The Goo 1
The Grape Vinyl Words: Conor Farrell THE GRAPE VI
NYL NEU! ‘75 - NEU! (1975) - 50TH ANNIVERSARY In the decades following World War II, Germany found itself in a state of cultural freefall. With the country’s recent past too painful to confront directly, many artists sought to begin again, as a form of resistance. In the mainstream, the void was filled with Schlager, a kitsch style of easy-listening pop. But among the postwar generation of German youth, a new artistic movement was forming, and along with it an urge to create something truly original, something that had no ties to the past. Though American and British music had flooded the airwaves since the late ‘40s, this new generation of musicians didn’t want to imitate. Instead, they drew on Germany’s own avant-garde, most notably the radical compositions of Karlheinz Stockhausen and combined it with classical music, minimalism, and the pulsing sound of industry. The result was Krautrock: hypnotic, forward-looking, and defiantly opposed to Germany’s recent past. Krautrock arrived during a particularly tumultuous time in post-war Germany. The year 1968 was especially pivotal, not just culturally, but politically. Across West Germany, massive student protests erupted in opposition to the newly passed Emergency Laws (Notstandsgesetze), which granted the government powers to suspend parliamentary rule during a crisis. To many in the post-war generation, 46 these laws echoed the authoritarianism of the Nazi era. Suspicious of the state and determined to forge a new cultural identity, young Germans took to the streets. It was in this revolutionary spirit that bands like Amon Düül II, Can, and Tangerine Dream were formed, rejecting traditional Western rock in favour of something more experimental. Edgar Froese of Tangerine Dream coined the phrase Kosmische Musik (cosmic music) to describe this new scene. The British music press, however, relabelled it Krautrock - a flippant term that quickly stuck and came to define the genre. Kraftwerk were among the most prominent and enduring bands to emerge from the scene. Originally a more free-form, experimental act, their early lineup briefly included guitarist Michael Rother and drummer Klaus Dinger. After parting ways with Kraftwerk in 1971, the pair formed Neu! and began forging a sound of their own. Their self-titled debut, released in 1972, was mostly built around a relentless rhythm that Dinger played with mechanical precision. The opening track, Hallogallo, introduced a sound that would become Neu!’s hallmark. Known as the Motorik beat, its relentless, machine-like 4/4 pulse became one of Krautrock’s most recognisable features - pioneered by Dinger in tandem with Can’s Jaki Liebezeit. Though widely associated with automation, Dinger insisted it was a deeply human rhythm. He disliked the term “Motorik,” preferring instead “Lange Gerade” (Long Straight) or “Endlose Gerade” (Endless Straight) to better reflect its driving force and essence. By the time their third album “Neu! ‘75” arrived, the duo were pulling in opposite directions. Rother leaning into ambient beauty, Dinger pushing toward raw aggression. The resulting album captures that tension perfectly: a split record of dreamy instrumentals such as “Isi” and the proto-punk fury of “Hero” . Neu! left a lasting legacy. Brian Eno would later name the Motorik sound (which he dubbed “Dingerbeat”) as one of the three great beats of the 1970s, alongside James Brown’s funk (via Clyde Stubblefield) and Fela Kuti’s Afrobeat (via Tony Allen). Neu!’s strange, thrilling mix not only cemented their place in music history - it also laid important groundwork for David Bowie’s Berlin trilogy and left its mark on everything from Iggy Pop and Joy Division to industrial and noise rock. Its influence stretches even further, standing alongside disco’s four-on-the-floor as a cornerstone of modern electronic music and the relentless pulse of House and Techno. Neu! ’75 didn’t just reflect its time - it rewrote the rules and pointed firmly to the future.