Krautrocksampler

Krautrocksampler
Author Julian Cope
Country United Kingdom
Language English
Subject Krautrock
Publisher Head Heritage
Publication date
January 1, 1995
Media type Paperback
Pages 140 pp
ISBN 0-9526719-1-3
OCLC 44822513

Krautrocksampler: One Head's Guide to the Great Kosmische Musik - 1968 Onwards, written by musicologist and former The Teardrop Explodes singer, Julian Cope, 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. It has now 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."[1]

Krautrocksampler gives a subjective and very animated account of the phenomenon of krautrock 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."[2] This subjectivity has been criticised for presenting "too narrow" a view of the genre, with critics citing "the lack of an in-depth assessment of Agitation Free or Xhol Caravan" as examples.[1]

The book comprises a narrative of the rock and roll culture in post-WWII West Germany, along with chapters focusing on individual major artists, including Faust, Tangerine Dream, Neu!, Amon Düül I and II, Ash Ra Tempel, Rolf-Ulrich Kaiser and the Cosmic Jokers and advocate of psychedelic drugs Timothy Leary. It also has an annotated appendix of "50 Kosmische Classics." Some chapters appeared previously in the UK music magazine The Wire and in the German music magazine Spex.

The cover is an edited version of the cover of Amon Düül II's album Yeti.

See also

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 King, Richard (3 March 2010). "Going upwards at 45°". A Krautrock Primer/Inside the Kosmiche sound (London: Red Bull Music Academy).
  2. Cope, Julian (1995). Krautrocksampler: One Head's Guide to the Great Kosmische Musik - 1968 Onwards. Yatesbury: Head Heritage. p. 1. ISBN 0-9526719-1-3. (orthographic quirks in the original)

External links