Music from Germany

After more than 10 years of enthusiastic experiences and encounters with so-called „Difficult Music“ throughout the 1980ies Martin Peinemann and Asmus Tietchens deemed their somewhat differing approaches to making music compatible and agreed upon a loose collaboration in the year 1992. For various reasons (organizational and others) the work was not to take place at Audiplex studios but at Peinemann’s home studio. This modest lab featured all the necessary technical equipment needed to realize n…

One of Germany's longer lasting bands had first started as Blitzkrieg (until they found out a British band used the name as well) and changed their name to Wallenstein and kept their former name for the album, gracing it with a war-themed gatefold cover. Produced by the unavoidable Dieter Dierks and released on the ultra collectible Pilz label in early 72, this debut album is stunning effort that transformed the 200 MPH speed notion into music. Keyboardist Jurgen Dollasse's very international gr…

First vinyl reissue of Alarm by the Peter Brötzmann Group, originally released on FMP in 1983. Harry Miller: bass; Louis Moholo: drums; Alexander von Schlippenbach: piano; Peter Brötzmann: saxophone; Frank Wright: saxophone; Willem Breuker: saxophone; Toshinori Kondo: trumpet; Alan Tomlinson: trombone; Hannes Bauer: trombone. Recorded during the 164th NDR Jazzworkshop, November 12, 1981, at the Funkhaus Hamburg. Produced by Peter Brötzmann and Jost Gebers. Cover design by Peter Brötzmann.""Any B…

Have you ever heard a tractor orchestra? In this unusual concert, the tractor brands «Famulus», «Pionier», «Zetor» and «Belarus» are both the muses and the stars. Their engines produce a unique rhythmic piston beat.  Sven-Åke Johansson has composed a concert specifically for these 1950s and 1960s tractors which is being performed for the first time here in Thuringia. In his search for suitable machines, the composer made great finds in Weimar and environs. Under his direction, twelve tractor dri…

Different films around the work from musician and artist Sven-Ake Johansson. 'Ludwigs Besen', a portrait by Rudi Ewals (1994). 'Telefonbuchstück für zwei gelbe Seiten' (2010). 'Gesamtkatalog D' (2005 - 2008). 'Solostück für Konzertbecken' (2010). 'Grenaphon Exercises' (2006). 'Stereo für 8' (2006). 'Tüüt' (2010). 'Die neue Zeit ist pausenlos' (2008). 'Konzum'. With English subtitles. Film dokumentation by Teresa Iten. With 20 pages booklet, photos and a german/english text by Thomas Groetz.…

2015 repress, originally reissued in 2001. Better sit down now, Euro-jazz fans. Here's a partial lineup from these two brilliant, previously unreleased German National Radio sessions from the dawn of the era: Gunter Hampel, Gerd Dudek,Willem Breuker, Peter Brötzmann, Manfred Schoof, Albert Mangelsdorff, Alexander von Schlippenbach, Buschi Niebergall, Peter Kowald, Jaki Liebezeit, Mani Neumeier,Sven-Åke Johansson, Evan Parker, Paul Rutherford, Arjen Gorter, Derek Bailey, Han Bennink, Paul Lovens.…

**Finally reissued** from last year's North American tour: Evan Parker (saxophones), Alexander Von Schlippenbach (piano), Paul Lytton (percussion) in concert recordings at the Contemporary Arts Center New Orleans and the Seattle Asian Arts Museum. " Evan Parker is a member of two long standing trios, the Evan Parker Trio with Barry Guy and Paul Lytton, and the Schlippenbach Trio with Alexander von Schlippenbach and Paul Lovens. On very rare occasions—such as Parker's 50th birthday—all five music…

Lost classic for the collectors of Italian Library: one of the most sought after cult LPs on the tiny Devega label from Milan, produced in 1972 for license purposes only, now getting a release on the german Sonorama label, remastered and with the original cover design! Many original records with Italian Library Music are among the most sought-after collector's items of the jazz, funk and soundtrack fans today. They were produced by minor labels during the 1960s and 70s in small editions for lice…

Trost presents the first vinyl edition of Sprawl, the intense and beautifully harsh collaborative project of drummer Michael Wertmüller (16-17, Alboth!, Full Blast), originally released on CD in 1997. Remastered and re-cut by Wertmüller and Alex Buess. The original release of this work marked the beginning of Trost's cooperation with Peter Brötzmann, after they organized an Alboth! show with Wertmüller. Wertmüller's intention for Sprawl was to gather the musicians he appreciates most and has wor…

The fourth LP by Popol Vuh was originally released on Kosmische Musik in 1973. It follows the religious theme of its predecessor and features the line up of Florian Fricke with Conny Veit on guitars, Daniel Fischelscher on guitars and drums (he was the drummer of Amon Düül II), Robert Eliscu on oboe, Djong Yun on vocals and Klaus Wiesse on tamboura. Reissued from the master tapes in quality vinyl pressing, full glory laminated gatefold cover and featuring an insert with liners and photos. Limite…

The story of the Nosferatu soundtrack editions through the years appears a little caotic. Several editions, with several sleeves and completely different tracklists have appeared in different countries. What we tried to offer here is the definitive edition of Popol Vuh's works for this fantastic Werner Herzog 1979 tribute to the old Murnau classic. When asked for a new soundtrack for Herzog's project, Florian Fricke and Daniel Fichelscher came out with a magnificent album that once again, as it …

Another classic soundtrack produced by Popol Vuh for a Werner Herzog film was Herz Aus Glass. Its music still retains the powerful emphasis given to the previous LP in certain passages, although it goes back to their more reflexive ambiental athmospheres yet presenting that concept one step further into more evolutive structures and even adding some touches of a certain folk music feel. Djong Yun is not present anymore, but Daniel Fichelscher and Florian Fricke can still count on the coll…

Letzte Tage, Letzte Nächte is probably the most "rock" sounding work of Popol Vuh's production. Recorded by the classic trio of Fricke, Fichelscher and Yun, plus Ted de Jong on tamboura and Amon Düül members Al Gromer on sitar and Renate Knaup on additional vocals, its sounds seem to be more based on power than on ambient. Strong guitar passages emphasize this, with Fischelscher's playing being harder than the Conny Veit ethereal parts on earlier records. The title track is also the firs…

Werner Herzog's 1972 film Aguirre, The Wrath Of God  was the first collaboration between the famed director and Popol Vuh. Florian Fricke was approached by old friend Herzog to do the soundtrack for his third movie. Three years later, in 1975, after the international success of Herzog's film, Popol Vuh issued the LP Aguirre. It featured material recorded for the movie plus some other songs. Some of them recorded prior to 1975 - the Aguirre soundtrack ones, of course, plus there is the pres…

Popol Vuh’s batch of Werner Herzog soundtracks receive a “definitive” vinyl reissue thanks to Wah Wah, that provide fresh pressings of a number of out-of-print albums from the kosmische icons. start our second series of Popol Vuh reissues with the fantastic Das Hohelied Salomos, which takes it over from where Einsjäger Und Siebenjäger left it. It features the classic trio of Florian Fricke, Daniel Fichelscher and Djong Yun, plus the help of Amon Düül's Al Gromer. The theme of the album is t…

The title's a good one – given the complex layers of sound and interaction going on here – as this avant quintet find a way to come together in these varied and compelling ways over the course of the long improvisations in the set! Pianist Alexander Von Schlippenbach may well be the biggest name in the group – but all players contribute equally, and the lineup also includes Frank Paul Schubert on alto and soprano sax, Paul Hubweber on trombone, Clayton Thomas on bass, and Willi Kellers o…

After performing at a night dedicated to Ed Blackwell and Don Cherry, vibraphone legend Karl Berger invited trumpeter Knuffke to Woodstock to teach and perform with him, from which this lovely album of duets was born, 2 CDs of original compositions of free and lyrical playing. "Karl and I met when we shared the bill for an "Arts for Art" night of music dedicated to Ed Blackwell. Karl was a longtime associate of Ed's. There were two duets featured that night. Karl played duo with the gre…

A never earlier released duo recording that was played back in 1987 at Kassiopeia, Wuppertal brings these two great musicians and composers together for this unique and unforgettable session. There are times when one fantasises about the possible collaborations that might have been: Hendrix with Miles Davis, Jeffrey Lee Pierce with R.L Burnside, Capt. Beefheart with Sun Ra ― imagination is a wonderful thing. But when a vault somewhere pops open and a collaboration of two of improvised music's ti…

(excerpted from Peter's liner notes): "There was a time Han Bennink and I, sometimes with Fred Van Hove, would drive through the Black Forest to get to places like the jazz club in Villingen and Loerrach, to play. At the same time during the end of sixties, beginning of seventies Joachim-Ernst Berendt, chief of the SWF Radio was setting up a yearly meeting and driving through the forest Bennink and I had the idea of just going and playing in nature. We talked to Berendt about the idea an…

**restocked, very last copies copies*Mindblowing!! Truly an amazing edition, and finally the mythical 'invisible' LP is here! The music tracks on the two records "Unser Debut"-LP (1984) and "Sechs"-LP (1986) were composed in such a way that by playing them simultaneously on two record players a new unity came about. The invisible LP is literally invisible, immaterial and only heard when the two records  Text, music and rhythm of the tracks of both records complemented, doubled and shifted one an…