Krautrock - an appreciation
Posted: Mon Jul 24, 2017 12:26 pm
If I jumped it the car I could be in Germany (or Belgium - but we won't bother with that) within an hour. So you would think that German music would be a big influence on the Dutch music scene. Well, it isn't. There is a definite antipathy to most things German in Holland and the music one hears on the radio is mainly from the US or UK.
So, Krautrock. Actually an English term applied to the experimental, psychedelic music that started to come out of Germany in the early 70's. The Germans took it as a bit of an insult (it translates as 'Cabbage Rock') but the movement became a popular and defined genre.
A renewed acquaintance with Teutonic synth-rockers Eloy last week has got my curiosity about the genre active again, I actively collected Krautrock LP's back in the early 80's - bands like Can, Faust, Neu!, La Dusseldorf, Amon Duul II, Cluster, Harmonia. It's all coming back to me now....
One of the better and more accessible Krautrock acts was Nektar who formed in 1969 in Hamburg. However they weren't actually German but the original line-up comprised ex-pat Brits who were the house band in the Star Club (yes THAT Star Club where The Beatles had had the same job some years earlier).
Youtube: Nektar - A Tab in the Ocean
Nektar's 'A Tab in the Ocean' (1972) is a great slice of psychedelic rock and another album worth checking out is 'Down To Earth' (1974) if only for the brilliant track 'Nelly The Elephant' which features Hawkwind's Robert Calvert playing the part of a German circus ringmaster.
Nektar - Nelly the Elephant
Now trying to get hold of some CD's by space-rockers Jane who released some innovative LP's in the 70's.
Any other Krautrock enthusiasts out there?
So, Krautrock. Actually an English term applied to the experimental, psychedelic music that started to come out of Germany in the early 70's. The Germans took it as a bit of an insult (it translates as 'Cabbage Rock') but the movement became a popular and defined genre.
A renewed acquaintance with Teutonic synth-rockers Eloy last week has got my curiosity about the genre active again, I actively collected Krautrock LP's back in the early 80's - bands like Can, Faust, Neu!, La Dusseldorf, Amon Duul II, Cluster, Harmonia. It's all coming back to me now....
One of the better and more accessible Krautrock acts was Nektar who formed in 1969 in Hamburg. However they weren't actually German but the original line-up comprised ex-pat Brits who were the house band in the Star Club (yes THAT Star Club where The Beatles had had the same job some years earlier).
Youtube: Nektar - A Tab in the Ocean
Nektar's 'A Tab in the Ocean' (1972) is a great slice of psychedelic rock and another album worth checking out is 'Down To Earth' (1974) if only for the brilliant track 'Nelly The Elephant' which features Hawkwind's Robert Calvert playing the part of a German circus ringmaster.
Nektar - Nelly the Elephant
Now trying to get hold of some CD's by space-rockers Jane who released some innovative LP's in the 70's.
Any other Krautrock enthusiasts out there?