KRAUTROCK

We get one long 48 minute piece of electronics where the sequencers rule. Berlin school for sure with Gottsching adding guitar over top at times. He also adds farsisa organ, synths and tape echo. Hoenig hits us with a variety of keyboards, and both are credited with being the composers. The music changes slightly throughout, but honestly this is repetitive and hypnotic to say the least. It moves along fairly quickly for the most part, with again slight changes in that tempo. It works as background music for sure, but man I love driving with this type of music playing. The soundtrack to the scenery up here.

Some compare it to TANGERINE DREAM's "Ricochet", Michael Hoenig's "Departure From The Northern Wasteland", or some of Gottsching's solo stuff like "Inventions For The Electric Guitar" or "E2-E4", his band ASHRA is another example. As daunting as it would seem at 48 minutes, each time I played this I was always into it. There's more going on than it might seem, and I always prefer my electronics with guitar and organ like here on "Early Water". Yes I'll say it, this music flows beautifully and consistently throughout. A solid 4 stars without a doubt.

While Kraftwerk is known as a pioneer for electronic music, ORGANISATION was definitely riding on the wave of the 60s psychedelic rock craze and was on the cutting edge of jettisoning the pop and blues aspects of much of the 60s rock in favor of a more astral and ethereal journey into the world of Krautrock. The band featured Hütter on organ, Scheider on flute, percussion and violin, Basil Hammoudi (glockenspiel, percussion, music box, voice), Buch Hauf (bass, percussion) and Fred Monicks (drums, percussion.) The band's existence was brief however they managed to squeak out one album titled TONE FLOAT which emerged in August of 1970 just a few months before the band broke up and Kraftwerk was born and released its debut in November of the same year.

Like many of the early Krautrock pioneers, ORGANISATION delivered sprawling improvisational jamming sessions that built off the principle of the most psychedelic features of early pioneers such as Pink Floyd and added new flavors and stylistic approaches to the mix. This album features five tracks with an unusual number of percussive instruments churning along at any given moment. The drumming and percussion provides a large swatch of the soundscape on TONE FLOAT and offers a rhythm section akin to Latin jazz only accompanied by ethereal organ runs and busy flute performances. Other instruments such as the violin and glockenspiel come and go but the percussion-rich infusion of drums, bongos, maracas, cowbells, bells and even a triangle keep this one from completely escaping the Earth's gravitational pull and drifting out into the cosmos. The album found Krautrock legend Conny Plank sitting in the producer's chair which surely allowed the production techniques to expand further than if the band had self-produced.

At this point in time most Krautrock was trying to exude the most kosmische escapist's paradise possible and in that regard ORGANISATION succeeded in crafting a galactic journey through sound that isn't worried about the destination but rather simply engaged in the journey of getting there. The title track is by far the most dreamy and Krautish of the lot as it drifts on for almost 21 minutes of time while the following shorter tracks such as "Milk Rock" feature a more proto-punk style of bass thumping that in a very faint way points to the future of Kraftwerk however this track remains trippy with an exotic Eastern flair that offers oriental musical scales and more "normal" rock drumming with some hefty tom-toms. The flute is also unhinged on this one as it is the lead instrument. Once again the organ runs offer the true psychedelic frosting on the cake and overall it's a pretty weird track as the flute sounds like a muffled voice at times. This track also would provide the scaffolding of the Krautwerk track "Ruckzuck" which would appear on its debut album.

"Silver Forest" returns to a dark kosmische ambience only with a busy percussive drive and an ethereal use of organ sounds with echoey effects. "Rhythm Salad" begins with oscillating sounds that make you think of a UFO hovering by but soon becomes a percussion orgy with various percussive runs offering a tapestry of contrapuntal rhythms that ends in a climactic drum solo. No other instruments to be heard on this one. The album ends with "Noitasinagro," which brings the band back to kosmische freakery. Slow building with the organ gradually usurping domination, the track is fueled by a chilled out bass groove and then eventually joined by a moody violin.

While many may check this album out simply for the Kraftwerk connections, personally i find TONE FLOAT to be an exhilarating slice of early Krautrock based on its own merits. Ralph and Florian certainly had a clear idea where the world of Krautrock was heading and crafted some interesting early kosmische gems with the addition of a hefty percussion section which set it apart from virtually any other Kraut band of the era. Evoking the spaciest aspects of Amon Duul II along with the psychedelic freakery of "Saucerful Of Secrets" era Pink Floyd, ORGANISATION certainly could have gone on to construct even more brilliant displays of the trippiest and most out there side of Krautrock but that was not meant to be. After this album's release the band would be no more and Ralf and Florian would quickly recruit a new team to record and release the Kraftwerk debut just a few months later. The rest is history. If you come to this one NOT expecting anything remotely connected to the future world of Kraftwerk you and you love hypnotic astral journeys through sounds then you might like this one as much as i do!

1. "In den Gärten Pharaos" (17:37) droning, slowly changing, organ and synth are joined in the eighth minute by hand drums and then, in the eleventh minute, by cymbals. This could very well have been similar to the ambient sounds one might hear lilting around in the courtyards and alleys of the royal palaces of Ancient Egyptian kings. At the end of the 13th minute Fender Rhodes takes the fore while the percussion rhythm changes and the organ and synth take a much further-in-the-background role--until a few temporary uprisings occur in the 15th and 17th minutes. Certainly Kosmische Musik! (31/35)

2. "Vuh" (19:48) church organ in a more traditional use--with big chords, long held and slowly shifting--comes out as the principle music maker here though crashing, crescendoing, and tinkling cymbals, synth "flutes," and "heavenly" choral voices are also heard. And that's pretty much it! Hand drums in the far distance join the cymbal cacophony in the eighth minute and then gain an increasing share of the soundscape (moved forward in the mix) during the 12th minute and beyond (as the organ is commensurately moved to the background). What I thought was going to be a gentle, beautiful organ concerto turns out to be a bull-in-the-china-shop cymbal exhibition. With the 15th minute the cymbals and drumming take a break, allowing the still-droning, rhythmically-shifting organ to take the fore again, but then the cymbals rise again in the 16th minute, hand drums in the 17th. This music was obviously a big inspiration for Vangelis' 1970s work as well as most of Stefano Musso's great career as ALIO DIE. Also for Jonathan Goldman's work with trance-generating and other meditative/breath work musical guides. (35.5/40)

Total Time: 37:25

I'm not sure which of the two side-long mesmerics I like more--probably "Vuh" due to the presence of the drone organ and mysterious background vocals (which also lend credibility to the possibility of this type of music/sound being familiar to Egyptian palace workers 4500 years ago.

B/four stars; an excellent album that will not be everyone's cup of tea but should not be missed in terms of hearing yet another of the diverse musical forms of expression contrived over the late 1960s and early 1970s. Despite my overall lower than expected marks, I do consider this album a major landmark in the formation and solidification of a niche of music that will have profound use and effect in the "human potential" movements of the 1970s and 1980s; a sure-fire masterpiece of Kosmische Musik.

Punkt is the first of the archival releases they started back in 2022, in the same year as Daumenbruch. Unlike the Momentaufnahme releases we'd get later on, Punkt is special in the fact that it is their lost fifth album. Yeah, they have a lot of albums that were gonna be their fifth but just never went through in the end, though Punkt does seem like the most complete one out of all the others they have planned. It is evident of this as this was recorded the same year they made and released Faust IV, so in a way this could've been released in the same year if Faust never broke up momentarily.

It is also evident in the sound of the record. I am guessing they were on a particular high for this kinda style they were experimenting on IV, as this album is pretty chock full of methods like that. Most songs are very jam focused, like most things relating to Faust, but here it certainly has a bigger role. I have expressed my enjoyment of the Faust jams in the past, so this was certainly pretty well rounded for my pleasure. The jams are pretty big too, with Morning Land being 9 minutes and Knochentanz being 11, so you get some meaty stuff here.

However, I feel like these jams don't reach the same highs as what Faust IV gave us, and that reason is that, while good, they don't quite have much personality or flavors other than sounding a bit like Faust IV's stuff. They honestly feel kinda textbook in terms of krautrock music, and end up being more dampening to me. They are a bit interesting at least in that they do have kind of a proto-industrial tone, and hearing something that feels more up on 90s Faust's alley is really something. They always think ahead in those old days. Though still, with the limited amount of knowledge they have of future music in the 70s, it is no surprise that these tracks feel kinda old in comparison.

That is, if you are only looking at the first half of Punkt.

The second half is a much different story. Juggernaut, Schön Rund, and Prends Ton Temps are three stellar tracks that make up the second half of the record and do a great job at redeeming this album's shortcomings.

Juggernaut is a space rock, almost proto-punk level of song that feels like it is constantly moving along until it starts to become slightly more abstract, which I think is just really cool. Schön Rund on the other hand is this more ambient piece, using piano and other key instruments to craft this 9 minute melody, one that slowly morphs into a more wild, and manic jazz fusion number, which reminds me a lot of Miles Davis' Get Up With It. Lastly, Prends Ton Temps is such a creepy number to end things off on, being this horrific cacophony of rock music that feels like the soundtrack to an avant garde horror film. All that to say, the second half of this album is amazing, with some tracks being the best in their entire discography, and I cannot deny that it probably would've been their best tracks in their 70s catalog if they managed to release the album in 1974 or 75.

Punkt may be imperfect, but it is an interesting and at times a really fun experience. I doubt it is on the same tier as Faust IV, especially with that rocky first few songs, but it does edge quite close when taken into account to the last three tracks. I am glad I could end this discog binge with a sure fire bang, and whatever release this legendary band has in store later on I am sure to enjoy it, and review it.

Best tracks: Juggernaut, Schön rund, Prends ton temps

Worst tracks: Crapolino, Fernlicht

,,Daumenbruch'', or just Daumenbruch if you rather not include the ,, & the '', is a showcase on how to collaborate right on your krautrock projects. In my Disconnected review I mentioned that Faust wasn't quite fit for collaborative efforts, but as it seems I am quite wrong on this assumption because Daumenbruch shows a very mature lining within the Faust discography in how they decided to handle shared projects. This time their experiment was to record some rough mixes of the three tracks here, and send them out to a couple of their friends from other groups, and have them mix these tapes, before mashing them into three separate tracks for our listening pleasure.

I think what makes this whole idea work so well is that these artists are more in line with what Faust was trying to create ever since their debut (fitting since this album's cover is very similar to that one). Sure, dälek and Nurse With Wound did have a clear fondness for Faust as shown through their own works, but I feel like having members from groups like Einstürzende Neubauten and Stadtfischflex helps a lot more with their vision, as their own visions line up like a puzzle. And guess what, it shows quite well within the first track, being this massive, creepy jam that feels both entirely Faust, but still has the elements the other artists wanted to try out. Nothing overpowers, or underpowers anything in conjunction, creating for a near perfect fusion between Faust and the greater world.

There is also a clear sense of enjoyment found within these tracks, as shown by how clean, crisp, and stylized each song is in production value. I can feel the joy these artists must've felt, which is something I love to hear within my music. You know, strangely this all reminds me of Earthside's Let The Truth Speak and how that album handled their collabs. I guess I am just a sucker for when musicians work together well.

My favorite track off here has to be Border River. It is a perfect send off for this record, being this 18 minute soundtrack to some avant-garde apocalypse, and it is so enriching and juicy that I feel like I am on another planet whenever I hear it. It ending with a cacophony of sounds is also just a French, or in this case, German kiss on this whole record; A perfect encapsulation on what came before.

If I had one thing to say that this album gets wrong, however, it'd probably be that this feels like a diet Faust Wakes Nosferatu. I know, I compare a lot of albums to it, but I think that album does a lot of things right in such a good amount of time that I cannot help but try to compare and contrast some things with each other. Daumenbruch has a lot of the same vibes and technicalities that Nosferatu had, and they certainly did them well, but I feel like Nosferatu's raw atmosphere, quieter suspense, and the longer direction makes it the superior album. I also think the track listing being so little, despite the massive tracks present, does show a problem in the meat of this album. I love these big tracks, a lot in fact, but I think Faust albums work best with some smaller tracks thrown in for good measure, which I think, if this album did have such things, could be a secondary masterpiece to Nosferatu, but alas I feel like I have to bump the grade down a smidge.

This record certainly is a testament in the power Faust can have, and with more people to boot it just becomes a grand ol' time. Highly recommend this one, obviously, and it is indeed a treat for anyone who is more into the abstract sides of krautrock music. We just have one more Faust record left, so let's finish things off right and well.

Best tracks: Weisse Schokolade, Border River

Worst tracks: N/A

Fresh Air is a lot different from their previous releases from this decade, and it is pretty evident by the first track, the 17 minute title, as that goes for a more abstract and almost old school Faust type of style. To put it simply, here Faust is moving forward, by moving backwards.

The execution of this plan ends up actually being very good to me. It is noisy and rough, but with ample amounts of energy and drones that keeps things good. It is like an alternate version of Faust IV, or even their very first album, capturing these desolate yet very intriguing mood swings that the band fully adapts perfectly within their music. It has an almost Sonic Youth feel to it as well, particularly with their no wave records like Bad Moon Rising and EVOL. It is certainly very enjoyable to me, and allows the band to fully have an environment to work with when it comes to their noisier tunes.

I also just think there are no real bad tracks on here. Maybe Partitur, but that track is only 22 seconds long, and it's not worth talking about in all honesty. Aside from that, though, every song here has a ton of charm, from the cold and slow title song, to the almost first album-like Chlorophyl, to the hauntingly beautiful Fish, I can see myself really finding something to love each time I hear these tracks.

It all just has a lot of personality too, with tracks that feel like they are within a Faust mythos that we never even saw coming. Listen to Listen To The Fish, and Fish side by side and tell me they don't have relation to one another, you can't. I love this kinda thing in music, just creating relations to one thing and another through songs. Sure it may not even exist and I am stretching, but it could be fun to speculate a possible Faust universe.

I guess if there was a fault this album has, it may be the fact the intro to Fresh Air, and the closing to Fish are a bit too drawn out. I think Fresh Air might have it worse off as half the track is basically just a lady talking with some odd noise in the back, which feels kinda odd, especially for a krautrock epic like this. Still a really great track, but it feels like it could've been a bit better. Fish's outro is a bit better, though I doubt it wouldn't hurt to trim some things up a bit.

That being said, I especially love the tracks laid out in the middle of those two big songs. Except for Partitur, each of these tracks are just consistently great, with new vibes strung across them that makes each listen feel almost adventurous. I especially like Lights Flicker, with its gruesome details, its avant-jazzy backing, and its intense but hooky beats makes it one of those Faust tracks that get stuck in my head quite easily. Insanely good work from this legacy band.

All in all, Faust still got what it takes to be adept at krautrock in the modern day. They may never be as revolutionary as they once were, but that doesn't mean they aren't allowed to still make their mark once and awhile. Certainly do check this one out if you have the time, as it is a breath of fresh air in the grand scheme of experimental rock.

Best tracks: La Poulie, Chlorophyl, Lights Flicker

Worst track: Partitur

KOSMOSE existed from 1973 to 1978 and throughout its run featured Alain Neffe (keyboards, organ, synthesizer, cymbals, flute, radio, loops, electronics, saxophone, vocals), Daniel Malempré (guitar, 12-string guitar), Francis Pourcel (guitar, bass), Guy-Marc Hinant (drums, percussion) and Paul Kutzner (guitar) who together amassed a wealth of kosmische recordings that never found a studio release despite attempts to woo records companies into signing them. After decades of sitting in the vaults KOSMOSE at long last found its material released on the Sub Rosa label as KOSMIC MUISC FROM THE BLACK COUNTRY which has been released in two formats.

Firstly a double vinyl LP featuring seven tracks that swallow up 81 minutes of playing time as well as a double CD that adds even more material bringing the number of tracks up to 11 and playing time to a whopping 136 minutes of uncompromising psychedelic splendor. The music spans the band's entire existence which began in the city of Charleroi, Belgium in 1973 until the band's final days in 1978. Primarily led by the prolific Alain Neffe and Francis Pourcel whose fascination with exploring ominous sprawling soundscapes that utilized rhythm boxes, analog synthesizers and radio loops, the band was complemented by the guitar explorations of Daniel Malempré who injected the rock inspired guitar experiments in the vein of Manuel Göttsching and more experimental guitar bands like early Guru Guru. While maintaining a drummer who could remain interested in the band's unique trippy brand of lysergia, Guy-Marc Hinant provided some stellar drum work scattered throughout various tracks.

Essentially a free-noise jamming act that explored long sprawling grooves with improvised guitar, flutes, saxophone and electronic effects, the all-instrumental band (with only a scattering of wordless vocals) excelled in exploring some of the farthest out trips that offered a true escape mechanism into the world of avant-garde psychedelic soundscapes which emphasized the long excursions into the furthest reaches of space rock with the lengthiest tracks sprawling over the 27-minute mark. With all tracks untitled, the band offered a visionary excursion into the furthermost cosmic depths of what the world of Krautrock was offering in the vein of the most experimental sounds that were emerging in the early 1970s before many German bands began compromising their visions and becoming more mainstream. Without a record label to steer them into commercialism, KOSMOSE stayed true to its vision and maintained an ethos of keeping it as experimental and estranged from reality as musically possible.

What KOSMOSE delivered was a high voltage expansive collection of psychedelic splendor that was utterly fearless in where it explored like an intrepid explorer adrenalized by the exhilaration of discovery at every juncture of the journey. For those dismayed by the world of German Krautrock as it slowly eroded into a more mainstream crossover hybridized genre, the Belgian outfit KOSMOSE continued to deliver the essence of the original movement with a relentless pursuit of keeping its music pure and unadulterated by any outside influences. The music of KOSMOSE on KOSMIC MUISC FROM THE BLACK COUNTRY is thus a true treasure trove of improvisational music that spanned a wide swatch of psychedelic turf by delivering massively fluid, expansive and often noisy sonic terrains.

The musicians were prolific and cross-pollinated with many other artists like André Gauditiaubois and three Turkish musicians such as Mustapha Dagli, his son Kadri Dagli and Sutekin but the band's legacy is primarily documented on this beyond far out collection of wild cosmic ambient rockers. This album was followed by the equally expansive "Some Little Trips to Our Fluorescent Land" recorded in 1976 and released in 2017. Considering the long version (the one i'm reviewing) is essentially three classic albums worth of material, this is best absorbed in stages. Especially the three longest tracks ranging from 18:55 to 27:47 in running time. The most amazing thing about this entire affair is that all tracks are basically live studio recordings with no overdubs and no mixing desk. It was all created on 2 microphones and an open-reel tape recorder. That makes this even more mind-expansively wild! This one is for those seeking the most alienating sonic trips ever laid down to recording.

Unlike records from the past few years, Just Us has probably one of the shortest line ups in any Faust discography, only containing Jean-Hervé Peron and Werner Diermeier. I don't quite know why it is only them, though it does make the album title a lot more accurate. As such, this is also one of their most minimalist sounding records since Disconnected, which can be considered as both a strength, and weakness for the album in my book.

I think Just Us only having two musicians is a pretty interesting concept that Faust tackles, creating these strange melodies and jams that feel lonely, whilst at the same time tightly knit together. I think the first half (Gerubelt - Nähmaschine) contains quite a number of strong tracks that play quite well into the more minimalist nature of the album, such as the oddly intense Sur le ventre, or the weirdly klezmer sounding Gammes. These tracks are all quite charming, and while not the peak of sound that Faust has done up until this point, I don't think this first side of the coin is anywhere bad.

Though that cannot be said for the second half. I think the 10th track's title describes my feelings of this half very well...eeeeeeh...It is kinda like Faust Z off of Faust Is Last, where it is a lot more experimental and droning. However, ooh boy, it is a lot rougher here. Where Faust Z was charming as it employed more of the introspective side of industrial music, this here, as it has very little to do with that genre entirely, comes out as a almost half baked attempt in making something similar. I do kinda like some tracks like Eeeeeeh..., Ich bin ein Pavian, and Ich sitze immer noch, but those first three songs on this second half are not very good in my opinion. I can get the vibes that they were going with these songs, and I know it must've been hard to workshop these tracks when you are really only a duo band, but still it boils down into musical grease.

In fact, Just Us does just feel like an attempt in making another Faust Is Last, without the industrial side of things. One half is the more normal krautrock tracks, and the other is weird droning experiments. As such it doesn't quite feel all that charming to me, since if I wanted to listen to something like Faust Is Last, I might just listen to Faust Is Last instead of this.

It is clear, though sad, that Faust isn't equipped to do the whole duo thing. Perhaps with time it could've led to another interesting era for the band, but Just Us does show it would take a long while for that idea to really work. I wish I enjoyed this more, especially since after C'est com... com... compliqué did give us a bit of a streak of great albums from the band. Well, if my memory serves right, the next three will not be half bad, but we'll wait and see.

Best tracks: Sur le ventre, Gammes

Worst tracks: Nur nous, Palpitations, Der Kaffee kocht

No, it didn't grab me at first but even if you pick something up cheap, a physical format means you keep hold and give it another try. I do wonder if someone streams something and thinks' no, not for me' these days, they perhaps don't go back and give it another chance.

The Tullesque opening shoulda dragged me in (those pesky flutes eh!) but there is an almost too forced jollity. I hear a little bit of Jade Warrior but the second track blends eastern with a more typical kraut influence and this was and is much more interesting...space/folk if you like...and thankfully my (the recipe is a secret) vinyl cleaner gives the atmospherics a clear and hiss free sound. The panning is a bit cliche but it works. The vocalist isn't the best but neither were say the vox in the Incredible String Band and I rather like them! Hero's Death shimmering cymbals in and we could be in an Amon Duul situation and they also invited early BJH to the party. Definitely my krautrock sound/s of choice. I think they gave the 'folk' the song off. With Encyclopedia the doubts creep back in as am sorry but you did the shimmering cymbals thing in the last tracks intro and the bass player has been listening to Wishbone Ash's Vas Dis (ironically) and although the guitar/s don't 'duel', the first 2 Ash albums are nodded to. It just doesn't escape the deliberate or otherwise influences/similarities. Overlaying a bit of electronica feels well like overlaying a bit of electronica for the sake of it. And the sudden 'war' referenced sounds tagged on to a track out of the blue? I will put on German Oak if I want a dark krautrock dealing with our post war trauma album thanks. And finally the 940th, even by 1971, song that starts with Church bells?

I really do want to 'like' this more but they do themselves no favours. I will give the benefit of the doubt that musicians didn't hear anything like the amount of music (as in what was out at the time) as we can today so sometimes they think they were being 'original' when they were just not. Also it is a debut album and bands should be allowed to find their own sound/make mistakes/get the stuff out of their system they needed to he types just as the VDGG bit comes in followed by...oh no...'the gong'.

I would give it a 3.25 for promise but with reservations.