Krautrock was a distinctly German form of underground, progressive and/or experimental rock, first appearing in the late 60s and coming into full fruition in the 70s. But where American progressive rock incorporated influences from jazz and classical, krautrock took things in a completely different direction. Concepts like melody, rhythm, time signatures–all of these were relative in the genre. Many of the artists experimented with synthetic and electronic sounds, and as such krautrock was a huge influence on later genres like electronica, industrial, and noise rock.
Some of the more well-known names in the genre include Kraftwerk (who later became known as an early electronica act), Tangerine Dream (who ventured into new age music), Neu!, Faust, Amon Düül and Can. Although not as well known, another early influential group in the genre was Ensemble Kluster (later known as simply Kluster, or with different line-ups both Cluster, and Qluster).
So why the history lesson? Interestingly enough, Ensemble Kluster’s debut album–1970’s Klopfzeichen was released on a record label who only released sacred and/or religious music. While the connection between Kluster and Christianity isn’t entirely clear, it is an accepted fact that the band’s first two albums were on a Christian label, Schwann AMS Studio. It may surprise some of our readers that the debut is one of the rarest, and mostly highly sought after LPs in the krautrock scene. Only 500 copies were made on its release in 1970, and original copies fetch hundreds or even thousands of dollars.
I suppose I find this all so fascinating because we live in an era when it seems an undisputed law that “Christian music is five years behind the times.” People have been saying that at least since the 1990s. Kluster is here to remind us that it was not always that way. Love it or hate it, it’s hard to deny the innovation found in this music. And even harder to miss is the connection this style had on so many underground genres that still persist today: post-rock, ambient, noise rock, experimental music, electronic dance music, industrial–each of these are indebted to krautrock and artists like Ensemble Kluster.
It is also worth noting that the band, or members of the band went on to work with Brian Eno, Tangerine Dream, as well as members of Neu! and many others. “Kluster 2 (Electric Music)” is side 2 of the debut LP Klopfzeichen, released in 1970 on Schwann AMS Studio. Each of the members were later involved in dozens of projects. It’s really fun to dive down each of the rabbit trails, but I warn you–you could get lost in the maze!
