Six Degrees of Sauerkraut -- Part XXI: Zabba Lindner

Rother and (especially) Dinger were always making fun of Adelbert because he couldn't capture that motorik beat. As a disciple of Schulze, Adelbert favored, long, drawn out drones with assorted bleeps, created by his Arp Odyssey and Farfisa Organ VIP 233. 

However, as time wore on, Adelbert grew weary of Rother and Dinger's cruel barbs. He built a timemaschine to go back into Germany's Teutonic past where he recruited Wolfgang Zabba Lindner, a military drummer, from the Prussian regime.

Adelbert brought Zabba back to the glimmerlight and they made 1980's Atmosphere LP. Finally, on the track "Timemachine", Adelbert, with Zabba's aid, was able to capture that elusive motorik sound. Hear it by clicking on the title of this post. In triumph, Adelbert brought a test pressing of "Timemachine" over to Rother and Dinger's crystal spire. They were impressed, but they didn't let Adelbert know this. To this day, Rother and Dinger tell Adelbert he's got no sense of rhythm. And Adelbert, sadly, has abandoned the motorik sound. But, for that brief, glorious moment in time, Adelbert and Zabba rocked the glimmerlight.

Immer wieder!

Dynamotron: Android Pain Medicine, or The Missing Defender of The Universe?

As the 80s wore on, Rother visited us in the glimmerlight less and less. He spent more time on Glitzerglanz with his maschines. He began to abandon his analog synths, becoming more digital in the process. This gave his old android synthesist creations from the glimmerlight great pain, so Rother attempted to create a kind of android pain medicine. He called it "Dynamotron" (from the album Lust), and you can hear it by clicking on the title of this post.

We heard "Dynamotron" beamed down  to us via Rother's bröselmaschine. We never knew if it was some new cybernetic creation that would defend our universe from the hydrogen breathing races, or if it was, indeed, simply a pain medication for Rother's army of mechanized synthesists, depressed over his digital excursions.

Either way, these were some of the last sweet sounds he created, before we lost all contact.

Transmissions From Glizterglanz: Süssherz Und Tiefenschärfe

Recently, I've been listening to the sounds of Michael Rother's early to mid 80s work. His final masterpieces before leaving for Glitzerglanz. There would be more Rother releases, but they would be pale copies of his former work, created by mindless androids he left behind to do his bidding.

His final masterwork was Süssherz Und Tiefenschärfe. The LP boasted one of the worst, yet most strangely compelling covers of the krautrock era. I found this photo of it on a shag carpet with my bröselmaschine. To get a better look you'll have to find your own copy, or come dwell with me in Blaues Licht.

On Süssherz, Rother created his own language with which to communicate with his minions. For example, he would play the song "Rapido" when he wanted his servants to hurry the frak up. You can hear it by clicking on the title of this post.

Why do I love this song so much? Maybe because it came out in the 80s, yet hearkened back to an earlier time, when Kraftwerk were still among us. It seems to be a loving farewell to all he had created. 

Despite its cover, this LP is super rad, and should not be neglected. It is one of the hidden masterpieces of the krautrock era. 

Rauf und runter!

Dimitri Endorphin: The Return

Rumors are abounding in the glimmerlight that Dimitri Endorphin is retuning to the studio. Some of you synthesists out there may remember his self-titled debut from back in 2002. It debuted in Paris, and made its way back to the streets of Berlin via Patrick Brunken.

Well Patrick, I spoke with Dimitri yesterday and he sends his regards. It was a faint connection as he has spent these past years on Rother's offworld colony, Glitzerglanz.

More on Endorphin and Glitzerglanz in upcoming posts.

Rauf und runter!

Six Degrees of Sauerkraut -- Part XI: Die Justiz-League

In the Autumn of '74 the barbarian hordes of Amon Duul the 2nd and Ash Ra Tempel were quickly approaching the high iron gates of Wolfgang Riechmann's Silberland. 

Silberland was the dreamy enclave that Riechmann founded as a kind of home away from home for cyborgs who spent their energy in the glimmerlights. You may remember that scene from Tron where the three dudes sip from the electronic pond with their frisbees. Well that was basically what Silberland was like; a bunch of androids lounging by a neon blue pool. But our peaceful haven was now being threatened by the prog-krautrockian tribes led by Amon Duul II. Wolfgang decided we needed a special force to protect us, so he called upon Moebius, Roedelius, and Rother to be the heroes that would defend our electronic sanctuary.

They christened themselves Harmonia. They were the first krautrock supergroup, our very own Justice League. And they promptly drove the progbarian hordes from our gates with their ghostly bröselmaschine sounds. Rother would eventually don the mantle of Flaming Hawk when he went solo and got his own series, but his powers arguably never equaled the heights he achieved in this group of heroes.  Check out one of their most potent powers by clicking on the title of this post.

Six Degrees of Sauerkraut -- Part I: Flammende Herzen

This is the first post in a series that will document the life and times of many of your favorite Krautrock stars. Those days and nights in Düsseldorf, and beyond, were full of fun and drama, and I thought it might be nice to share some of my memories. Many of these damen und herren were interconnected in many ways, and I hope to document some of that during the Six Degrees of Sauerkraut saga.

I thought I'd begin with Michael Rother, or as he liked to think of himself "Flammende Herzen." In English that means "Blazing Heart." As you may have guessed, Michael was Krautrock's ladies man. He thought quite highly of himself, as did the ladies (and a number of men as fate would have it). Indeed, I remember one night in 1977; we were all out, dancing in the glimmerlight of a club on Düsseldorf's eastside. That night, Michael basically stole Dorothea Raukes from Wolfgang Riechmann. Dorothea and Wolfgang were members of Streetmark, West Germany's Fleetwood Mac. Plenty of interband hook-ups and what not. Anyway, Dorothea took one look at Blazing Heart and that was the end of her and Wolfgang. 

Wolfgang took to wearing icy makeup, dressing in tight suits, and acting like he was a robot. Indeed, Blade Runner was influenced by this new style Wolfgang developed in response to his heartbreak over losing Dorothea. This would happen to Dorothea as well when she and Blazing Heart broke up, and she subsequently formed the legendary Krautrock band, Deutsche Wertarbeit. But, these are tales for another time.

Anyway, Rother made my favorite music of the whole Krautrock era. Excellent for experimenting with JJ-180, Can-D and what have you. And it is always easier to commune with the Vast Active Living Intelligence System ("Valis") while listening to Rother's Katzenmusik, which every true Krautrocker should own.

Try some Blazing Heart for yourself, Rother's "KM 12" from Katzenmusik, by clicking on the title of this post! This song quite literally took me to the stars one night. 

Krautrock für immer!