but due to differences the commune split into two and both versions of the band played. The split was instigated by Chris Karrer, who was much more interested in making music than getting into politics. In their early days a number of other Amon Düül members migrated to Amon Düül II, as well as the likes of Christian Burchard and Edgar Hofmann (who both went on to form Embryo), Holger Trülzsch (of Popol Vuh), Dieter Serfas (who formed his own band, then later resurfaced in Embryo) and... Their debut album PHALLUS DEI contained a charged and purely innovative music, with bizarre structures, almost operatic and crazed (male and female) vocals, with lots of distinctly Teutonic angst, tons of percussion, duelling violins, Eastern-scale guitars, and all really tripped-out to the point of excess. This was especially so on the side-long title track, which featured improvisation of such complexity that even the likes of Pink Floyd only hinted at. Like a hybrid of High Tide, Hawkwind and Third Ear Band, the connection may have been coincidental, yet bassist Dave Anderson did later return to England and join Hawkwind! The following two albums, both doubles, are regarded by many as the finest Amon Düül II music, extensively featuring lengthy tracks and side-long segued suites, full of musical invention, surprises throughout. Not least is the phenomenal 11/2 sides of "Yeti" and "Yeti Talks To Yogi", which are space rock of the utmost invention, and the curious cosmic space-out "The Chasmin Soundtrack" (on TANZ DER LEMMINGE) which pre-empted The Cosmic Jokers. There's lots of other classic material on these doubles (naturally!) and not least the second side of YETI which has some of the most mind-bending psychedelic music on record. And, let's not forget the weirdly twisted songs that were as surreal as the music they were contained in! As with any big band, personnel changes were a regular feature of Amon Düül II, amongst them: Shrat had gone to form the Hawkwind-like Sameti, Karl-Heinz Hausmann had joined from the "Berlin Commune 1", and a wealth of other top Munich jazz and rock musicians passed through the band. This variety of talent from the likes of Jimmy Jackson (and his amazing choir organ) or eccentric singer Rolf Zacher, and numerous others, makes the Amon Düül II canvas of sound even more diverse. CARNIVAL IN BABYLON was a single LP with shorter song-based tracks. A disappointment to most at first, , it's still a fine and well-crafted album, though of the more subtle kind. But, hereon, with the onset of international recognition and tours abroad, Amon Düül II became an even much more unstable entity, with a steady flow of musicians passing through the band (amongst the more obscure were Reinhold Spiegelfeld and Reiner Schnelle of Weed). As evidence of this, on WOLF CITY (and its sister alter-ego album by Utopia which took the Amon Düül II sound to jazzier realms), no two tracks featured the same musicians, yet despite this WOLF CITY was a surprisingly varied, fresh and highly inventive album extensively featuring Daniel Fichelscher, the percussionist/multi-instrumentalist who was to become the main musician of Popol Vuh, and much more Renate Knaup. As a "thank you" to their British fans, the excellent LIVE IN LONDON (actually recorded in Croydon) was released here at budget price. It featured radically different versions of classic tracks, mostly from DANCE OF THE LEMMINGS, again with Renate more to the fore. The last true (and really creative) Amon Düül II album is often quoted as VIVE LA TRANCE, which continued this trend of musical simplification. Although being an album of songs VIVE LA TRANCE still had lots in the way of radical invention, not least some really witty songs and pacey complex instrumentals. After Amon Düül II left United Artists, the label issued the singles collection LEMMINGMANIA (United Artists UAG 29723). When the acid-haze faded, further Amon Düül II albums moved to ever more accessible mainstream rock realms, becoming increasingly patchy. HIJACK lived up to its title, and "hijacked" from various different types of music, tango's and Bavarian folk music amongst them. It was a more trendy side-step from the songs on VIVE LA TRANCE. Then, even more wide ranging, was the double opus MADE IN GERMANY, lyrically Amon Düül II's ultimate stab at German society, attitudes, the media, the record industry, etc. The great shame was that musically much of it wasn't too inspired. Even before the departure of Renate Knaup (she moved on to Popol Vuh) there had been hoards of changes in personnel. And, now again, it was all-change time! As Lothar Meid left, in came a number of new members: Jörg Evers, Keith Forsey and Klaus Ebert, all ex-members of an earlier Lothar Meid band Achtzehn Karat Gold. And then there was also pop singer Stefan Zauner! Not surprisingly, all of this tore the Amon Düül II sound apart, losing their identity entirely. Yet it must be said that all later 70's Amon Düül II albums contained at least something of excellence. Even after proverbially disappearing up their own arses on ONLY HUMAN, there's been constant attempts to resurrect Amon Düül II. VORTEX sounded like a MOR return to VIVE LA TRANCE, and more recent attempts have been even more embarrassing, a couple of almost disco-styled new numbers appeared on the compilation SURROUNDED BY THE BARS (Spalax 14810). Note: John Weinzierl also established a British incarnation of Amon Düül in 1979 along with former Amon Düül II member (also of Hawkwind and Groundhogs) Dave Anderson and a collection of impromptu musicians. Their releases confused at first, being billed as "old recordings" when they were no such thing. Of their four releases, the largely improvised albums HAWK MEETS PENGUIN (Thunderbolt TB 102) and FOOL MOON (Magnum TL 011) are highly recommended to all fans of the early Amon Düül II. A compilation AIRS ON A SHOESTRING (Thunderbolt TB 043), also features an excellent unreleased work. Dieter Serfas (drums, cymbals), Peter Leopold (drums, percussion, piano), Shrat (bongos, vocals, violin), Renate Knaup (vocals, tambourine), John Weinzierl (guitar, bass), Chris Karrer (violin, guitars, soprano sax, vocals), Falk Rogner (organ, synthesizer), Dave Anderson (bass), + Christian Burchard (vibes), Holger Trülzsch (Turkish drums) PHALLUS DEI YETI Rattlesnakeplumcake / Between The Eyes TANZ DER LEMMINGE Light / Lemmingmania CARNIVAL IN BABYLON WOLF CITY (7/72) LIVE IN LONDON (16/12/72) VIVE LA TRANCE HIJACK MADE IN GERMANY PYRAGONY X ALMOST ALIVE ONLY HUMAN VORTEX Amos Key A little-known band, of whom we know nothing historically, Amos Key were one of the few early German bands to play a fiery classical rock with such creativity and invention, and even parallel the excellence of the Italians! Much more so than fellow organ-rock pioneers Sixty Nine, Amos Key owed great debts to Bach, Beethoven and Schumann, adding a heavy Krautrock twist to a music more closely resembling Egg or The Nice, full of angst and weird psychedelic and space-rock touches. They apparently also released a single, but we've no idea whether the tracks are taken from the LP. Thomas Molin (keyboards, vocals), Andreas Gross (bass, guitar, vocals), Lutz Ludwig (drums) FIRST KEY Analogy The Italian's may claim Analogy as a classic band from their 70's scene, though the truth is that they were actually German! Their debut LP (which became quite notorious because of the nude group scenes on the cover) was recorded and only released in Italy, which would be the reason for such confusion. Analogy were of that genre some suggest as being inspired by US West Coast bands, though really they were very European, combining classical and space-rock elements, and fronted by a powerful unusual female vocalist. If they could be compared to anyone, Earth & Fire and Sandrose would be favourites, not forgetting to point out an added Floydian spaciness, with lots of organ and guitars. Despite being an oddly balanced album, its reputation is certainly deserved. After this various different incarnations of the band, under various names, existed. Whilst known as Earthbound (reputedly a new-wave band) they completed an ambition of Martin Thurin's, in the form of a lengthy symphonic opus. So, due to recognition of the Analogy album upon its CD reissue, this later recording was released under the guise of Analogy in 1993. A pleasant work, again notable for Jutta's vocals, but more laid-back, like early Renaissance. Jutta Nienhaus (vocals), H-J. "Mops" Nienhaus (drums), Mauro Rattaggi (bass), Martin Thurin (guitars), Wolfgang Schoene (guitar, bass), Nicola Pankoff (keyboards) Sold Out / God's Own Land Credited to: Yoice ANALOGY Andromeda Andromeda started in the 60's as session musicians, and members of the Cologne pop band The Tony Hendrik Five. On their LP, however, they were hardly a proper band, but merely a duo aided by guests. They only made the one album (and also a single culled from it) which is very varied, at its lightest resembling late-60's The Beatles, though mostly it's heavy and psychedelic rock. As it's often fronted by chunky organ, with blues and classical elements, hints of Brian Auger or The Nice are notable. Note: The album forgets to list who does the vocals. There's also a guest brass-section on some tracks as well as female backing vocalists! Peter Schild (keyboards), Günther Steinborn (drums), + Gerry Fleming (bass), Tony Hendrik (guitar) ANDROMEDA Androméda This Androméda (from Berlin) were one of many bands from the late-70's wave that lurked in obscurity. On their debut they played a lyrical and varied rock with blues and fusion elements. Admittedly the vocals are most odd, yet the music is often inventive and unique, though notably inspired by earlier bands like Jane or Epitaph. Bernd Jahnke (guitar, vocals), Alexander Hensel (bass), Rainer Bergmann (drums, percussion), Karl-Heinz Engelhardt (flute, sax, vocals, harmonica, percussion), Thomas Lüdemann (keyboards), Rainer Lingk (vocals, guitar) ANDROMÉDA KARLIBURR ANDROMÉDA 3 Anima The duo of Paul and Limpe Fuchs (aka Anima or Anima Sound) were amongst the most experimental to emerge out of the late-60's and become involved in the Munich underground rock scene. Elitists, and pure avant-gardists at heart, they worked with all manner of conventional and home-made instruments, performing wild and demanding music. Somehow they were adopted by the experimental rock label Ohr, despite their music being barely rock at all! STÜRMISCHER HIMMEL, recorded at a "thousand year old cottage on a windy hill" with their children, is amongst the oddest of albums. Bizarre creative music it certainly is, but Krautrock it is certainly not! Soon they became friends of the Austrian jazz avant-gardist Friedrich Gulda, and were invited to perform at his "Ossiach" festival. With Friedrich Gulda guesting on ANIMA a long association began with them touring together and being featured on many of each others albums. Some of their later LP's run very close to free-jazz or the serious avant-garde. Also, Limpe Fuchs has recently been working as a soloist. Paul Fuchs (Fuchshorn, voice, cornet, bass), Limpe Fuchs (voice, drums, Fuchszither, Fuchsbass) STÜRMISCHER HIMMEL featured on: OSSIACH LIVE ANIMA SOUND ANIMA featured on: HEIDELBERGER JAZZTAGE '72 (1972) IT'S UP TO YOU! MONTE ALTO (1977) DER REGT MICH AUF/A CONTROVERSY (12/79+10/82) featured on: AN AFFLICTED MAN'S MUSICA BOX BRUCHSTÜCKE FÜR ILONA (7/85) Annexus Quam Amongst the most innovative of underground Krautrock bands, who, like Organisation, built the foundation for a new type of music. Their roots stem back to 1967 as the band Ambition In Music, from Kamp-Lintfort near Düsseldorf, and by 1970 they'd expanded, took on all sorts of influences and ideas, and moved well away from their hippy-rock roots, becoming Annexus Quam. The earliest morsel of Annexus Quam (recorded during the sessions for their debut LP) is the uniquely ethnic "Kollodium", featured on the excellent OHRENSCHMAUS compilation. It's now a rarity worth seeking out, showing their roots, tripping-out like a cosmic Third Ear Band. Their debut album OSMOSE (issued with a novelty multi-fold cover) is most fascinating, even more cosmic, than "Kollodium", featuring much guitar and unusual use of jazz instruments in what is really a rock based music. A really spacious fusion of avant-garde, rock, jazz, and unusual use of psychedelic studio effects, somewhere between Ash Ra Tempel and Kollektiv maybe, it is considered by many as one of the finest Ohr albums. After a change in personnel, and much playing at jazz festivals, BEZIEHUNGEN dived head-first into the realms of free-jazz. Admittedly one of the best examples of the genre, it still had its moments, though there are parts that jar and grate, with much experimental improvisation akin to early Iskra or Music Improvisation Company. Uwe Bick (drums, vocals, percussion), Jürgen Jonuschies (bass, vocals, percussion), Werner Hostermann (clarinet, organ, vocals, percussion), Peter Werner (guitar, vocals, percussion), Hans Kämper (trombone, Spanish guitar, vocals, percussion), Ove Volquartz (sax), Harald Klemm (flute, vocals, percussion) featured on: OHRENSCHMAUS (9/70) OSMOSE (9/70) BEZIEHUNGEN (5/72) Anyone's Daughter One of the many progressive rock bands to appear in the late-70's inspired by the likes of Genesis, Gentle Giant, Jane, et al., Anyone's Daughter were far better than most. Their early albums featured English vocals, ADONIS being a very accomplished debut of refined progressive rock, with strong symphonic elements, jazzy touches and a notable debt to Eloy. Obviously intent on trying to get international fame their second LP, tried for an even more direct style, but paled next to ADONIS. A radical change from hereon, especially on their third album PIKTOR'S VERWANDLUNGEN, a conceptual opus (live in concert) featuring mainly spoken German texts along with vast instrumentals in the realms of Novalis and Grobschnitt, and only a couple of actual "songs", it is arguably their most successful, and certainly their most experimental. IN BLAU returned to a more accessible style, almost like mid-70's Genesis sung in German. A good album, but from hereon the Anyone's Daughter sound paled significantly, with shorter compositions on an ever more melodic song based level. The LIVE double was thus very disappointing. Harald Bareth (bass, lead vocals), Uwe Karpa (guitars), Kono Konopik (drums, rototoms, cymbals), Matthias Ulmer (pianos, synthesizers, organ, vocals) ADONIS (9/78) ANYONE'S DAUGHTER PIKTOR'S VERWANDLUNGEN (18/1/81) IN BLAU (12/81) NEUE STERNE (2/83) LIVE (1983) LAST TRACKS (1979-84) Arakontis An obscure Berlin jazz-rock band (formed 1975) with the accent on percussion, of whom we know very little, except having heard their contribution on the BERLIN FUSION compilation. Michael "Willy" Wilke (guitar), Dieter Anker (guitar), Gerard Batrya (bass), Andreas Hommelsheim (keyboards), Lutz Halfter (drums), Tommy Goldschmidt (percussion), Michael Tybus (percussion) featured on: BERLIN FUSION LIVE AT THE QUASIMODO Ardo Dombec Very little is known about Ardo Dombec, though they were quite untypical of the Pilz label, being a heavy, bluesy and slightly jazzy rock with the accent on songs rather than instrumentals, and barely did they sound German. Undoubtedly they were inspired by the late-60's work by American bands like Chicago Transit Authority or Blood Sweat & Tears (as obviously were Creative Rock and Emergency), and admittedly the album ARDO DOMBEC had its moments, combining blues, soul and jazz styles into a song-based rock music, all with surprising depth in the arrangements for a four-piece band. Obviously a great deal of multi-tracking was going on! But, ARDO DOMBEC became most notorious for featuring the painful "five second scratch" joke track "Oh, Sorry" and its rather dangerous looking "bloody cactus in an ice-cream cone" cover! Contrastingly their contributions to the HEAVY CHRISTMAS concept sampler showed them at their best - instrumental, radical and full of invention, towards the realms of Thirsty Moon or Kollektiv. Harald Gleu (guitar, vocals, harmonica), Helmut Hachmann (sax, flute), Wolfgang Spillner (drums, vocals), Michael Ufer (bass) ARDO DOMBEC (8/71) featured on: HEAVY CHRISTMAS Argile An obscure ethnic fusion band from Nürnberg, that we only discovered very recently and know nothing of historically. Aptly being with Schneeball Records, the album NIMDIRSI is a step aside from Embryo, drawing on Asian and North African cultures, blending in a wide variety of classical and rock elements too, and despite being mostly percussive, it is quite relaxed and moody, with rich textures occasionally reminding of quieter Third Ear Band, with diversions from Between through to Oregon or Codona realms. The more recent IDJO is much more Afro-fusion styled, akin to Dissidenten or Embryo's AFRICA album, with a very modern highly produced sound, and features an international cast of musicians (most notably Ramesh Shotham). Stefan Lederer (dolgi, pianos, percussion, gong), Dieter Weberpils (quena, flutes, percussion, piccolo), Achim Schmidt (darbouka, drums, marimba, congas, vibes, horn) LIVE NIMDIRSI (4/83) Arktis Although mostly a straight hard-rock band, Arktis did however have their moments. They were certainly not professionally trained musicians, and their amateurish edge gave them a very different feel. Not being with a major label they also took chances, especially so on their debut which featured numerous lengthy instrumentals, especially rewarding is the side-long "Rare Girl". Arktis had hints of early Jane, Harlis or even Pancake in their music, but they never really seemed to know exactly what they wanted to do. This is especially notable on the session recorded with Conny Plank in December 1974, where they come across as totally deadly bland. But there again, Arktis could be seen as innovators, with unusually early new-wave touches. But most rewarding of all is the bonus material found on the CD reissue of their second album ARKTIS TAPES, two lengthy instrumental jams in the manner of Cargo or Man that proved Arktis had much more potential than the original LP's insinuated. Karin Töppig (vocals), Klaus Blachut (guitar), Klaus Göllner (bass), Harry Kottek (drums) ARKTIS (16-19/10/73) ARKTIS TAPES (1974-75) ON THE ROCKS Armaggedon Fronted by prolific guitarist Frank Diez, Armageddon were one of the foremost Berlin exponents of Anglo-American inspired rock, and much better than most of their contemporaries, yet until the CD reissue hardly anyone had heard of them! With their influence clearly defined, the album contained excellent versions of Jeff Beck's "Rice Pudding" and Spooky Tooth's "Better By You, Better Than Me", Armageddon should have been an international hit, as they had an accessible sound with lots of complex and highly progressive elements. But, as with most Kuckuck releases, nobody noticed. Nowadays it's revered as one of the finest heavy rock albums in the early-70's. Unfortunately short-lived, Armageddon only made the one album and then split. Frank Diez (lead guitar, vocals), Manfred Galatik (electric piano, bass, vocals), Michael Nürnberg (bass, rhythm guitar), Jürgen Lorenzen (drums) ARMAGGEDON (7-8/70) Ash Ra Tempel (Ashra) On the late-60's Berlin underground scene, there was a growing trend for radical innovative bands. One band was the embryonic Ash Ra Tempel, then known as Steeple Chase Bluesband (formed June 1969), who played a freak-out blues rock with John Mayall influences. The original line-up was: Manuel Göttsching (guitar), Hartmut Enke (bass) and Wulf Arp (drums), with Volker Zibell (harmonica) joining in August 1969. Arp was momentarily replaced by Wolfgang Müller, at which time they gained wide exposure with an appearance in concert on TV. A document of Steeple Chase Bluesband can be found on THE PRIVATE TAPES, which is just the sort of stoned blues-rock underground we expected. Having left Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze met up with Manuel and Hartmut and hatched the idea of Ash Ra Tempel. At this time all three were also involved in Konrad Schnitzler's Eruption project. In August 1970 they started rehearsals and also played concerts, becoming notorious for improvisations that could exceed 30 minutes yet be most fascinating and invigorating. Documents from various concerts can be found on THE PRIVATE TAPES, revealing the innovation of the band, in which Klaus was much more than just a drummer (playing steel guitar, organ, electronics, etc.), but as a drummer he was something else! After a couple of aborted demo's Ash Ra Tempel decided to go to Hamburg and record an album proper, with the aid of Conny Plank. This resulted in their debut, which was housed in a mystical elaborate centre-opening gatefold cover. As with their live jams, Ash Ra Tempel on record was a unique twist on the space-rock music as pioneered by Pink Floyd and Hawkwind, with elements of both yet devoid of songs, free-rock in the truest sense. Just one track per side: firstly with the power-drive storming "Amboss" (close to Klaus' work in Tangerine Dream) and in contrast, the shimmering timeless "Traummaschine". A yin-and-yang type concept that made for an extraordinary album. But, not too long after this, with a yearning for greater things in life than just playing drums, Klaus left Ash Ra Tempel, saying to Manuel "You keep the name, I'm going to do other things" and went on to pursue a most fruitful solo career as one of the pioneers of synth music. After this, the former Steeple Chase Bluesband drummer Wolfgang Müller returned. The next album SCHWINGUNGEN ("Vibrations" in English) returned to their bluesy origins, and again (like their debut LP) it had contrasting sides. "Light And Darkness" exists as the closest any German band have got to early Hawkwind, a wild acid-rock cum cosmic-blues music fronted by eccentric vocalist John L. spouting rather than singing his LSD induced visions. It's intense, powerful, and for some - too dark and unnerving. In stark contrast, "Suche & Liebe" owed a huge debt to Pink Floyd's "A Saucerful Of Secrets", complete with shimmering vibes, a hazy electronic mist, and an overdose of Dave Gilmour style glissando guitars, stretching out to cosmic bliss. Hereon, Ash Ra Tempel history becomes a mite complex, with involvement from Timothy Leary and numerous other projects, like the jam sessions released as The Cosmic Jokers. Ohr boss Rolf-Ulrich Kaiser had a vision of making the ultimate psychedelic trip, and naturally Timothy Leary being in nearby Switzerland lead to the opportunity of a lifetime. Hartmut was very keen on this idea, and went to Switzerland to meet Leary, and work out a concept based on "the seven steps to a better karma of consciousness". The results were SEVEN UP, a crazed trip with Leary at the helm. Timothy Leary had spiked the 7 Up that the band were drinking with LSD. The trip was set, and obviously too, was the title! On the tongue-in-cheek "Space", stoned 50's styled blues fronted by Leary, Brian Barritt and sexy backing singers, fused with Krautrock, psychedelia and an overdose of electronics. In true Ash Ra Tempel tradition, "Time" contrasted greatly, returning to the spacey realms of "Schwingungen" and moving the closest Ash Ra Tempel got to the cosmic Gong sound. The SEVEN UP experience caused the disintegration of Ash Ra Tempel as a proper band, "Gedanken" (on the KOSMISCHE MUSIK sampler) showed how much in flux Ash Ra Tempel had become. A huge band one moment, and next they were but two! Such was the unpredictability of Ash Ra Tempel's line-up, that the next album JOIN INN resulted from an impromptu jam, recorded while Manuel, Hartmut and Rosi were waiting for everyone else that was supposed to turn up for the Walter Wegmüller TAROT sessions. It saw the return of Klaus Schulze to the band, and again an album of stark contrasts: "Freak And Roll" being the raunchiest relentless wah-wah guitar rock freak-out ever, and the cosmic drifting Schulze synthesizer-dominated "Jenseits" which featured Manuel's girlfriend Rosi Müller reciting her story of the Timothy Leary experience. After this, the trio toured for a while, playing at the Actuel Festival in Paris in February 1973, amongst other venues. But, two weeks on, after a concert in Cologne, as Manuel put it "Hartmut was too spaced out to play any more", Hartmut left Ash Ra Tempel. Though Klaus had been playing in the band, he wasn't an official member, he was more into developing his solo career. So, Ash Ra Tempel became Manuel Göttsching and whoever was handy at the time. STARRING ROSI, recorded with Rosi Müller was very varied, sometimes comparable to Gong and Camel, and there's even a cosmic tango! Yet, still there's many classic touches. Also featured was Harald Grosskopf on drums, whom Manuel had worked with on The Cosmic Jokers sessions. After this, alone, Manuel went on to record his most innovative album INVENTIONS FOR ELECTRIC GUITAR, entirely created with guitar and echo devices, though you'd hardly believe it! Akin to Günter Schickert's SAMTVOGEL or more recent Robert Fripp, yet more sequential, cosmic and floating, awash with those typically Göttsching guitar licks. Almost like synthesizer music, yet purely guitar! Continuing solo, adding synthesizers to his instrumentation, he eventually adopted the guise of Ashra. Manuel also worked in collaboration with many other musicians, including sessions with ex-Agitation Free members Lutz Ulbrich and Michael Hoenig, and in concert with ex-Wallenstein drummer Harald Grosskopf. Some sessions from this period have only appeared as official releases recently, namely the ethereal LE BERCEAU DE CRISTAL film soundtrack, the RIAS radio session DREAM & DESIRE, and the Hoenig/Göttsching jam EARLY WATER. The first two albums released as Ashra at the time were entirely solo, showcasing Manuel's great talent as a multi-instrumentalist, firstly with the cosmic and sequential NEW AGE OF EARTH which showed much Klaus Schulze influence along with unique new way of using sequencers, and then the energetic guitar riffing BLACKOUTS. Soon Ashra became a proper group. Yet, as a trio, Ashra became far less easy to pin down, CORRELATIONS had an uneasy commerciality, and they almost bordered on disco music on one track of the unevenly balanced BELLE ALLIANCE, yet Ashra still ventured onto more experimental realms. Unique documents of Ashra live in 1979 feature on THE PRIVATE TAPES, showing how many different ideas were at play, attempting an uneasy balance between commercial accessibility and experimentation. This schizophrenic incarnation split and reformed numerous times, and all musicians have recorded solo works and worked in collaboration with other people since. Of the later Ashra albums, the most innovative was WALKIN' THE DESERT which ventured onto new uncharted territory of systemic and weird sound-sampling music, proving Ashra to be just as innovative as they ever were. Hartmut Enke (bass), Manuel Göttsching (guitar, vocals, electronics), Klaus Schulze (drums, percussion, electronics) ASH RA TEMPEL (9-11/3/71) SCHWINGUNGEN (9-13/2/72) SEVEN UP (9-10/8/72) featured on: KOSMISCHE MUSIK (7/72) JOIN INN (12/72) STARRING ROSI (7-8/73) INVENTIONS FOR ELECTRIC GUITAR (7-8/74) NEW AGE OF EARTH (3-6/76) BLACKOUTS (9/77) CORRELATIONS (1978) BELLE ALLIANCE (7/79) WALKIN' THE DESERT (1988-89) Association PC Association PC were an international free-jazz and rock-fusion band lead by Dutchman Pierre Courbois. By basing themselves in Germany and signing to the Munich jazz label MPS they inevitably became part of German the scene. Partly this was due to German guitarist Toto Blanke. Many of their releases featured a wealth of invention, covering a lot of new ground, stretching the boundaries of jazz. SUN ROTATION and ERNA MORENA were their boldest statements featuring lengthy tracks of great power and aggression, showcasing the talents of Toto Blanke and Jasper van't Hof. In the mid-70's Association PC disintegrated. Toto and Jasper went on to successful solo careers, as well as forming the Electric Circus together. Pierre Courbois returned to jazz realms. Toto Blanke (guitar), Siggi Busch (bass), Pierre Courbois (drums), Peter Krijen (bass), Jasper van't Hof (keyboards) EAR WAX SUN ROTATION ERNA MORENA (4/72) ROCK AROUND THE COCK MAMA KUKU featured on: HEIDELBERG JAZZTAGE '73 Asterix Though never confirmed beyond doubt, Asterix would seem to be an early version of Lucifer's Friend (the album credits Hecht, Hesslein, Horns and Lawton as composers), with the addition of a second vocalist, playing a more mainstream 60's styled hard-rock. Their sole LP was only of marginal interest, and never hinted at the more experimental facets of early Lucifer's Friend proper. George Monroe (vocals), Peter Hecht (organ), Peter Hesslein (guitar), Dieter Horns (bass), Joachim "Addi" Rietenbach (drums) Everybody / If I Could Fly ASTERIX (1970) The Astral Army Now these are a band I'm sure should have remained lost! Though, as a mid-70's act, their basic rockin' Hawklords type "Interstellar Shortwave" was way ahead of its time! Alex (vocals), Gunther Dorn (guitar), Wolfgang Willhauk (guitar), Herbert Metzger (guitar), Otto Bretnacher (drums) featured on: UNKNOWN DEUTSCHLAND: VOLUME 1 Atlantis Basically, Atlantis were Frumpy reformed and repackaged, but with a more commercial hard-rock style. Fronted by Inga's un-feminine vocals Atlantis' debut was the ideal vehicle for her poignant lyric, with a selection of shorter more varied tracks than on the Frumpy albums, more rock and ballad oriented, though still with some classic tracks. After the ironically wrongly titled IT'S GETTING BETTER, subsequent albums repeated the same formula on an ever more commercial pop and soul level. Really, none of these later albums are of anything but historical interest. Eventually Inga established a solo career, and more recently a reformation under the name Frumpy paled even more so. Inga Rumpf (vocals, percussion), Jean-Jacques Kravetz (piano, organ), Frank Diez (guitar), Karl-Heinz Schott (bass), Curt Cress (drums, percussion) ATLANTIS (13-22/11/72) IT'S GETTING BETTER (7/73) OOH BABY LIVE (1973-74) GET ON BOARD TOP OF THE BILL (12/75+3/76) Baba Yaga Not to be confused with the much later neo-progressive band Baba Jaga, this obscure mid-70's duo were quite aptly named after the fabled fictional magician, being multi-instrumentalists of great invention. Ingo Werner is also known for his earlier work with My Solid Ground and nowadays as a session musician/synthesist. In Baba Yaga, the mixture of ethnic instruments, percussives and multi-keyboards, makes for a music that steps beyond early Between or Deuter, steering clear of any pretty or melodic noodling, moving to darker more abstract realms like the most mysterious Third Ear Band. Largely, this also adds up to a sound close to the later Brainticket albums ADVENTURE and VOYAGE. This one album seems to be the only document of Baba Yaga, and nothing historical is known. An excellent unknown obscurity. Nemat Darman (santur, sitar, tablas, congas, cymbals, gongs, kettledrums, drums, vibes), Ingo Werner (synthesizers, string ensemble, clavinet, pianos) COLLAGE Baier Westrupp These were a marginally interesting folk band formed by Frank Baier (ex-Kattong) along with Walter Westrupp (after a couple of years with Die Walter H.C. Meier Pumpe). Though much less engaging and not at all as progressive as the Witthüser+Westrupp albums, their sole LP featured traditional folk melodies and was very heavily laden with strange German lyrics. The LP cover never gave any musician details. DAT MUß DOCH AUCH WAT SPÄßCKEN BRINGEN! Herbert F. Bairy A new discovery, not in the original book, and an excellent cross-culture fusion from an unknown Krautrock underground talent. Herbert F. Bairy (percussion, drums, piano, windharp, zither, harmonium, voice, sounds), + Manfred Kniel (percussion, drums), Jürgen Bräuninger (synthesizer, sounds), Georg Heinen (dilruba, tamboura), Martin Klenk (cello), Bernd Konrad (clarinets, soprano sax, flutes), Michael Körber (voice), Dietburg Spohr (voice), Rob Terstall (guitars, bass), Thomas Stabenow (basses), Ulli Süsse (organ), Dizzy Pandtli (tabla), Frédéric Rabold (horn), Rudolf Reindl (trumpets), Jeff Beer (synthesizer, bass, drums, guitars, voice, harmonium, percussion), Jeanette McLeod (voice), Michael Weilers (guitars) TRAUMSPIEL (1979) Bandstand Along similar lines to the Alan Parsons Project, as a late-70's dilution of progressive musics in a conceptual opus, Carsten Bohn's Bandstand were ill-fated and certainly not what one would expect from a former Frumpy, Dennis and Kickbit Information musician, with such a luminary cast of helpers. Of curiosity and historic interest only (and be warned, the album's steadily get worse as they go along), Bandstand were the crap total commercialisation of Krautrock. Carsten Bohn (drums, guitar, vocals, percussion), Frank Fischer (bass), Manne Rürup (piano, synthesizer), Bob Reed (percussion), + Rainer Baumann (guitar), Roman Bunka (guitar), Muck Groh (guitar), Günter Reger (sax), Micho Corea (guitar), Peter Wolbrandt (guitar), Lee Kantzmann (trumpet), Lawrence Elam (trumpet), Hans Uwe Reimers (sax), Egon Christmann (trombone), Linda Fields (vocals), Freya Wippich (vocals), Jackie Carter (vocals) HUMOR RUMOR (7-11/77) MOTHER GOOSE SHOES (1979) C.B. RADIO (5/80) Peter Baumann Peter Baumann, like many synth soloists, had a chequered start to his career as a musician, being in many Berlin bands during his youth, including Burning Touch, The Ants and various other unknowns. But, as a member of the most famous and successful Tangerine Dream incarnation (from 1972 to 1978) Peter had a sure footing for a solo career. His debut as soloist, ROMANCE 76, was recorded whilst he was also at his most active within Tangerine Dream. Actually, when comparing ROMANCE 76 to Tangerine Dream's STRATOSFEAR, this revealed his own influence within the Tangerine Dream style of the era, with a sequencer based and sparse electronic music, putting the accent on melody and intricate structure. The orchestral complemented suite that covered side 2 "Meadow Of Infinity/The Glass Bridge" is his finest creation, taking synth and rock musics to more classical avant-garde realms. At this time Peter also established the short-lived but prolific Paragon Studio, presenting innovative albums by Cluster, Conrad Schnitzler, Hans-Joachim Roedelius, Asmus Tietchens and various others. Upon leaving Tangerine Dream, subsequent Peter Baumann solo albums saw him move on to the realms of Kraftwerkian electro-pop. A strange move. In the early-80's Peter quit his Paragon Studio and moved base to America, recording the abysmal STRANGERS IN THE NIGHT before disappearing from the music scene for some time. He then later reappeared as the owner of the Private Music Record Company promoting light instrumental and new-age music, but has never released an album of his own music since STRANGERS IN THE NIGHT! ROMANCE 76 (7-8/76) TRANS HARMONIC NIGHTS (7/78-1/79) REPEAT REPEAT STRANGERS IN THE NIGHT Baumann/Koek Despite what media and many collectors would try to have us believe, Baumann/Koek were nothing whatsoever to do with Peter Baumann. In fact, it would seem that the Baumann/Koek album was a cleverly conceived con-job issued just as Peter announced his departure from Tangerine Dream! With a music based on the Tangerine Dream sequencer style, and often comparable to Michael Bundt's early solo material, it made for a pleasant if simple melodic synth album, and was amongst the first independent Teutonic synth releases to get noticed internationally. As to who exactly Baumann/Koek were - one could guess - though the name Baumann is very common in Germany! BAUMANN/KOEK (11/78) Baumstam These were an obscure heavy blues-rock band, but with little individual identity, nor any real Krautrock touches, being much more English styled. Their privately issued album is sought after in collectors circles due to its scarcity, more than for its musical content. Despite what Dag Erik Asbjørnsen says about these - which seems to describe a completely different album - in his book "Cosmic Dreams At Play", we weren't impressed, as ON TOUR sounds much like an average late-60's British hard-rock album. Ulrich Klawitter (guitar, vocals), Michael Lobbe (guitars), Volker Wobbe (bass), Gerhardt Meyer (drums, percussion) ON TOUR Bayon The origins of the DDR band Bayon go back to 1971 and a collection of like-minded students at universities in Weimar who got together to form an amateur band. By 1972 the group had stabilised as two Germans, a Kampuchean and a Cuban, and of course the music from such a cross-culture foursome was unique. Blending folk musics with rock and jazz, it made for a wide range of styles, from psychedelic rock onto pure ethnic music. Some of their earlier weirder psychedelic type concoctions, as heard on the HALLO series, hint at the Third Ear Band, but are quite original in the use of Oriental touches, blues, psychedelia and 60's pop elements. Their debut LP plunged deeper into oriental musics resulting in what sounded like a Chinese band attempting European fusion, whereas SUITE, probably their most refined and esoteric album, blended in more classical and European folk styles, drawing comparisons to Between and Continuum. As time went on, the band tended to disintegrate on EL SONIDO, and much of their earlier innovation was lost in favour of an odd blending of jazz and Latino elements. But, it must be said that, of all DDR bands Bayon were certainly the most original and intriguing. It's a great shame that they weren't given more freedom in their early days. Christoph Theusner (acoustic guitar, flute), Sonny Thet (vocals, acoustic guitar, percussion), Reiner Pätzold (bass), + Tobias Morgenstern (accordion), Norbert Jäger (percussion, marimba) featured on: HALLO, NR. 1, 2, 8, 9 BAYON SUITE EL SONIDO (12/82-8/85) Date: 2015-12-18; view: 753
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