Amon Düül II (or Amon Düül 2, Pronunciation
Amon Düül are a German rock band formed in 1968.
The group is generally considered to be one of the pioneers of the West German
krautrock
Krautrock (also called , German for ) is a broad genre of experimental rock that developed in Germany in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It originated among artists who blended elements of psychedelic rock, avant-garde composition, and electron ...
scene. Their 1970 album ''
Yeti
The Yeti ()["Yeti"](_blank)
. ''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. is an ape-like creature purported t ...
'' was described by British magazine ''
The Wire
''The Wire'' is an American Crime fiction, crime Drama (film and television), drama television series created and primarily written by the American author and former police reporter David Simon for the cable network HBO. The series premiered o ...
'' as "one of the cornerstones of ... the entire Krautrock movement".
Amon Düül II emerged from the radical West German
Amon Düül art
commune in
Munich
Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...
. The band's first album, ''
Phallus Dei'', was released in 1969. Amon Düül II received offers to write music for films and won a German film award, the Deutscher Filmpreis, for their contribution to the 1970 film ''
San Domingo''.
History
The band emerged from the radical
West German
West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republic after its capital c ...
commune scene of the late 1960s, with others in the same commune including some of the future founders of the
Red Army Faction
The Red Army Faction (, ; RAF ),See the section "Name" also known as the Baader–Meinhof Group or Baader–Meinhof Gang ( ), was a West German far-left militant group founded in 1970 and active until 1998, considered a terrorist organisat ...
. Founding members are
Chris Karrer, Dieter Serfas, Falk Rogner (born 14 September 1943), John Weinzierl (born 4 April 1949), and Renate Knaup-Krötenschwanz (born Renate Aschauer-Knaup, 1 July 1948) who, thus far, is the only woman in the band.
The band was founded after Weinzierl and the others met at the
Amon Düül 'art commune' in
Munich
Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...
. The commune consisted mainly of university students, who formed a music group initially to fund the commune, with everyone who lived there joining in to play music whether or not they had any experience or ability. The commune split when they were offered an opportunity to record, which was boycotted by the more musically proficient members of the commune (who went on to form Amon Düül II). Recordings were made by the other members but were of very poor quality and were only released later (under the name Amon Düül) to capitalise on the success of Amon Düül II's albums. As Amon Düül II grew and personnel changed, they still remained a commune, living together as a band.
Their first album ''
Phallus Dei'' ('God's Phallus'), released in 1969, consisted of pieces drawn from the group's live set at the time. By this time the line-up was built around a core of Karrer (mainly violin and guitar), Weinzierl (guitar, bass, piano), Rogner on keyboards, bass player
Dave Anderson, and two drummers (Peter Leopold (born 15 August 1945) who had joined the group from Berlin, and Dieter Serfas. Renate Knaup at this point was only contributing minimal vocals but was very much part of the group. According to Weinzierl by this time "The band played almost every day. We played universities, academies, underground clubs, and every hall with a power socket and an audience".
Releasing an album brought the group greater prominence and they began to tour more widely in Germany and abroad, playing alongside groups such as
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 the only constant member until his death in January 2015. The best-known lineup of the grou ...
, and in Germany staying in other communes including the pioneering
Kommune 1 in Berlin.
Their second album ''
Yeti
The Yeti ()["Yeti"](_blank)
. ''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. is an ape-like creature purported t ...
'' (1970) saw them introducing arranged compositions along with the bluesy violin and guitar jams such as the long improvised title track. The next album ''
Tanz der Lemminge'' (1971) was based on four extended progressive rock suites. By this time bassist Anderson had returned to England and joined
Hawkwind
Hawkwind are an English rock band known as one of the earliest space rock groups. Since their formation in November 1969, Hawkwind have gone through many incarnations and have incorporated many different styles into their music, including hard ...
, to be replaced by Lothar Meid (born 28 August 1942), and the group was augmented by synthman Karl-Heinz Hausmann (Karrer had formed a short-lived group in 1966 – supposedly named 'Amon Düül O' – with future
Embryo
An embryo ( ) is the initial stage of development for a multicellular organism. In organisms that reproduce sexually, embryonic development is the part of the life cycle that begins just after fertilization of the female egg cell by the male sp ...
founders Lothar Meid and drummer
Christian Burchard
An embryo ( ) is the initial stage of development for a multicellular organism. In organisms that reproduce sexually, embryonic development is the part of the life cycle that begins just after fertilization of the female egg cell by the male spe ...
).
Still touring widely, they recorded their ''Live in London'' album in late 1972 and in 1975 signed with
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...
in the US, and
United Artists Records
United Artists Records was an American record label founded by Max E. Youngstein of United Artists in 1957 to issue movie soundtracks. The label expanded into other genres, such as easy listening, jazz, pop, and R&B.
History Genres
In 1958 ...
Germany and initially disbanded in 1981.
As well as their albums and live shows ADII received offers to write music for films, winning a German film award, the
Deutscher Filmpreis
The German Film Award (), also known as Lola after its prize statuette, is the national film award of Germany. It is presented at an annual ceremony honouring cinematic achievements in the Cinema of Germany, German film industry. Besides being ...
, for their contribution to the film ''
San Domingo''.
Amon Düül II's drummer, Peter Leopold, died on 8 November 2006. A memorial service was held for Leopold in Munich, where the remaining members of Amon Düül II sang a song for him. Leopold was replaced by
multi-instrumentalist
A multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays two or more musical instruments, often but not exclusively at a professional level of proficiency.
Also known as woodwind doubler, doubling, the practice allows greater ensemble flexibility and mor ...
Daniel Fichelscher, for many years guitarist and drummer of Krautrock group
Popol Vuh
''Popol Vuh'' (also ''Popul Vuh'' or ''Pop Vuj'') is a text recounting the mythology and history of the Kʼicheʼ people of Guatemala, one of the Maya peoples who also inhabit the Mexican states of Chiapas, Campeche, Yucatan and Quintana Roo, ...
. Fichelscher is not new to the group, and in fact has had a long affiliation with Amon Düül II, having played with them as early as 1972 on ''
Carnival in Babylon''.
Bass player Lothar Meid died on 3 November 2015.
Band members
*
Chris Karrer – violin, guitars, saxophone, vocals (1969–1981, died 2024)
* John Weinzierl – guitar, bass, vocals (1969–1977)
* Falk Rogner – organ, synthesizer, electronics (1969–1971, 1972–1975, 1981)
* Renate Knaup – vocals, tambourine (1969–1970, 1972–1975, 1981)
* Dieter Serfas – drums (1969)
* Peter Leopold – drums, percussion (1969–1972, 1973–1979, died 2006)
* Christian "Shrat" Thiele – bongos, vocals, violin (1969–1970)
* Dave Anderson – bass (1969–1970)
* Lothar Meid – bass, vocals, synthesizer (1971–1973, 1974, died 2015)
* Karl-Heinz Hausmann – keyboards, organ, electronics (1971–1972)
*
Danny Fichelscher – drums, percussion, guitar, vocals (1972, 1981)
* Robby Heibl – bass, guitar, violin, vocals (1973, 1975)
* Nando Tischer – guitar, vocals (1975)
* Klaus Ebert – guitar, bass, vocals (1976–1979)
* Stefan Zauner – keyboards, synthesizer, vocals (1976–1979)
* Jörg Evers – bass, guitar, synthesizer (1981)
Discography
Studio albums
Live albums
Compilations
Singles
Legacy
Amon Düül II influenced such bands in late 70s like Hungarian psychedelic hardcore '
shaman punk' band
Galloping Coroners.
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Amon Duul Ii
Krautrock musical groups
Musical groups established in 1969
German experimental musical groups
German progressive rock groups
German psychedelic rock music groups