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Ghosts of Jam Bands Past

Edited by Sister Mary Carmen

"GETTING TO KNOW YOU, GETTING TO KNOW ALL ABOUT YOU"

I was thinking the other day how obscure the title of this section sounds and how there would be no escaping an awkward first paragraph introduction. I would love to be able to write, "Welcome to Jambands.com. Aren't you lucky, you've landed in the Ghosts of Jambands Past," but somehow I have the feeling that this sentence would invoke more confusion than excitement. I hate confusion. I decided that my best plan of action was to use the awkward introduction to my advantage and just owe up to the fact that I really had no idea of how to begin this (hey, you can't beat honesty). Having confessed, I think it is time to explain what this section is really all about.

This section is about my likes and dislikes, my loves and hates. It is an attempt to unearth overlooked and forgotten bands. I want to trace the roots of music. Where do the far out, freaky sounds of today's jambands come from? I have my own ideas and I am here to share them with you. Hopefully in future issues I will have some of your ideas to share as well. I hope to turn you on to sounds that you may not have heard before. So, where should we start? If it were up to me, and it is, I'd start in West Germany in the late sixties.

About four or five years ago my father became interested (obsessed is more like it) in the German psychedelic bands prominent from about 1967 and lasting till about 1973/74. The sounds predominant during this era were collectively labelled Kosmiche musik (cosmic music) or Krautrock to us Americans. After many days of my father coming up to my room, records in hand, and saying, "Mary, you have got to check this out," I developed an obsession of my own.

A LITTLE HISTORY LESSON NEVER HURT ANYONE

The history of Kosmiche musik is enough for an entire book. A lot of it will mean absolutely nothing to the novice Kosmiche fan and it truely is a history that can be best learned piece by piece through the music itself. For example, if you were interested in the band Neu! you would find that guitarist, Michael Rother, went from a performance in Kraftwerk to Neu! to Cluster to about five or six solo albums to then hooking up with Brian Eno (who incidentally got the inspiration for his whole ambient scene from his experiences with Kosmiche musicians). Saying this, I would suggest to anyone interested in the Kosmiche scene to purchase a book entitled, "KrautRock Sampler" by Julian Cope. It is a very useful tool to understanding the history and major bands of the Kosmiche scene. It is a valuable resource and you will find me echoing many of his sentiments.

So you are all probably wondering what German psychedelic bands have to do with jambands. I tend to see the connection in the following way. Many Kosmiche bands were influenced by American and British jazz and rock and roll and German progressive/experimental music. Modern German composers like Karlheinz Stockhausen redefined music. In a certain way, Kosmiche bands bridged the gap between jazz and experimental music and rock and roll/psychedelic jamming. The resulting sound is a hybrid of both. Kosmiche musik was free-form music at its truest. Bands like Can and Amon Duul were prime examples of what happens when musicians go onto a studio with no plan and just jam and record. Instead of one instrument jamming for ten minutes by itself, the whole band jams for ten minutes, weaving a beautiful, sometimes violent, sometimes frightening tapestry of sound.

There are many times when I am listening to a contemporary jamband, Phish for instance, and I hear a sound that completely throws me back to Kosmiche musik. The musicians may have no idea (I am not dissing Phish) where the sound comes from, it may just feel right to them, maybe they were influenced by a sound they heard. The relationship is not always a direct one, but it is there. You may be listening to "Reba" one day and hear a passage that reminds you of Mahavishnu Orchestra (this happens to me a lot) and then you throw on some Mahavishnu and hear a sound that reminds you of that Ash Ra Tempel album you were listening to last night. Trust me, the influences are there, we just have to know how to find them. Kosmiche musik may not have started it all (many Kosmiche bands themselves would not be here if not for the Velvet Underground), but they brought psychedelic jamming to a new level and influenced a hell of a lot of people.

Another point that is important to make is the sheer longevity of Kosmiche musik. During the time that the Kosmiche revolution was occuring many people thought that the sound coming out of England (Henry Cow, Van de Graf Generator, Gong, the whole Canterbury scene: Soft Machine, Camel, Caravan) was the true progressive music (a term I despise). While I am not going to say that I find any of this music really bad (to each his own), I will admit that I find most of it very unlistenable today. However, Kosmiche musik has lasted the test of time. It is still as fresh and mind-blowing today as it was thirty years ago. My father has an explanation that stands like this: "the difference is that one type was a music that captured the time period (English) and the other was music captured by the time period (Kosmiche)." To be analytical for about a minute, Kosmiche musik may be interpreted as the post World War II generation's attempt at breaking from a horrific past. A lot of the sounds are so far out there and so different than anything put before them, that you can wonder what the intent was. Some song lyrics deal with subjects and events that took place in World War II Germany (concentration camps, identity loss, fanaticism, etc.). Many of the musicians themselves were quite the characters, however I tend to not try to explain relationships and group dynamics of any of the bands. It is rather difficult to speculate thrity years later about what was really going on.

A (DESPERATE) CALL TO ARMS

There is a lot of music and sound that I would like to see discussed in this forum. I hope that by sharing the Kosmiche scene, this can turn into a forum of influences on contemporary jambands. I should admit right now that my knowledge of contemporary jambands is very limited. Please help me change this sad fact. This leads me to my next order of business....

I want help and input from all of you! Please help me link these bands with current jambands. I want to hear from you. I will gladly publish and credit you with anything you send me. I will enthusiastically accept questions, comments, submissions, requests, fan mail, hate mail (well not really), whatever, some kind of correspondence. My email address should be somewhere on this page, but here it is again: mchimato@ic.sunysb.edu. Please use it.

A LOOK TO THE FUTURE

Bands I hope to discuss in later months include the main components of the Kosmiche scene: Can, Amon Duul, Amon Duul II, Ash Ra Tempel (a good one for you electronica fans), Kraftwerk, Popul Vuh, Faust, Neu!, Cluster, Tangerine Dream, and the Cosmic Jokers. If you know anything about these groups, start writing!

I also hope to cover some of the American, German, and British contemporary bands influenced bu Kosmiche musik. From Germany: The Coloured Rain label: two musicians who do everything themselves: Captain Ilor and Swara Samrat(they put out an album called Yeti named after the AMon Duul album, it includes some great pictures and a story of how to capture a Yeti); The Little Wing of Refugees label who specialize in re-releasing old gems; Phanton Payne, and if you like Hendrix inspired power trios: Alan Tepper's Fantasyy Factoryy. From America: Windy and Carl, Magnog, my favorite Ohioan, Al Simones, and the Kranky label out of Chicago. The British list could go on forever, but to entice you I will mention: Spaceman 3, Spiritualized, Spectrum, Porcupine Tree, Light, Amp, Third Eye Foundation, and the band that wears its Kosmiche music influence on it's sleeve (record sleeve that is having named two songs Amon Duul and Amon Duul II), Flying Saucer Attack.

SISTER MARY CARMEN'S MUSIC RECOMMENDATION OF THE MONTH

I know that I have been rather longwinded, but I could not leave without a music recommendation. The artist and album of this month is appropriately Amon Duul's, "Paradieswarts Duul" (Ohr Records).

The lineup:

For those not familiar with the history of Amon Duul. The band was formed by the members of a hippie commune in Germany in the 1960s. The band is heavily percussive. This is their second of four albums released before the great split of Amon Duul (who went on to focus on the more percussive/performance art side of things) and Amon Duul II (who went on to create some classic Kosmich albums). This is music that really needs to be heard to understand, finding the words to describe it is very difficult.

Coming on the heals of their previous album, "Disaster", "Paradieswarts Duul" was quite a revelation illustrating the more melodic side of the band. Something that was lacking on the first album. Ella and Rainer were two beautiful voices that we finally get to hear on this album. Side one is taken up by the massive free-folk epic, "Love is Peace". This is a beautiful, simplistic, neverending, acoustic song. Side two has the band descending into a downer-trip with "Snow your thirst, Sun open your mouth." "Slip Inside this House" is a downer which we can all relate to. It begins with the opening riff to "Purple Haze" before slipping into acoustic guitar. Verses narrate a tale of how we are all becoming slaves to time and our clocks while time is slipping past us. The side is rounded out by the final song "Paramechanische Welt (Paramechanical World)" a long, unchanging, 17 verse weep. Communal roots were not lost on this album. A host of other musicians contribute on this album in some form or another. This is definitely Amon Duul at its best. I would not hesitate to call this album their masterpiece. The album is melodic, mystical, and psychedelic while taking your mind on a nice little vacation for a while. A note from Julian Cope: In the early 80s, Dave Anderson and John Weinzierl, both formerly of Amon Duul II, formed another group called Amon Duul with no number after it. This is not the same band. This was a different scene based in North Wales.

FAN RECOMMENDATION OF THE MONTH

I actually got a submission this month, so without further ado I give Mr. Terran the floor.....

Artist: Can
Title: Soundtracks
Label: Mute/Spoon

First off, thanks to Mary for giving me some space to express my feelings. That said, I am going to plunge headlong into a bit of Krautrock at its finest, Can: Soundtracks.

"Soundtracks" is a compilation of music that was written for porn and art movies. It is an excellent introduction to the music of Can for the uninitiated. Can'' first two vocalists, Malcolm Mooney and Damo Suzuki are both represented on this disc. You will find these two vocalists are on Can''s mos timportant early albums.

I prefer the spaced out rumblings and rambling of Suzuki to Mooney''s vocals. Suzuki''s voice is always at the edge of perception, washing over the listener, probing into corners of your mind. Suzuki''s voice was truly an instrument that complimented the music in ways few vocalists can. His voice never interfered with the music going on around him. It is just as easy to concentrate on the paths the musicians are taking when Damo is silent or singing from his soul.

There are seven pieces on "Soundtracks", two from the Mooney era and five from the later Suzuki fronted days. While the vocals are not the most important aspect of Can, there is only one instrumental piece, the title music to the film Deadlock. This is an interesting piece, ominous and threatening. As I have never seen the film this was created for, it may be unfair for me to read too much into this music, but as this tune creeps into life I can hear the anger and desperation of post-war Germany. There is a feeling of disjointedness, as if something is not quite as it should be. The drumming of Jaki Liebezeit drives this song (as well as most of Can'' music) into a frenzy that mocks the marching songs of a not too distant past. It's amazing that in under two minutes, these incredible musicians can take a few notes of music and weave an aural roller coaster ride.

"Soul Desert" is as sparse as it's name alludes. Plodding bass and drums move the listener down a bleak landscape, the primal rhythm never easing. Suzuki challenges those foolish enough to enter his Soul Desert. There is a subtle interplay between Irmin Schmidt's keyboards and Michael Karoli''s guitar that is at times truly beautiful. There is a most disturbing sound in this song, the constant sound of hammering. Is it a reminder that the German industrial machine is omnipresent in the minds of the German people? Perhaps this is the source of their soul desert. It certainly begs the question what is the source of your soul desert?

The standout piece, "Mother Sky", needs to be heard to be believed. Screaming like a mad demon, the song erupts with a violent guitar explosion and then settles into a deep, luscious groove. The first time I heard this song I was left speechless. So many wonderful sounds came out of my speakers, it was moving. As I marveled at one freaky bit, another snuck it's way into my ear and wrapped itself around my subconscious until I gave into it. The droning voice of Suzuki eerily weeps a frightening story of madness and death. Seventeen year old, Michael Karoli, rips his guitar through this epic never leaving the forefront of the listener's mind for too long. After fourteen plus minutes of mind-blowing psychedelic music there is little left to do but turn off the stereo and go to sleep.

As for Mooney''s two contributions, the more fun of the two pieces,"She Brings The Rain", is dripping with Lysergic Acid Diethylamide-25. Soulfully spacey lyrics over twinkling guitar and keyboards backed by juicy bass and violins come together to produce a sound not unlike an otherworldly Van Morrison. "Magic mushrooms out of dreams" indeed!

Can has set forth a body of music that, thirty years after their forming, still is exciting and challenging today. "Soundtracks", while not a proper album per se (Editor's Note: Can never intended "Soundtracks" to be a follow up to their previous album. It's success and overwhelming reception as a complete body of work surprised the band.), is a fantastic starting point for those interested in learning more about the musical legacy that Germany has left the world. I just hope that one day the rest of the world catches up.

Subverting the dominant paradigm,
Mike

CREDITS AND VALUABLE RESOURCES

I would like to thank all of the following for their help and resources they have provided me. Much of the music discussed in this forum can be found at good import record stores, if not you can try the mail order catalogues listed here each month.

The Joseph Chimato Record Library: Comprised of all types of music spanning over three decades with an affinity for German psychedelia and its offshoots. Thanks, dad, for all the music you have passed through my ears and hands for the last 23 years.

"KrautRock Sampler" by Julian Cope, published by Head Heritage, 1995. PO Box 3823, London N8 8TQ. Available in fine record stores.

Roland's Musikbok:
Roland H. Wehner
Schweuggerstrasse 18
D-90478 Nurnberg
Germany
Write for a catalogue or call:
0911/46 45 83
fax: 0911/46 37 18

The Freak Emporium
PO Box 1288
Gerards Cross, Bucks SL9 9YB
tel: 01753 893008 (outside the UK: +44 1753 893008)
fax: 01753 892879 (outside the UK: +44 1753 892879)
email: sales@delerium.com

Sister Mary Carmen is a senior, majoring in 20th century German History at SUNY Stony Brook. The first album she consciously remembers listening to was "The Who Sell Out" when she was five.
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