Kosmose for Krautrock

An obscure omission from the waning end of progressive rock's heyday, Kosmose were a Belgian krautrock group which existed from 1973 to 1978. Operating more as a leaderless, democratic collective than a band, the roots of Kosmose arose from the more blues-based SIC, whittled down in 1971 to the original core of multi-instrumentalist Alain Neffe, experimental guitarist Daniel Malempré (aka M.A.L.) and bassist Francis Pourcel. The group officially began in 1973 after Neffe returned from Switzerland with a Roland SH100 synthesizer and all of the sonic possibilities it could bring, with Francis' brother Pourcel integrated into Kosmose for technical expertise with light shows and modifying instruments. Kosmose were a strictly local act, never making a splash outside their home city of Charleroi, with most of their performances and bi-weekly rehearsals (occurring in the Pourcel brothers' attic) archived for posterity by Neffe.

Entirely instrumental, improvised and free of any conceptual titles, Kosmose's music lived up to their name. Originally influenced by Pink Floyd, Genesis and the Soft Machine, Kosmose's introspective, meandering free space rock took cues from Berlin School and nodded to jazz (with the lo-fi nature of the rehearsal tapes adding to the lysergic ambiance). The band's whims found them locking into hypnotic drum patterns, evoking desolate void via noisy electronic manipulations, and generally noodling freak-outs in a style codified by Belgium's neighbour to the east; Kosmose wryly dubbed this approach "steel rock," in reference to Charleroi's coal-based factory-riddled façade, which was in the throes of deindustrialisation. Kosmose used a primitive early drum machine in their first two years, auditioning several drummers but unable to retain any until 1975, when Guy Marc Hinant (future co-founder of Belgian label Sub Rosa) permanently joined. Malempré left the same year for Belgium's mandatory military service, replaced on guitars by Paul Kutzner, who only lasted until 1976, leaving Neffe, Hinant and the Pourcel brothers as the band's final lineup. In the wake of Kosmose's break-up, Neffe made a name for himself founding the experimental minimal synth label Insane Music, launching numerous projects like Bene Gesserit and Human Flesh, reuniting with Hinant for the new wave trio Pseudo Code and trading collaborations with Malempré on each other's solo material.

Kosmose's music finally saw the light of day in 2014 with "The First Untitled Track," a teaser released on the twenty-sixth volume of Neffe's long-running Insane Music for Insane People series. A year later saw the first of several expansive troves of Kosmose's rehearsal tapes, Kosmic Music From the Black Country, an archival album issued by Sub Rosa. The second volume, Some Little Trips to Our Fluorescent Land, was released through EE Tapes in 2017. First Time Out followed in 2018, once more via Sub Rosa, showcasing a complete recording of one of only twelve live shows Kosmose ever performed. An additional two caches of material - A Sonic Slice of Time and From Quietness to Chaos - were released digitally and on limited edition cassette via Insane Music in 2021.

An intriguing and rare example of non-German 1970s krautrock, Kosmose's jams allude to - and should entrance fans of - artists like Ash Ra Tempel, Annexus Quam, Xhol, Amon Düül II and early Pink Floyd and Tangerine Dream.

"Kosmic Music From The Black Country" (2015)

"First Time Out" (2018)

"A Sonic Slice of Time" (2021)

"From Quietness to Chaos" (2023)