D>Elektro   |1.2.2|  |>Sounds + Elements
      |> History/ies + Sounds
of modern electronic / experimental music in Germany |<
 
D>Elektro 1.2 - |> expanded concept <|
|1.2.2| Sounds + Elements

|> Living in the NEWland
| of Studios | Laboratories + Soundfactories |

"We regard our music as industrial folk-music. It has it's own ethnic character, as it could only have been come from here.
We are coming from the Rhein/Ruhr area, an industrial landscape.
That's clearly audible in our music."
Ralf Huetter (Kraftwerk)

|>> Elementary Sounds - Maxim: Minimalism
How and where to begin with in the NEWland?
Naturally with the most simple and elementary things.
"Inability is often the mother of restriction - and restriction is the godmother of inventive playing. In japanese music you restrict yourself immensely - that's why they receive so much power from it.
It is unbelievable - Zen-music really blows you out. And this "blowing-out" is the power we must aim at."
Holger Czukay [CAN]
The newness and originality of the instruments and the [experimental] naivety in handling them are further reasons for the distinct minimalism to be found in the works of many different musicians and groups at that time.
With the non-existing tradition and experience a lot of needless ballast went overboard, resp. didn't enter the stages and studios in the first place.

"When we started with CAN, Jaki often asked me, why I would play so much. Then he told me I should only play one tone - that would be enough. That was new to me, I thought:
'Is one tone really enough?' To be simple was a whole new concept for me - and reaching that simplicity was very difficult.
Hence I became a very simple, minimal bass-player. If I changed anything, than only to suggest a different direction.
But I always played just the minimum required!"
Holger Czukay [CAN]

It was this concentration on the essential, the development of one's own musical language, that lead so many musicians and bands to their own sounds.

"At the time I met Kraftwerk I was no longer satisfied with adapting other musicians' ideas. I wanted to develop my own vision of music - to start completely anew. To try to overcome all of the unnecessary, clichéd stuff I'd learned from others and go back to the basics of music. That was one rhythm and one note and one idea, to try to find expression in clear structures and with simple materials.
That included not using 3 or 7 or 20 harmonies in one song, but staying on one level."
Michael Rother [NEU! | Harmonia]

One played with the basic elements of music, constructed the skeleton of a new body of sound, liberated of the then rampant pomp and ornamental effect-orgies - mostly resulting in 'walls of sound' - making the listeners feel the dumb glory of having run into that wall.

minimal

The sound of the debut-records of Tangerine Dream, Kraftwerk, CAN, NEU! a.o. is extremly raw and unfiltered - and that is why they -even today- still sound modern and direct - why they still 'work'.


|>Minimal-manic + Repeti-deep

"In the case of 'Yoo Doo Right' everyone restricted himself almost down to zero. And when everyone plays just the most simplistic and what's really necessary, you hit the common ground that you share and you feel that power born out of this restriction.
Everyone played as little as possible, and that's exactly where the power of that piece came from."
Holger Czukay on the legendary song of CAN's debut LP
Even after almost 30 years 'Yoo Doo Right' has lost nothing of it's archaic power and it's minimal magic.
Over a simple, somewhat african-like sounding, one-tone bass-figure and the metronomic drumbeat, some rap-like spoken-words-vocals are flowing - while the whole song in it's mono-tone-ness has an irresistible Beat and in it's epic simplicity remains one of the most fascinating of German rockmusic.
A ritual (or to use a more current phrase:) tribal dance - born out of the radicalism of German experimental music.
"The thing that appealed to me was the discipline.
It was as if they'd decided that their project, in a typically German way, was to make a pure rock music that was stripped of superfluities, of showbiz."
Brian Eno
In the area of pop/rock oriented guitar-sounds it was in particular the group NEU! [NEW!], that reached - through their playful and minimalist approach - similar aims and effects.


> Maximum Variety in the Minimal

Minimalism was one of the key-elements, that these experimentalists had in common - out of nessecity or insight.... - but that meant by now means a restriction in stylistic terms. CAN and NEU! are very good examples for that. Michael Rother and Klaus Dinger from NEU! toyed around with simple, children-songs alike melodies and didn't shy away from linking them with ennervating sound-collages and raw, punk-like riffs.

"... an ambient, bass-less White-Light-Pop-Rock-Mantra, that oscillated exactly on the meeting point of two extreme's: pop-music and German experimental music.
NEU! was the product of young sound-magicians who, in a fascinating way set truly beautiful sounds next to the clinking and cut-ups, that dominated most of the comtemporary experimental music.
Both of them had a sense for melodies, that came straight from Disneyland - and no worries about sounding beautiful and furious in the same way."
Julian Cope ['Krautrocksampler']
Such minimalism, that reached it's maximum potential by focusing on the simplest and most effective sound, is also a link between CAN and KRAFTWERK - who, in sound-like and conceptual terms were often played on the opposing ends of the musical spectrum. Kraftwerk's almost scientific approach, called for a much more focused way while searching for their exact, pure sound.

"With Kraftwerk there is an intellectual process which precedes the musical process. Their way of making is very thoughtful, but the result is very minimal.
lt reminds me of great painters like Klee, Mondrian or Picasso, who are great technicians but whose works are minimal."
Paul Alessandrini

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