Amon Düül
Amon Düül is a German rock band that formed in the wake of the student movement of the 1960s and exists in several formations up to the present. The band is considered one of the greatest exponents of Krautrock.
- 2.1 Amon Düül
- 2.2 Amon Düül II
Band History
In 1967, on Leopold Strasse in Munich an artist community that after the Egyptian god Amon and a figure of Turkish poetry, Düül, named. It soon gained the Communards by their musical sessions at the happenings and demonstrations of the politicized youth cult status. However, one could agree on a common musical concept. A fraction of the Communards took the libertarian way of artistic freedom and took on anyone who wanted to make music if he was able to sing or play or not. The other fraction was adjusted conservative in this regard and put emphasis on musicianship. For inter alia by Rolf- Ulrich Kaiser and Tangerine Dream initiated Essen Song days in 1968, we began to official break when instead of a band two of the same name appeared, Amon Düül and Amon Düül II Henceforth we went our separate ways and it should remain not only in these two formations.
Amon Düül
Amon Düül played mostly improvised music without song structure. The frequent change of lineup members did not contribute to the formation of a specific musical character. Many of the musicians were close to the Kommune 1 in Berlin.
They played preferably shocking anti - music. The title had names like " Mama Düül & their sauerkraut band plays on " or " A beautiful baby girl dreams of Sandosa ". In a short time were directed by Peter Meisel, co-owner of Hansa music production, released four albums, mostly at the same time with the albums of "competition" Amon Düül II Although the albums with such curious titles such as were " Collapsing - songbirds backwards" or " disaster - Lüüd Noma " torn by the critics but adored by the fans. Today they are rare and are among the highlights of the psychedelic Krautrock genre. 1970 were Amon Düül for the last time.
Amon Düül II
Amon Düül II, consisting of Chris Karrer, Peter Leopold and Ulrich Leopold, Falk Rogner, John Weinzierl and Renate Knaup, contrast, value placed on a minimum level of musicality. Critics confirmed on the occasion of the Essen Song Days 1968 even only a " half-hour musical Nothing " (FAZ ), but their first album Phallus Dei (Latin: God's phallus ) of 1969 set new standards in the German rock history. The title song brought it to an impressive 21 minutes in length. The assessment of the public was divided. Siegfried Schmidt -Joos convicted in 1973 released " Rock Encyclopedia " the album as a mixture of "Reports of futuristic disasters with Old Testament disaster reports ," the group found it hard with feedback effects and offers " maverick magical sound and honest copies of Pink Floyd music ". Sold the album has still good. The movie industry asked for contract work, after the group had presented the rotated by Rüdiger fasting concert film " Amon Düül phallus plays Dei ". In the shot in May 1970 WDR film Niklashausen Fart by Rainer Werner Fassbinder, the group is seen with a song title. The music of the film published in 1970 San Domingo brought the musicians even in 1971 the German Film Award.
The first half of the 1970s was the most productive phase of Amon Düül II To the production took care of since 1970 the saxophonist Olaf Kübler, who worked in the 1970s with Klaus Doldinger and Udo Lindenberg. Kübler was the group largely artistic freedom. Within 6 years published 10 albums and several compilations official, the main cast consisted of at this time:
- Chris Karrer (guitar and vocals, born January 20, 1947)
- Renate Knaup ( singer, born July 1, 1948)
- John Weinzierl (guitar, born April 4, 1949)
- Peter Leopold (drums, born August 15, 1945, † November 8, 2006 )
- Lothar Meid (bass guitar, born August 28, 1942)
- Falk Rogner (synthesizer, born 14 September 1943)
For the second album Yeti (1970 ) was the breakthrough in England, although, or perhaps because the previous texts of the group were repeatedly presented in altertümelndem German or with doubtful English. The Melody Maker certified in 1972, this was the first German group, " which provided a contribution to the international music scene " have.
Personnel changes and connections to other bands were numerous in the early 1970s: Chris Karrer and Lothar Meid were repeatedly employed by the embryo, in return Christian Burchard was inter alia also be heard on " Phallus Dei ", Renate Knaup worked with Florian Fricke, whose later Popol Vuh - mate Daniel Fichelscher jumped at Amon Düül for Peter Leopold on drums, a bassist Lothar Meid worked with Klaus Doldinger, his predecessor Dave Anderson later moved to Hawkwind, there was a tour with Can, Renate Knaup for was temporarily Jutta Weinhold be heard on vocals, who had previously participated in the musical " Hair" and " Jesus Christ Superstar". The list could go on for long.
In 1975, the previously largely independent operating band of Atlantic Records was signed. The label pursued purely commercial objectives and practiced musical control in the production of the album "Made in Germany". Influences of that disco music was unmistakable. Producer Jürgen S. Korduletsch drew them eg also responsible for the success of Claudja Barry and George Kranz. In the second half of the 1970s, Amon Düül II was just a studio project, which now Stefan Zauner (later lead singer of the pop group Münchener Freiheit ) and Tommi Piper participated ( the German voice of television aliens Alf ).
In 1978, only the latest plate. Krautrock was getting on in years. Disco, Punk and New Wave were at the train. Chris, Falk and Renate tried Amon Düül II with two new albums to bring under their direction early 80s to life, however, had no commercial success, and the project quickly faded into obscurity. Lothar Meid worked meanwhile with Marius Müller- Westernhagen, produced his albums and composed the music for " Theo against the rest of the world."
Also in the 80s, John Weinzierl tried in England with musicians from Wales to use the myth Amon Düül for his own band and released as Amon Düül (UK) between 1982 and 1989 no fewer than five albums, but even he could not take the creativity, let because come close to the success of Amon Düül previous years.
In the mid-1980s concert posters for Amon Düül III was advertised, but this probably just a PR stunt the band Hawkwind was that announced them as special guests, without it being previously occupied an appearance by Amon Düül musicians. Hawkwind had rendered outstanding services since the early 1970s in England to the promotion of Amon Düül and guest appearances would have been conceivable. The niche of Krautrock in the 80s generally led to increased interaction within the scene, the Amon Düül musicians experimenting and merged with musicians from Embryo and Guru Guru and were, if not common to see in many smaller festival stages.
After the death of former Hawkwind vocalist Robert Calvert in 1988 organized Chris Karrer, who had just worked with him on recordings, a memorial concert at which homed contrary to the original planning a solo show Renate Knaup and also Peter Leopold. From the unique event ultimately was the reunion of Amon Düül, and for concerts in Italy the following year came again Lothar Meid and Falk Rogner joined the band. Posthumously, the recordings with Robert Calvert were published in 1989 as Amon Düül. But more joint appearances were initially sporadic, Karrer was at this time also with solo projects, including Ernst Fuchs and the Kurdish singer Şivan Perwer.
In the early 1990s Krautrock was acceptable again. Amon Düül experienced a comeback with an increased demand for old albums that have since been reinforced reissued. 1995 also saw the release of a new album, " Nada Moonshine #", and since a tour of Japan in the same year are Amon Düül back to see regularly on festival stages. Besides postpublished live recordings and current live material since emerged more new studio recordings. In 2005, a DVD recording of the Krautrock Meeting of the Rockpalast was released.
The group has complained for several years against the record company Repertoire Records or its managing Tomas Neelsen for publishing unauthorized Neupressungen old albums. The authorized new releases for the label SPV, however, are characterized by the years 2005 and 2006 -rehearsed bonus material. Published in 2009 Amon Düül II with " Bee As search " the first studio album in 28 years.
The musical influence of the band is now in various bands from the stoner rock recognizable, so in Queens of the Stone Age and particularly strong on the CD by Monster Magnet from the year 2006.