Hello from sunny Swansea

So welcome here on PA (great site, I think), and keep proggin' ! :-)

Neurotarkus wrote: I love krautrock and other German bands. If you haven't already, check out Can, Faust, Amon Duul II, Kraftwerk, all are astounding bands. Besides that, welcome to PA, just about everything you need is here.

I have heard Can, although they are a bit far out for me, I have the Anthology album, and the only track I really like is Mother Sky, I also have Ege Bamyasi, but again, it s a bit far out. I got Yeti by Amon Duul II ages ago, but again they were rather weird, maybe i should give them another chance. What albums would you recommend?

sludgecraft wrote: Hi, only just registered, but I have been trawling through the archives for a couple of years now. I'm a massive Tool fan, and that was my introduction to prog, (all my mates liked dream theater, but I just don't get em). Then I got into Van Der Graaf Generator, King Crimson, Rush, and Genesis (up to Trick Of The Tail). Recently just got into Krautrock in a big, big way, and now I dont really listen to anything if its not early 70's and German! My current faves are Agitation Free, Ash Ra Tempel, NEU! and Popol Vuh (Tantric Songs is the most beautiful album in existence!) Anyway, enough of my ramblings, see you around

Are you the same Swansea Sludgecraft that played The Red Eye, Islington back in 2000/2001?

sludgecraft wrote: HAHAAAA! Indeed I am, how weird is that?  We split up in 2005, owing to insanity issues. I was the drummer, and one of the (relatively) sane ones! I guess you were there then, our only gig outside Wales, and one of the few outside Swansea

Yep, I was there - you, Season's End and the Sin Die Cult (or however they spelt it)  

...I remember the gig because the promoter did a runner and no one got paid, and that the sound engineer said our to drummer (we were the goth band, I was their manager) "You're not a drummer..." dagger looks from Paul... "you're a bloody percussionist!"

Welcome to PA! I'm not a Krautrock - fan, but the good thing about PA is that it is a very broad site with lots of styles to discover.

Neurotarkus wrote: sludgecraft wrote: Neurotarkus wrote: I love krautrock and other German bands. If you haven't already, check out Can, Faust, Amon Duul II, Kraftwerk, all are astounding bands. Besides that, welcome to PA, just about everything you need is here. I have heard Can, although they are a bit far out for me, I have the Anthology album, and the only track I really like is Mother Sky, I also have Ege Bamyasi, but again, it s a bit far out. I got Yeti by Amon Duul II ages ago, but again they were rather weird, maybe i should give them another chance. What albums would you recommend? I like Ege Bamyasi, though I don't think it's their best, it can get a bit too... soupy, I guess you could say. My favorites from Can are Monster Movie and Tago Mago, though Tago is sorta hit or miss. As for Amon Duul II, they are indeed weird, and I've only heard Yeti. With a lot of krautrock, it took a while for it to get ingrained, but once it did, it was worth it. At first, Can bored me, but then I got into Mushroom, then Oh Yeah, then Halleluwah, and soon I was addicted. And Faust's Kraurock was really unimpressive at first, but after a bit of effort given to Faust and Faust IV, I was addicted to them too. This kind of music only works weith certain kinds of people, though, so if you can't get into it after significant effort, it's best to just give up.

The problem with Amon Duul II and Can are when I say weird, I mean 'hectic'. Its almost like avant garde jazz, and while I quite like a bit of avant garde from time to time, I find the most rewarding listens personally are the more spiritual/mellower stuff like Ash Ra Tempel and Popol Vuh. Neu!'s first album is hard to fault either (I like the watery theme). Being a drummer I also like  songs with a good groove, hence my liking for Mother Sky by Can, I know Ash Ra Tempel get a bit weird, so do Agitation Free, but i like the complete almost out of body experience that these bands give me in their mellower moments. But by far the most rewarding thing, the thing that sets krautrock apart from any other genre is the fact nobody sounds like anyone else. Discovering prog was the most life changing event since I started listening to music, but now, the discovery of krautrock has surpassed that. I can see my girlfriend will be getting bored of me ordering obscure cd's online! It was all I could do to get her into The Dave Mathews Band (it has now replaced Lady Gaga in the car stereo) but I cant honestly see her getting into Faust, (although if only I could get my 2yr old into it.....)