Track of the Day: 'I'm not into Twerk, I'm into KraftWerk' by Modeselektor

Released as part of an album that celebrates 10 years of Bleep, Warp Records' online music store, this track from the German outfit is a bouncing, vibrant piece of electronica. Even if you don't like the track, you have to admit it's got one of the best titles so far this year.

The celebrations for Bleep's birthday continue tonight when Fuck Buttons and Mount Kimbie play a special show at the Barbican in London together. I'll be there - watch this space for a report!

Recommended music: 'Close To The Glass' by The Notwist

Despite the fact that The Notwist were formed back in 1989, and this is their sixth album, until about a month ago I don't think I'd heard any of their music. If this album is anything to go by then clearly I've made a terrible mistake, as this is exactly the kind of electronic-indie hybrid that I like to listen to.

The track that dragged me into the world of The Notwist was 'Kong', and it's still one of my favourites on the album. It's full of energy, ripping along at a cracking pace with some surprising strings at the end, and reminds me a bit of Grandaddy and some other things that I can't quite put my finger on (but which are all great). Here's the video:



The other tracks range from the full-on electronica of 'Lineri' to the lo-fi acousticness of 'Steppin' In', but whatever they're doing they always doing it really well. The title track, which you can hear below, is a great example of what they can do, mixing crunching electronics with acoustic guitars, crystal-clear vocals and some mournful atmospheric sounds.



Very much an essential purchase, and while you go off to buy this I resolve to go and sift through their back catalogue.

'Close To The Glass' is out now on City Slang Records.

Track of the Day: 'Kong' by The Notwist

I must admit that The Notwist have managed to evade my ears so far in their career. But if this is anything to go by then I'll definitely be checking out their new album 'Close To The Glass' as I've playing it pretty much non-stop since I found it on Soundcloud yesterday. It's hard to categorise - it reminds me a bit of Grandaddy, and there's definitely some Krautrock influences in there too, but  there's lots more besides. Have a listen and see what you make of it.

Recommended music: 'Japandorf' by Klaus Dinger & Japandorf

And so my Krautrock odyssey continues with this, the final posthumous release from Klaus Dinger. If you're not familiar with the name, he was an early member of Kraftwerk, and then went on to found Neu! with Michael Rother, in the process inventing the driving 'motorik' rhythm that was to characterise a lot of Krautrock records. Later he presided over various incarnations of the group La Düsseldorf  before spending the years from 2000 until his untimely death in 2008, working with a group of Japanese musicians and artists who lived in Dusseldorf. The record was finished off by Miki Yui, who, as well as being in the band, was also Dinger's partner, and will be released on March 25th by Gronland Records.

In some ways this album follows the classic template for a Krautrock record. There are the obligatory long, repetitive songs ('ChaCha 2008' and 'Sketch No4', the latter being the best of the two), interspersed with short, atmospheric tracks and sound effects, including some watery noises much like on the Neu! albums. There are a couple of surprisingly gentle, straightforward songs ('Spacemelo' and 'Osenbe'), and the full-on rocker 'Karnival' which wouldn't have been out of place on Neu! '75.



There's no denying that some of the tracks on here still feel a bit unfinished - a couple of them have 'Sketch' in their title, and some of the instrumentals such as 'Kittleback Symphony' feel as if they need another couple of layers of melody and vocals. But in a way that almost feel right, the sense that something is missing is almost tangible and accurately reflects the fact that Dinger is no longer with us. And while it's sad that he's gone, it's great to think that he was still making creative music such as this until he passed.

For more information check out the Gronland site here http://groenland.com/en/

Recommended music: 'Krieg und Frieden (Music For Theatre)' by Apparat

Not your normal, run of the mill album from Apparat, this is something very special indeed from Sascha Ring. The music on this record was originally written for innovative German theatre director Sebastian Hartmann's new production of Tolstoy's 'War and Peace'. Although a release wasn't planned for the music, by the end of the theatre run it had evolved into something that Ring felt deserved another life, so he took it into the studio with four other musicians and they made it into this. Amazingly intense and powerful at times, but shot through with moments of fragility, it plays out like a film soundtrack, and conjures up fantastically bleak images in your mind. Mostly instrumental, there are just two tracks with vocals, including the plaintive but uplifting closer 'A Violent Sky'.

There's more than a hint of Tim Hecker in some of the tracks, not just in the sound and the drones but in the power of the music. It points at a whole new direction for Apparat and one which I for one hope he takes. I love the fact that you can hear the ambience of the studio, the little imperfections and creaks in the background, there's a real analogue warmth to it that draws you in to the story. It works as a whole piece - Ring has stated that although there are individual tracks it's not a record that's designed to be listened to in small pieces, but rather in one long song. I guarantee that if you put 45 minutes aside to listen to it you'll emerge from it a better person.

You can listen to the whole album below - if you like it then please buy it, as I really believe that the word needs to be spread about this amazing record. The more of you that buy it, the more charts it will appear in, and the more people will hear about it.

Recommended music: 'Cyclopean' EP by Cyclopean

Released on the ever reliable Mute Records, this is a new venture from former Can members Jaki Liebezeit and Irmin Schmidt, together with their long time collaborators Jono Podmore and Burnt Friedman. Although there has been something of a surge of interest in all things Krautrock lately (partly fuelled by the release of last year's Can album 'The Lost Tapes') this is not the sound of people content to rest on their laurels and churn out the same old stuff.

There's a tribal feel that undercuts the tracks here - the drumming is repetitive and hypnotic and drags you into the groove of the track. Unusual instruments - theremin, rubber band guitar - combine with the weight of experience of these long in the tooth musicians to create something that sounds futuristic and otherwordly.

Buy it from the Mute store here.

Recommended music: 'Who's That Man?' - a tribute to Conny Plank

To start with, a confession of sorts. Until recently I'd never listened to a Krautrock record (as teenagers a friend and I once experimented with a latter-period Tangerine Dream album that we found in the bargain bin, but we were so disappointed with it that we melted the vinyl and turned it into a scuplture). All this changed a few months ago when Nigel Godrich, esteemed Radiohead producer and founder of Ultraista, was doing a show on BBC 6music and he played 'Hallo Gallo' by Neu! - I couldn't believe that 1) I hadn't heard it before and 2) how much a lot of records I liked seemed to be influenced by it. I instantly bought the entire Neu! back catalogue, and couldn't believe my luck in December when, at the ATP Festival curated by The National, I was able to watch Michael Rother play the music of Neu! and Harmonia in front of an enraptured crowd, backed by young German band Camera. Since then, with the aid of Julian Cope's excellent book 'Krautrocksampler', I have continued my exploration of the genre, which brings us to the box set that sits before me.

If, like me a few months ago, you're asking 'Who's That Man?' when reading the name Conny Plank or looking at the photograph above, then this 4 cd selection will go some way to answering your question. Collecting together just a small portion of the tracks he was involved in the first 2 cds give a real feel of his musical vision. Plank was always much more than just a producer - in the Krautrock days he often received full songwriting credits along with the bands he was producing such as Cluster. At the same time he was creating new recording processes and even new pieces of equipment to enable his vision to be realised. Whilst the tracklisting may at first appear a little odd and arbitrary (The Eurythmics next to Michael Rother?) listened to as a whole it really works, showing innovators and disciples all flowing together in the same stream. And although most of the tracks on these two discs is already widely available, there are four rare tracks to hold the interest of those who already own much of Plank's output. I don't imagine that everything on these two cds will be to everyone's tastes (the prog-jazz stylings of Ibliss are a bit much for me, and Streetmark's version of 'Eleanor Rigby' is well worth avoiding) but certainly the majority of the tracks are worth a try.

CD 3 brings things up to date with a brand new set of remixes of from the original master tapes of Plank tracks. It's difficult to comment on remixes when you're not familiar with the original versions, but taken at face value there are certainly some tracks of note here. Walls' remix of 'Infiltration' doesn't sound much like his recent album or much like a Krautrock track but is still good, but the next 2 are even better, especially the version of Michael Rother's 'Feuerland'. There's a lull with the Phew Remix, but then 'Farmer Gabriel' is vastly improved on the original by turning it into an Orb / FSOL-esque ambient dance track. The Eye Remix of Neu!'s 'Fur Immer' is pretty radical and may well be what Krautrock would sound like if it had been born in the 21st century. The Crato remix of Phew's 'Doze' is OK once it gets started, but overlong, and the final track is neither here nor there.

That brings us to CD 4, which was recorded at a live show in Mexico in 1986 by Conny Plank / Dieter Mobius and Arno Steffen under the name Trioformation. This was the last recorded performance by Plank before his untimely death in 1987, and as such it probably has more historic value than musical worth - the tracks are fairly average and there's a sense on at least some of them that they're making it up as they go along.

Overall then, an interesting if quite expensive box set - if you're thinking of buying it I suggest you get it direct from the Gronland label site here, where it's at least £10 cheaper than anywhere I've seen it listed in the UK.

Right, I'm off to explore some more Krautrock geniuses with my trusty 'Krautrocksampler' tucked under my arm - I feel some Harmonia coming on...

Michael Rother performing with Camera, ATP Festival  8/12/12

Track of the Day: 'Fingers' by Cyclopean

Beautifully timed to fit in with my current Krautrock leanings, this new track on Mute Records is a collaboration between Burnt Friedman, Jono Podmore and founding members of Can Jaki Leibezeit and Irmin Schmidt.

The four track EP will be released next week - you can pre-order the vinyl direct from Mute here. The tracklisting is:

1. Apostles
2. Fingers
3. Knuckles
4. Weeks