Krautrock

Krautrock came to be through an underground nation wide effort to create something never before seen. Artists took bits and pieces from multiple styles of music from Germanys past. The name Krautrock originated as a joke against the music and Germany’s culture because people were not approving of it. The term went through phases of approval and dislike. At one point artists were ashamed to be labeled a Krautrock group. The styles that characterize the Krautrock movement are very eclectic; it is described as rock, and electronic, and psychedelic, the list goes on. The history of the movement is just as colorful as the music itself. The lyrics of the songs became so influenced by current happening in Europe and around the world, from the nuclear crisis to protests across the continent. Krautrock is a staple of German music history and will remain that for near foreseeable future. Germany is regarded as a nation with an extremely diverse music culture that spans centuries and all music types and styles. There are countless forms of German-Language music. This includes Neue Deutsche Welle, german for New German Wave, Hamburger Schule, or Hamburg School, Volksmusic, Classical, German Hip Hop, Neue Deutsche Harte, a form of German metal, and possibly one of the most influential, Krautrock. (“German…) Krautrock is the name for the very avant-garde wave of music that exploded through Germany in the late 1960’s. It gained popularity throughout the 70’s especially after it spread to Great Britain. The spread of this neuvo music style was credited to a disc jockey from the British Broadcasting Company (BBC), John Peel. Krautrock was intended to go far beyond the idiosyncrasy associated with the American rock movement. The Germans planned on doing this by giving greater emphasis to the electronic elements of the songs as well as the manipulation of sound and the inclusion of hypnotic effects. The coined term “Krautrock” was originally supposed to poke fun at the new unheard of German music style. The British music press created the term. To their astonishment, Krautrock developed an early and enthusiastic following, mostly underground though. (Cope) The term derives from the ethnic slur for Germans, “kraut”. Its extensive use by the music press was “inspired by a track from Amon Düül’s album Psychedelic Underground titled Mama Düül und Ihre Sauerkrautband Spielt Auf” German for Mama Düül and her Sauerkraut Band Strike Up. Keeping suit with most other obscure music genre labels, many of the bands that fell under the title wished not to see their band pigeonholed and tried to avoid the term Krautrock. This is understandable because the variety of bands placed in the category of Krautrock is very broad. There are considerable differences between the subdivisions of Krautrock artists, much more so then the differences between American artists in a certain genre. Julian Cope documented the movement in his book Krautrock Sampler, where he presents a first person analysis of the musical movement. Krautrock Sampler gives a one-sided and very dynamic account of the krautrock sensation from the perspective of Cope, who said in his work "I wrote this short history because of the way I feel about the music, that its supreme Magic & Power has lain Unrecognized for too long" (Cope). The highly controversial book encompasses a narrative of the rock and roll culture in post-WWII West Germany, along with and abundance of chapters focusing on individual major artists of the movement, including Faust, Neu!, and Amon Düül. Cope continued to say "[k]rautrock is a subjective British phenomenon," based on the way the people in England received the music, rather than on the actual “West German music scene out of which it grew. (Blache) One of the pioneer Krautrock groups, Faust, recorded a 12 minute track titled "Krautrock", however he group, would soon remove themselves from the scene, justifying it by saying: "When the English people started talking about Krautrock, we thought they were just taking the piss...” or mocking them. Kraut Rock is unlike any musical style seen before. It is an eclectic very original composition of post-psychedelic jam with progressive rock mixed with contemporary experimental classical music. Some sects of the genre incorporated aspects from new jazz that emerged in the 60’s and 70’s. Krautrock was not trying to imitate previous styles of rock seen in America and Britain. They tried to move as far away from those styles as possible while still holding on to the rock aspect. They scoffed at the song styles of most American rock music. (Cope) This led to the movement becoming more electronic with a mechanical sound. The vital constituents that exemplify the groups gathered under the term is the combination of the rhythm and energy of with a strong will to distance themselves from other American styles of music, they wanted to turn to other more unique influences instead to give their music a haute edge never seen before. Jean-Hervé Peron of Faust said “We were trying to put aside everything we had heard in rock 'n' roll, the three-chord pattern, the lyrics. We had the urge of saying something completely different." (Stubbs) Typical groups hailed as "krautrock" in the 1970s included Tangerine Dream, Faust, Aon Düül II, Ash Ra Tempel and many others. Bands like those listed were all responding to the need to develop a completely new musical “aesthetic and cultural identity for the post-WWII”. Many of these groups began their musical careers with little or no awareness of, or interest in, for that matter, rock and roll. As the popularity of groups like Pink Floyd, Jimmy Hendrix, and the Beatles grew in America and England, introduction to the ever more radical and pioneering music lead members of groups to embrace this popular music of the era for the first time. Krautrock developed its own unique sound. It can only really be explained one way, it is a mix of rock music and its instrumentation; guitars, bass, drums, etc., and electronic instrumentation and feels. The music usual features a common rhythm, a steady 4/4 beat. With the end the 60’s came the realignment of popular rock music from the American and British Hippie culture towards psychedelia, and progressive rock. For the first time in popular music history society and politics were incorporated into the lyrics. Music evolved into techno-electric rock that employed drones, loops and synthesizers in a kind of psychedelic space-oriented music. (Blache) All of these factors laid the ground work the krautrock explosion which made its first appearance at the first German Rock Festival in 1968. The music wowed everyone; it was a fusion of psychedelic and electronic avant-garde. (Blühdorn) The founding of Zodiak Free Arts Lab in Berlin helped the Krautrock movement. Originally krautrock was thought of as a free art, which meant that artists in the movement gave their albums away for free at art fairs.
The next few years were crucial in the growth of the genre. 1968 brought with it the group Can, which brought its ideas to the table by adding a jazz twang to its songs. Kluster followed the year after and added more to the pot. Their music evolved into electronic instrumentals that put great focus on the use of static. Year by year after the establishment of krautrock more and more groups popped up each feeding off of one another. Tangerine Dream and Cosmic Jokers followed other groups and began using electronic synthesizers. The arrival of Faust came with good things. They too used synthesizers but added to the scene the idea of tape manipulation. Faust’s work became the harbinger for the noise rock of the future. Krautrock was a highly influential sect of music and had a lot of control over the development of post-punk music, featuring some artists like The Fall and The Heat. By the 90’s, electronic music was on the rise again and experienced a re-vamping from the new generation rediscovering much of the early German electronic music. Krautrock finally got the designation as a definitive style of music. Many American electronic artists have cited bands from the Krautrock era as being one of their more major influences. Krautrock has definitely made its mark on the music scene of the world. Within the movement there has been so much growth and evolution that there are multiple sects within the genre itself. Music never stays within a country’s border, Krautrock spread like wildfire around Europe and eventually spread across the pond to America. Once in the U.S. countless groups fed off of Krautrock groups for ideas to make their music edgy and hip. Krautrock was and will mostly be an everlasting influence on the creation of new music to come.

Works Cited

Blache, Philippe. "Krautrock, a Progressive Rock Music Sub-genre." Progressive Rock Music Ultimate Discography ... with Free MP3, Videos and Reviews. Web. 14 Apr. 2011. <http://www.progarchives.com/subgenre.asp?style=17>. Blühdorn, Annette. Pop and Poetry - Pleasure and Protest: Udo Lindenberg, Konstantin Wecker and the Tradtion of German Cabaret. Oxford: Peter Lang, 2003. Print. Bruss, Andrew (29 August 2006). "Secret Machines - Light's On". Glide Magazine. Cope, Julian. Krautrocksampler: One Head's Guide to the Great Komische Musik, 1968 Onwards. [S.l.]: Head Heritage, 1996. Print. "German Music, Bands, & Singers - German CDs & Sound Samples - Deutsche Musik, Bands,Sänger - Deutsche Lieder." World Languages & Cultures - Learn Languages - Know Cultures - Visit Vistawide. Web. 14 Apr. 2011. <http://www.vistawide.com/german/german_music/german_music.htm>. Stubbs, David. "Faust on Test - an Audio Extract." The Wire. Web. 14 Apr. 2011. <http://www.thewire.co.uk/articles/112/>.