My Krautrock Adventures on the Autobahn
Post categories: TV,Ìýclassic pop & rock
| 11:20 UK time, Wednesday, 14 October 2009
In August myself, Ben Whalley and Sam Bridger set off on a two week road trip around Germany, travelling all over the country to meet the stars of Krautrock.
Austria was an unconventional starting point for our German road trip but it proved to be an apt beginning, giving us a taste of the fascinating and artistically uncompromising lives this generation of "Krautrock" musicians still lead today.
In many ways Hans-Joachim Roedelius was the perfect first interview to give us a sense of the upheavals that Germans suffered in the 20th century and the challenges that artists faced. Being older than most of the other Krautrockers he lived through the war and was drafted into the before ending up in East Germany after the country was carved up by the Allies. He was separated from his family, put in a forced labour camp and wandered Europe working as a masseur before finally settling in West Berlin and becoming one of the earliest pioneers of electronic music. He and Dieter Moebius, the other half of the radical experimental group, Cluster, played that night on a floating stage on the lake at , a strangely magical setting for the sounds of synthesizers. It was humbling to see their unflinching devotion to experimentation even today and to hear of their struggles... I could still hear Moebius telling us "We are not Sirs here like Sir Mick, Sir Paul in England".
was our next stop after a beautiful drive through the Bavarian Alps. Here in the spiritual home of Nazism we heard about the rebellious generation of the 60s from members of the commune freak-out group Amon Duul. Between copious cigarettes and colourful swearing, Renate Knaup explained that after the war the establishment figures like judges, teachers and doctors under the Nazis just carried on the same as usual, no one talked about the war, no one mentioned the word "Jew", just silence. In Germany therefore, the global 60s rebellion took on a different resonance as young people had more reasons than their peers in other countries to take on the establishment.
By now our road trip was fully underway and as well as the best aspect of Germany; friendly people, beautiful scenery, excellent beer and ; we were grappling with some of the less savoury aspects of the trip; wasps, still water being fizzy, the difficulty of finding vegetarian food and some dodgy menu translations... "bovine animal shred" anyone? It is often underestimated how huge Germany is, it would have been eight or ten hours to drive to Berlin so we were given a welcome rest from driving and took the plane.
Berlin was another world entirely. In Munich we had marvelled at how clean and shiny everything was... Berlin was gritty, graffitied, littered but all the more interesting for it. Driving round the city you can see the history of this beleaguered place in the buildings; the faded grand flats of Weimar-era Berlin, the numerous concrete monstrosities that went up in the 60s to fill the holes in the flattened city, the shiny glass of new architecture like the and of course the sections of the which turned the city into an island for 30 years. We were taken to the edge of Western civilisation during the Cold War.
"Next stop Siberia" Wolfgang Seidel, a musician in Berlin since the 60s, told us. It was hard to imagine. But this is where and Iggy Pop came to lie low in the 70s, seduced by the past decadence of the city and the promise of anonymity in a city of artists, draft dodgers and scruffy students.
After Berlin we had a taste of more rural Germany, this time flat with pointy houses, as we set off towards Hamburg to meet with the intriguing Faust whom Julian Cope in his genre defining book "Krautrocksampler" had called the most "mythical" of the Krautrock bands. Faust were obligingly nutty, charming, inviting and funny, regaling us with stories of trying to bankrupt with their expensive lunches and treating us to an unforgettable piece of music played on the cement mixer.
Next was , shiny corporate headquarters of the German economy and the favourite destination for German stag and hen groups. Dusseldorf at night was certainly a sight, more Magaluf than Mercedes we thought. We met with Wolfgang Flur who took us to Mintropstrasse, "a normal street to normal people" he whispered, but a place of pilgrimage to electronic music fans over the world, as this was the site of Kraftwerk's studio, . He also took us to a beautiful place by the Rhine and explained how the romanticism of the river had filtered into the music. And he bought me a famous Viennese chocolate cake, a personal highlight of the trip for me.
Last stop was to meet two members of the legendary group Can, Holger Czukay and Jaki Lieberzeit. Jaki told us how he came up with his minimalist drumming style and Holger explained how Can was shaped by the radical thinking of Stockhausen, a composer who helped make Cologne the most important centre for modern music in the world. As we left, now quite tired from two weeks of relentless driving and filming, we pondered again of the ingenuity and tenacity of this generation of artists who built up a new vision of Germany from a cultural wasteland. Their contribution to the development of music in subsequent years, especially electronic music, is unquantifiable and yet they remain relatively unheard of in many circles, not least in their own country. Without exception they are all still committed to pushing boundaries in music today...and this is the overall impression that will stay with me from this enlightening journey through German music.
- Krautock: The Rebirth of Germany - tracklist, exclusive clips and iPlayer
Krautrock will premiere on Ö÷²¥´óÐã Four on Friday 23 October at 9pm and will be available to watch online up to seven days after its last broadcast.
Comment number 1.
At 15th Oct 2009, 24frames wrote:Fantastic write up Laura...I'm looking forward to the programme even more now :)
andy
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Comment number 2.
At 16th Oct 2009, DominicValvona wrote:At last a documentary on Krautrock.
I've been writing a series on my blog Monolith Cocktail (its on Word Press) which looks at the best German LP's from 1968 to 1975. At the moment I'm concentrating on Amon Duul II and have spoken with John Weinzierl who told me about your doc. Its a real fans point of view and dissects the albums track by track.
Looking forward to seeing the program.
Dominic Valvona
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Comment number 3.
At 16th Oct 2009, Jeeves3 wrote:In the text above I don't see a mention of Klaus Schulze, which you have also seen, spoken to, and filmed in August (?)
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Comment number 4.
At 16th Oct 2009, 24frames wrote:@ Jeeves3 /programmes/b00nf10k
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Comment number 5.
At 16th Oct 2009, Jeeves3 wrote:Many thanks, 23frames.
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Comment number 6.
At 21st Oct 2009, Sowiesoso wrote:Great blog! But Laura is too modest, and doesn't mention the team also went to Forst, in Lower Saxony, the spiritual home of Harmonia, and mid-period Cluster, and met Michael Rother there.
Really looking forward to the show and congrats Ben and Laura for this long overdue Ö÷²¥´óÐã look at one the key post-War musical genres.
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Comment number 7.
At 23rd Oct 2009, Sowiesoso wrote:Ben and Laura... congratulations on a superb documentary about 1970s West German rock music... While you'd need a three-hour epic to cover all aspects of the scene and really do it justice, this one hour documentary is as good as it gets... lovely mix of archive footage and contemporary interviews... good eclectic range of influences, ideas and personalities... getting across that this was a very diverse movement of individuals who found their own way of breaking free of the past... some lovely and memorable fleeting images... shaggy bearded Roedelius in the Zodiak basement... Michael Rother strolling by radiant water... Faust draping a microphone onto a cement mixer... After some 15 years of listenign to this music and reading about and writing about it, it was wonderful to see it come alive in a film... well done, everyone...!!
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Comment number 8.
At 23rd Oct 2009, synthear wrote:I agree with Sowiesoso, this was an excellent documentary and very informative. I was lucky enough to see some of these bands in the UK in the 1970s, including Amon Düül 2, Can, Kraftwerk, Tangerine Dream and Klaus Schulze.
I would be interested to see a follow up documentary covering the UK exponents of this genre who are very much keeping electronic music alive. Redshift, Radio Massacre International, AirSculpture, Ian Boddy and John Dyson are examples, but unfortunately their music is only known to a small, but very international group of people. The influence for these is very much routed in what we call the "Berlin School".
Keep up the good work, this series has been very enlightening and both the kraut rock and the synth pop episodes gave a very thorough coverage.
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Comment number 9.
At 24th Oct 2009, virtualrolly1 wrote:Really enjoyed the Krautrock doc. The music still sounds so fresh and out there. Particularly loved the Cluster performance at the end of the programme. Can anyone tell me the name of the haunting track they're performing on stage and whether it is on one of their albums? Thanks.
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Comment number 10.
At 24th Oct 2009, Smigelboy wrote:This is by way of a complaint. I enjoyed tremendously the film about so called Krautrock. I have no small interest in the german music scene. I prefer Teutonic Rock as a moniker but hey... My complaint is this, the narrater (Ben Whalley or otherwise), commits to this utterance "The one truly global German band." This is patently untrue. Scorpions have sold about 75 million records and were doing so during the period of Kraftwerks greatest renown. Their 1977 album Trans Europe Express sold less than 500,000 copies. The Scorps were selling out tours in Japan at the same time. Now I know I sound like I am defending a a bunch of american rock imatators but if you listen you will disagree. My motivation for promoting them is that they have never had recognition in the UK as a truly great band. Perhaps because they are German? (Shrugs) Lets not forget Accept or Helloween or Doro Pesh etc. Rock on
The Boy from the land of Smigel
PS I saw Uli J Roths face in a shot but not a mention of the psychodelic rock he has contributed to
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Comment number 11.
At 24th Oct 2009, SandDragon wrote:Thanks to the production team for the excellent programme Krautrock. With just one hour to work with you hit all the bases and gathered in some classic footage. These pioneers of electronic music were rightly given long overdue praise for their contributions. You'll never please everyone, but the combination of nostalgia, history and honest musicians given time to express themselves, provided a well balanced documentary.
Would like to encourage anything more you can do to revive progressive music. There are still lots of fans of this genre out there. We watched punk come and go and didnt actually die off.
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Comment number 12.
At 24th Oct 2009, adriancnewton wrote:I just wanted to commend the production team on what was simply one of the best documentaries I have ever seen. It was really something to see all of my childhood heroes talking about their music. What struck me, while watching it, was that these voices haven't been heard before; very few of the people featured had been interviewed on TV previously, at least for UK viewers. I thought the way that you closed the programme was really touching; a sense that some of the musicians featured had found fulfillment by sticking to their experimental principles. And what a wonderful legacy they have left us; still a source of inspiration today.
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Comment number 13.
At 24th Oct 2009, nick374 wrote:Superb documentary! As a fan of krautrock in the 70's & someone who rediscovered the music recently through CD reissues, books & DVDs, - I have more than a passing interest.
To put my anorak on for a moment, inclusion of Manuel Gottsching/ash ra tempel and a nostalgic story about shenanigans in Switzerland with an on the run American - then mention of "E2-E4" and dance music could've also fitted-in. But that would've meant dropping something else out of a damn near perfect documentary!
Terrific that the show was nostalgic but finished by pointing out that many of the krautrock pioneers are still creating fresh, experimental, electronic music. The Roedelius music shown at the end is either from "Lunz" or more likely "Inlandish", both wonderful collections of mature lyrical music.
A beautiful pocket-sized encyclopedia of a documentary.
Maybe the next time Harmonmia or Rother & Moebius visit the UK the Ö÷²¥´óÐã could record a show by them from St Lukes ?
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Comment number 14.
At 24th Oct 2009, virtualrolly1 wrote:Thanks Nick374, I've gone away and done some research after your tip-off and you're right the closing piece is Lunz on the eponymously titled album featuring Roedelius and Tim Story. A live version of Lunz is on Roedelius's compilation album Works (1968-2005). Needless to say Lunz and Inlandish are now in my Amazon shopping cart.
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Comment number 15.
At 25th Oct 2009, geraldemerald wrote:What an astonishing documentary!
Finally a muso-doc that is accurate. I've been a krautfreak for about ten years and have done my research (I'm autistic so you can bet there's a lot of research!)
I thought I was the only one who, despite liking the music of Eno, knew he was a plagiarist/populariser.
Cluster are the most wonderful band ever and I cannot state how great this documentary was. Finally a documentary produced by people who know what they're talking about...
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Comment number 16.
At 25th Oct 2009, geraldemerald wrote:BTW - I'm with Nick374 - I accept there will be omissions (Brainticket, Erlkoenig, Guru Guru) but it is criminal that Ashra/Asha Ra, Goetsching) didn't get a mention...
I'm also delighted that you pointed out Brian Eno for the fraudulent plagiarist he is and was. He would not exist but for Cluster and Popol Vuh.
Still the best music documentary ever...
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Comment number 17.
At 25th Oct 2009, 24frames wrote:@Geralddemerald
Brainticket get lumped in with Krautrock, but aren't German (AFAICR).
Apparently the production team wanted to do a 90 minute documentary, but sadly the budget wouldn't cover it :(
It's a shame that the doc didn't feature Conrad Schnitzler as well. You'd then have the complete 1969 lineup of Tangerine Dream :)
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Comment number 18.
At 26th Oct 2009, sleepinglocomotion wrote:A fabulous documentary.Thanks so much.I loved a lot of these bands at the time,still do.
My only reservation was the omission of who might have influenced these bands.I would say: Terry Riley,particularly 'Rainbow in curved air',Soft Machine's first three albums and Pink Floyd's first two albums,without much doubt.And maybe a bit of Velvet Underground too.
I was in Germany around '72 and those were the things most 'heads' were listening to.
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Comment number 19.
At 26th Oct 2009, bawhalley wrote:Such thoughtful and on encouraging comments- thank you. I thought I'd take a minute to reply.
@Smigelboy- yes it was me committing to such an utterance and you are totally correct. I was aware of the Scorpions when I wrote this- I talked to one, Michael Schenker (originally there was a plan to go much wider with the remit of this project). He told us that his band were the biggest German band of all time- but also that few know they are from Germany (he had a great story about ZZ Top expressing surprise at this point). So I guess the implied point is that they aren't very 'German'- a point you acknowledge- but I could have been clearer with the terms of reference here, keeping to the bands featured in the film. Anyway small beer- the phrase is open to interpretation.
@ Adrian
Yes- nail on head- they are fresh in that way, some of the most unreconstructed artists I have ever met. Lovely people. That was why I chose to end it that way.
@geraldemerald
Glad you enjoyed it- but criminal? Eek. An hour is a short time, it's a wire you have to walk and I am really sorry to have annoyed.
Re Eno- for the record I am a big fan and I had hoped to talk to him for this- from what I have read he is very open and interesting about his work with these artists. I don't think he comes across as a fraudulent plagiarist in this film and I certainly don't think he is one. I think life was sometimes hard for those artists in Forst in the mid 70s (Michael R told me it has rained ever since we were there!) and perhaps not unnaturally they sometimes wished for a little of the commercial success that 'western' artists like Brian might have enjoyed. I hoped only to point out this part of Brian's career (including the fantastic Tracks and Traces- just rereleased) as it's not often alluded to, especially on television. I am not protecting him- he probably wouldn't give a fig either way- but the film doesn't suggest he is fraudulent copyist.
@24 frames
It would be great to make a 90 minuter (Synth Britannia was that) or even a 90,000 minute film. The slot and commission was 60 minutes and it was great to get a chance to make this for Ö÷²¥´óÐã FOUR. I am very privileged.
Good point about Conrad Schnitzler- who I admire- there was a reason why... but I can't remember now...
Viele grusse
Ben
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Comment number 20.
At 26th Oct 2009, 24frames wrote:@Bawhalley
no problem I'll probably make my own documentary on Tangerine Dream one day (well I might as well use my 10 years of research into the group for something useful :)).
I should add that I've watched the programme 5 times now. So many thanks for all your hard work!
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Comment number 21.
At 26th Oct 2009, richard wrote:I thought Michael Rother was one of the best interviewees, (along with Holger, who always tells a good story). The shot of Rother standing by the riverbank with the slow moving, constantly changing light on the liquid gold surface, was beautiful camera work – a suitably cosmic effect without the need for computer graphics.
Ralf & Florian, enigmatic by their absence (as usual).
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Comment number 22.
At 29th Oct 2009, DominicValvona wrote:Not bad doc, though its short running time made for a lot of cramming.
Where was Irmin Schmidt from Can? He was left out entirely, after all it was he who formed the band.
I'm writing a review and comments piece for my blog Monolith Cocktail at the weekend if you're interested. I feature a series on the best albums from that period, at the moment we are featuring Amon Duul II.
[Unsuitable/Broken URL removed by Moderator]
Dominic Valvona
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Comment number 23.
At 2nd Nov 2009, mindmass wrote:Hope it's not too late to add my appreciation - I discovered it late, but watched it several times on iPlayer and it really rekindled the passion I felt for this music in the 70s.
I have to say that the interview with Michael Rother (which was beautifully done) did leave me with a pretty negative (even bitter) impression of Brian Eno's collaboration with Harmonia and was surprised to discover afterwards that the material was apparently released as Tracks and Traces. Is there any explanation for this discrepancy?
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Comment number 24.
At 8th Nov 2009, Donnacha DeLong wrote:Just caught the full documentary on Ö÷²¥´óÐã4 (I saw the very end the first time around and neglected to watch it on catch-up/iPlayer). I'd love to see something on what came next - the post-industrial stuff by Einsturzende Neubauten, Die Krupps and (admittedly across the border in Switzerland) The Young Gods.
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Comment number 25.
At 11th Nov 2009, birchbirch wrote:Great documentary, especially nice to see the pristine archive footage. Wouldn't it be great to have the Ö÷²¥´óÐã broadcast some full concerts (either archive or recent) by some of these bands - it would make up for the 'schlager' (TOTP for example) they've thrown at us over the years! Even a repeat of the wonderfully 'fake' Tangerine Dream Coventry Cathedral concert would be welcome!
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Comment number 26.
At 19th Nov 2009, Elizabeth wrote:This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.
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