Touch

 

After almost ten years, Tortoise have recently returned with a new album. I've been a fan of this music collective ever since I saw them live 30 years ago. I was fascinated by how perfectly this instrumental band managed to integrate contradictory styles such as krautrock, dub, electronica, and even jazz into a homogeneous sound.

I admit that I lost sight of them in recent years, but with their current album Touch, they are more present than before. The influence of krautrock is unmistakable on many songs. At its best, you could be forgiven for thinking that Neu! had released a new, contemporary album. Motor-driven beats, sparkling guitar riffs, and a touch of synth are the defining elements of their sound. It's good to know they're still around.

Monday's Long Song

 

From time to time, it makes sense for musicians to rummage through their own archives. Nina Walsh has been doing this for some time now, opening up her treasure chest of previously unreleased music.

Last week, she dug up and released three electronic excursions again, of which Ridintg The Mistral stands out. A song in which she recalls the early days of New Order with a bubbling bass line and a metronome rhythm and breathes the spirit of Neu! into it with fine guitar picking.

New Songs On Sunday

 

I haven't found many new songs this week that are worth talking about. What has fascinated me, however, is the debut album by Nick Höppner, owner of the Ostgut Ton label and Berlin Berghain DJ and Alex Kassian. The two met during the pandemic and developed plans for an album, which has now been released under the name H.A.R.D.

It is an album away from their club activities and convinces with songs that have clear references to krautrock, ambient and guitar-driven music. With its slowly building and effects-laden dreamscape, Circles could be from the better days of Tangerine Dream.

On No Harm, the two manage to approach the sound of Neu! and Can without it becoming embarrassing for them. The whole album is actually recommended, but will be overlooked by the masses

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

Hallogallo

Many of of the usual visitors of this little part of the internet know that I have a huge affection to Andy Bell and his output during the last years. I always thought nothing of his releases can surprise me but with the one he released during the week he made me smile. He went back to one of his and many others artists influences. He recorded a song by Neu! first released back centuries ago. Hallogallo is one of the most influential songs by German electronic pioneers and it works very well in this new outfit. Based on a remarkable theme Bell uses riffs and wha-wha sounds to transport krautrock into the 20s. Never thought that this could happen but it seems that this song is one of those that should appear on a years end list. Just beautiful.

Monday's Long Song

 

Another obscure sound for this series. Tolerance was a short living band from Japan in the late 70's. Formed by Junko Tange and Masami Yoshikawa in Tokyo to make only two albums. Both are re-released during the last days. They made a sound that was inspired by German bands like Neu!, Can and Amon Düül and the free music theories of Karlheinz Stockhausen. Not everything by them is easy to listen but Pulse Static (Tranquilla) is outstanding because the combine motorik rhythms from a drum machine with analog instruments to something I would name pre-techno because this kind of music was made three decades later by European electronic artists.

In  1972 Neu! released their self titled debut and after 50 years a box of the 50th anniversary will be released soon. A remix album of this album will also be released. The National remixed the first song of the album and other contributors like Mogwai, Idles and New Order's Stephen Morris show their work work. It is good to see that this legendary krautrock album still has a massive influence to today's artists. Songs that can't be destroyed by no one. 

 

Monday's Long Song

 

Stephen Mallinder was one of the founding members of Sheffield's industrial pioneers Cabaret Voltaire. The influenced many bands playing a new kind of electronic music. Mallinder released in 1982 his first and almost forgotten solo album Pow Wow where he moved away from CV's sound. Inspired by krautrock and bands like Neu! and Eno he worked on an extraordinary sound including fragments of Giorgio Moroder sounds. I rediscovered this record while I got the news of his new album and I still like the music he made. Timeless bass-driven  an motorik sounds that combined perfectly post-punk, disco and krautrock. 

Stephen Mallinder - Cool Down

And I can't resist to feature his dubby experience at this place.

Stephen Mallinder - Temperature Drop

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

Monday's Long Song

 

One of the first so called supergroups of the krautrock era was formed in 1973 as a collaboration of Cluster's Hand-Joachim Roedelius and Dieter Moebius and Michael Rother, guitarist by Neu!. When their first album was reduced to repetitive sound producer Conny Plank gave them a more brighter sound with dominating synths. Their second album De Luxe is a classic and played often when I don't really know what to listen to. 

Harmonia - Deluxe (Immer Wieder

Monday's Long Song

 

One of the best findings last year was Kompromat by 10.000 Russos, a band from a coastal town in the north-east of Portugal. I got aware of them when they released their third album on Fuzz Club records. I have to admit that I never supposed that music like this was made Portugal. But it is better than many other bands all over the world. These guys are the ones that give psychedelic music a new inspiration (except some bands from Sweden that was featured at this place). The band have a combatative repeato rock sound with nods to Suicide and Neu! with lots of abrasive guitars and motorik percussion. And Joao Pimenta barks out rants like a futurist Mark E. Smith or Captain Beefheart. Hypnotic drones, pulsing beats and shaman-like mantras stamp their sound - perfect for a party in a basement garage in post-apocalyptic days.

Ardor

 

Another find during the last days was Flying Moon In Space a band based in Leipzig, Germany. Known as a live band with sprawling improvisations it seems that they squeezed their music in more strictly forms. Their references spread from Can to Neu! and from Brian Eno to Godspeed You! Black Emperor and they create a new  psychedelic and spacey sound. I am enthused about it and looking forward to the release of their album

Club Noir

From time to time when I was using Spotify I crawl through some artists playlists just to see what they prefer. The last time I did this I debarked at Cari Cari's playlist and was astonished about their musical spectrum that stretches from Creedence Clearwater Revival over Neu! to The Kills. But there were also artists that I never knew before. This is the reason  I detected another band from Glasgow. Apache Sun is a duo formed in 2014 and they play a psychedelic version of a swampy blues. Like Nick Cave had a session with The Cramps.

Monday's Long Song

1972 former Kraftwerk members Klaus Dinger and Michael Rother formed NEU! a band that was responsible among others for the Krautrock sound of the early 70's. Their first self titled album is a classic ans still on rotation at my home. Hallogallo is the best example of what became famous of what they call motorik. Klaus Dinger's mechanic drum rhythms combined with Michael Rother's melodic-harmonic guitar chords made the sound that influenced a lot of artists decades later.

NEU! -Hallogallo

Monday's Long Song

More than 20 years ago Tortoise released their second album Millions Now Living Will Never Die. I saw them first in 1995 supporting Eleventh Dream Day and was electrified by their sound. Never heard a band before using three drums, two basses and not singing a word. This experience made me follow them during the years. Many call their first album or TNT as their best but for me it was MNLWND just because of it's opening song Djed a perfect combination of Krautrock, dub, minimalism and electronic music. Can , Neu! and PIL could be proud of this distillation of their sound

Tortoise - Djed

Harvester

The Swede introduced me to Beak>, a Bristol based band by Geoff Barrow of Portishead. It is a side project of musicians that came together to check out what happens when they try to combine Krautrock with cosmic guitars. The result is >>> a very unique mixture of 60's influenced sound somewhere between Can, Neu! and Guru Guru. Essential stuff if you're familiar with those bands.

Jaki Liebezeit RIP

The year starts as it ended in 2016. It seems that all our heroes of times long gone by will pass away one by one. Of course it is the rule of nature but with every loss we have a few things will pass away with them. Jaki Liebezeit was known as a founding member of Can, probably the most important Krautrock band ever. His name is also in close context to NEU! and also on the first record of Zeltinger (a German punk/rock band from the mid 80's), Brian Eno and many others. He played the drums like no one else before. Mostly monotone but always close to the rhythm of the band he played in. One more great artist passed away.

Rest in peace, Jaki.

Walky - Talky

As mentioned there was a lot of work to do in the office. On the one hand we prepare a fusion with two other banks and on the other hand my co-worker is waiting for the birth of his second son and I have to represent his work. And then he will go for a parental leave for four weeks. That are the reasons why I came home during the last days tired as hell and this were the reason for my listlessness doing anything else than take a rest couch. So I decided to make no dates for the weekend and giving me a favour of doing nothing except reading, listening to music and sleeping. And I have to say that this was the right decision to get a well-adjusted lifetime balance again.

For relaxation I played Harmonia's second record Deluxe from 1975 a few times during the last days. It is good to hear this highly influential record from the days of Krautrock again. Formed by members of Neu! and Cluster and produced by the legendary Conny Plank they made this record full of motorik pulses and rhythms to create their very own experimental and warm sound. On this song Mani Neumaier, another Krautrock legend, plays the drums.

Hamonia - Walky - Talky

Flammende Herzen

A few days ago I read a post about Michael Rother and his record from 1977 Flammende Herzen. He was a former member of NEU! a heavy influenced Krautrock band from the late 70s. This is the title song of his first record and still a record I like to play when the day is going to end. Matchless, timeless, groovy and out of fashion.

NEU!

I don't know if you're in to this kind of music but right now it is something special to me. Neu! was one of those Krautrock-bands which had a heavy influence into modern electric music. I listened to their music for decades and it still didn't lost it's attraction to me. It's the sound for late music to come down after a hard working day with a glass of wine in your hand and drifting into the music. This is the full length version of their third record - and maybe their best. Klaus Dinger and Michael Rother were not better than on this record.

Enjoy and let your mind flow!!