Krautrock Eruption

Krautrock as an escape from post-war Germany "Krautrock Eruption" is a rousing counter-narrative to the usual depictions of Krautrock, written by Wolfgang Seidel, member of Conrad Schnitzler's band Eruption and co-founder of Ton Steine Scherben. Seidel's groundbreaking book, which includes unique historical photographs, paints a vivid picture of the old Federal Republic of Germany, with all of its contradictions and struggles. What is now celebrated as Krautrock emerged in this environment, and at the time was an attempt to contribute the soundtrack to the revolution. As a fly on the wall, Seidel recounts the squats, demos and first concerts of bands such as Cluster, Tangerine Dream and Ash Ra Tempel. Just as precisely and vividly, he recapitulates the influence of minimal music composers such as Steve Reich and Philip Glass, the origins of many Krautrock musicians in jazz and the role of the synthesiser. Wolfgang Seidel delivers a captivating account on Krautrock that dispels many of the founding myths of the first genuinely German pop culture, which above all did not want to be German. In addition, the book is supplemented by a discography of the 50 most important Krautrock records, written by music journalist and Krautrock expert Holger Adam. Translated from German by Alexander Paulick (member of influential Düsseldorf based avant-garde band Kreidler).

Wolfgang Seidel was born in a West Berlin backyard in 1949. He survived the first half of the 1960s thanks to science fiction novels he bought with his meager pocket money and the music broadcast by the Allied broadcasters AFN and BBC. Music that was a promise that there had to be more and better things out there than post-war Germany. Seidel was one of the founders of Ton Steine Scherben in 1970. Since the mid-1980s he has worked in Berlin as a graphic designer and is active as a drummer and electronics engineer with Alfred Harth, among others, in improvised music.