Introduction!

My proposed project is a response to the rock-influenced electronic music of 1970-1978

Germany, denoted regionally as Berlin- and Düsseldorf-School. The creative component

will be comprised of two pieces informed by the musicological identification of key

practices within Kosmische Musik, a style derived largely from Berlin-School practice, and

the broader canon during this analogue era of production. This will be accompanied by a

musicological essay addressing matters of aesthetics and creative practice arising from

the research questions outlined in this report.!

!Cultural and Stylistic Context!

The late 1960s-1970s was a time of turbulent change for German music. Reacting to an

insipid popular music scene (BBC, 2009)  known as ‘Schlager’, to patriotic insecurity 1

(Cunningham 2011, pp. 44-45) and, arguably, expressing the youth’s disdain for their

elder’s wartime actions (Stubbs 2009, p. 7), a new generation of musicians with an

experimentalist, rock-like ideology emerged. With them came radical approaches to

rhythm, timbre and production which observers see as being couched in avant-garde

values (Bagdanov et al. 2001, p. xii; Cox and Warner 2009, p. 412). Karlheinz

Stockhausen is even credited for significantly influencing Düsseldorf practitioners (e.g.

Cope 1996, p. 11), having worked in various capacities with influential producer Conny

Plank, Czukay and Schmidt of Can and, allegedly (see Hütter 2012), Kraftwerk. !

! Anglophone journalism came to address such music as ‘Krautrock’, itself drawing

attention to the uneasy position of Germany in a post-Second World War society. With

synthesis equipment (previously the preserve of the academe) becoming increasingly

� Literal translation of Witthüser & Westrupp’s ‘Zu Den Jahrezeiten’ (verse three), for instance, reads “We 1

recognise […] that all who sing or kiss more than the learned know, that one in fairy tales and poems recognises in the old world history: about these things we sing today.”

� 2

accessible, practitioners including Klaus Schulze, Tangerine Dream, Cluster and Faust

began to adopt the contemplative soundworlds known as ‘Kosmische Musik’, upon which

this project is based.!

! Lawrence Grossberg explains anglophone rock culture’s own analogous emergence

as responding to the “specific historical context” (1993, p.199) of postwar society. He

emphasises the importance of the large youth presence resulting from a sudden

population increase (the ‘baby boom’) and troubled cultural surroundings - the recent

struggles for power and survival still pervading the public consciousness. Though

Statistisches Bundesamt, at time of writing, reports Germany’s population  increased more 2

gradually than the USA (Lahmeyer 2003), Germany was subject to substantial social

pressures in the wake of defeat and the delegitimisation of deeply-embedded Nazi beliefs.

Cunningham (2011, pp. 45-47), Witts (2011, p. 167) and Smith (par. 4) each suggest

Kraftwerk adopted an artistic identity rooted in 1930s Germany, necessarily (with their

contemporaries) abandoning the identity of the previous generation.!

! Despite significance as a musical phenomenon — Berlin’s partitioners are widely

credited for influencing various later electronica work, including my own — Krautrock has

received little attentive study. Beyond a recent biographical collection, Krautrock: Cosmic

Rock and its Legacies, Cope’s Krautrocksampler is perhaps the only lengthy anglophone

investigation, though found [fair] criticism for shallow critiques and factual errors (King

2010). While German scholars have addressed rock catalysing the dissolution of the

Deutsche Demokratische Republik of eastern Germany (see Rauhut 1993, 2002; Hintze

2000; Leitner 1983), musicological pursuits appear elusive.!

! Although perceived as particularly radical, MacDonald claiming that “In Germany

such blatantly avant-garde proceedings are taken for granted by ordinary rock

audiences” (qtd. in McConnell 2007), Krautrock’s sonic design was accomplished with the

� N.b. this data concerns west Germany alone until reunification in 1990.2

� 3

burgeoning technological sophistication of the time (see Holmes 2008, pp. 128-226; Pinch

and Trocco 2002). Leveraging contemporary computer-based production environments,

this project will “[interrogate] new possibilities of sonic creation” (Sansom 2004, p. 4) to

amplify the aesthetic values identified through critical musicological reading of the

available material record.!

!Aims!

This portfolio is informed by researching the social and musical climate of 1970-1978

Germany, particularly concerning the manner of technological application and underlying

musical attitudes within Kosmische Musik. Its principal aim is to explore such issues and

apply them to computer-based creative practice with consideration of timbre, texture, form

and groove. To address this aim, I ask three main research questions, namely:!

!1. How did the social climate and electrified music technology of the time inform music-

making?!

2. What aesthetic commonalities are revealed in the work of Kosmische Musik

practitioners?!

3. How may the concerns arising from both former questions be addressed in

contemporary computer-based music-making?!

!! Given its ethnomusicological basis, this submission will be accompanied with a

written project addressing questions 1 and 2, alongside a brief musical commentary.!

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Methods and Procedures!Question 1!

Responding to the first question, I shall investigate academic and journalistic discourse

surrounding Kosmische Musik and broader culture. Here, addressing practitioners’

approaches to the creative challenge provides a theoretical basis for this task’s production

environment. As noted previously, little academic discourse addresses Krautrock directly,

though historiographic writing on culture and music technology is somewhat richer.

Interview requests may also be extended to those musicians who remain active.!

!Question 2!

I shall address the second question through musicological analysis of recorded texts,

particularly works produced by Konrad ‘Conny’ Plank and Dieter Dierks, credited 41 times

in the period by All Music (n.d.a, n.d.b, n.d.c)   . This study will shape the musical 3

production values of the creative portfolio.!

!Question 3!

Having addressed both former questions through bibliographical and musicological

research, the final question underpins the creative portion of the portfolio. Having identified

key issues, I shall apply these in a creative context. This may include the development of

sonic design tools using the SuperCollider or Max programming environments, if required.

This component will comprise of two pieces: a sequencer study of c.a. 5 minutes duration,

informed particularly by Klaus Schulze and Tangerine Dream and; a piece which considers

matters arising in the former research questions in an extended musical form.!

� At this time, cohesion between bands remains unclear and so I remain weary of determining commonalities 3

in terms of some broader ‘movement’.

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Musical Survey!

My research method will include substantial musicological inquiry, adopting recorded

artefacts as primary sources for this project. This section sets out a brief and general

analysis of salient musical domains across the identified repertory, providing indicative

responses to research question 2, above.!

!Timbre and Acoustic Space!

Throughout the recordings studied, drum kits and electronic sound sources, including

synthesisers, tape and electric guitars, feature prominently. Figures 1 and 2, below,

compares the distribution of instrumentation in the works of Berlin- and Düsseldorf-School

practitioners studied, respectively.!

!

Fig. 1: Instrumentation of a 78-track sampling of Berlin-School releases   . Note the primacy of 4

synthesisers and common use of electric guitar, synthesiser and drum kit for most acts.!!!!

� Please see the accompanying discography for Berlin- and Düsseldorf-School releases sampled.4

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Ashra Cluster Cluster & Eno HarmoniaKlaus Schulze Os Mundi Tangerine Dream

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!

Fig. 2: Instrumentation of a 82-track sampling of Düsseldorf-School releases 4. Note the differing commonality and frequency of electric guitar, synthesiser, bass guitar and vocals to Fig. 1.!!

! Coinciding with the common use of electronic instruments seen throughout the

repertory, electronic effects appear both frequently and extensively, ranging from the use

of distortion (e.g., Faust - ‘Krautrock’ and throughout many guitar-led tracks) to periodic

modulation (e.g., Kraftwerk - ‘Kometenmelodie 1’; flanger in Galaxy - ‘Warrior of the

Endless Time’; phaser in Michael Rother - ‘Fontana Di Luna’) and delay (e.g., Electric

Sandwich - ‘China’; Michael Rother - ‘Karussell'). This approach to timbre is ostensibly

allied with low-fidelity sensibilities of the experimental scene (see Hegarty 2007), in steep

contrast to the straightforwardness of popular music at the time.!

! Advances in clarity and fidelity between even the late 1970s and today are self

evident, surpassing many of the restrictions posed by recording technology of the time.

Equally, the nuanced control of sound design (an extension of a crucial advantage

synthesis technology introduced at the time) is now significantly more accessible.

Nonetheless, the use of acoustic space is particularly creative in the repertory, referring to

non-normative use of reverberation and stereo positioning.!

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Electric Sandwich Faust Galaxy Guru Guru KraftwerkMichael Rother Neu! Can

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! As Doyle’s (2005 p. 57) study of echo and reverberation between 1900-1960

suggests, popular and classical recording aesthetics often exhibit associations with

different forms of acoustic space. Indeed, delay and reverb effects have found a general

pronounced use within Krautrock, often simulating large artificial spaces (e.g., Cluster &

Eno - ‘Ho Renomo’; Tangerine Dream - ‘Ricochet Part 1’). In conjunction with such

simulated acoustic spaces, the mix of various tracks includes wide and mobile

stereophonic textures (e.g., Cluster - ‘Marzipan’; Harmonia - ‘Watussi’), stereo itself still

being established in the early 1970s as a standard format.!

!Groove and Form!

Düsseldorf-School music is often credited with a strong rhythmic identity and idiomatic

Motorik or ‘Apache’ beat (Kopf 2001), accredited to Neu and felt in various other

recordings (e.g. Kraftwerk - ‘Autobahn’; Electric Sandwich - ‘It’s No Use to Run’; Harmonia

- ‘Dino’). For Kosmische Musik elsewhere, such use of rhythmic percussion occurs less

frequently. Throughout the Cluster II album, for instance, pulse and metre are rarely made

explicit.!

Figure 3: The Motorik beat!

! From roughly 1974, the sequencer began to feature, a device which triggers

rhythmically-quantised control of, most commonly, pitch in short (hyper)metric groupings

(e.g. Klaus Schulze - ‘Beyreuth Return’; Tangerine Dream - ‘Phaedra’). This would become

a defining feature of Kosmische Musik, often alongside synthesised or sampled backing.

! Approaches to metre vary, generally incorporating material with clear pulse and

metre, though several exceptions render metre more obscure (e.g., Faust - ‘Krautrock’;

� 8

excerpts of Guru Guru - ‘Oxymoron’). Interestingly, several tracks studied marry

unquantised pitch with unclear rhythmic profiles (e.g., Ashra - ‘Nightdust’; Cluster - ‘Plas’;

Harmonia - ‘Ohrwurm’), while occasional metric modulations (Tangerine Dream - ‘Rubycon

Part 1’, ‘Stratosfear’; Klaus Schulze - ‘Totem’) also feature.!

! A common approach within the repertory studied is the use of extended musical

structures formed of economical, yet thematic, musical material - a connection with

progressive rock as Hegarty and Helliwell (2011, p. 19) identify. This economy of material

is reflected in earlier works through the use of a single timbre palette with no clear

structural episodes (typical of many recordings featured in this report).!

!Conclusions!

With the preceding survey, I have addressed in short the first two research questions,

directing further study as this project progresses. To conclude, I shall briefly address the

final and, I believe, richest question: how such findings may be related to the creative

practice of this proposal. There is, of course, a valid question of how one could rationalise

the continuation of musical practices in a radically different historico-geographical climate

to that which Krautrock emerged. Being a British composer several decades their junior,

there is little worth in the straightforward emulation of Krautrock musicians’ work. However,

constructing an artistic identity from the practices and approaches of a bygone era invites

a promising line of creative inquiry, echoing both popular music behaviours at large

(Reynolds 2011) and commentary on Krautrock which I have highlighted. Thus, I shall

identify the broad attitudes to various musical domains, incorporating this into a

contemporary production environment which inspires new sonic paradigms, remaining

closely-contextualised within the stated praxis.!

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! Noting the use of electrified music technology throughout Kosmische Musik, a

computer-based production environment will be used, leveraging increasingly nuanced

sonic design. Having observed trends toward low-fidelity sound transformations, it is

curious that such processes have applied to timbre (temporally-mediated frequency

spectrum) but not articulation (temporally-mediated amplitude).!

! Having identified an inclination towards the creative use of pulse and metre, the

first, sequencer-led, track will investigate the uses of metric modulation, phasing and

mutable hypermetre arising from extensions, overlaps and cuts in particular. This also

invites experimentation with the use of glitch processes and other articulatory effects in a

pulse-based musical situation.!

! The second track will showcase new possibilities of sonic design rather more

explicitly, focussing on the calculated economical use of musical material (importantly,

moving between quantised and arhythmic atonal musical spaces) and its development

through both musical and timbral means. This is likely to include: frequency-domain

processing beyond the reach of analog technology, stutter editing and granular methods of

sound (re)synthesis within a through-composed musical form.

� 10

Bibliography!

All Music. (n.d.-a). Conny Plank | Credits. AllMusic. Retrieved December 21, 2013, from !

! http://www.allmusic.com/artist/conny-plank-mn0000728895/credits!

All Music. (n.d.-b). Dieter Dierks | Credits. AllMusic. Retrieved December 10, 2013, from

! http://www.allmusic.com/artist/dieter-dierks-mn0000272954/credits!

All Music. (n.d.-c). Konrad Plank | Credits. AllMusic. Retrieved December 10, 2013, from

! http://www.allmusic.com/artist/konrad-plank-mn0000099863/credits!

Bogdanov, V., Woodstra, C., Erlewine, S. T., & Bush, J. (Eds.). (2001). All Music Guide to

! Electronica: The Definitive Guide to Electronic Music. San Francisco: Backbeat !

! Books.!

Cope, J. (1996). The Krautrock Sampler (2nd Edition.). Great Britain: Common Era.!

Cox, C., & Warner, D. (2009). Glossary. In C. Cox & D. Warner (Eds.), Audio Culture: !

! Readings in Modern Music (pp. 409–418). London: Continuum.!

Cunningham, D. (2011). Kraftwerk and the image of the modern. In S. Albiez & D. Pattie

! (Eds.), Kraftwerk: Music Non-Stop (pp. 44–62). London: Continuum.!

Czukay, H. (n.d.). Czukay - History - Biography. Retrieved from !

! http://www.czukay.de/history/biography/index.html!

Dinger, K. (2011). Klaus Dinger Interview Transcript. Retrieved from !

! http://thewire.co.uk/in-writing/interviews/klaus-dinger-interview-transcript!

Doyle, P. (2005). Echo and reverb: fabricating space in popular music recording, !!

! 1900-1960. Middletown, Conn.: Wesleyan University Press.!

Flür, W. (2003). Kraftwerk: I Was a Robot. Sanctuary Pub Limited.!

Hegarty, P. (2007). Noise/music: a history. New York: Continuum.!

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Hegarty, P., & Halliwell, M. (2011). Beyond and Before: Progresive Rock Since the 1960s.

! London: Continuum.!

Hintze, G. (2000). Rocklexikon der DDR. Schwarzkopf and Schwarzkopf.!

Holmes, T. (2008). Electronic and experimental music: technology, music, and culture. !

! New York: Routledge.!

Hütter, R. (2012, August 30). Interview: Kraftwerk. Retrieved from !

! http://www.redbullmusicacademy.com/magazine/kraftwerk-interview!

Krautrock - The Rebirth of Germany (BBC Documentary) - Full Version. (2009). Retrieved

! from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHUwkYkn_kA!

Lahmeyer, J. (2003). United States of America: Population Growth of the Whole Country.

! Retrieved January 3, 2014, from http://www.populstat.info/Americas/usac.htm!

Leitner, O. (1983). Rockszene DDR: Aspekte einer Massenkultur im Sozialismus, 7646.!

McConnell, D. (2007, April 20). Krautrock - Recalling Germany Calling. Prog Rockers. !

! Weblog. Retrieved from http://blogprock.blogspot.co.uk/2007/04/2004.html!

Pinch, T. J., & Troco, F. (2002). Analog days: the Invention and Impact of the Moog !

! Synthesizer. Cambridge (Mass.); London: Harvard University press.!

Rauhut, M. (1993). Beat in der Grauzone: DDR-Rock 1964 bis 1972, Politik und Alltag. !

! BasisDruck.!

Rauhut, M. (2002). Rock in der DDR: 1964 bis 1989. Bundeszentrale für politische !

! Bildung.!

Reynolds, S. (2011). Retromania: Pop Culture’s Addiction to its Own Past. New York: !

! Faber & Faber.!

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Sansom, M. (2004, February). The Creative Use of Contemporary Music Technology. !

! Retrieved February 6, 2013, from http://matthewsansomdotcom.files.wordpress!

! .com/2004/02/creativitytechnology_sansom.pdf!

Schmidt, I. (2008). Biography. Retrieved from http://irminschmidt.com/biog.html!

Smith, J. (2010). Kraftwerk: The Robots (1977) - Justin Erik Halldór Smith. Retrieved !

! December 9, 2013, from http://www.jehsmith.com/1/2010/01/kraftwerk-the-!!

! robots-1977.html!

Statistisches Bundesamt. (n.d.). Staat & Gesellschaft - Bevolkerung. Retrieved January 3,

! 2014, from https://www.destatis.de/EN/FactsFigures/Indicators/LongTermSeries/!

! Population/lrbev04.html!

Stubbs, D. (2009). Introduction. In Krautrock: Cosmic Rock and its Legacies (pp. 4–19). !

! London: Black Dog Publishing.

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Discography!

Tracks Referenced!

Ashra. (1977). Nightdust. On New Age of Earth [Spotify]. London: Virgin Records.!

Cluster. (1972). Plas. On Cluster II [Spotify]. Berlin: Universal Music.!

Cluster. (1974). Marzipan. On Zuckerzeit [Spotify]. Berlin: Universal Music.!

Cluster. (1974). Marzipan. On Zuckerzeit [Spotify]. Berlin: Universal Music.!

Cluster, & Eno, B. (2009). Ho Renomo. On Cluster & Eno [CD]. Hamburg: Sky ! !

! Records. (1977)!

Electric Sandwich. (1972). China. On Electric Sandwich [Spotify]. Berlin: Universal Music.!

Electric Sandwich. (1972). It’s no Use to Run. On Electric Sandwich [Spotify]. Berlin: !

! Universal Music.!

Faust. (2006). Krautrock. On Faust IV [Spotify]. London: Virgin Records. (1973). !

Galaxy. (2012). Warrior of the Endless Time. On Visions [Spotify]. Frankfurt: Bellaphon !

! Records. (1978)!

Guru Guru. (1972). Oxymoron. On Känguru [Spotify]. Berlin: Universal Music.!

Harmonia. (1974). Dino. On Musik von Harmonia [Spotify]. Berlin: Universal Music.!

Harmonia. (1974). Ohrwurm. On Musik von Harmonia [Spotify]. Berlin: Universal Music.!

Harmonia. (1974). Watussi. On Musik von Harmonia [Spotify]. Berlin: Universal Music.!

Kraftwerk. (2009). Autobahn. On Autobahn [CD]. Düsseldorf: Kling Klang. (1974).!

Kraftwerk. (2009). Kometenmelodie 1. On Autobahn [CD]. Düsseldorf: Kling Klang. (1974).!

Rother, M. (1977). Karussell. On Flammende Herzen [Spotify]. Bevern: Random Records.!

Rother, M. (1978). Fontana Di Luna. On Sterntaler [Spotify]. Bevern: Random Records.!

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Schulze, K. (1974). Totem. On Picture Music [Spotify]. Hamburg: Brain.!

Schulze, K. (1975). Beyreuth Return. On Timewind [Purchased iTunes download]. London:

! Virgin Records.!

Tangerine Dream. (1974). Phaedra. On Phaedra [CD]. London: Virgin Records.!

Tangerine Dream. (1975a). Ricochet Part 1. On Ricochet [CD]. London: Virgin Records.!

Tangerine Dream. (1975b). Rubycon Part 1. On Rubycon [CD]. London: Virgin Records.!

Tangerine Dream. (1976). Stratosfear. On Stratosfear [CD]. London: Virgin Records.!

Witthüser, B. & Westrupp, W. (1999). Zu Den Jahrezeiten. On Bauer Plath [Spotify]. !

! Ohr Records. (1972)!

!Berlin-School Releases Sampled!

Ashra. (1977). New Age of Earth [Spotify]. London: Virgin Records.!

Ashra. (1978). Blackouts [Spotify]. London: Virgin Records.!

Cluster. (1972). Cluster II [Spotify]. Berlin: Universal Music.!

Cluster. (1974). Zuckerzeit [Spotify]. Berlin: Universal Music.!

Cluster, & Eno, B. (2009). Cluster & Eno [CD]. Hamburg: Sky Records. (1977).!

Harmonia. (1974). Musik von Harmonia [Spotify]. Berlin: Universal Music.!

Harmonia. (1975). De Luxe [Spotify]. Berlin: Universal Music.!

Os Mundi. (1972). 43 Minuten [Spotify]. Berlin: Universal Music.!

Schulze, K. (1974). Picture Music [Spotify]. Hamburg: Brain.!

Schulze, K. (1975). Timewind [Purchased iTunes download]. London: Virgin Records. !

Tangerine Dream. (1972). Zeit [Spotify]. Ohr Records.!

Tangerine Dream. (1974). Phaedra [CD]. London: Virgin Records.!

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Tangerine Dream. (1975a). Ricochet [CD]. London: Virgin Records.!

Tangerine Dream. (1975b). Rubycon [CD]. London: Virgin Records.!

Tangerine Dream. (1976). Stratosfear [CD]. London: Virgin Records.!

!Düsseldorf-School Releases Sampled!

Can. (2011). Tago Mago [CD]. London: Spoon Records. (1971)!

Can. (2012). Ege Bamyasi [CD]. London: Spoon Records. (1972)!

Electric Sandwich. (1972). Electric Sandwich [Spotify]. Berlin: Universal Music.!

Faust. (2006). Faust IV [Spotify]. London: Virgin Records. (1973).!

Galaxy. (2012). Visions [Spotify]. Frankfurt: Bellaphon Records. (1978).!

Guru Guru. (1972). Känguru [Spotify]. Berlin: Universal Music.!

Kraftwerk. (2009). Autobahn [CD]. Düsseldorf: Kling Klang. (1974).!

Neu! (2001a). Neu! [Spotify]. London: Grönland Records. (1972)!

Neu! (2001b). Neu! 2 [Spotify]. London: Grönland Records. (1973)!

Neu! (2001c). Neu! 75 [Spotify]. London: Grönland Records. (1975)!

Rother, M. (1977). Flammende Herzen [Spotify]. Bevern: Random Records.!

Rother, M. (1978). Sterntaler [Spotify]. Bevern: Random Records.