Psych /
Soon Over Babaluna
With Suzuki departed, vocal responsibilities were now split between Michael Karoli and Irmin Schmidt. Wisely, neither try to clone Mooney or Suzuki, instead aiming for their own low-key way around things. The guitarist half speaks/half whispers his lines on the opening groover, "Dizzy Dizzy," while on "Come Sta, La Luna" Schmidt uses a higher pitch that is mostly buried in the background. Holger Czukay sounds like he's throwing in some odd movie samples on that particular track, though perhaps i…
Crawling To Lhasa
New legit reissue of this "psychedelic jewel from Duisburg". Originally issued as a private press LP in Germany in 1972, there were a couple of bootleg LP versions of this floating around in the 80s and then a legit, but difficult to obtain CD issue on the long gone Lost Pipe Dreams label. "Their music combined various folk and Eastern influences, slightly hinting at the Third Ear Band and Popol Vuh, but closest to Clark-Hutchinson on their album A=MH2. Kalacakra's blend of mantras, blues, folk …
Saat
Recording in a good studio in 1972 with an accomplished engineer/musician such as Dieter Dierks (Ash Ra Tempel, Cosmic Jokers, Tangerine Dream, and yes, the Scorpions), certainly enabled Emtidi to expand their musical style on 'Saat.' The end result was a shimmering, lush cosmic folk trip, with multi-tracked and treated acoustic guitars plus electric piano, fragile angelic femme vocals, vibes, and mellotron, (punctuated by the occasional acid guitar solo). Yes, 'Saat' is an elevated cosmic folk …
Ufo
The first album by Guru Guru in 1970 originally released on the Ohr label. Featuring Mani Neumeier (Dr.), Ax Genrich (G) and Uli Trepte (B). Historical masterpiece! Reissued with elaborate miniature paper sleeve of the original LP (day-glow + trait ink print, coated gatefold sleeve). 2008 digital remaster version, limited to 1,000 copies.
At The Cliffs Of River Rhine
When the band Agitation Free came together in 1967 as a result of the merging of two Berlin rock groups, one of the most interesting groups in a dawning independent German music scene was created. With their improvisations between rock, jazz and new music, Agitation Free soon relegated to the not so flattering category of Krautrock made musical forays into areas that few of their fellow German musicians had ever penetrated. At a time when most in Germany were still orienting themselves as closel…
Neu!
Neu! were formed by Kraftwerk members Michael Rother and Klaus Dinger who took the sparse early Kraftwerk electronic sound and utilized many effects like lock-groove rhythms and minimalist melodies currently used by today's electronic artists. Neu! created a new kind of rhythm that bridged the gap between rock n roll's syncopation and dance music's four-to-the-floor beats. Stereolab's Tim Gane says "Neu!'s longer tracks are far closer to the future of house and techno than guitar rock." Neu!'s m…
Beziehungen
The second and the last album by Annexus Quam originally released in 1972 on the Ohr label. Sound engineer: Dieter Dierks. Reissue with elaborate miniature paper sleeve of the original LP (full color print, coated sleeve). 2008 digital remaster version, limited to 1,000 copies!After the release of their debut album Osmose and much playing in jazz festivals, Annexus Quam fronted some personnel changes and settled down to a quintet. The band was now Hans Kämper (trombone, Spanish guitar, flute), H…
Fragments
Recorded in Berlin, 11/14/74 as their "final reunion" a loose jamming session featuring various members of the groups' different periods: Christoph Franke, Michael Hoenig, Lutz Ulbrich, etc. Like many acts that suffer from sounding a bit stiff in the studio, the live experience is the way to hear `em let their hair down and show how rock music can be dangerous in a way that other musical genres are often not. Trad Gras Och Stenar are another example of a band far more visceral and exciting…
The Wumme Years, 1970-73
Truly exxential! The ultimate collection from the legendary inventors of krautrock. This 5 CD set contains ALL Faust's early classic albums, a John Peel session, and unreleased early material. The 40 page booklet is stuffed with unpublished photos, stills from Super 8 footage from the famous studio at Wumme, and revealing interviews with many of the key players in the Faust story. CDs: Faust (the famous clear first album), So Far (the famous black second album), The Faust Tapes (for the first ti…
Tarot
Long deleted in the elaborate box set version with it's unique Tarot cards, here is the regular priced double CD version of this Krautrock all-time classic. Originally issued on the OHR subsidiary label Kosmiche in 1973. Wegmuller was a gypsy painter who had designed a 78 card Tarot set; the music, spread out over 2 CDs is performed by what is essentially the first version of the Cosmic Jokers: Manuel Gottsching, Hartmut Enke, Harald Grosskopf, Jurgen Dollase, Jerry Berkers & Walter Westrupp. Pr…