Synopses & Reviews
The late 1960s in West Germany was a period of profound breakthroughs, upheavals and reversals. Communes were spreading, protests organized throughout the entire country, the desire to begin everything anew permeating the young. Out of this climate, a music scene exploded that would forever change the face of western rock; at times anarchic, at others mystical, magical, or utopian, it pushed rock beyond any known limits.
Never a genre or a movement per se, Krautrock encompassed a very wild and diverse range of sounds, attitudes, and past musics, from free jazz to Karlheinz Stockhausen, from dada to Fluxus, from German Romanticism to the Mothers of Invention. The musicians operated outside any known categories, breaking new ground and turning their backs to both their countrys past and the conventions of Anglo-American rock. Their vision fired the imaginations of
generations of musicians after them: Cabaret Voltaire, Brian Eno, Nurse with Wound, PiL, DAF, Einsturzende Neubauten, to only name a few, have all acknowledged their debt to Krautrocks uncompromising ethics and innovative sounds.
From the relentless drum beating of Amon Duul, to the eastern-tinged mysticism of Popol Vuh and the sonic assaults of Conrad Schnitzler, Krautrock: Cosmic Rock and Its Legacy traces the history of this phenomenon. Illustrated with concert photos, posters, record cover art and other rare visual material, including essays by Michel Faber, Erik Davis, David Stubbs, and testimonials from Gavin Russom (Delia and Gavin/ Black Meteoric Star), Plastic Crimewave, Stephen Thrower (Coil/Cyclobe), and Ann Shenton (Add N to (X)) this is an essential compendium to a music whose spirit and ideas still vibrate through contemporary culture today.
Review
Offers a great overview of a hugely influential movement... An excellent primer” **** —
Q MagazineThe book that everyone has been waiting for” — Rough Trade
Offers a Taschen-like wealth of photos, cover art, timelines, and bios, including specific producer write-ups” — Pitchfork
Synopsis
Krautrock: Cosmic Rock and its Legacy charts the history of this influential music genre, from its roots in free jazz, psychedelia and the music of Karlheinz Stockhausen, to the groundbreaking experiments of Faust, Kraftwerk and Can. The late 1960s in West Germany was a period of profound breakthroughs, upheavals and reversals. Out of this climate, a music scene exploded that would forever change the face of western rock; at times anarchic, at others mystical, magickal, or utopian, it pushed rock beyond any known limits. Illustrated with concert photos, posters, record cover art and other rare visual material, and also including essays by Michel Faber, Erik Davis, David Stubbs, Ken Hollings and testimonials from Gavin Russom (Delia and Gavin/Black Meteoric Star), Plastic Crimewave, Stephen Thrower (Coil/Cyclobe), and Ann Shenton (Add N to (X)) this is an essential compendium to a music whose spirit and ideas still vibrate through contemporary culture today.
About the Author
Erik Davis is a contributing writer for
Arthur Magazine and the author of
The Visionary State.
David Stubbs is a contributing writer for both the NME and The Wire.
Ken Hollings is a writer for The Wire, Frieze and Sight and Sound and the author of Destroy All Monsters.
David Keenan is also a writer for The Wire and is the author of Englands Hidden Reverse, a biography of the bands Coil, Current 93 and Nurse With Wound.
Michel Faber is the author of Under The Skin and The Fire Gospel.