View source for Krautrock

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{{Redirect|Kosmische musik|the related record label also known as "Kosmische Musik"|Cosmic Couriers|other uses|Cosmic music (disambiguation){{!}}Cosmic music}}
{{Infobox music genre
|name               = Krautrock
|etymology          = Derives from "[[kraut]]"
|color              = white
|bgcolor            = crimson
|other_names        = Kosmische Musik
|stylistic_origins  = {{flatlist|
*[[Experimental rock]]
*[[electronic music|electronic]]
*[[avant-garde]]
*[[psychedelic rock]]
*[[acid rock]]
*[[jazz]]
*[[minimal music|minimalism]]
*[[world music|world]]
*[[funk]]
*[[art rock]]
*[[progressive rock]]
}}
|cultural_origins   = Late 1960s – early 1970s, [[West Germany]]
|instruments        =
|derivatives        =
*[[Ambient pop]]<ref name="allmusic-ambient-pop">{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/style/ambient-pop-ma0000012263| title= Ambient Pop | work=[[AllMusic]] | accessdate=July 10, 2017}}</ref>
*[[electronic dance music]]{{sfn|Wilson|2006}}{{sfn|Manning|2004}}
*[[indie electronic]]<ref name=AMGO>{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/style/indie-electronic-ma0000012275|title=Indie Electronic - Significant Albums, Artists and Songs - AllMusic|work=AllMusic}}</ref>
*[[New Age music|New Age]]<ref name="Reynolds1996"/>
*[[post-punk]]<ref name="Reynolds1996"/>
*[[post-progressive]]{{sfn|Hegarty|Halliwell|2011|p=224}}
*[[post-rock]]<ref name="allmusic">{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/style/post-rock-ma0000002790|title=Post-Rock|publisher=[[AllMusic]]|accessdate=January 31, 2017}}</ref>
|regional_scenes    =
|other_topics       =
* [[Cosmic Couriers]]
* [[electronics in rock music]]
* [[space rock]]
* [[motorik]]
}}
'''Krautrock''' (sometimes called "'''kosmische Musik'''", {{lang-de|"{{noitalic|'''cosmic music'''}}"}}<ref name="CoxWarner2004">{{cite book|editor-last1=Cox|editor-first1=Christoph|editor-last2=Warner|editor-first2=Daniel|title=Audio Culture: Readings in Modern Music|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FgDgCOSHPysC&pg=PA412|year=2004|publisher=A&C Black|isbn=978-0-8264-1615-5|page=412}}</ref>{{sfn|Unterberger|1998|p=174}}) is a broad [[music genre|genre]] of [[experimental rock]] that developed in [[Germany]] in the late 1960s.<ref name="Guardian">{{cite web|last1=Savage|first1=Jon|title=Elektronische musik: a guide to krautrock|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2010/mar/30/elektronische-musik-krautrock|website=[[The Guardian]]|accessdate=14 June 2016}}</ref> The term "krautrock" was originated by English-speaking music journalists as a humorous name for a diverse range of German bands whose music drew from sources such as [[psychedelic rock]], the [[avant-garde]], [[electronic music]], [[funk]], [[minimalist music|minimalism]], [[jazz improvisation]], and [[world music]] styles. Largely divorced from the traditional [[blues]] and [[rock and roll]] influences of British and American rock music up to that time, the period contributed to the evolution of [[electronic music]] and [[ambient music]] as well as the birth of [[post-punk]], [[alternative rock]] and [[New Age music]].<ref name="Reynolds1996"/><ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=Rebel & Remix - Rockens historie|last=Reinholdt Nielsen|first=Per|publisher=Systime|year=2011|isbn=978-87-616-2662-2|location=Denmark|pages=|quote=|via=}}</ref> Important acts of the scene include [[Can (band)|Can]], [[Kraftwerk]], [[Neu!]], [[Ash Ra Tempel]], [[Tangerine Dream]], [[Popol Vuh (band)|Popol Vuh]], and [[Faust (band)|Faust]].

==Etymology==
Until around 1973, the word "Deutsch-Rock" ("German Rock") was used to refer to the new groups from West Germany.{{sfn|Adelt|2016|p=10}} "Krautrock" was originally a humorous term coined in the early 1970s by British disc jockey [[John Peel]]{{sfn|Adelt|2016|p=11}} or by the UK music newspaper ''[[Melody Maker]]'', in which experimental German bands found an early and enthusiastic following, and ironically retained by its practitioners.<ref>'Krautrock - Cosmic Rock and its Legacy' by [[David Stubbs]], [[Erik Davis]], [[Michel Faber]] and various contributing authors. Published 2009 by Black Dog Publishing Limited, London {{ISBN|978-1-906155-66-7}}</ref> The term derives from the [[ethnic slur]] "[[kraut]]", and its use by the music press was inspired by a track from [[Amon Düül]]'s ''[[Psychedelic Underground]]'' titled "Mama Düül und Ihre Sauerkrautband Spielt Auf" ('Mama Düül and her Sauerkrautband Strike Up').<ref name=cope /><ref>{{Cite book|title=Die Sprache der Pop- und Rockmusik: Eine terminologische Untersuchung im Englischen und Deutschen|first=Armin|last=Siebert|year=1999|isbn=978-3-640-28233-3|publisher=Grin|location=Norderstedt|page=114}}</ref><ref name="Pop and Poetry">{{Cite book|title=Pop and Poetry - Pleasure and Protest: Udo Lindenberg, Konstantin Wecker and the Tradition of German Cabaret|first=Annette|last=Blühdorn|year=2003|publisher=Peter Lang Publishing|location=New York|isbn=978-0-8204-6879-2|page=141}}</ref> According to author Ulrich Adelt, it should be noted that "kraut" in German can refer to herbs, weeds, and drugs.{{sfn|Adelt|2016|p=12}} Other names thrown around by the British music press were "Teutonic rock" and "Götterdämmer rock".{{sfn|Adelt|2016|p=12}}

Its musicians tended to reject the name "krautrock".<ref name="Pop and Poetry"/>{{sfn|Adelt|2016|p=12}} This was also the case for "kosmische Musik" ("cosmic music"), a marketing name invented by record producer [[Rolf-Ulrich Kaiser]] for krautrock bands like [[Ash Ra Tempel]], [[Tangerine Dream]], and [[Klaus Schulze]].{{sfn|Adelt|2016|p=12}} Musicologist [[Julian Cope]], in his book ''[[Krautrocksampler]]'', says "Krautrock is a subjective British phenomenon," based on the way the music was received in the UK rather than on the actual West German music scene out of which it grew.<ref name="cope">{{Cite book|last=Cope|first=Julian|authorlink=Julian Cope|title=Krautrocksampler: One Head's Guide to the Great Kosmische Musik - 1968 Onwards|publisher=Head Heritage|year=1995|page=64|isbn=0-9526719-1-3|location=Yatesbury}}</ref> For instance, while one of the main groups originally tagged as krautrock, [[Faust (band)|Faust]], recorded a seminal 12-minute track they titled "[[Faust IV|Krautrock]]", they would later distance themselves from the term, saying: "When the English people started talking about Krautrock, we thought they were just [[taking the piss]]... and when you hear the so-called 'Krautrock renaissance,' it makes me think everything we did was for nothing."<ref name="wire">{{Cite news|first=David|last=Stubbs|authorlink=David Stubbs|title=Invisible Jukebox: Faust|work=[[The Wire (magazine)|The Wire]]|issue=275|date=January 2007|page=18}}</ref> West German's music press initially used "krautrock" as a [[pejorative]], but the term lost its stigma after the music gained success in Britain.{{sfn|Adelt|2016|p=12}}

==Characteristics==
{{See also|Experimental rock}}

Krautrock merges elements of [[psychedelic rock]], the [[avant-garde]], [[electronic music]], [[funk]], [[jazz improvisation|improvisational jazz]] and [[world music]] styles,<ref name="Reynolds1996"/> and expands on the type of musical explorations associated with [[art rock]] and [[progressive rock]].<ref name="AllMusic">{{cite web|author1=Anon|title=Kraut Rock|url=http://www.allmusic.com/subgenre/kraut-rock-ma0000002687|website=[[AllMusic]]|accessdate=25 January 2017|date=n.d.}}</ref> Critic [[Simon Reynolds]] described the style as "where the over-reaching ambition and untethered freakitude of late '60s [[acid rock]] is checked and galvanised by a [[proto-punk]] minimalism ... music of immense scale that miraculously avoided prog-rock's bombastics."<ref name="Reynolds1996"/>

The key component characterizing such groups is the synthesis of [[rock and roll]] rhythm and energy with a decided will to distance themselves from specifically American blues origins, drawing on German or other sources instead. Jean-Hervé Peron of [[Faust (band)|Faust]] says: "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."<ref name=wire /> According to Peel, the only American or British band to "clearly influence" the genre was England's [[Pink Floyd]], particularly for their "spacey music".{{sfn|Peel|2011|p=193}} 

Some artists drew on ideas from contemporary experimental [[European classical music|classical music]] (especially [[minimalism]]<ref>{{cite book|last1=Sandford|first1=Jon|title=Encyclopedia of Contemporary German Culture|date=2013|publisher=Routledge Press|pages=353|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TuMsBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA353&lpg=PA353&dq=Krautrock+minimalism&source=bl&ots=YF0Y7p0UVq&sig=b8mzHPmmF-UzSmZ_CArCOwenynQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjU3M3avabNAhXE1h4KHTNdByQ4FBDoAQgwMAc#v=onepage&q=Krautrock%20minimalism&f=false}}</ref> and composer [[Karlheinz Stockhausen]], with whom, for example, [[Irmin Schmidt]] and [[Holger Czukay]] of [[Can (band)|Can]] had previously studied) and from the new experimental directions that emerged in [[jazz]] during the 1960s and 1970s (mainly the [[free jazz]] pieces by [[Ornette Coleman]] or [[Albert Ayler]]). Moving away from the patterns of song structure and melody of much rock music in America and Britain, some in the movement also drove the music to a more [[Industrial music|mechanical]] and [[Electronic music|electronic]] sound.<ref name=":0" />

=== Motorik beat ===
{{main|Motorik}}
A common rhythm featured in the music was a steady [[time signature|4/4]] beat, often called "''[[motorik]]''".<ref name="allmusic.com">{{Cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/neu!-mw0000004284|title=Neu! - Neu! {{!}} Songs, Reviews, Credits {{!}} AllMusic|website=AllMusic|access-date=2017-01-19}}</ref> The beat is characterised by a [[bass drum]]-heavy, pulsating groove, that created a forward-flowing feel.<ref name="allmusic.com"/> The motorik beat was first used by [[Neu!]] on their [[Neu! (album)|debut album]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://sickmouthy.com/2012/06/19/top-ten-songs-with-the-motorik-beat/ |title=Top ten songs with the Motorik beat {{!}} Sick Mouthy |date=2013-08-06 |access-date=2017-01-19 |deadurl=bot: unknown |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130806095116/http://sickmouthy.com/2012/06/19/top-ten-songs-with-the-motorik-beat/ |archivedate= 6 August 2013 |df= }}</ref> and were later adopted by other krautrock bands. The motorik beat has been widely used in many different styles of music beyond krautrock.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://thequietus.com/articles/15929-david-stubbs-krautrock-motorik|title=The Quietus {{!}} Opinion {{!}} The Quietus Essay {{!}} How Motorik Infected The Mainstream, By Future Days Author David Stubbs|newspaper=The Quietus|access-date=2017-01-19}}</ref>

==Background and origins==
{{refimprove section|date=June 2016}}

[[File:TU Berlin 1968a.jpg|thumb|right|A [[German student movement|German student protest]] from 1968]]

By the end of the 1960s, the [[Counterculture of the 1960s|American and British counterculture]] and [[hippie]] movement had moved rock towards [[psychedelic rock|psychedelia]], [[heavy metal music|heavy metal]], [[progressive rock]] and other styles that incorporated socially and politically incisive lyrics. The 1968 [[German student movement]], [[May 1968 in France|French protests]] and Italian student movement had created a class of young, intellectual continental listeners, while [[nuclear weapon]]s, [[pollution]], and [[war]] inspired protests and activism.{{sfn|Buckley|2003|p=566}} Avant-garde music had taken a turn towards the [[electronic music|electronic]] in the mid-1950s. The avant-garde [[minimalist music]] current emerged in the early 1960s with the works of Americans [[La Monte Young]], [[Terry Riley]] and [[Steve Reich]]. They used drones and loops (often with synthesizers and tapes) in a kind of psychedelic and space-oriented music.{{citation needed|date=June 2016}}

These developments influenced what came to be termed ''krautrock'', which appeared at the first major [[German rock]] [[music festival|festival]] in [[:de:Internationale Essener Songtage|1968 in Essen]].{{sfn|Buckley|2003|p=26}} Like their American, British and international counterparts, German rock musicians played a kind of [[psychedelic music]]. In contrast, however, there was no attempt to reproduce the effects of drugs. Their sound was an innovative fusion of jazz and the electronic avant-garde.<ref name="Reynolds1996">{{cite magazine|url=http://reynoldsretro.blogspot.com/2013/03/krautrock-melody-maker-july-1996-by.html|title=Krautrock|first=Simon|last=Reynolds|magazine=Melody Maker|date=July 1996|authorlink=Simon Reynolds}}</ref>{{failed verification|date=June 2016}}

1968 also saw the foundation of the [[Zodiak Free Arts Lab]] in [[Berlin]] by [[Hans-Joachim Roedelius]], and [[Conrad Schnitzler]], which further popularized the psychedelic-rock sound in the German mainstream.{{sfn|Buckley|2003|p=207}} Originally krautrock was a form of [[Free art]], which meant that krautrock bands gave their records away at Free Art Fairs. {{citation needed|date=June 2016}}

The next few years saw a wave of pioneering groups. In 1968 two former students of [[Karlheinz Stockhausen]] formed [[Can (band)|Can]], adding [[jazz]] to the mix. (In that way the krautrock scene can be seen to parallel the [[Canterbury scene]] emerging in England at the same time.) The following year saw [[Cluster (band)|Kluster]] (later Cluster) begin recording [[Keyboard instrument|keyboard]]-based electronic instrumental music with an emphasis on static [[Drone (music)|drones]].{{citation needed|date=June 2016}}

==Legacy and influence==
{{multiple issues|section=yes|
{{refimprove section|date=June 2016}}
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Krautrock has proved to be highly influential on a succession of other musical styles and developments. Early contemporary enthusiasts outside Germany included [[Hawkwind]] and in particular [[Dave Brock]] who supposedly penned the sleeve notes for the British edition of Neu!'s first album <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.starfarer.net/quotation.html|title=Hawkwind Quotations|first=|last=Starfarer|publisher=}}</ref> Faust's budget release ''The Faust Tapes'' has been cited as a formative teenage influence by several musicians growing up in the early 1970s such as [[Julian Cope]] (who has always cited krautrock as an influence, and wrote the book ''Krautrocksampler'' on the subject). The genre also had a strong influence on [[David Bowie]]'s ''[[Station to Station]]'' (1976) and the experimentation it inspired led to his '[[Berlin Trilogy]]'.<ref name="Buckley p.275–277">Buckley (2000): pp. 275–277.</ref><ref name="The Complete David Bowie pp.205–206">Pegg (2004): pp. 205–206.</ref> 

Krautrock was also highly influential on the late-'70s development of [[post-punk]], notably artists such as [[The Fall (band)|The Fall]], [[Joy Division]], [[Public Image Ltd]], [[This Heat]] and [[Simple Minds]], and on [[Galloping Coroners]]' [[shaman punk]].

==List of artists==
{{dynamic list}}
<!----

Artists must be sourced with an inline citation

---->
{{columns-list|colwidth=30em|
* [[Amon Düül II]]{{cn|date=January 2017}}
* [[Ash Ra Tempel]]{{cn|date=January 2017}}
* [[Can (band)|Can]]<ref name="AllMusic" />
* [[Cluster (band)|Cluster]]{{cn|date=January 2017}}
* [[Faust (band)|Faust]]<ref name="AllMusic" />
* [[Harmonia (band)]]
* [[Kraftwerk]]<ref>{{cite web|last1=McCormick|first1=Neil|title=Kraftwerk: the most influential group in pop history?|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/rockandpopfeatures/9837423/Kraftwerk-the-most-influential-group-in-pop-history.html|website=[[Daily Telegraph]]|accessdate=11 September 2016}}</ref>
* [[Neu!]]<ref name="AllMusic" />
* [[Popol Vuh (band)|Popol Vuh]]{{cn|date=January 2017}}
* [[Klaus Schulze]]{{cn|date=January 2017}}
* [[Tangerine Dream]]{{cn|date=January 2017}}
* [[Harald Grosskopf]]{{cn|date=April 2017}}
}}

==See also==
{{columns-list|colwidth=20em|
*[[Space music]]
*[[Ambient music]]
*[[Electronic art music]]
*[[Electronic music]]
*[[Experimental music]]
*[[German rock]]
*[[Cosmic Couriers|Kosmische Kuriere]]
*[[Space rock]]
}}

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==Bibliography==
{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite book|ref=harv|last=Adelt| year=2016| first=Ulrich |title=Krautrock: German Music in the Seventies |location=Ann Arbor |publisher=University of Michigan Press |isbn=0-47205-3191|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YakXDQAAQBAJ}}
* {{cite book|last=Buckley| first=David|year=2000| origyear=1999 |title=Strange Fascination – David Bowie: The Definitive Story |location=London |publisher=Virgin |isbn=0-7535-0457-X}}
* {{cite book|ref=harv|last=Buckley|first=Peter|title=The Rough Guide to Rock|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7ctjc6UWCm4C|year=2003|publisher=Rough Guides|isbn=978-1-84353-105-0}}
* {{cite book|ref=harv| title=Electronic and Computer Music | publisher=Oxford University Press |last=Manning|first=Peter | year=2004 | pages=175 | isbn=0195170857}}
* {{cite book|title=European Film Music | publisher=[[Ashgate Publishing]] | author=Mera, Miguel and David Burnand | year=2006 | pages=118 | isbn=0754636593}} 
* {{cite book|ref=harv|last=Peel|first=John|authorlink=John Peel|title=The Olivetti Chronicles|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Vlf1SSKA2VEC|year=2011|publisher=Transworld|isbn=978-1-4464-8627-6}}
* {{cite book|last=Pegg |first=Nicholas |authorlink=Nicholas Pegg |year=2004| origyear=2000 |title=The Complete David Bowie |location=London |publisher= Reynolds & Hearn |isbn=1-903111-73-0}}
* {{cite book|ref=harv|last=Unterberger|first=Richie|authorlink=Richie Unterberger|title=Unknown Legends of Rock 'n' Roll|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jzabxWx_vCYC&pg=PA174|year=1998|publisher=Hal Leonard Corporation|isbn=978-1-61774-469-3}}
* {{cite book|ref=harv|title=Faust: Stretch Out Time, 1970-1975 | publisher=Andy Wilson |last=Wilson|first=Andy | year=2006 | pages=2 | isbn=095506645X}} 
{{refend}}

== External links ==
*[http://www.phinnweb.org/krautrock/ Krautrock @ pHinnWeb]
*[http://www.wasistdas.co.uk krautrock website]
*[http://www.krautrockseite.de/index.htm Krautrocksite] - Online-Magazin from Germany

{{rock}}
{{Avant-garde}}
{{psychedelic music}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2011}}
[[Category:Krautrock| ]]
[[Category:Music scenes]]
[[Category:German styles of music]]
[[Category:Words coined in the 1970s]]