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- [00:00]
Alan Cross
Hey, it's Alan and I just wanted to let you know that you can now listen to the ongoing history of new music early and ad free on Amazon Music included with prime this Memorial Day. Turn up the heat with the Home Depot. Find the perfect grill and patio set to keep the cookouts coming all season long. Grill up a feast with the next grill 4 burner gas grill only $229 and complete your space with the stylish Glen Ridge Falls 7 piece dining set now on special buy for just $499 with free delivery. Take your Memorial Day cookout the next level all summer long with the Home Depot. See homedepot.com delivery for more details.
- [00:41]
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- [01:07]
Alan Cross
Ebay Things People love World War II destroyed Germany. The country was divided. The east was under the control of the ussr, the west was in democratic Europe. And then there was Berlin, sitting in the east but cut into four different zones, dominated by the Russians, the Americans, the British and the and the French. Most history books look at the political and military side of things. What we don't hear about nearly as much was how German society was rebuilt. Imagine being a young person who was too young to have been in the military. What prospects did that person have growing up in a divided country ruined by war? This is where art comes in. Art is always downstream from whatever is happening in society. And in the case of West Germany, many artists wanted things to be very different. Young German musicians had some very serious ideas of what needed to be done. Many were into rock, but they were determined to create rock that was different from what was being made in the UK and America. And they certainly didn't want anything resembling traditional German music. It had been tainted by the Nazi legacy. It was time for something new, different, and away from the status quo. There were experiments in the 1950s that were pretty radical and frankly, all over the place. But the results of these experiments began to coalesce into something by the end of the 1960s. Within a few years, something distinctly German had emerged. It rocked in its own way. It had elements of psychedelic music. Things could either be extremely structured or open to wild improvisation. It certainly wasn't from any blues tradition or normal rock conventions upon which British or American rock was built. The structures of some compositions weren't exactly what you'd call normal, at least not in the context of rock. And occasionally things got political, but not necessarily in a protest sense. By the middle 1970s, we had a new, distinctly German sound. The scene was very diverse in terms of sonics, but there was a Teutonic purpose underlying everything. The Germans just called it German rock. The British, however, gave it another name. It was supposed to be a joke, but the name stuck. And looking back, this sound, this approach, this aesthetic and this name can be found throughout many different corners of the rock world. This is an explanation of a thing that has become known as Kraut rock. And believe me, you have heard this more than you realize. This is the ongoing History of New Music podcast with Alan Cross. This episode on German Music will begin with something from Australia. And don't worry, you'll soon see why. This is King Gizzard and the Lizard wizard with a track from 2017 called Rattlesnake. And what I need you to pay attention to is the beat and the VI Melbourne, Australia's King Gizzard and the Lizard wizard with a driving, pulsing track entitled Rattlesnake. And it shows very clear signs of the influence of Kraut rock. Hello again, I'm Alan Cross and this is another dive into a long standing genre that developed decades ago that has since become an essential part of rock's overall DNA. There's more Kraut rock in our music than you may realize. Plus in this case there's an interesting and social component to this particular genre that goes all the way back to Adolf Hitler. Okay, I'd better explain that. Everything starts in the spring of 1945 with Hitler and the Nazis finally defeated. Everything about Germany was in ruinsities, industries, infrastructure and of course culture. There was nothing to do but rebuild from scratch when it came to music. This rebuilding fell to a generation of post war young people, Germany's baby boomers. And the result was nothing less than a new musical identity unique to the country's west. All these people, especially those involved in German created music between 1968 and 1977, were out to create a form of rock different and separate from what was happening in the UK and North America. Like everywhere else in the democratic west, there was a counterculture movement in Germany powered by students, protesters and hippies. And the Base of it all in Germany was a desire to transcend the nation's dark past and drag the country into the future. They were helped by decades of Western aid used to reconstruct the country. And this meant western style amenities and opportunities. Germany had also embraced certain experimental approaches to music. There were a number of studios, some owned by the government, that were available to anyone interested in avant garde sounds, especially new electronic ones. But then we run into a series of non music events that set in motion a series of cascading changes. In June 1967, the Shah of Iran traveled to West Germany for a state visit. On June 2, a student named Benno Orisog was shot dead by police during a protest. Young people across the country were outraged. On April 11, 1968, almost a year later, a student activist leader named Rudi Dutchke survived an assassination attempt. Both these events helped trigger some violent reactions from both the far left and the far right in West Germany. On the extreme left there was the Bader Meinhof gang who engaged in violent guerrilla attacks within the country and without. There were bombings, kidnappings, hijackings, killings and all manner of attacks. If you know your history, you'll know that 1968 was one of the most violent years around the planet with assassinations and student led protests against the status quo. Canada, the us, the uk, France, Italy, Japan, Mexico, they were all gripped by this. They were worried about authoritarianism, nuclear annihilation, pollution, overpopulation, women's rights and the rights of people of color. Things hit particularly hard in Germany. These protests were aimed toward what participants called fascism. And Germany is particularly sensitive to fascism because of their experience with Hitler and the Nazis, the greatest fascists of them all. And the people in charge of this newly rebuilt Germany just happened to be many of the same people who were Nazis or at least part of Germany's Nazi past. So this meant the German protests of 1968 were a little extra radical. Young people were trying to come to terms with the Nazi past of their parents and grandparents. They refused to join the military, they condemned political institutions. And there was also this post war intellectual thinking about how this can never ever happen again. And this permeated every corner of West German society. And then there was this problem with contemporary German music. The dominant form was known as Schlager music, a pretty cheesy and inoffensive form of easy listening tunes. Very sweet, very sentimental and very boring. And much of its tradition descended from the 20s, 30s and 40s. So you can see the problem some people had with this. Oh yeah, that's a big hit from Vico Toriani. It even has that old school oom pah pah feel, right? But if I'm a 19 year old student from, let's say, Munich, protesters fighting against the forces and memories of fascism, that's not going to be my jam. It was not the feeling in the streets. So these young people had to get rid of schlager music and build German music from the ground up. For many of these young Germans, their musical heroes became Jimi Hendrix with his radical approach to the guitar, Frank Zappa and whatever it was that Zappa did, and the darkness and nihilism of the Velvet Underground. Plus the Beatles and the Stones, of course. Some of this music came beaming in from other countries and some of it came from the US and British troops stationed in West Germany. It was all pretty good, but it was English language music. If Germany was to be reborn and rebuilt, German music had to be rehauled. And the goal was to completely remake German music culture from a blank sheet. We like this music from the west, they said, but we want music of our own. This gives us something to resist against. This is not unlike how many young British musicians felt in the early 1990s when grunge was invading the UK. They had to fight back and the result was Britpop. Young German musicians wanted their own identity and wanted to be different. It wasn't good enough just to imitate the Beetles or the Stones. Something else, something different was required. An inspiration was Karl Heinz Stockhausen, a very influential German composer who has gone down in history as one of the most important experimental musicians of the 20th century, especially when it came to the emerging world of electronic music. In fact, he has been called the father of electronic music. This is a 1966 creation called Telemusic. Now that's wild stuff today. But in 1966 these were sounds beyond what we could imagine. Young Germans also embraced elements of jazz and then they added elements of rock because, well, how could you not? And when it came to rock, avant garde was best. Psychedelic music, prog rock, early heavy metal, the modern jazz of artists like Miles Davis, the atmospherics of early Pink Floyd, the weirdness of Captain Beefheart and even the funk of James Brown had an impact. By 1968, West Germany had a large population of young intellectuals, many of whom were artists and a portion of whom were into music. Then in September 1968, there was the International Essen Song Festival, a music festival that has gone down in history as the time when independent German rock music was born. For the first time, German Musicians were able to demonstrate their headspace to a large crowd. Some really took this psychprog electronics rock to heart. A few began further experiments in the aforementioned song labs, like the Zodiac Free Arts Lab in Berlin. And just as everyone had hoped, some new sounds began to emerge. It was called Kosmish music, or Cosmic music. That name came into use sometime in about 1971 and was kind of a psyche space rock. Now, speaking of which, the idea of space permeated all culture in the late 1960s. The space race between the Americans and the Soviets, the moon landings, the plans for space stations. Some German musicians, and to be fair, others from elsewhere, saw space as where things needed to go in the future. Plus, it was all techie cool, right? Amandul was from Munich, in the heart of Bavaria, one of the areas of the country where German National Socialism really took root. Amendhul was an art collective known for its freeform style. And you can make whatever connection you want for this fact. The Bader Meinhof Gang, the aforementioned terrorist group, was a big fan of Amandul. This is Ein Wunderhubsche Madchin Tromp von Sandoza from 1969. That goes on for 17 minutes. Here's another sample from that era. This is from Klaus Schultz from 1972. That goes on for 23 minutes. Along with the cosmish music of Klaus Schulz, there were groups with names like Klister, Ashra Temple Krahn and Guru Guru. A German record producer named Connie Plank was very much involved in creating this music. He went so far as to build his own 56 channel recording console to help create these sounds. This new German music had its fans, but it also had its detractors. While most music people initially referred to this music as Deutsch Rock, it was also called Uber Rock, Teutonic Rock and Gotterdammer Rock. But it was the Brits who came up with a name that stuck. Kraut Rock. Kraut, short for sauerkraut, was a pejorative name for Germans invented by the British, stemming from World War II. So it was only natural that they went back to the well and and called this music Kraut Rock, first as an insult, then as a joke. And then once this music caught on, the name stuck and was highly respected. Maybe it was BBC DJ John Peele who came up with the name. It could have been a writer in the Melody Maker. Or maybe it was just some anonymous fan. Whatever the case, Krautrock it was. Even though a lot of Germans found it rather insulting and an unnecessary throwback to the war years. They also didn't like the Brits giving their music a name, especially one they didn't appreciate. Yet. It stuck, and here we are. Let's go back to the very early 1970s. German rock Kraut rock was at an experimental stage using mostly traditional instruments. One such group was called Organization, and they released an album entitled tone float in 1970 and they sounded like this. Now I'm gonna admit that's really challenging stuff. It's not going to trouble the charts. So Organization broke up, but out of its ashes came a brand new group, and next to just the Beatles, this group may have been the most influential band in the history of rock.
- [16:08]
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- [16:56]
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- [17:30]
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- [17:38]
Alan Cross
By the time the 1970s began, German rocks seemed to be going in two directions. The first was the trippy spacey stuff that we talked about. The second was also very hypnotic. But instead of guitars and organs, a steady minimalist, sometimes droning rhythm drove the effect. Some groups could offer both. It was North American psych, tamed by German efficiency and rules. It was improvisational, but in a subdued, semi structured, Teutonic way. It was artsy, but nowhere near as pretentious and bombastic as the prog rock of the day. I'm going to play you something. What I think could be the best example of what I'm talking about. In 1971, two members of a group that we'll meet in just a second formed a group called nu. That's German for, well, new. And they certainly were. They were pioneers of something known as the motoric beat. This is a straight 44 rhythm that conveys the feeling of movement. Perhaps in a motorcar on the motorway. And what does Germany have a lot of motorways, highways with no speed limits and long straightaways. The open road promised freedom. Even though the highway project was started by Hitler. Again, hold on to that thought. In 1972, New released a Self titled debut album. The first track, which runs about 10 minutes, is entitled Hallo Gallo. It's instrumental, it's got that beat. And gentle, unhurried improvisation can be heard throughout. This could be the perfect motoric Kraut rock. The motorik approach was quite popular with the German underground. It also leaked out to a few places in Britain. And one or two, two pre CBGB artists in New York took notice. Later in the decade though, it would become very important. But hold up. First there's this. A lot changed with music through the mid to late 1960s because technology did. Giant amplifiers, effects pedals for the guitar, bigger drum kits. And lurking beneath it all was some new tech waiting for its moment. That new tech was the synthesizer. A machine usually, but not always, a piano type keyboard that was capable of not only making sounds we never imagined, but sounds that we couldn't have imagined at first. Synths were big and blocky and hard to program. And hideously expensive. They were unreliable too, because the electronics weren't particularly stable. A synth might drift out of tune in the middle of a performance. And no matter how many times you programmed what you thought was going to be the same sound, something different came out every single time. But for some, it was challenge accepted. Organization. Remember that band we talked about became Kraftwerk, which is German for power plant. There were two more improvisational albums in 1970 and 1972. But then founding members Ralph Hooter and Florian Schneider, a couple of classical music students, became interested in synthesizers. They broke away for an album of synth and drum machine music before regrouping as craftwork, starting experiments on a brand new monophonic Minimoog. In 1974, they released an all electronic album. Nothing had ever sounded like this, and to be honest, most people didn't know what to make of it. Side one was a 23 minute homage to a Sunday drive on one of Germany's great superhighways. It featured the Minimoog, a keyboard last synth by a company called ems. There was a model called the Synthy. There was an ARP Odyssey which was similar to the Minimoog, and something called a Robovox, which Florian Schneider built himself so he could treat vocals in a cool electronic way. Were they copying the Beach Boys? No, no, no. They were saying Fehren Feren Feren, which is German for driving, not fun, fun, fun. Was this a novelty record or were they serious? Now we don't have time for the full version of this track, but we can get in some of it. A three minute radio edit was a top 20 hit in Germany, Canada, the UK and a few other countries on FM. The full length version became a stoner favorite in both instances. It was also a major introduction to the future possibilities of the synthesizer. Some of the sounds on this track are taken from Ralph Hooter's Volkswagen Beetle, captured by a tape recorder hanging out the window on a way down their highway called the A555. That's the Autobahn that links the cities of Bonn and Cologne, Cologne being the center of so much experimentation with electronic music at the time. The song is called Autobahn. Star Kraftwerk with Autobahn from 1974. And that was the beginning of a string of important albums released over the next seven years, resulting from the endless hours of experimenting at their studio in Dusseldorf called Kling Klang. Are you starting to hear it now? How this uniquely German approach to rock has worked its way into other forms of rock. The beat, the use of electronics, the icy coldness, the sometimes use of a droney approach, the tasteful improvisations. And above all, a move far, far away from rock's traditional roots, which of course is rhythm and blues. Heck, David Bowie was so shaken and inspired by early Kraut rock and Kraftwerk in particular, that he moved to Berlin and made three of his most fascinating albums. As a result, there was low. There was Heroes and Lodger. The best known of those is probably heroes from 1977. I'm going to play you the title track, but you should know that the B side of this single was called V Schneider, named after Kraftwerk's Florian Schneider. Listen, when you have Bowie writing songs about you, something's going on. We can be heroes forever. David Bowie, one of the most influential musicians in history, who in turn was greatly influenced by the Kraut rock of the 1970s. Examples of more long term kraut rock effects coming up.
- [24:18]
Sponsor/Advertiser
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- [25:13]
Alan Cross
One of the interesting things about kraut rock is how for the longest time none of these homegrown bands could get arrested in Germany. Record labels fantasized about how one day having a German version of the Beatles, which was proving to be very difficult. Meanwhile, though, some of these acts were getting attention outside the country, especially in the uk, Virgin Records and one or two other labels signed up pretty much every kraut rock band that they found, considering it to be another form of prog rock. And this is how kraut rock started to make serious inroads into the uk. Inroads that changed post punk music in the country. Now that you know what to listen for, Kraut rock can be found in all areas of modern rock. If it's icy cold and hypnotic with a bit of synth, then chances are there's kraut rock involved somewhere. Now when you hear Joy Division doing this from 1979, the Kraut Rock influence is obvious, isn't it? Same thing when you listen to a lot of New order. Go through U2's Octung Baby album from 1991. Kraut rock influences are everywhere. And the same thing when you listen to this. Damon Albarn of Blur and Gorillaz is a huge Kraut rock fan. Would he have ever come up with something like this had he not? Other professed fans of Kraut rock include the members of Radiohead, Sonic Youth and LCD Sound System. And before we leave Kraftwerk, I have to justify my earlier comment that they were the most influential band in the world next to the Beatles. And here's why I say that. Pick any starting point in music anytime after 1977 and you will somehow be led back in some fashion to craft work. Today's EDM and all techno, from groups like Underworld and anything that came out of Detroit to Daft Punk, ambient and chill out music. Kraftwerk influence any synth and sample constructed music running from Simple Minds to Depeche Mode craftwork, early 80s technopop like OMD and soft sell. Kraftwerk industrial music starting in the late 70s and going through nine inch nails and beyond. Kraftwerk and Kraftwerk beats, especially from their 1977 album Trans Europe Express, were influential in creating the foundations of hip hop. Here's the absolute best example. This is from Kraftwerks Trans Europe Express, Trans Europe Express Trans. Now here's Afrika Bambaata, one of the most influential of all the early rappers, DJs and hip hop producers. He's one of the people who came up with breakbeat dancing. And this is from 1982. The track is Planet Rock and it's an all time hip hop classic. Even Coldplay has been touched by Kraftwerk style Kraut rock. Here's Kraftwerk with computer love in 1981. And here's Coldplay deliberately echoing Kraftwerk in 2005. And before you ask, yes, Kraftwerk does get songwriting credits on this Coldplay song, given that this was a major hit single around the world. And with the X and Y album selling something north of 15 million copies, the guys in Kraftwerk continue to get some pretty fat checks in the mail. If you want to go down the Kraut rock rabbit hole. And believe me, many people have, and they end up being down there for a very, very long time, you will encounter names like Can, Cluster, Tangerine Dream, Faust and dozens more. There were dozens of books on the subject. In fact, Julian Cope, the British singer from the 80s and early 90s, made a big career change and became a book writing expert on Kraut rock. I find it fascinating how music is always evolving and interbreeding. Kraut rock's story is especially interesting because of its origins as a political, demographic, social and artistic attempt by Germany to rebuild after its Nazi past. Kraut rock wouldn't exist without what happened in World War II. And now that your ears are tuned a little more, I'm going to guess that you're going to hear echoes of Kraut rock in a lot of today's rock. If you want more ongoing history, there are at least 500 podcasts you can choose from. Go wherever you download podcasts and get as many as you want. They're all free. And while you're there, get episodes of my other podcast, the true crime project called Uncharted Crime and Mayhem in the Music Industry. My website is ajournalofmusicalthings.com subscribe to the newsletter. It's free and any email can go to allencross CA Tactical Productions By Rob Johnston I'm Alan Cross. This episode is brought to you by Disney's Lilo and Stitch. Only in theaters this Friday. A reimagining of Disney's animated classic, Lilo and Stitch is the wildly funny and touching story of of a lonely Hawaiian girl, Lilo, and the fugitive alien Stitch, who helps to mend her broken family. Lilo and Stitch crashes into theaters this Friday. Rated pg. Get tickets now.