Krautrock
Roots · 1968 · 90 to 140 BPM · also known as Kraut Rock, Kosmische Rock
Krautrock is West Germany's refusal of Anglo-American blues in the 1970s and its invention of a trance all its own: motorik, the straight, obstinate pulse driven by bands like Neu! and Can, built in community studios alongside a nascent electronic sound. It became the school of European repetitive groove, and Detroit techno would later cite it as an obvious ancestor.
17 reference tracks
- Ash Ra Tempel: Traummaschine (1971)
- Neu!: Hallogallo (1972)
- Can: Vitamin C (1972)
- Faust: It's a Rainy Day Sunshine Girl (1972)
- Harmonia: Watussi (1974)
- Cluster: Hollywood (1974)
- Föllakzoid: I (2019)
- Harvey Sutherland: Jouissance (2022)
- Squid: Swing (In A Dream) (2023)
- Les Big Byrd: Diamonds, Rhinestones and Hard Rain (2023)
- Can: Live In Keele 1977 (2024)
- Can: Moonshake
- Can: Future Days
- Can: Mushroom
- NEU!: ISI
- Can: Paperhouse
- Can: Bel Air
At a glance
- Tempo: 90 to 140 BPM
- First appeared: 1968
- Machines: Orgue, Moog modulaire, EMS Synthi AKS, Magnétophone à bande, Écho à bande
- The sound: Batterie motorik jouée, Orgues et premiers synthés, Studio communautaire (Conny Plank), Bandes et échos
- Labels: Brain, Ohr, Sky Records, Bureau B, Grönland, United Artists Records
- Key artists: Can, Neu!, Faust, Cluster, Harmonia
Producing Krautrock
The motorik pulse runs 120 to 140 BPM, straight and without swing but played by a human drummer, what makes it hypnotic being its constancy over ten minutes with only micro variations in intensity, never a spectacular fill. The pattern is simple: kick on every beat plus an extra hit on the upbeat of four, snare on two and four, hats in continuous steady eighths. The bass is an electric bass playing one or two notes for minutes, holding a steady eighth note pulse with an occasional rise to the fifth or minor seventh every eight bars, blended with the kick rather than sidechained. An organ held in open chords, a modular synth producing sliding tones, and a tape delayed guitar complete the sound, colored with plate reverb and short echoes.
The full production course, in French: tempo, drums, bass, sounds, arrangement, mix, plugins and machines, and a step by step start.
Frequently asked
What is Krautrock?
Krautrock is West Germany's refusal of Anglo-American blues in the 1970s and its invention of a trance all its own: motorik, the straight, obstinate pulse driven by bands like Neu! and Can, built in community studios alongside a nascent electronic sound. It became the school of European repetitive…
What tempo is Krautrock played at?
Between 90 and 140 BPM.
Who are the key Krautrock artists?
Can, Neu!, Faust, Cluster, Harmonia.
