Krautrock: Original Album Series

Nisennenmondai is the world’s best-kept secret among noise rock enthusiasts. Since the Y2K bug of the band’s Japanese-translation-namesake was still a thing, the instrumental trio has been spinning post-punk, no wave, and krautrock influences into something fresh and surprisingly danceable, though without much attention stateside. Recent Nisnenenmondai releases have consisted of a live album and some singles that are impossible to track down in the States, but thankfully, their latest EP, N, has been properly released through American digital retailers.

Experimental ethnic fusion outfit based around the duo of Jean-François Gaël, Pierre Buffenoir, initially with Arcane V members: Philippe Gumplowicz and Youval Micenmacher, and others. Sonorhc (Chronos backwards) played a wide-ranging mixture of styles, covering all sorts of ancient and modern cultural elements, medieval, baroque, oriental, you name it, they mixed and matched, fused and collided, making unusual and original concoctions, resulting in three very different albums, and also Jean-François Gaël et Pierre Buffenoir - Portes D'Orient which was essentially Sonorhc although it didn't bear their name.

In light of the 1990s post-rock scene and the often clear links back to Krautrock of all stripes, Ash Ra Tempel's monster debut album stands as being both astonishingly prescient and just flat out good, a logical extension of the space-jam-freakout ethos into rarified realms. Featuring the original trio of Hartmut Enke, Manuel Gottsching and Klaus Schulze, Ash Ra Tempel consists of only two side-long tracks, both of which are gripping examples of technical ability mixed with rock power. If more progressive music was like it, there wouldn't be as many continuing complaints about that genre as a whole. "Amboss" contains the more upfront explosions of sound, though it mixes in restraint as much as crunch. Starting with Manuel Gottsching's extended guitar notes and Klaus Schulze's cymbals, it begins with a slow, ominous build that is equally haunting, as mysterious as the cryptic artwork of temples and figures found on the inside…

All copies of the June 2024 issue of Uncut come with a free CD – Can Live 1973 – 1977 – that brings together music from Can’s indispensable live series. On these five tracks – don’t feel short-changed: the shortest one is over eight minutes long – you’ll find rock’s most forward-thinking band at their most uninhibited…

We are proud to present "I'm Always Right" by Imagination, an unreleased jazz rock LP from 1977. Comprised of five tracks with a playtime of roughly 30 minutes, you will hear one of the finest German late-70s rock-tinged electric jazz albums of the era. The recording is a delightful stand-out with unique compositions, aspiring solo work, and a soulful spirit throughout. Additionally, the album veritably glows with exceptional sound quality, as it has been remastered from original tapes that were cut more than four decades ago at the WDR Funkhaus, Cologne.

Alternately psychedelic, progressive, and hard rock-styled, the eclectic German band Grobschnitt became one of the most popular live acts in German history. The group recorded several lauded albums in the 1970s, moving between styles before switching to more mainstream pop and rock in the 1980s. Meanwhile, in part thanks to drummer Joachim Ehrig, the group added touches of absurdist humor to their records and live shows…