Ash Ra Tempel - Ash Ra Tempel (1971)
Album: Ash Ra Tempel - Ash Ra Tempel
Released: 1971
Genre: Space-Rock, Krautrock
Spalax 14244
Great album! Both songs start off quietly and build to a nice pinnacle. Very long and very smooth progression of sounds. M Gottsching is brilliant but so is everyone else in the band. This album is another krautrock classic and should be owned by any krautfan... - Review by lilhagglet, ProgArchives.com
A perfect starting point for anybody wishing to taste the cosmic thrills of krautrock, Ash Ra Tempel's explosive debut album ranks as one of my favorite Tempel recordings. The band was still very fresh, having only joined forces in August 1970. Their self-titled debut album featured two extended tracks of a cosmic nature. 'Amboss' begins very softly with harmonic guitar chords before it begins to build into the mother of all cosmic space rock jams. Fueled by Gottsching's heavy and effects-laden acid guitar work, the track features nonstop guitar soloing and wreckless percussion pounding courtesy of Klaus Schulze. Clocking in at over twenty-five minutes, 'Traummaschine' (Dream Machine), seems to be at odds with the furious nature of 'Amboss'. 'Traummaschine' is a dreamy track which floats forth from the speakers so cosmically that it seems as if God himself was channeling energy into the band's recording studio. The track picks up steam near the twenty-minute mark before ultimately closing out in subdued cosmic fashion. An incredible debut, 'Ash Ra Tempel' set the standard and formula for the groups next three albums. - Krautrock Album Database - Ash Ra Tempel
Formed by ex-Tangerine Dream member Klaus Schulze, Manuel Göttsching and Hartmut Enke, Ash Ra Tempel was one of the pioneers of the progressive space-rock genre. Their debut-album seems to bee many people's favourite by the band, and I don`t blame them, as you won't get a more perfect space-atmosphere than the one you'll find here. The two tracks on the album is both VERY spacey pieces, but still very different from each other. "Amboss" opens quiet and relaxed, but soon bursts into a frenetic jam, highlighted with G?ttsching`s excellent spacy guitar playing and Schulze's energetic drumming. It`s quite facinating how such an energetic and noisy piece still can be so atmospheric and relaxing. "Traummaschine" lives up to its title, and gives a clue about what Schulze later would do on his own albums. A very quiet and mysterious piece, with floating electronics and shimmering guitar. The whole album gives you a feeling of flying through space in a pyramid and visiting planets with ancient temples. Yes, this really is SPACE music. However, if you're looking for something more controlled and electronic kind of spacey atmospheres, start with one of the first Ashra albums from the late 70's instead. - VintageProg.com
Ash Ra Tempel, as well as Can, Faust, Neu, Amon Düül II, Tangerine Dream, and Kraftwerk, were regarded as the greats in the Krautrock scene. In 1970, Tangerine Dream released their debut album, Electronic Meditation. It was very untypical of their releases as it was a very guitar heavy psychedelic album with an underground feel. One of the members of that band was Klaus Schulze, who was a drummer at that time (he usually handled keyboards, but not in the early days). He left that band not too long after.
A young guitarist named Manuel G?ttsching was starting a new band called Ash Ra Tempel, and the two members he got in were bassist Hartmut Enke and Klaus Schulze. They got to work in 1971 and recorded and released their self-entitled debut on Ohr Records (same label Tangerine Dream was recording for). The album simply consists of two side-length cuts. The first cut, "Amboss" is a rather agressive, mindblowing guitar-oriented piece. It's some wild stuff, and unsurprisingly, it reminds me of TD's Electronic Meditation.
The second and final cut is "Traummaschine", German for "Dream Machine". As you may guess, this cut is totally opposite from "Amboss", as it's a mindblowing, but mellow piece that's mostly ambient. It has that creepy atmosphere that makes me think of Tangerine Dream's Zeit. Some guitar does creep in but largely, it stays ambient. It's strange how an album with two cuts can blow me away for completely opposite reasons (one being wild and intense, the other being mellow).
Unfortunately the band had trouble keeping members with G?ttsching the only constant member. Klaus Schulze left to make a name for himself as one of the biggest names of electronic music (along with Tangerine Dream, Jean Michel Jarre, Tomita, Vangelis, Kitaro, Wendy Carlos, etc.). Other members that came in and out of Ash Ra Tempel included Rosi M?ller, Steve Schroyder (ex-Tangerine Dream), and even Timothy Leary (who was apparently in exile in neighboring Switzerland around that time), of all people.
The original LP of Ash Ra Tempel's debut came with a gimmick cover, not unlike Emerson, Lake & Palmer's Brain Salad Surgery. The original is not particularly easy to find, but it's been reissued plenty of times (but with a normal cover), including CD so you should be able to get yourself a copy somewhere. I find Ash Ra Tempel's debut an incredible masterpiece of space rock, and if you like this type of stuff, you owe it to yourself to get this album, you won't regret it! - Ash Ra Tempel: Ash Ra Tempel (1971) Music Reviews - Germany - Hippyland
Simply one of the all-time great Krautrock albums, this is the original ASH RA TEMPEL lineup with Manuel Gottsching, Hartmut Enke, and Klaus Schulze (who just left TANGERINE DREAM following the release of "Electronic Meditation"). Still at this point, Schulze was handling the drums, rather than keyboards that he's most famous for. There are only two side-length cuts. "Amboss" is totally mindblowing guitar-oriented jam that's not unlike the most intense moments of "Electronic Meditation", I guess that shouldn't be any surprise as both were recording on Ohr, and Schulze was involved in both. "Traummaschine" (German for "Dream Machine") is a much more relaxed, spooky sounding piece, mostly relying on ambience, with the guitar only rearing its head occasionally. Another mindblowing piece for the total opposite reason as "Amboss".
This is truly one of the first ASH RA TEMPEL albums you should try, especially because there are no vocals (except for some wordless vocals on "Traummachine" which are rather pleasant). The original LP on Ohr comes with a fold-out cover, sorta similar to ELP's "Brain Salad Surgery" (but without the diecut), or that obscure late '60s Portland, Oregon act called Touch (the band that recorded for the Coliseum label, that is, as opposed to too many other bands with that name). Spalax in France also reissued this on LP, but unfortunately lacks the gimmick fold-out and instead includes a little booklet (the same kind of booklet used on the Spalax CD reissue as well). A true must have for all space rock and Krautrock junkies out there! - Review by Proghead, ProgArchives.com
Never has the term "monster" been used to more adequately describe an album than in the case of Ash Ra Tempel's classic debut. Without a doubt one of the absolute pinnacles of the Krautrock movement, this album is a thundering masterpiece of unrestrained experimentalism and absolutely searing atmospheres. Ash Ra Tempel is a completely instrumental work, and makes use of furious percussion, droning keyboards and guitars, and masterful use of repetitive tension as well as dense, mysterious atmospheres before releasing into explosive solo guitar licks courtesy of Gottsching.
The album is made up of two tracks, the furious "Amboss" (perhaps one of the finest guitar freak-outs ever put to record), and the more varied "Traummaschine", meaning "Dream Machine" in German, which incidentally gives a pretty good idea of how it sounds. "Amboss" opens with some droning keyboard riffs before gradually building up behind Schulze's unrelenting percussive attack, and then exploding into a cataclysmic orgy of blazing guitar, crashing cymbals and rumbling bass. The song builds and releases in this fashion constantly throughout its 19 minutes, yet without a second wasted. "Traummacshine" takes its time building up, beginning with cosmic synthesizer drones, after which a repetitive guitar line drifts in. Before you know it, ten minutes have passed, and soft percussive pulses have entered the mix. By then, the build up has become tangible, gradually becoming faster and more intense, above which huge droning echoes rumble through the speakers like howling solar winds. The song builds and releases constantly, with the entire bottom falling out occasionally, leaving only wandering guitar notes or a lone bassline amidst the swirling ambiance. Overall, this album propels the listener into the furthest reaches of desolate space like few others. A clear cut masterpiece. - Greg Northrup, Progweed.net
If you love the old "Space Tripp'in" thing then ASH RA TEMPEL is just the thing the Doctor ordered. ASH RA TEMPEL?s 1st album is a classic in the genre of Space Rock led by guitarist Manuel Gottsching and a very young Klaus Schulze (percussion and electronics). Their 1st album really has a split personality and offers 2 very different landscapes for the listener from the chaos of the first 20 Mins epic "Amboss" (Anvil) to the tranquil "Traummaschine" (Dream Machine) which both seem to be born from the same cosmic voyage. Amboss is a heavy cosmic acid space journey which seems to draw the listener effortlessly into the wake of the TEMPEL. Along the way you are surrounded by Gottsching?s crazy guitar playing and Schulze?s frantic drumming and electronic smogasbourg. Track 2 (25 mins) is much less frantic and seems to by opposition draw the listener back inside the TEMPLE but this time into a very different region. "Traummaschine" relies much heavier here on the electronic meditation and instead builds into a very deep and slow space climax which seems very soothing and will send you off into another dimension. Overall this is a superior reproduction and sound is very well preserved considering the age offering nice speaker separation throughout. This is a great recording to sit back and put on the old headphones. Highly Recommended . - Review by James Unger, ProgArchives.com
Today in internet chat rooms, the neo-Krautrock music fan know-it-all hipster can recite all the details of Can, Faust, Kraftwerk and Neu!. However, the band that really had more to do with the creation of the movement goes on somewhat, but not completely, unnoticed. Ash Ra Tempel were perhaps even more pioneering in the search of experimental music forms from the heyday of the Berlin scene. They seamlessly combined electronics, psychedelia, and rock to the most extreme and radical while somehow interjecting a serene state throughout.
So it is quite possible the most authentic genius is someone who has no idea that he is one. Somebody who shys away from the spotlight and wonders aloud, "What is the big deal? I play guitar, I play keyboards, I play music and I enjoy it." Yet this person is so genuine that his style is instantly recognizable, the most pure a sound can be. This is true of so many great artists that are well-known, but is also true of those fine craftsman that are unknown. Manuel G?ttsching is a textbook example of the latter. Every interview he gives shows a gracious man who tires of talking of his past, who is forward looking and wants to show what he still has to offer. But the whole picture displays the life of this great painter.
Germany. 1971. Underground. Those three terms evoke images of the Berlin Wall, intensity, angst, freedom. There was an exciting music culture happening throughout all of Germany at this time with bands like Tangerine Dream, Amon Duul, Guru Guru, and Embryo. All of them were turning their backs on the more well known commercialized style of their American and British counterparts to create something new - something uniquely German. And no band helped define this milieu in recorded music more than Ash Ra Tempel. So perhaps in reality it was three friends: Manuel, Hartmut Enke, and Klaus Schulze (fresh from a similar angst ridden album, Electronic Meditation, with Tangerine Dream) who joined their hearts and souls to play music that interested them. What has to be realized is the environs of the day, the mindset, the intensity, the politics, the change of the Western world as we know it.
Very rarely is a moment so well captured just through music. Yet this is just what happened on Ash Ra Tempel's self-titled debut. From the start, one had to know this was going to be a special affair: A day glow orange cover of the Egyptian sun god Ra which featured a gimmick cover that folded open from the center. The opening piece "Amboss" (Anvil), is one for the ages. Starting with dark sounds that seem like shadows, created only with primitive electronics and guitar, the piece seems on the verge of falling into a black abyss to never return. Slowly the tension builds to a deafening crescendo, and without warning, Klaus Schulze begins his definitive piledriver drumming pattern. What could be possibly more intense and more chaotic? The listener is pounded into submission. Only to be equally mutilated by G?ttsching's furious jamming, certainly the most intense, psychedelic, heavy guitar ever recorded. After a few minutes of this sort of violent cosmic blues jamming, there is a sequence of free-jazz drumming and electric guitar polka-dots that just burst into another firestorm, and along comes Schulze even more furious than before with G?ttsching and Enke trying to subdue the entire German nation with their blistering guitar work. The Berlin Wall must fall! It doesn't - but certainly the musicians must have. One gets exhausted just listening to it! This 19 minute opus is followed by the exquisite 25 minute "Traummaschine" (Dream Machine). Again, the mood is somber but slowly the sound gets louder. The band manages to achieve an electronic cadence while the guitars and electronics swirl. Hand percussion enters in and G?ttsching turns up the fuzz for another biting solo. There is a period of rest and again the rollercoaster begins for yet one more jam. To this day, there has never been an album of music that sustained this kind of intensity for 40 minutes. How they were able to so without a moment of wasted time is a testament to the brilliance of one of the greatest albums of all time... - Tom Hayes, Gnosis Ratings
Manuel Göttsching - Guitar, Vocals, Electronics
Hartmut Enke - Bass
Klaus Schulze - Drums, Percussion, Electronics
Tracklist:
1. Amboss - 19.40
2. Traummaschine - 25.24
Ash Ra Tempel - Join Inn (1972)
Artist: Ash Ra tempel
Album: Join inn
Released: 1973
Spalax 14246 (1991)
Genre: progressive rock
Yet another fundamental guitar oriented Krautrock album from Manuel Göttsching, and one that continues in the same basic style as the first two albums. Overall, Join Inn sounds a lot more mature and developed, yet on the other hand, a tad more restrained. The album sees the reinstitution of Klaus Schulze on drums and is structured almost in the same manner as the debut, with one side devoted to a guitar oriented jam, and the second to a more ambient, yet still quite dynamic, extended track. "Freak N' Roll" features a heavy percussive attack and slithering basslines beneath Göttsching's more delicate touch. The song even shows off a slight jazzy sensibility, and overall doesn't have the same deep space vibe as the previous two albums. Instead, its a lot more down to earth, much more mature, and playing is extremely tasteful and pleasant. The intermittent climaxes still rock hard, but don't approach the shuddering heights of the self-titled debut. "Jenseits" is another stab at an ambient, ethereal piece in the vein of "Suche & Liebe" from Schiwingungen, and is in my opinion a lot more emotional and dynamic. The vocals of Rosi Mueller are quite beautiful, and are perfect atop the developing bed of synthesizer and electronic drones and flourishes. Basically, Join Inn, along with the first two albums, are supposed to be the essential works from Ash Ra Tempel, and I certainly haven't been disappointed by any of the three. This would be the final album of the classic lineup, as the group would be reduced to basically Manuel Göttsching and his girlfriend, Rosi, as well as a revolving door of guest musicians. - Greg Northrup [May 2001]
Tracklist:
01 Freak'n'roll
02 Jenseits
Ash Ra Tempel - Friendship (2000)
Tracklist:
1. Reunion 30:40
2. Pikant 21:40
3. Friendship 26:27
Ash Ra Tempel - Schwingungen (1972)
Album: Ash Ra Tempel - Schwingungen (aka 2nd, JP Remastered Ltd. Mini LP Edition)
Released: 1972 (2004)
Genre: Krautrock
Arcàngelo - ARC-7080
Mini gatefold sleeve version (as per the original release) of the band's second album from 1972 and an LSD drenched, guitar, drums, voice (John L.'s vocals become echoed screams and yelps not far off from Damo Suzuki's approach in Can) and synth, space adventure into the netherworlds of '70s Kraut Rock heaven. One of the classics and even better on CD. - Freak Emporium
A bit different from their debut because of the presence of vocals. Also Klaus Schulze left, in pursuit of his famous solo career. New drummer Wolfgang Muller is in, along with, of course, guitarist Manuel Gottsching and bassist Hartmut Enke. And for a vocalist, they chose a guy by the name of John L., previously of AGITATION FREE (who got booted out of that band for being too deranged, apparently ASH RA TEMPEL felt the same was as he was given the boot after this album). Talk about an acquired taste, John L.'s voice tends to be harsh and he always sounded out of tune (he reminded me of CAN's "Malcolm Mooney", so you get sort of an idea what you'll be facing here).
The album starts off with the rather bluesy "Look at Your Sun", complete with John L.'s off-key singing. The next song, "Flowers Must Die" is basically John L. simply screaming under an intense rhythm of guitar and drums, plus the presence of sax gives it a bit of a jazzy feel. Definately party-clearing music, to say the least. The second half of the album consists of "Suche" and "Liebe". "Suche" is a rather sinister spacy piece consisting of mostly vibraphone and organ. "Liebe" is more guitar and voice (this time by Gottsching), and sounds like a cross between PINK FLOYD and ASH RA TEMPEL's debut. Amazing album, if you can get used to the vocals - Ben Miler, ProgArchives.com
Schwingungen is a must hear album if only for its anarchistic, uncompromising musical statements. The vocals may put off some listeners, but I think the mood on the album is defined a great deal by them. They are very gruff and sung with an almost hysterical intensity. The guitar playing of Manuel Gottsching is great throughout the album varying from heavy, free acid rock style to dreamy parts where the guitar is sometimes so mutated and processed that it almost sounds like a synth or electronic equipment. Still fantastic, but a notch below their first. - Sjef Oellers, Gnosis Ratings
“Schwingungen” is ASH RA’s powerful follow up to their debut album which still remains to this day one of the true space classic for this music lover. 2 big differences here on “Schwingungen” with the departure of Klaus Schulze as well as the introduction of vocals marks this album in different light than their debut album. Having said that, this album is nothing short of amazing with some pretty spaced out interludes and long epic tracks to totally blow your mind. The overall sound on “Schwingungen” is very Meddle era “PINK FLOYD” with some great hypnotic work and analog space rock movements. With heavy doses of space hymns and the inspiring guitar work of Manuel Gottsching, this album will clearly take your mind and ears into the outer zone. The album is essentially made up of 3 long tracks with the first two tracks featuring the psychedelically-eerie-like vocals of John L. The full line up was Manuel Gottsching (guitar), Hartmut Enke (bass), Wolfgang Mueller (drums), & guest: John L (vocals, jew harp, percusssion), Matthias Wehler (alto sax) and Uli Popp (bongos). I love the frenzied guitar rantings and the mix of the west coast like rhythm sections taking a somewhat R&B foundation. Overall a great album. - James Unger
The follow up to Ash Ra Tempel's classic debut sees the departure of Klaus Schulze as well as the introduction of vocals, marking a slight change in the direction of the band. Nonetheless, their style is still tremendously intense and spaced-out, as always focused around the frenetic guitar work of Manuel Gottsching. The vocal style is extremely unique, almost like schizophrenic ranting, and does little to streamline the group's sound at all. The first two tracks are highlighted by this new vocal style, "Light: Look at Your Sun" is creepy, if somewhat sedate, but still introduces the atmosphere effectively. The real masterpiece on this album however, is the impossibly intense "Darkness: Flowers Must Die". Raging percussion and biting saxophone lines complement Gottsching's severe guitar assault. On top of it all are the madman vocals, screaming and ranting through a variety of voice effects and guiding the track through its numerous explosive climaxes. Words fail in attempting to describe the emotional urgency and sheer power of this track, often recalling the finer moments of the first album through its instrumental holocaust, but taking things to another plateau with its own uniquely chaotic approach. "Suche & Liebe" is an exercise in Tangerine Dream-ish ambiance, with heavy guitar effects and droning electronics. Successful to a point, but lacks the fiery guitar style that I listen to this band for. More dynamics such as on the debut's "Traummaschine" would have been enjoyed. Still, Schwingungen is another excellent album from Ash Ra Tempel, a step down from the first, but certainly no slouch in its own right. - Greg Northrup, ProgWeed.net
One of the most formidable of the German Krautrock groups, ASH RA TEMPEL were a powerful force led by guitarist Manuel GOTTSCHING, and also included former TANGERINE DREAM drummer Klaus SCHULZE at various points. Their music is very spacy and psychedelic, in the manner popularized by early HAWKWIND and AMON DUUL II. The early albums all had basically one track a side, one more powerful and dramatic, the other of a more atmospheric nature.
Their albums are all classics; those with Klaus SCHULZE ("Ash Ra Tempel" and "Join Inn") are the best. ASH RA TEMPEL's first release is a classic of the space/cosmic genre. This is definitively the one to start with if you're not familiar with this band. "Schwingungen" is a vastly underrated album even by ardent fans of the band. Basically, "Join Inn", along with the two albums, are supposed to be the essential woks from ASH RA TEMPEL, and I certainly haven't been disappointed by any of the three. GOTTSCHING's later work varied between solo albums and those within a group format.
Later, after recording the dreamy soundtrack "Le Berceau de Cristal" (1975 unreleased until the 90's) ASH RA TEMPEL changed name to ASHRA, making a more melodic synthesizer based music. In the year 2000 the ASH RA TEMPEL moniker was reborn. Joined by long-time colleague Klaus SCHULZE, the appropriately titled "Friendship" was released. This is the best release by Manuel since "Blackouts" and shows that he hasn't lost his touch. ASH RA TEMPEL is probably the best known band of the German space scene. A SPACE JOURNEY FROM START TO FINISH...! - ProgArchives.com
On the late-60's Berlin underground scene, there was a growing trend for radical innovative bands. One band was the embryonic Ash Ra Tempel, then known as Steeple Chase Bluesband (formed June 1969), who played a freak-out blues rock with John Mayall influences. The original line-up was: Manuel Gottsching (guitar), Hartmut Enke (bass) and Wulf Arp (drums), with Volker Zibell (harmonica) joining in August 1969. Arp was momentarily replaced by Wolfgang Muller, at which time they gained wide exposure with an appearance in concert on TV. A document of Steeple Chase Bluesband can be found on THE PRIVATE TAPES, which is just the sort of stoned blues-rock underground we expected.
Having left Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze met up with Manuel and Hartmut and hatched the idea of Ash Ra Tempel. At this time all three were also involved in Konrad Schnitzler's Eruption project. In August 1970 they started rehearsals and also played concerts, becoming notorious for improvisations that could exceed 30 minutes yet be most fascinating and invigorating. Documents from various concerts can be found on THE PRIVATE TAPES, revealing the innovation of the band, in which Klaus was much more than just a drummer (playing steel guitar, organ, electronics, etc.), but as a drummer he was something else!
After a couple of aborted demo's Ash Ra Tempel decided to go to Hamburg and record an album proper, with the aid of Conny Plank. This resulted in their debut, which was housed in a mystical elaborate centre-opening gatefold cover. As with their live jams, Ash Ra Tempel on record was a unique twist on the space-rock music as pioneered by Pink Floyd and Hawkwind, with elements of both yet devoid of songs, free-rock in the truest sense. Just one track per side: firstly with the power-drive storming "Amboss" (close to Klaus' work in Tangerine Dream) and in contrast, the shimmering timeless "Traummaschine". A yin-and-yang type concept that made for an extraordinary album. But, not too long after this, with a yearning for greater things in life than just playing drums, Klaus left Ash Ra Tempel, saying to Manuel "You keep the name, I'm going to do other things" and went on to pursue a most fruitful solo career as one of the pioneers of synth music.
After this, the former Steeple Chase Bluesband drummer Wolfgang Muller returned. The next album SCHWINGUNGEN ("Vibrations" in English) returned to their bluesy origins, and again (like their debut LP) it had contrasting sides. "Light And Darkness" exists as the closest any German band have got to early Hawkwind, a wild acid-rock cum cosmic-blues music fronted by eccentric vocalist John L. spouting rather than singing his LSD induced visions. It's intense, powerful, and for some - too dark and unnerving. In stark contrast, "Suche & Liebe" owed a huge debt to Pink Floyd's "A Saucerful Of Secrets", complete with shimmering vibes, a hazy electronic mist, and an overdose of Dave Gilmour style glissando guitars, stretching out to cosmic bliss. - "The Crack In The Cosmic Egg"
The story of the embryonic Ash Ra Tempel started in Berlin 1967 when school friends Manuel Gottsching and Hartmut Enke decided to form a blues band together. Gottsching had lessons in classical guitar for five years, while Enke just was starting to play bass. Other youngsters drifted in and out of the band, which was playing versions of then current pop hits for school parties, etc. Already as a 15 year old boy, Gottsching was beginning to experiment with fuzz, wah-wah and echo effects, in the wake of psychedelia. In an interview I did with him in December 1989, Gottsching admitted that Pink Floyd's innovative experimentation was a huge influence at that time. With Volker Zibell (harmonica) and Wolfgang Muller (drums), Enke & Gottsching appeared live on German TV early in 1970 as Steeple Chase Blues Band. This formation was, however, short-lived. Zibell now lives in Norway and has recorded with several Norwegian new wave bands.
Enke & Gottsching studied experimental composition at avant-garde composer Thomas Kessler's studio in Berlin. There they met another eager student named Klaus Schulze, who then played drums as well as experimenting with strange tape loops and effects. He had just quit Tangerine Dream, and they soon found out that they shared musical ideas. Together they formed the first Ash Ra Tempel line-up in August 1970, and soon begun to play live.
Their self-titled first work was recorded early March 1971 (with the late Konrad Plank engineering). It was released on Rolf-Ulrich Kaiser's legendary Ohr label in a most beautiful gimmick cover. The front side of it could be opened up in the middle (like the Dr. Z album released on Vertigo the same year), symbolising a double temple door. This was designed by a friend of the group that later also did the cover for Schwingungen. The first album included just two extended tracks, sounding close to their raw and sometimes really WILD live shows at the time. "Amboss" is a kind of teutonic "Careful With That Axe, Eugene" without the keyboards. It starts off calm and soft, but gradually increases to a furious, fuzzy acid guitar nightmare. "Traummaschine" is, in sharp contrast, a floating, dreamy track, just as the title implies. This diversion between the first and second album sides became a trade mark for several later albums. It was a highly impressive start. Their strength was their ability to make the most unearthly sounds in the usually very limited guitar, bass and drums trio format.
In September 1971 Klaus Schulze decided to leave. His artistic ambitions far exceeded the task of being just a drummer in the band. Six months later, Irrlicht would start off his impressive solo career. Wolfgang Muller from the Steeple Chase Blues band took his place.
Ash Ra Tempel's second album Schwingungen was released in the Summer of 1972. This is a more structured work, but still very much based on long, instrumental improvisations. Side one included vocals by John L., a previous member of Agitation Free. He was fired from this group in 1968 because of general freak-out and the quite significant fact that he couldn't sing!
The instrumental side was filled by the title track, divided into subtitles "Suche" and "Liebe". The first part is dominated by soft vibes and electronics, while the conclusion is very much like Pink Floyd in their Saucerful phase, with celestial choral voices and slow chord progressions... - "Cosmic Dreams At Play"
Hartmut Enke - bass
Wolfgang Mueller - drums
John L - vocals, jew harp, percusssion
Matthias Wehler - alto sax
Uli Popp - bongos
Tracklist:
Light And Darkness:
1. a) Light: Look at Your Sun 06:35
2. b) Darkness: Flowers Must Die 12:25
Schwingungen:
3. a) Suche / b) Liebe 19:24 Manuel Gottsching - guitar
Ash Ra Tempel - Starring Rosi (1973)
Tracklist:
1. Laughter Loving 7:40
2. Day Dream 5:26
3. Schizo 2:53
4. Cosmic Tango 2:06
5. Interplay of Forces 8:50
6. The Fairy Dance 3:06
7. Bring me up 4:33
Ash Ra Tempel - Inventions For Electric Guitar (1974)
Tracklist:
1. Echo Waves 17:47
2. Quasarsphere 6:37
3. Pluralis 21:35
Ash Ra Tempel - Le Berceau De Cristal (1975)
Tracklist:
1. Le Berceau de Cristal (L. Ulbrich/M. Göttsching) 14:17
2. L' Hiver Doux (M. Göttsching) 12:52
3. Silence Sauvage (M. Göttsching) 5:53
4. Le Sourire Vol (M. Göttsching) 6:07
5. Deux Enfants Sous la Lune (L. Ulbrich/M. Göttsching) 6:38
6. Le Songe d'Or (L. Ulbrich/M. Göttsching) 4:27
7. Le Diable Dans la Maison (L. Ulbrich/M. Göttsching) 2:56
8. ...Et Les Fantômes Rêvent Aussi (L. Ulbrich/M. Göttsching) 7:07
Ash Ra Tempel - Gin Rosé At The Royal Festival Hall (2000)
More info about Ash Ra Tempel: Gin Rosé:
http://www.klaus-schulze.com/disco/4a02gi.htm
Album made in the year 2000 with Klaus Schulze
Tracklist:
1. Gin Rosé at the Royal Festival Hall 69:26