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Lokomotive Kreuzberg 4 pageThomas Schmidt (vocals, violin, flute, Mellotron), Otto Pusch (piano, organ), Rudolf Schön (vocals, percussion), Jörg Götzfried (bass), Mitch Kniesmeijer (drums), + Andy Kirnberger (guitar) MARBURG (1972) FROM THE NEW WORLD RHAPSODY (1975) ONLY A STAR (1976-77) MOLDAU (1981) Pentagon Underground blues band from Bavaria. Hans-Peter Krohn (guitar, flute, vocals), Herbert Strickner (bass), Axel Wellhoener (drums), + Michael Watjen (acoustic guitar) DIE VERTREIBUNG DER BÖSEN GEISTER AUS DEM PENTAGON Phantom Band When they started, rumours were that Phantom Band were actually Can in disguise. But, no this wasn't so. They were a new band formed by Jaki Liebezeit and Rosko Gee (both ex-Can) along with musicians from the new-wave experimental band Dunkelziffer. Phantom Band initially created a funky Can-like jazzy fusion, a logical extension of latter-day Can. After Gee's departure they moved on to more art-rock realms combining both Can elements and the metronomic rock rhythms that Jaki had developed when working with Michael Rother. Arguably their finest was the haphazard and trendy NOWHERE. Jaki Liebezeit (drums, percussion), Olek Gelba (percussion), Helmut Zerlett (keyboards), Dominik von Senger (guitar), Rosko Gee (bass, vocals), + Holger Czukay (horns) PHANTOM BAND (1979-80) FREEDOM OF SPEECH NOWHERE (1983) Dave Pike Set The American vibes player Dave Pike saw that there was a far more creative new jazz scene happening in Germany in the late-60's. So, he relocated to Munich and established the Dave Pike Set, together with three top German jazz musicians, notably the creative guitarist Volker Kriegel. With influences ranging from Frank Zappa to Miles Davis, much of the Dave Pike Set's output is well worth the attention of psychedelic jazz aficionados. Dave Pike (vibes), Volker Kriegel (guitar, sitar, bass), Johann Anton Rettenbacher (bass, cello), Peter Baumeister (drums, percussion) FOUR REASONS featured on: OSSIACH LIVE INFRA-RED ALBUM SALOMAO Pinguin These were formed by ex-members of the psychedelic band Talix, and that's about all we know about them! Pinguin are amongst the most mysterious of bands, yet their sole album is a Krautrock classic, dark and sinister, in the realms of Drosselbart and Eulenspygel. Pinguin blended all sorts of unlikely elements into a rock music that trips out and flies off at tangents, topped by superbly gothic German vocals. Markus Schaub (guitar, percussion, vocals), K.D. Blahak (drums), Volker Plitz (organ, percussion), Joe Voggenthaler (guitar, percussion), Elmar Kast (sax, flute, percussion), Klaus Gebauer (vocals), Tom Wohlert (basses, bongo) DER GROßE ROTE VOGEL (11/71) Pink Mice An impromptu session band featuring Lucifer's Friend musicians, of the psychedelic party budget label exploitation type, marketed alongside the likes of Animated Egg, Blue Phantom, et al. The exact line-up of the band is unknown. The IN SYNTHESIZER SOUND album was in fact, not synth music at all, but instrumental classical rock in The Nice and Ekseption vein, but with a deliberately catchy up-beat accessible style. Another such Lucifer's Friend connected project was Electric Food. IN ACTION IN SYNTHESIZER SOUND Der Plan Der Plan were arguably the most outlandish band to emerge out of the Düsseldorf new-wave underground. Though, having said that, their debut EP was a radical raw industrial offering which didn't really hint at what was to come, sounding like a distorted punk Faust meets Throbbing Gristle. After this, Robert Görl went on to Deutsch-Amerikanischen Freundschaft, and the rest of the band continued in a new direction, adopting a mad-cap industrial twist on The Residents' sound, but in German! GERI REIG was quite a remarkable album, being diverse and creative, with songs that are fun even to those that don't understand German, combined with a most avant-garde approach to rock music. Becoming more caught up in satire, NORMALETTE SURPRISE came closer to the Robert Görl (drums), Pyrolator (synthesizer), Frank Fenstermacher (guitar, vocals), Moritz Reichelt (vocals, guitar) ZZ GERI REIG (11/79-1/80) Da Vorne Steht Ne Ampel / Rot-Grün-Tot NORMALETTE SURPRISE Fix Planet bonus single DIE LETZTE RACHE Golden Cheapo's 2x7" Ata Tak WR 023 (1984) Planes An obscure one-off project by a duo of multi-instrumentalists, making unusual atmospheric music in the realms of early Cluster and Harmonia, though notably less intensive than Cluster's early excursions. Typically Teutonic, with the accent on blending the abstract and melodic, Planes were remarkably creative and had a unique style of their own. Gregor Curten (organ, synthesizer, guitar), Anselm Rogmans (vocals, tapes, organ, synthesizer) PLANES Popol Vuh Taking their name from the Quiche Mayan Indians' equivalent of the Bible, Popol Vuh existed since February 1969 as the earliest of synth bands. Always the leader, Florian Fricke was a man of concept and vision, he'd studied classical piano from the age of 15, worked as a music critic, as a film maker, established a seminal Munich jazz-rock combo that also included Manfred Eicher (later, the boss of ECM) and Eberhard Schoener. The rest of the original Popol Vuh consisted of artist and ethnic percussionist Holger Trülzsch, and studio engineer Frank Fiedler. They were an unusual band by anyone's standards, yet after making a soundtrack for a TV film, Liberty Records showed keen interest and signed them up. The sound of the early Popol Vuh was, to say the least, unprecedented. Dominated by Moog synthesizer, it's a music of twittering and rippling waves, oozing spooky sound patterns, given all the more mystery by the tablas and other hand percussion. Whereas AFFENSTUNDE came across as dark and unmelodic, the following IN DEN GÄRTEN PHARAOS stepped either side, the title track moving from the murkiness of AFFENSTUNDE to a light breezy fusion, and "Vuh" contrasting as an over-the-top excursion for church organ and crashing cymbals that builds to breathtaking intensity. It's strange that this was released on Pilz, at a time when Rolf-Ulrich Kaiser tried to present it as a folk label. Maybe he knew what Florian was planning? It was all-change time for Popol Vuh, out with the synthesizer and in with a new concept, but not before Florian guested on Tangerine Dream's ZEIT, and also built up an archive of other recordings. Whilst making films, Florian had built up a friendship with director Werner Herzog, who asked if Popol Vuh could score the film "Aguirre" that he was working on. Though, by the time Herzog had finished his opus, Popol Vuh had gone through several changes! First was the deeply religious, gothic folk of HOSIANNA MANTRA and SELIGPREISUNGEN (one on Pilz and the other on Kosmische Musik, though such Popol Vuh music is not really cosmic), both featuring Florian delicately playing the piano, with gentle glissando guitar from Gila's Conny Veit, oboe from Between's Robert Eliscu, and tamboura by Klaus Wiese. During this period, Popol Vuh also existed as the reformed Gila, with Daniel Fichelscher (from Amon Düül II) then becoming an integral part of Popol Vuh. Also involved was Korean female singer Djong Yun, though on SELIGPREISUNGEN Florian handled the lead vocals, in a rather dark and sombre manner, in contrast to Djong's more angelic style on HOSIANNA MANTRA. Due to Daniel Fichelscher's multi-instrumental talents, he and Florian became the nucleus of Popol Vuh hereon, with EINSJÄGER & SIEBENJÄGER presenting the definitive sound Popol Vuh were to work from for the next few years. The album then released as the "Aguirre" soundtrack drew from recordings covering all this era, with a lengthy cosmic electronic opus covering the second side. Most memorable from the film however, is the opening "Aguirre I" with its huge Mellotron choirs. Also in 1974 Florian appeared as the blind pianist in Herzog's "The Enigma Of Kasper Hauser" in which he plays a solo version of the Popol Vuh piece "Agnus Dei". After Rolf-Ulrich Kaiser's cosmic empire collapsed, moving to a major label meant a change of focus again, more rock based and with shorter tracks. Still religious, DAS HOHLIED SALOMOS used Biblical texts for its songs, and with the addition of Renate Knaup on LETZTE TAGE - LETZTE NÄCHTE Popol Vuh had moved very close to the heavy Krautrock style of Amon Düül II of a couple of years earlier. Then, in came another Amon Düül II associate: Al Gromer, and a new facet of Popol Vuh emerged, even recording a whole album of Indian music as YOGA. Subsequent releases on Brain (and Egg) tended to blend all these aspects, going through a purely instrumental phase, until Djong and Renate returned in 1979. During this era Popol Vuh had scored a number of Herzog films, though the albums billed as HERTZ AUS GLAS and NOSFERATU were not really soundtrack albums. This is some of the finest music to emerge from Germany in the mid to late-70's, full of innovation, and mostly the vehicle of the extremely talented Daniel Fichelscher. At the same time as recording SEI STILLE, WISSE ICH BIN Renate and Danny were also working on the VORTEX Amon Düül II reformation. Popol Vuh's first step into the 80's couldn't have been more different than Amon Düül II's however, being a very dark and percussive affair, with strange growling voices, like an unholy mystical ceremony. Hereon further albums tended to mellow somewhat, as Popol Vuh became ever more an occasional and infrequent recording band. Arguably AGAPE-AGAPE was really the end of the classic era of Popol Vuh refining the SEI STILLE, WISSE ICH BIN style, as the following SPIRIT OF PEACE did little more than re-run old ideas, in a sedate almost mournful mostly vocal music. Florian Fricke (Moog), Holger Trülzsch (percussion), Frank Fiedler (synthesizer-mixdown) AFFENSTUNDE IN DEN GÄRTEN PHARAOS (1972) HOSIANNA MANTRA (1972) SELIGPREISUNGEN EINSJÄGER & SIEBENJÄGER (5/74) MUSIC FROM THE FILM AGUIRRE (1972-74) DAS HOHLIED SALOMOS (2/75) LETZTE TAGE - LETZTE NÄCHTE YOGA COEUR DE VERRE ON THE WAY TO A LITTLE WAY/NOSFERATU BRÜDER DES SCHATTENS - SÖHNE DES LICHTS (8/78) DIE NACHT DER SEELE (15/3-1/8/79) SEI STILL, WISSE ICH BIN (1980-81) AGAPE-AGAPE, LOVE-LOVE (6-10/82) SPIRIT OF PEACE Poseidon Obscure hard-rock band, reminds of Wishbone Ash & Cream. FOUND MY WAY Prof. Wolfff An obscure heavy rock band from Ulm, later featuring Helmut Binzer of Metropolis. Little else is known about them. Prof. Wolfff had an aggressive heavy rock style with lots of psychedelic and progressive touches, fronted by guitars and organ, typical of the era they had a very German sound, akin to Ainigma, Frumpy and early Jane. They only made the one LP. Fritz Herrmann is also known as Friedrich Glorian. More info: http://www.myspace.com/profwolfff Klaus Peter Schweitzer (guitar, electric piano, vocals), Romi Schickle (organ), Mondo Zech (bass, vocals), Michael Sametinger (drums), Fritz Herrmann (lead guitar, vocals, harmonica) PROF. WOLFFF (10/71) Propeller As Wonderland Band had moved on to more experimental realms, it seemed that Achim Reichel wanted to keep active on the commercial scene too, and thus decided to try going back to basics, with a band of former Rattles and Wonderland members. But, instead of playing 60's beat music, Propeller played a song-based heavy rock along similar lines to Lucifer's Friend. Achim Reichel (guitar, bass, vocals), Herbert Hildebrandt (guitar, bass, vocals), Dicky Tarrach (drums), + Peter Hesslein (guitar), Peter Wede (piano, organ) LET US LIVE TOGETHER Apache Woman / Devil's Symphony Psi A typically German jazz-rock band, drawing on the Bavarian school of Missus Beastly, Passport, Munju, et al., but also taking a more progressive rock angle with Kraan touches. They only made one album, and nothing is known of their history, except that Matthias Frey later became prolific with his own band and solo projects. Bodo Feldmann (bass, voice), Matthias Frey (keyboards, synthesizer, voice), Robert Jahn (drums, percussion, voice), Wilfried Kunkler (tenor sax, horns, percussion, voice), Volkmar Zimmermann (guitars, voice) HORIZONTE Die Puhdys Originally one of the most progressive pop bands around, many of their early recordings are extraordinary and often really radical, featuring all sorts of musics sandwiched together - and they even used bagpipes! They helped to develop the uniquely DDR rock sound, and became an inspiration for second generation bands like Reform, Magdeburg, etc. But, unfortunately, pushed by the DDR authorities as the safe face of progressive rock, their resulting success lead to their downfall, becoming rather bland copyists of Western trends. Much of their best work can be heard on the HALLO series or early singles. Peter Meyer (keyboards, flute, sax), Dieter Birr (guitar, vocals), Dieter Hertrampf (guitar, vocals), Harry Jeske (bass, drums), Gunther Wosylus (drums) featured on: HALLO, NR. 1, 3, 4, 6, 9, 10, 12 DIE PUHDYS PUHDYS 2 featured on: HALLO 1/75 STURMVOGEL Pyrolator The pseudonym of Kurt Dahlke, founder of Ata Tak Records, record producer, musician and computer programmer. Originally he was a member of D-A-F, and then he helped form Der Plan (a band who have existed in parallel to his solo work) in 1980. Pyrolator's first solo INLAND was a highly experimental effort of varied synthesizer and avant-garde music, still surprisingly fresh and original today, covering in itself almost as wide a range of music as Asmus Tietchens has in the past decade! Further albums have combined musics closer to Der Plan, D-A-F and The Residents, generally featuring many guests; that is excepting the unusual collage and tape experiments of HOME TAPING IS KILLING MUSIC, which is amongst the first sampling music albums. INLAND (7-9/79) AUSLAND WUNDERLAND (11/83-2/84) HOME TAPING IS KILLING MUSIC (1984) TRAUMLAND P205 P205 were of that typical mid-70's brand of German rock, a hint of Jane or Harlis, but with rather mediocre musicianship. Odd moments do shine on P205, but they were nothing special. For those liking a more basic rough edged rock music. Konny Hempel (guitar), Wolfgang Burkhard (keyboards), Edwin Lotter (drums), Werner Weiss (vocals) VIVAT PROGRESSIO PEREAT MUNDUS P205 (1975-76) Lutz Rahn The keyboardist from Novalis. He recorded only one solo, in the manner of instrumental Patrick Moraz, but with a touch of Teutonic synth-sequencer styling too. It was rather tame and uninspired when compared to his extraordinary musicianship in Novalis, and is only of minor interest. SOLO TRIP (1978) Ramses One of the better progressives of the mid-70's, Ramses had a good start with their debut LA LEYLA getting help from Klaus Hess (of Jane) as producer. Ramses were part of the new Eurorock front, with an accessible Anglo-American influenced style, and no doubt their Yes spiced symphonic progression on the Jane sound gained them almost instant notoriety. For their second album, Ramses pulled out all the stops, with a heavily produced, synthesized and spacious brand of progressive rock. ETERNITY RISE saw a vast development in complexity of composition, moving another step closer towards the likes of Yes or Starcastle. The much later LIGHT FANTASTIC is really best forgotten, as it relates hardly at all to the early albums, being rather straight song based rock, and more in common with neo-progressives. Winfried Langhorst (keyboards, vocals), Hans D. Klinkhammer (bass), Norbert Langhorst (guitars), Herbert Natho (vocals), Reinhard Schröter (drums, percussion) LA LEYLA (9-10/75) ETERNITY RISE (7-8/78) LIGHT FANTASTIC (4-5/81) Randy Pie Mostly originating as ex-members of the pop group the Rattles, and then the rock 'n' soul band Randy Pie & Family, the musicians in Randy Pie were also involved in the experimental rock albums of early Rattles musician Achim Reichel. Bassist Manfred Thiers had come from the hard-rock progressive band Gash. Surprisingly, whereas most supergroups are ill-fated, Randy Pie not only made one rather good progressive album (their debut), but also managed to continue on, and gain commercial success on (at least) four more pop oriented albums. Blending bluesy and jazzy styles into a dynamic and varied progressive, their debut contained much excellent typically German rock, sounding like a potpourri of Hamburg bands. After the not too bad HIGHWAY DRIVER, Randy Pie continued with further albums, each getting closer to pop music. Most Randy Pie members have gone on to other projects since (see the cross-reference index), though little has been of interest. Dicky Tarrach (drums), Manfred Thiers (bass, vocals), Werner Becker (keyboards, vocals), Bernd Wippich (guitar, vocals), + Rainer Baumann (guitar) RANDY PIE (8-9/73) HIGHWAY DRIVER Reaction A hard-rock trio in the Anglo-American style, somewhere between Status Quo and Scorpions. Formed in 1972 in Hamburg, they were latecomers to the scene, and on large were indistinguishable from hoards of others. Luigi de Luca (guitar), Peter Braun (bass), Holger Tempel (drums) REACTION (2/72) Real Ax Band A collection of Embryo affiliates venturing on to pastures new, with a highly derivative fusion fronted by Maria Archer's jazzy vocals. These presented a more accessible music than most Schneeball jazz-based bands, drawing on Latino, Afro and funk. However, the results were a patchy and rather untogether album. Maria Archer (vocals), Dieter Miekautsch (piano, organ, vocals), Heinz-Otto Gwiasda (guitar, vocals, flute), Christopher Mache (bass, vocals), Marlon Klein (drums, congas) featured on: UMSONST UND DRAUSSEN VLOTHO 1976 NICHT STEHENBLEIBEN, MOVE YOUR ASS IN TIME featured on: UMSONST UND DRAUSSEN VLOTHO 1977 Reform Amongst the late-70's wave of DDR progressives, Reform were as much inspired by the Heavy Metal Deep Purple sound as they were Pink Floyd, twisting such influences in to the archetypal East German type sound. Initially, the space-rock angle resulted in a number of interesting tracks on their debut, though the metal edge took over on later albums. Their albums 1982 onwards are of no real interest. Stephan Trepte (vocals, keyboards), Jörg Blankenburg (guitar), Werner Kunze (keyboards, guitar), Jörg Dobbersch (bass), Peter Piele (drums) REFORM (1979) DER LÖWENZAHN Achim Reichel Because of his background, outside Germany, Achim Reichel is one of the most overlooked of key figures in Krautrock history. An original member of the Rattles in 1963, he decided to move on after touring as support to The Beatles in 1966, and formed his own beat group Wonderland. Nothing remarkable yet, as these were also a rather straight pop outfit. 1969 was the catalyst, first playing support to The Nice and Deep Purple, and then meeting Ravi Shankar, and there was a lot of new talent on the Hamburg scene. Wonderland became Wonderland Band, in 1970, with a totally different concept, amounting to a most unique psychedelic album. I suggest you check the Wonderland Band entry for more info, though it was this album, and Achim's discovery of the echo guitar, that gave birth to a phenomenal series of albums under the working title of "Achim Reichel & Machines". Joining Achim was fellow Wonderland member, their lead singer Frank Dorstal as song writer, and a selection of some of the finest musicians on the Hamburg scene, for a series of albums that are nothing less than remarkable. Other projects from this era were Propeller and Libido. After playing a major gig at Hamburg's Musikhalle in May 1970, Achim jamming with the likes of Ritchie Blackmore, Graham Bond and Pete Brown, first off was the unprecedented DIE GRÜNE REISE, with its off-beat rock 'n' roll and psychedelia, taking the listener on a sonic journey of dazzling diversity, textures and innovation unheard of in 1971, not least so the ending, which is amongst the weirdest, most fascinating, wildly tripped-out things I've ever heard! But, that was only the start, venturing further into the cosmos was the grand opus ECHO, a double album of echo trips, echoed echoes, spiralling guitars, rock and psychedelic trips beyond Ash Ra Tempel, again ending up in the realms of total weirdness! Simple description isn't possible. Being such a popular and successful musician had its advantages, though I doubt many Wonderland fans would have warmed to ECHO, and next Achim set up his own label Zebra. In fact this was the first of a series of ventures, later including Gorilla Musik and Ahorn Records. The next albums in this series were billed on the front covers as AR 3 and AR IV. AR 3 took the eccentric song format and guitar gymnastics of DIE GRÜNE REISE to more progressive realms, whereas AR IV amounted to huge side-long jam sessions. The later ERHOLUNG continued this style, but on a much more cosmic and jazzy level, where Achim's guitar notably becoming very Günter Schickert-like, with Jochen Petersen proving to be amongst the most cosmic of sax players around! AUTOVISION marked the end of this creative era which, for the most part, is actually a collection of solo guitar experiments, with a few group tracks. After this, Achim returned to the pop world, disillusioned with the state of the progressive music scene in Germany. He has since proven to be a man of many talents, as singer, producer, and has also become quite a successful actor. Achim Reichel, + Dicky Tarrach, Hans Lampe, Bernhard Zinngrebe DIE GRÜNE REISE (1970) ECHO AR 3 AR IV AR 5 - AUTOVISION ERHOLUNG (4/8/73) Date: 2015-12-18; view: 1554
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