Kosmische Musik and its Techno-Social Context
Keywords:
kosmische musik, krautrock, production aestheticsAbstract
The electrification of music making in West Germany during the 1970s led to what is now often recognized as one of the most important developments in popular electronic music. In this article, the emergence of kosmische musik (“cosmic music”), a style of electronic music developed during the early 1970s, is contextualized within the social climate of West Germany and post-war attraction to emerging electronic music technologies. Beginning from accounts of the period, which associate kosmische musik with themes of space and otherworldliness, matters of production are positioned as a form of aesthetic demarcation that was encouraged by the technological and social context of West Germany. The approaches to acoustical space, sonic design, and performative agency are then explored in an analysis of Tangerine Dream’s “Phaedra”.References
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Discography
Ash Ra Tempel –
a. Schwingungen. Ohr Records, Germany.
b. “Traummaschine”. Kosmische Musik, Ohr Records, July, Germany.
Can. 1972. Ege Bamyasi, United Artists Records, November, Germany.
Harmonia –
a. “Sonnenschein”. Musik von Harmonia, Brain, January, Germany.
b. “Veterano”. Musik von Harmonia, Brain, January, Germany.
“Deluxe (Immer Wieder)”. Deluxe, Brain, August, Germany.
Neu –
a. Neu! 2. Brain, Germany.
b. “Hallo Excentrico”. Neu! 2, Brain, Germany.
Neu! 75. Brain, Germany.
Popol Vuh. 1972. “In Den Gärten Pharaos”. Kosmische Musik, Ohr Records, July, Germany.
Schulze, K. –
a. “Ebene”. Kosmische Musik, Ohr Records, July, Germany.
b. Irrlicht. Ohr Records, August, Germany.
c. “Land”. Kosmische Musik, Ohr Records, July, Germany.
Tangerine Dream –
Alpha Centauri. Ohr Records, March, Germany. Liner notes.
a. “Geburt”. Kosmische Musik, Ohr Records, July, Germany.
b. “Origin of Supernatural Probabilities”. Zeit, Ohr Records, August, Germany.
c. “Sunrise in the Third System”. Kosmische Musik, Ohr Records, July, Germany.
Phaedra. Virgin Records, 20 February, United Kingdom. Liner notes.
“Phaedra”. Phaedra, Virgin Records, United Kingdom.
Various. 1972. Kosmische Musik, Ohr Records, July, Germany.
Videography
BBC. 2009. Krautrock - The Rebirth of Germany, 23 October.
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