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 the

Krautrock 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 ...

(also known as ''Kosmische Musik'') genre. He also participated in 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' know ...

sessions. His style and technique influenced dozens of artists in the post-

Eno Eno may refer to: Music * English National Opera, London * ''Eno'', an album by Japanese band Polysics * "Eno", a song by X-Wife from '' Rockin' Rio EP'' Organisations and businesses * Eno (company), a Chinese clothing and accessories busine ...

ambient and

Berlin School of electronic music 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 ...

scenes in the 1980s and 1990s.

Early life

As a child, Göttsching was exposed to the music of

Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the h ...

and

Puccini Giacomo Puccini (Lucca, 22 December 1858Bruxelles, 29 November 1924) was an Italian composer known primarily for his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he was descended from a long li ...

by his mother, who was a fan of opera. He also listened to radio stations run by American and British allied forces. Too young for early

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm an ...

, it was not until the 1960s that Göttsching found the music that really inspired him such as Motown music from the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

, as well the

Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...

and British blues bands. Originally a classical guitarist, the music he heard inspired him to switch to the

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gu ...

. In school, Göttsching played with a cover band. "We played some

, we played some Beatles, we played some Who, some what was the popular music and that was just for fun," he recalls.However upon hearing

Blue Cheer Blue Cheer was an American rock band that initially performed and recorded in the late 1960s and early 1970s and was sporadically active until 2009. Based in San Francisco, Blue Cheer played in a psychedelic blues rock or acid rock style, and ...

's proto-metal cover of "

Summertime Blues "Summertime Blues" is a song co-written and recorded by American rock artist Eddie Cochran. It was written by Cochran and his manager Jerry Capehart. Originally a single B-side, it was released in August 1958 and peaked at number 8 on the ''B ...

" and learning about the

free jazz Free jazz is an experimental approach to jazz improvisation that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s when musicians attempted to change or break down jazz conventions, such as regular tempos, tones, and chord changes. Musicians dur ...

movement inspired Göttsching and his bandmates to pursue a freer, more improvisatory approach to music.

Ash Ra Tempel

As Göttsching and his bandmates moved from song-based music to free improvisation, Ash Ra Tempel was born in 1970. "We didn't play blues," Göttsching recalls. "We used some elements of it but tried to keep the freestyle of improvisation and using some blues themes." Along with Göttsching, the group included

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 Joke ...

(who had just left

Tangerine Dream Tangerine Dream is a German electronic music band founded in 1967 by Edgar Froese. The group has seen many personnel changes over the years, with Froese having been the only constant member until his death in January 2015. The best-known lineu ...

) and Hartmut Enke. Just after Ash Ra Tempel released its self-titled debut album in 1971, Schulze left to pursue what became a successful solo career which included the influential '' E2-E4'' album. In 2000, Göttsching and

released a studio album and a live album as Ash Ra Tempel. The live album was recorded as part of the

Cornucopia In classical antiquity, the cornucopia (), from Latin ''cornu'' (horn) and ''copia'' (abundance), also called the horn of plenty, was a symbol of abundance and nourishment, commonly a large horn-shaped container overflowing with produce, flowers ...

concerts curated by

Julian Cope Julian David Cope (born 21 October 1957) is an English musician and author. He was the singer and songwriter in Liverpool post-punk band the Teardrop Explodes and has followed a solo career since 1983 in addition to working on musical side pro ...

the Royal Festival Hall The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,700-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge, in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is a Grade I ...

in London.

Death

Göttsching died on 4 December 2022, at the age of 70.

Discography

Solo

* '' Inventions for Electric Guitar'' (1975) * '' E2-E4'' (1981, 1984) * ''Dream & Desire'' (1977, 1991, 2019) * ''Die Mulde'' (1981, 1997, 2004, 2005) * ''Concert for Murnau'' (2005) * ''Live at Mt.Fuji'' (2007)

As Ash Ra Tempel

*'' Ash Ra Tempel'' (1971) *''

Schwingungen ''Schwingungen'' is the second album by the Krautrock band Ash Ra Tempel. It was released in 1972 on Ohr. It has been re-released four times, most recently in 2011 on MG Art Records. The album's first song "Light" is heavily inspired by Peter G ...

'' (1972) *'' Seven Up'' (with

Timothy Leary Timothy Francis Leary (October 22, 1920 – May 31, 1996) was an American psychologist and author known for his strong advocacy of psychedelic drugs. Evaluations of Leary are polarized, ranging from bold oracle to publicity hound. He was "a her ...

, 1973) *'' Join Inn'' (1973) *'' Starring Rosi'' (1973) *''Le Berceau de Cristal'' (soundtrack) (1975) *''Friendship'' (with

, 2000)

As Ashra

*1976/''1976'' – New Age of Earth (re-released in 2008 under Gottsching's name) *1977/''1977'' – Blackouts (re-released in 2008 under Gottsching's name) *1979/''1978'' – Correlations (5 disc expanded edition (Correlations Complete) including ''The Making Of'' released in 2008) *1980/''1979'' – Belle Alliance (2 disc expanded edition (Belle Alliance Plus) released in 2008) *1990/''1988'' – Walkin' the Desert *1991/''1985–1986'' – Tropical Heat

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gottsching, Manuel 1952 births 2022 deaths German guitarists German male guitarists Musicians from Berlin