ashra/manuel göttsching

bruno

est malade
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so, ashra roughly 1974 to 1978. manuel götsching's inventions, paris downers, new age of earth, blackouts, the private sessions issued much later but containing incredible versions from the period. this stage of mr. göttsching's music seems so appropriate to this age of crisp hubble images and looking into the sky and yet it seems neglected, not in bed with progressives and not held in the same regard as the cans, clusters and harmonias. heaps of praise for klaus schultze but mr. göttsching with his guitar and innocent smile do not belong in the synth canon either. is it because the guitar lead is suspect, even muffled beyond recognition by echo and effects? is it the density? or is it that the search for harmony and beauty is anachronic to this blacker, more cynical time?

in any case it's a lonely, unique music, echoes of karl friedrich schinkel's forms and premonitions of the renewed interest in space and nature of the late seventies (carl sagan's cosmos/vangelis/new age stuff). i recommend starting with inventions and exploring this dense region of musical space.
 

Kate Mossad

Well-known member
Yeah, I've got time for Göttsching. I think he gets overlooked because, being on Virgin, a lot of his stuff was easily available pre-CD and pre-download, unlike Neu! or even Can. Also there was a bit of a "new age" vibe about him which was anathema post post-punk which was when the first stirrings of what you could call a "Kraut revival" became apparent. I think anyway.
 

bruno

est malade
that makes sense, kate mossad. i admit i posted this to vindicate mg after seeing the bbc krautrock thing with zero mention of him, but giving all the time in the world to schulze and tangerine dream (in my opinion lesser artists).
 

stephenk

Well-known member
i love gottsching but i think he's definitely getting a lot of of love from the millions of lo-fi new agey bands today, a la ducktails, the skaters, etc etc...
 

zhao

there are no accidents
have always liked ashra... even the later stuff but i have perhaps more patience when it comes to borderline new-age sounds than some others.
 

franz

Well-known member
ash ra is better than all of the above mentioned bands with the conspicuous exception of Can. but Gottsching has definitely received love in the last decade... really tho aside from the s/t and e2 and schwingungen i'm not sure what else is essential...

and while we're on the subject... someone in a similar vein who really is unsung would be Gunther Schickert...
 

polystyle

Well-known member
Bruno !
There has been a good amount of time for Ash Ra in this house,
think it was just last year that he came over to do the E2 thing at Lincoln Center ...
Rosie ( vocalist with Ash Ra T ) lives here in Stuyvesant Town !
Love the photo , where is that ?
 

bruno

est malade
i love gottsching but i think he's definitely getting a lot of of love from the millions of lo-fi new agey bands today, a la ducktails, the skaters, etc etc...

not a bad thing, and it helps pay his rent.

Bruno !
There has been a good amount of time for Ash Ra in this house,
think it was just last year that he came over to do the E2 thing at Lincoln Center ...
Rosie ( vocalist with Ash Ra T ) lives here in Stuyvesant Town !
Love the photo , where is that ?

hello polystyle! i see you're alive, too :) i haven't heard the recent stuff, to be honest. the photo is somewhere in iran (confirmed). best, bruno
 
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bruno

est malade
very! the last photo is actually an ancient alien landing site, you can tell because the perfect concentric circles can't possibly be natural.

ash ra is better than all of the above mentioned bands with the conspicuous exception of Can. but Gottsching has definitely received love in the last decade... really tho aside from the s/t and e2 and schwingungen i'm not sure what else is essential...

and while we're on the subject... someone in a similar vein who really is unsung would be Gunther Schickert...

i would say new age of earth followed by inventions, if you exclude the tempel output and e2-e4. these two are necessary if not essential (to me they are, but my judgement is clouded). the debut schickert lp is tempting.
 

blackpixie

Well-known member
very! the last photo is actually an ancient alien landing site, you can tell because the perfect concentric circles can't possibly be natural.

he isnt lying... i was there. they beamed me up and everything...:rolleyes:

Coincidentally enough there is pretty much a whole feature on this period of german rock in the wire about 2 issues back. Was my first exposure to "kosmische" music anyways. some of those original LP's are going for hundreds on discogs... yikes!
 

massrock

Well-known member
i would say new age of earth followed by inventions, if you exclude the tempel output and e2-e4. these two are necessary if not essential (to me they are, but my judgement is clouded). the debut schickert lp is tempting.
Definitely second New Age Of Earth, sure I've mentioned it on here before, it's wonderful - all tinkling arpeggios, phasing string synths and dribbling motorik drum machines. Lush but really well judged and touching. Gottsching is really good at this stuff, it's better than most Shulze imo. Whenever it's raining and sunny Sunrain goes on. Don't know Inventions that well, should get on it.

 

massrock

Well-known member
See also Michael Bundt's Just Landed Cosmic Kid, which maybe everyone knows by now.

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Some tracks on youtube though no-one has seen fit to upload side one which is really the comparable part here.

 
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