The Cosmic Jokers were a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

krautrock Krautrock (also called , German for ) is a broad genre of experimental rock Experimental rock, also called avant-rock, is a subgenre of rock music that pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique or which experiments ...

supergroup Supergroup or super group may refer to: * Supergroup (music), a music group formed by artists who are already notable or respected in their fields * Supergroup (physics), a generalization of groups, used in the study of supersymmetry * Supergroup ...

, though they were never a proper ensemble per se; their music was created from sessions put together by label head

Rolf-Ulrich Kaiser Rolf-Ulrich Kaiser (born June 18, 1943) is a German writer and record producer. He is best known as the founder of the Ohr, Pilz, and Cosmic Couriers record labels. These labels released many of the earliest Krautrock albums in the early 1970s, a ...

and Gille Lettman in early 1973, without the performers' knowledge. They were a primary example of

space rock Space rock is a music genre characterized by loose and lengthy song structures centered on instrumental textures that typically produce a hypnotic, otherworldly sound. It may feature distorted and reverberation-laden guitars, minimal drummin ...

History

The Cosmic Jokers performed at several

acid In computer science, ACID ( atomicity, consistency, isolation, durability) is a set of properties of database transactions intended to guarantee data validity despite errors, power failures, and other mishaps. In the context of databases, a sequ ...

parties to be held at the sound studio owned by

Dieter Dierks Dieter Dierks (born 9 February 1943) is a German record producer, sound engineer, music publisher, studio owner and musician. He became well known as producer of the rock band Scorpions who were signed to him between 1975 and 1988. Before that ...

, where musicians were offered drugs in exchange for recording tracks. Participants included

Manuel Göttsching Manuel Göttsching (9 September 1952 – 4 December 2022) was a German musician and composer. As the leader of the groups Ash Ra Tempel and Ashra in the 1970s and 80s, as well as a solo artist, he was one of the most influential guitarists of ...

and

Klaus Schulze Klaus Schulze (4 August 1947 – 26 April 2022) was a German electronic music pioneer, composer and musician. He also used the alias Richard Wahnfried and was a member of the Krautrock bands Tangerine Dream, Ash Ra Tempel, and The Cosmic Jokers ...

Ash Ra Tempel Ash Ra Tempel was a West German krautrock group led by guitarist Manuel Göttsching that was active from 1970 to 1976. Their debut album '' Ash Ra Tempel'' was released in 1971. Following the band's demise, Göttsching released music under the nam ...

, and

Harald Grosskopf Harald Grosskopf (born Harald Großkopf) is a German electronic musician. He played with several Krautrock and progressive rock bands of the 1970s in Germany, and released solo music. Biography Grosskopf was born in Hildesheim on October 23, ...

Wallenstein Albrecht Wenzel Eusebius von Wallenstein () (24 September 1583 – 25 February 1634), also von Waldstein ( cs, Albrecht Václav Eusebius z Valdštejna), was a Bohemian military leader and statesman who fought on the Catholic side during the Th ...

, and Dierks. Prior to this, all of the musicians had been involved with Kaiser's

Cosmic Couriers Cosmic Couriers / Cosmic Music (also known as by its German name Kosmische Kuriere / Kosmische Musik) was a German experimental/space-rock label set up by Rolf-Ulrich Kaiser in 1973 following his association with Ohr and Pilz. A number of influen ...

label. Kaiser took the tapes from these sessions, edited and mixed them with Dierks, and released them on his label,

Kosmische Musik Krautrock (also called , German for ) is a broad genre of experimental rock that developed in West Germany in the late 1960s and early 1970s among artists who blended elements of psychedelic rock, avant-garde composition, and electronic music, a ...

, complete with the musicians' pictures on the LP sleeve. Göttsching did not find out about the record release until he heard it playing in a record store in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

and asked the counter help what was playing. Kaiser released five records under the name Cosmic Jokers in 1974, one of which was actually a label sampler and a second, ''Gilles Zeitschiff'', consisted of Kaiser's then-girlfriend Gille Lettmann speaking over sounds taken from prior label releases. Schulze was not happy with the recordings, he was so angry after the release of ''Gilles Zeitschiff'' that he sued Kaiser.

Discography

*''

The Cosmic Jokers The Cosmic Jokers were a German krautrock supergroup, though they were never a proper ensemble per se; their music was created from sessions put together by label head Rolf-Ulrich Kaiser and Gille Lettman in early 1973, without the performers' kno ...

'' (1974) *'' Galactic Supermarket'' (1974) *'' Planeten Sit-In'' (1974) *'' Sci Fi Party'' (1974; actually a Kosmische Musik label sampler) *'' Gilles Zeitschiff'' (1974; compilation/remix album)

References

* Cosmic Jokersat Allmusic.com

Footnotes

External links

Cosmic Jokers – Biography at Intuitive music
* Cosmic Jokersat Allmusic.com
The Cosmic Jokers discography at Discogs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cosmic Jokers Krautrock musical groups German space rock musical groups Musical groups established in 1973 Musical groups disestablished in 1974 1973 establishments in West Germany 1974 disestablishments in West Germany