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The Cosmic Jokers were a West German krautrock supergroup, [1] though they were never a proper ensemble per se; their music was created from sessions put together by label head Rolf-Ulrich Kaiser and Gille Lettman in early 1973, without the performers' knowledge. They were a primary example of space rock. [1]
The Cosmic Jokers performed at several acid parties to be held at the sound studio owned by Dieter Dierks, where musicians were offered drugs in exchange for recording tracks. Participants included Manuel Göttsching and Klaus Schulze of Ash Ra Tempel, Jürgen Dollase and Harald Grosskopf of Wallenstein, and Dierks. Prior to this, all of the musicians had been involved with Kaiser's Cosmic Couriers label.
Kaiser took the tapes from these sessions, edited and mixed them with Dierks, and released them on his label, Kosmische Musik, complete with the musicians' pictures on the LP sleeve. Göttsching did not find out about the record release until he heard it playing in a record store in Berlin and asked the counter help what was playing. Kaiser released five records under the name Cosmic Jokers in 1974, one of which was actually a label sampler and a second, Gilles Zeitschiff, consisted of Kaiser's then-girlfriend Gille Lettmann speaking over sounds taken from prior label releases. Schulze was not happy with the recordings, and was so angry after the release of Gilles Zeitschiff that he sued Kaiser.
Space rock is a music genre characterized by loose and lengthy song structures centered on instrumental textures that typically produce a hypnotic, otherworldly sound. It may feature distorted and reverberation-laden guitars, minimal drumming, languid vocals, synthesizers, and lyrical themes of outer space and science fiction.
Klaus Schulze was a German electronic music pioneer, composer and musician. He also used the alias Richard Wahnfried and was a member of the Krautrock bands Tangerine Dream, Ash Ra Tempel, and the Cosmic Jokers before launching a solo career consisting of more than 60 albums released across six decades.
Krautrock is a broad genre of experimental rock that developed in West Germany in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It originated among artists who blended elements of psychedelic rock, avant-garde composition, and electronic music, among other eclectic sources. Common elements included hypnotic rhythms, extended improvisation, musique concrète techniques, and early synthesizers, while the music generally moved away from the rhythm & blues roots and song structure found in traditional Anglo-American rock music. Prominent groups associated with the krautrock label included Neu!, Can, Faust, Tangerine Dream, Kraftwerk, Cluster, Ash Ra Tempel, Popol Vuh, Amon Düül II and Harmonia.
Cluster were a German musical duo consisting of Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Dieter Moebius, formed in 1971 and associated with West Germany's krautrock and kosmische music scenes. Born from the earlier Berlin-based group Kluster, they relocated in 1971 into the countryside village of Forst, Lower Saxony, where they built a studio and collaborated with musicians such as Conny Plank, Brian Eno, and Michael Rother; with the latter, they formed the influential side-project Harmonia. After first disbanding in 1981, Cluster reunited several times: from 1989 to 1997, and from 2007 to 2010.
Harmonia was a West German musical "supergroup" formed in 1973 as a collaboration between members of two prominent krautrock bands: Cluster's Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Dieter Moebius joined by Neu! guitarist Michael Rother. Living and recording in the rural village of Forst, the trio released two albums—Musik von Harmonia (1974) and Deluxe (1975)—to limited sales before dissolving in 1976. AllMusic described the group as "one of the most legendary in the entire krautrock/kosmische scene."
Ash Ra Tempel was a West German krautrock group led by guitarist Manuel Göttsching that was active from 1970 to 1976. Their debut album Ash Ra Tempel was released in 1971. Following the band's demise, Göttsching released music under the name Ashra.
Manuel Göttsching was a German musician and composer.
Witthüser & Westrupp was a German singer-songwriter duo from Essen. The guitarist Bernd Witthüser (1944-2017) and the multi-instrumentalist Walter Westrupp had their roots in the folk and protest song movement, and their joint titles initially had macabre, later predominantly psychedelic elements. The band was formed in June 1969 as "W&W's pop cabaret", singing German texts in a special way. In 1970 the name changed to "Witthüser & Westrupp". Their music was attributed to the genre of psychedelic folk and later to krautrock. Their best-known album became the 1971 concept album Der Jesuspilz, in which an undefined substance becomes a symbol of the divine. The duo existed from 1969 to 1973. Later, Bernd Witthüser lived in Murci (Italy) until his death, while he was working as the street musician Bärnelli in Europe. Walter Westrupp is still living in Germany and is the frontman of the skiffle and jug band Walter h.c. Meier Pumpe.
Krautrocksampler: One Head's Guide to the Great Kosmische Musik - 1968 Onwards, written by the musician and writer Julian Cope, is a book describing the underground music scene in Germany from 1968 through the 1970s. The book was first published in the United Kingdom in 1995 by Head Heritage, and was later translated into German, Italian and French. The book gives a subjective and very animated account of the phenomenon of krautrock from the perspective of the author, who states: "I wrote this short history because of the way I feel about the music, that its supreme Magic & Power has lain Unrecognised for too long."
Join Inn is the fourth album by Krautrock band Ash Ra Tempel. It was recorded at Studio Dierks by Dieter Dierks during breaks in the sessions for the Walter Wegmüller album Tarot. It was originally released on LP by Ohr in Berlin, catalogue number OMM 556032. Each side of the LP comprises one long track.
Starring Rosi is the fifth and technically final album released by Ash Ra Tempel, as it is the last to feature Manuel Göttsching. It was recorded at Studio Dierks, Stommeln by Dieter Dierks. It was originally released on LP by Ohr under their 'Kosmische Musik' imprint, catalogue number KM 58.007.
Earthstar is an electronic music group from Utica, New York. Earthstar was encouraged by Krautrock/Kosmische Musik/electronic music artist, composer, and producer Klaus Schulze to relocate to Germany where they contracted with Sky Records. Schulze inspired and produced their second album, French Skyline. Earthstar is notable as the only American band who participated in Germany's Kosmische Musik/electronic music scene while still at its height.
Eruption was a short-lived German krautrock or experimental music super group founded by former Tangerine Dream member and then current Kluster member Conrad Schnitzler.
Ohr ("Ear") was an influential German electronic/experimental record label set up by Rolf-Ulrich Kaiser in 1970.
Cosmic Couriers / Cosmic Music was a West German experimental/space-rock label set up by Rolf-Ulrich Kaiser in 1973 following his association with Ohr and Pilz. A number of influential records in the Krautrock genre were released on Cosmic Couriers, including Klaus Schulze's Cyborg and Ash Ra Tempel/Timothy Leary's Seven Up.
Walter Wegmüller was a Swiss painter and recording artist. As a recording artist, he was best known for the Krautrock album Tarot, which was released on the Cosmic Couriers label in 1973.
Hartmut Enke was a German musician, best known as the bass guitarist in Ash Ra Tempel.
Seven Up is the third studio album by German krautrock band Ash Ra Tempel and their only album recorded in collaboration with American psychologist/drug advocate Timothy Leary. It was first released in 1973.
The Cosmic Jokers is an album by a krautrock supergroup The Cosmic Jokers. It is a compilation of jam sessions by various Cosmic Couriers musicians, specifically Klaus Schulze, Harald Grosskopf, Manuel Göttsching, Dieter Dierks and Jürgen Dollase.
Rolf-Ulrich Kaiser is a German writer and record producer. He is best known as the founder of the Ohr, Pilz, and Cosmic Couriers record labels. These labels released many of the earliest Krautrock albums in the early 1970s, and Kaiser is often cited as a pivotal figure in the development of the genre.
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