Psych /
Last
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 a…
And The Waters Opened
*2024 stock* A truly astounding piece of work that towers on its own in the history Krautrock and Kosmische, reissue of Between's 1972 masterstroke, "And the Waters Opened", levels the playing-field and melts the mind with its sounds. First released in Vertigo in 1972 and often regarded as Between's most exotic and beautiful opus, it is a huge droning masterpiece with oriental nuances that might recall Popol Vuh, Fripp and Eno or Taj Mahal Travellers. A classic album from the early German 1970s …
Liliental
Biggest Tip! Liliental was formed during Dieter Moebius’ creative hiatus from the Krautrock band Cluster. Moebius was supported by Kraan members Helmut Hattler (electric bass), Johannes Pappert (alto saxophone), Okko Becker (keyboards, vocals, guitar, percussion) and Asmus Tietchens (Moog, grand piano). Conny Plank, who also played on several Cluster albums, completed the quartet on guitar, keyboards and vocals. Originally released in 1978 on the Brain label, the band’s only work combined “ambie…
Free Music
*2024 stock* At the end of the 1960s, a group of excellent musicians formed in Germany that soon attracted the attention of the music world. They all not only came from different countries of the world, but also had different musical backgrounds: musicians from the Berlin Philharmonic played with musicians from Africa, South America, Asia. They came together to compose and improvise together. What happened musically was (according to a German expression) "between all stools", hence the group cal…
Silence Beyond Time
*2024 stock* “Between stood and still stands for the simultaneity of things that are really mutually exclusive” (Peter Michael Hamel, 2005). “Originally we wanted to call the project B.A.C.H.,” Peter Michael Hamel re-calls, when, in 1970, they were looking for the most unusual name possible for a extremely unusual formation. “Naturally we chose in it in part in allusion to the immortal baroque composer of that name, but above all the letters stood for “Between All Chairs.” That’s exactly how we …
Apo Calypso
At that time the tenth Embryo LP, recorded in India in 1976 and in Switzerland in 1977, released in 1978 on the April label. Again in the well-known Embryo style: progressive jazz-rock with strong world music influences and only occasional vocals. The vinyl has never been reissued, there was a CD edition in 1999 on Disconforme, but it has long since been cancelled. A very relaxed album, and while there are occasional highlights in individual contributions, the overall impression is that it just …
Both Sides
*2023 stock* Before the Munich krautrockers turned more strongly in the direction of world music in the following years, at this gig they once again delivered their mix, moving between funk and jazz, as it defined the mid-70s. Fixed song structures never played a role with Embryo. Apart from the - despite difficult meter - extremely loose-floppy 'Getalongwithasong' (from the 1977 studio album Apo-Calypso), they mainly played new improvisations in Vlotho."
Seven Up
CD - Remastered by Manuel Göttsching. "Ash Ra Tempel meet LSD guru Timothy Leary for 1973's tripped out Seven Up. Ash Ra Tempel's third release features Harvard professor Timothy Leary on vocals. Originally released in 1973, this edition on MIG has been remastered by Ash Ra Tempel leader Manuel Gottsching. More otherworldly acid rock!"The story of how this album came to be seems worthy of mention, if not a Lifetime movie. Leary's Wikipedia page gives us the background, which begins with Leary's …
Join Inn
CD - Remastered by Manuel Göttsching. The original Ash Ra Tempel line-up got together to record Join Inn during breaks in the Tarot album recordings. The album's two lengthy tracks were completely improvised. The first, 'Freak 'n Roll' is basically self-explanatory(!) with Manuel Gottsching coming into his own with his talented, bluesy upbeat improvisations. 'Jenseits' (Beyond), on the other hand, is a showcase for Klaus Schulze's then new-found electronic sound painting skills. The lyrics on th…
Schwingungen
CD - Remastered by Manuel Göttsching. Ash Ra Tempel's second album, Schwingungen is a psychedelic classic that has influenced trip rock since its release. Originally recorded and released in 1972, this edition on MIG has been remastered by band leader Manuel Gottsching. Recommended for fans of Saucerful of Secrets era Pink Floyd. Sprawling, tripped out improvisational acid rock! Julian Cope's review on Schwingungen in Krautrocksampler (Head Heritage, 1995): "'Beware of Schwingungen!' That should…
Ash Ra Tempel
CD Remastered by Manuel Göttsching - Ash Ra Tempel is the eponymous debut studio album by the Krautrock band Ash Ra Tempel. It features guitarist Manuel Göttsching with drummer Klaus Schulze and bassist Hartmut Enke. Engineered by Conny Plank, it was recorded in March and June 1971 on Ohr Records. This 50th Anniversary Album will be released in memoriam of all the musical contributors to this release and on Manuel Göttsching´s MG.ART label."On our album, the track 'Amboss' represents the first l…
Dreams Of 75
Lothar Jahn’s "February '75” single was released by the German label Sound Records in 1977 — a very unusual record, somewhere between psychedelic, folk, and Krautrock. That single was reviewed thus on Discogs: “A mysterious journey through Cosmic Psych Folk Kraut, whatever you may call it. Fantastic, from beginning to end. Another Kraut on 45 milestone.” This newly recorded album, “Dreams of ’75,” is an extended riff on the original single, taking that smaller vision as a starting point and th…
The Caravan Pasta Box Vampyr Osmose
Tip! *Basic edition, 30 copies limited* 5 years after the first volume, Fractal is today releasing volume 2 of the very mysterious series of albums « Sirius Phantom Kamikaze » in homage to German rock 70s. The series entitled « Ruckzuck Uhr Kosmische » includes 7 volumes in total (more info online on the Fractal site, on the 24-page brochure). On this Volume 2, it’s Vocokesh who is still at the controls of the spaceship with this new album which turns out to be quite different from the previous …
Disaster (Lüüd Noma)
In September 1968, Amon Düül played the "International Essener Songtage", Germany's first rock festival of five days duration, which was initiated by the later Ohr label boss Rolf-Ulrich Kaiser. The Berlin hit producer Peter Meisel heard and saw the band there and spontaneously signed them, along with Tangerine Dream and Birth Control. Amon Düül was close to the Berlin "Kommune 1" and came together at a time when everyone was an artist who wanted to be one. Anyone who wanted to could also be a m…
Momentum
Agitation Free was one of the leading representatives of German experimental rock music in the early 1970s. From the end of 1967, the Berlin band developed long instrumental improvisations that were unusually free for the time. They achieved cult status as early as 1972 with an independent mixture of improvised rock paired with electro, ethno, jazz and trance elements. Extensive live activities made the band increasingly well-known throughout Europe. In the summer of 1972, the group appeared in …
Baraka
** Special mirroring/olographic cover. Edition of 300 copies ** After his participation in a masterpiece such as Popol Vuh’s Hosianna Mantra, in the early 1980s Klaus Wiese produced a series of seminal works in the field of ambient-drone and healing music. The first of these, Baraka, was released on tape by Acquamarin in 1981, and already contained all the aspects of his future research into the mysticism of sound. Wiese shares the path with other German explorers such as Michael Peter Hamel, …
Reflections on the Future
An expanded Double-Lp reissue (180-gram vinyl) of the legendary, sole album by a heavy psychedelic krautrock group Twenty Sixty Six And Then, originally released by United Artists in 1972. The first platter is an exact repress of the original album, while LP #2 contains all other (previously unissued) material that the group recorded in the early '70s.I n May 1972, Twenty Sixty Six And Then met first time and decided to found a band. Day and night they rehearsed and filed on their sound in their…
Rot
** 500 copies. Limited 50th Anniversary Edition: embossed, reverse board, hand numbered, limited edition red vinyl ** There was a particular type of artist who could only have emerged in the legendary early 1970s. Few musicians fit the bill better than Conrad Schnitzler. Revolution, pop art and Fluxus created a climate which engendered unbridled artistic and social development. Radical utopias, excessive experimentation with drugs, and ruthless (in a positive way) transgression of aesthetic fron…
First
*2023 stock* German proto heavy metal and proto doom metal has always been more of an underground topic due to the fact that most bands only reached a regional level in every aspect. Dies Irae are certainly something of an exception to the rule when it comes to the quality. What you get here is a heavy and dark music with open song structures that leave much room for experimentation. Despite the fact that the simmering fuzz guitar cuts through your burning soul like a chainsaw there are still ma…
Krautrock Encyclopedia Expanded and Revised Edition
The definitive German rock disc guide is back! Covers major works from 70's Krautrock to 80's Neue Deutsche Welle.