AUF DER BAHN ZUM URANUS

GÄA is one of those obscure Krautrock bands that formed in 1973 and then released this one album AUF DER BAHN ZUM URANUS (On The Way To Uranus) the following year and then fell into obscurity. Much of it had to do with the fact that only 300 copies were printed and then tensions between the band the record label grew out of the quickie job given to production and the label basically kissed the band goodbye. The results of which made this release a rare collector's item for decades before its re-release. You know this is a very much a local homegrown release because even my 2007 remastered release is all in German. The band was from the Saarland region of Germany (the tiny state that borders France and Luxembourg).

GÄA's music is on the same branch of Krautrock that includes other bands like Electric Sandwich. The emphasis is not on the spacey side of music but rather on the bluesy rock inspired melodies that have a light jazzy feel to them. The songs are very catchy and although all sung in German very poetic in the lyrical contents. In fact at times the melodic phrasing reminds me a lot of the industrial metal band Rammstein only in a calmer mid-tempo folky way rather in an aggressive one. The spaciness is subordinate to the melodic approach and not the other way around. There are strong pulsating rhythms that keep the music churning due to the heavy use of percussion. There are strong drumming patterns and congas alike. The music is light and fluffy with pleasant flutes and acoustic guitars. There are times when the band really rocks out and sounds more like a German version of Deep Purple particularly on the title track, but for the most part this is nice pleasant folklore inspired mid-tempo style of Krautrock.

I have to admit that i was a little underwhelmed upon first listen. This really didn't sound different enough from many a similar sounding folk rock band with psychedelic and hippie inspirations to take you to the clouds and beyond. The vocals are probably the weakest aspect of the sound, but after many listens i have grown accustomed to their sound as a whole and find myself liking this more upon every spin. I was all prepared to give this a 3.5 and round it down but after one more listen it really clicked and cast its spell on me so i will have to round it up now.