''Krautrocksampler: One Head's Guide to the Great Kosmische Musik - 1968 Onwards'', written by the musician and writer

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 proj ...

, is a book describing the underground music scene in Germany from 1968 through the 1970s. The book was first published in the United Kingdom in 1995 by Head Heritage, and was later translated into German, Italian and French. The book gives a subjective and very animated account of the phenomenon of

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 ...

from the perspective of the author, who states: "I wrote this short history because of the way I feel about the music, that its supreme Magic & Power has lain Unrecognised for too long." (orthographic quirks in the original) The book comprises a narrative of the

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...

culture in post-

WWII World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

, along with chapters focusing on individual major artists, including

Faust Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust ( 1480–1540). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a pact with the Devil at a crossroads ...

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 lineup ...

Neu! Neu! (; German for "New!"; styled in block capitals) were a West German krautrock band formed in Düsseldorf in 1971 by Klaus Dinger and Michael Rother following their departure from Kraftwerk. The group's albums were produced by Conny Plank, w ...

Amon Düül Amon Düül was a West German political art commune formed out of the student movement of the 1960s that became well known for its free-form musical improvisations. This spawned two rock groups, Amon Düül (sometimes referred to as Amon Düü ...

I and II,

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 ...

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 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 ...

and advocate of psychedelic drugs

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 ...

. It also has an annotated appendix of "50 Kosmische Classics." Some chapters appeared previously in the UK music magazine ''

The Wire ''The Wire'' is an American Crime film, crime drama Television show, television series created and primarily written by author and former police reporter David Simon. The series was broadcast by the cable network HBO in the United States. ''The ...

'' and in the German music magazine '' Spex''.

Simon Reynolds Simon Reynolds (born 19 June 1963) is an English music journalist and author who began his professional career on the staff of ''Melody Maker'' in the mid-1980s. He has since gone on to freelance and publish a number of full-length books on music ...

has referred to ''Krautrocksampler'' as " ssionate, pithy, and portable ..His ultra-vivid and hilariously over-the-top descriptions of a legion of German post-psychedelic records suggested that this prolific musician ..might have missed his true vocation as a

Lester Bangs Leslie Conway "Lester" Bangs (December 14, 1948 – April 30, 1982) was an American music journalist, critic, author, and musician. He wrote for ''Creem'' and ''Rolling Stone'' magazines, and was known for his leading influence in rock music c ...

-style advocate." It has been long out of print, with original copies changing hands for surprisingly large amounts of money. Despite this continued demand for ''Krautrocksampler'', Cope has stated that the book will not be updated or reprinted, claiming that it contains some "factual errors and that he doesn't want to position himself as an expert, having met people he considers better informed."{{Cite news, title=Going upwards at 45°, first=Richard, last=King, date=3 March 2010, work=A Krautrock Primer/Inside the Kosmiche sound, publisher=Red Bull Music Academy, location=London The cover is a detail from the cover of

Amon Düül II Amon Düül II (or Amon Düül 2, PronunciationAmon Düül is a German rock band. The group is generally considered to be one of the pioneers of the West German krautrock scene. Their 1970 album ''Yeti (album), Yeti'' was described by British ma ...

's album ''

Yeti The Yeti ()"Yeti"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. is an ape-like creature purported t ...

.''

References

External links

Head Heritage Krautrock Q&A

Incendiary Magazine review

The 50 albums listed in the appendix at Discogs
Books by Julian Cope Krautrock Music books

See also

References

External links