 |
Return to:
[
Home Page] [German 60s / 70s Index]
TECHNICAL SPACE COMPOSER'S CREWThe project name for a one-off collaboration between Can's bass player Holger Czukay and the painter Rolf Dammers. Canaxis 5 (1969) was an early attempt at manipulating ethnic music (World music), in many ways predating the discreet background music of certain ambient Brian Eno albums. The album was made using tape loops from traditional Vietnamese music to create some kind of 'acoustic sound painting'. The result was a strange sound milage. It contained only two tracks: "Boat-Woman-Song" and "Canaxis". Few ordinary instruments were in use, only Holger's bass can be heard occasionally. Nowadays, this album is nothing more than a curiosity, documenting the ambient music in its' early childhood. Czukay's tape editing skills steadily improved through the years - as proved by the mid-period Can albums and even more so on his solo albums.
TETRAGONThis group was previously known as the trio Trikolon, who released an album of tremendously raw organ led garage rock. For the Tetragon album they also had a guitar player added. Nature (1971) was released on the minor Soma label in a fold-out cover, possibly the only release on the label. The album was a largely instrumental showcase for Schapes' skills on the keyboards and with a heavier influence from classical music (Bach). The end result was quite good, but inferior to Trikolon's Cluster (1970).
THINKHungarians Rodrigo Ramor, Ricky Ramor and Kajo Sandrik remained in Germany when the orchestra they were playing in returned to Hungary. They were joined by Gerd Pohl, Frank Voigt and Fried Wordehoff for the studio project Think. They recorded an album in 1973 named Variety. This comprised a variety of different styles! The Hungarians in the band brought with them rich influences from classical music and gypsy folk music. The Germans had a more rock-oriented approach to their playing. This inventive mix was most successful on the long title track. "Draw Conclusion From..." was another great effort, a 15 minute journey through boogie blues, jazz-rock and classical quotations interspersed by melodic vocal parts. It is tempting to compare them to several Peter Hauke productions like Nektar, Omega and Epsilon. Wordehoff had a distinctive drum style with a strange, light touch almost lacking bass drum.
THIRSTY MOONBrain signed a considerable number of jazz and fusion influenced 'progressive' rock bands in the early seventies. Among these were Release Music Orchestra, Cornucopia, Kollektiv, Creative Rock, Emergency and Thirsty Moon, a large band from Bremen. Their debut album appeared in 1972, produced by Jochen Petersen (of lkarus and Randy Pie fame) at Studio Maschen. Five tracks ranging from the 21 minute suite "Yellow Sunshine" to the short songs "Love Me" and "Rooms Behind Your Mind". Their music was comparable to the groups listed earlier - an inventive and mostly instrumental jazz-rock fusion, where the solo improvisations were given free reign. Among Thirsty Moon's characteristics were massive use of percussion (congas) and electric piano in dynamic arrangements, ranging from soft, mellow atmospheres to psychedelic outbursts with reversed tapes and phasing effects. The album is so varied that it's hardly describable!
Hans-Werner Ranwig quit before You'll Never Come Back (1973), and was replaced by Siegfried Pisalla. This album was just as varied as their first. One side was completely instrumental. Blitz (1975) broke away from the early style with a more easy-going and up-beat instrumental rock. The group broke up after the disappointing Real Good Time (1976), presumably they too were dissatisfied with the album.
The first two Thirsty Moon albums are recommended, the next two are quite good.
THRICE MICEA sextet from Hamburg, playing the patented, distinctive German type of progressive jazz-rock typified by underground legends like Xhol or Out Of Focus (2nd & 3rd album). The leading soloist in Thrice Mice was Wolfgang Buhre. Vocalist Karl-Heinz Blumenberg had little to do most of the time. Their album was recorded during November and December 1970 in Hamburg and released on Phillips in 1971. Buhre often tried to copy the wah-wah sax style of Ian Underwood of Mothers Of Invention, this was most apparent on opening track "Jo Joe". On "Vivaldi" the three soloists were playing duets with themselves in turn! Minnemann's organ sound was high, thin and cranky in a late sixties' way. The distinctive German underground sound (rooted in jazz) marked the track "Torekov". After a couple of years, the group resurfaced as Altona and made two further albums for RCA in 1974 and 1975.
TIGER B. SMITHAt the end of 1972 the group Second Life changed their name to Tiger B. Smith. The sleeve of their first album under this new name, Tiger Rock (1972) pictured the trio dressed in tiger furs and heavily painted. This was quite an ordinary rock'n'roll album that failed to reveal any new ideas. It was released on the legendary 'swirl' Vertigo in a single sleeve. We're the Tiger Bunch (1973) was recorded with several guest musicians, namely Rainer Marz (guitar, vocals), Peter Trunk (bass), Veit Marvos (organ, piano). Hanus Berka (sax, flute) and Curt Cress (drums). Tiger B. Smith apparently attempted to create a fuller sound, but it was another album of rather average quality. Meinhardt left in the middle of 1974 to be replaced by Thomas Jauer for their last live engagements. The group disbanded in 1975, but Schmidt and Traut continued to work together in the new wave band Strassenjungs.
TOBOGANA heavy-symphonic album I've not encountered.
TOMORROW'S GIFTTomorrow's Gift were responsible for the first release (of only three totally) on the Plus label (owned by Miller International). Like Frumpy and Joy Unlimited, they were a blues and soul-rock band who "turned on, tuned in and dropped out" to the progressive music at the end of the sixties (but remained faithful to their roots). Both mentioned bands had female vocalists, as had Tomorrow's Gift: Ellen Meyer. Arguably she didn't have a voice as strong as lnga Rumpf, but her's was good enough to serve the music. This was really a band of future talents, three of the members being still teenagers. Their eponymous double album had a typical vintage progressive sound. There were powerful long tracks with plenty of guitar, organ, flute and drum solos. Ellen Meyer's vocals were comparable to Janis Joplin. The production (courtesy of Jochen Petersen (Ikarus), possibly his first production ever) was unpolished and some of the material a little rough around the edges. It would have been better to edit the material down to a single album! There is more than an album-worth of live material by Tomorrow's Gift issued on the two festival samplers Pop & Blues Festival '70 and Love and Peace. The first one had a 20 minute version of Donovan's "Season Of The Witch" re-titled "Sound Of Which" (sic!), interspersed with very long, sometimes chaotic instrumental parts. Still it is a good example of their raw live sound. The latter had another 20 minute track: "At The Earth/Indian Rope Man" and the shorter "Begin Of A New Sound". Both concerts were recorded before their debut album.
The five-piece Tomorrow's Gift split up in 1971, but Manfred Rurup and Bernd Kiefer kept the band going. They recruited "Zabba" Lindner from Sphinx Tush and recorded Goodbye Future (1972) as a trio, an ironic title considering the name of the group! This album was technically better, as the engineering and production were handled by Konrad Plank. The sound of Tomorrow's Gift had changed completely and now leaned towards instrumental jazz-rock with forceful keyboard and bass interplay. It was indeed a very varied album: Canterbury-influenced jazz-rock with improvised free jazz parts (a bit comparable to the first Annexus Quam album), general Zappa-esque weirdness and musical jokes. The album wasn't released until a year after the recordings were completed. Then at last Spiegelei/Aamok released it in a funny die-cut round hole cover. In January 1973 they were joined by guitarist Uli Trepte, previously of Guru Guru, with whom they performed live. Half a year later Trepte quit and was replaced with sax and clarinet player Norbert Jacobsen. This new quartet changed their name Release Music Orchestra and recorded five albums for Brain. Original guitarist Carlo Karges later worked with groups as different as Novalis, Extrabreit and Nena. He also guested on the Release Music Orchestra album Get The Ball (1976). Manfred Rurup later recorded with Carsten Bohn's Bandstand, Elephant and lnga Rumpf.
TON STEINE SCHERBENWest Berlin was, for obvious reasons, a city where many political rock bands developed during the late sixties and early seventies. The most important artists of this movement were Ton Steine Scherben, along with Lokomotive Kreuzberg. The guiding forces of the band were Ralph Mobius aka Rio Reiser and Ralph Steitz aka R.P.S. Lanrue who first played together in the quartet Degalaxis in 1965. In 1967 Mobius was involved in the foundation of an early beat-rock-opera attempt named "Robinson 2,000". That year Mobius and Steitz also formed a theatre and music group named Hoffmann's Comic Theater. Kai Sichtelmann and Wolfgang Seidel aka Wolf Sequenza also joined this group in 1969 and 1970 respectively. A single "Macht Kaputt Was Euch Kaputt Macht" coupled with "Wir Streiken" was released in 1970. After this, Hoffmann's Comic Theater changed its' name to Ton Steine Scherben. The single sold surprisingly well and the band appeared on German TV. This, and their constant, aggressive political agitation, quickly established them as leading proponents of the Berlin counter culture. Their concerts often resulted in riots and house occupations. After a concert in Basel, the band promptly organised a demonstration against political injustice in Switzerland. The Swiss authorities honoured this action by declaring the band 'persona non grata'. The band's debut LP appeared in September 1971 on their own David Volksmund label. With very aggressive music and lyrics, partly recorded live at Alto Mensa, the band earned their reputation as the first new wave/punk band in Germany. A member of the group's living commune once finished a television-broadcasted public discussion by splitting the studio's table with an axe. Wolf Sequenza left the band at the end of 1971. In the late seventies he resurfaced with Conrad Schnitzler, making experimental electronic music. The band's next work was Keine Macht For Niemand, a double album which covered a much larger musical span than the debut. Jorg Schlotterer and Jochen Petersen contributed to the album. Indeed, this was a fine collection of progressive political rock, quite different to Floh de Cologne's style. After an early 1972 tour, the band temporarily withdrew from live appearances and in 1973 the only life-sign was (the reinforced) Hoffmann's Comic Theater record for children, entitled Hr Fressack (Rothkehlchen 1) (1973). In the Spring of 1974 they attempted a live come-back with mixed results. The audiences expected the band to be aggressive leaders of a desired, forthcoming political revolution, but were met by a band outrageously dressed in satin and velvet, who poured out glitter from the stage. However, after rethinking their stage presentation, Ton Steine Scherben was again met by acclaim. The next album, Wenn den Nacht am Tiefsten (1975), was another double one, taking 12 months to complete and including a lot of different musical styles. Their lyrics this time were more resigned. Along with its predecessor, this was their highest achievement. Soon they drifted into obscurity, but tile members took part in a variety of side projects.
TORTILLA FLATThis was a 'Canterbury', Focus and Supersister-influenced fusion ensemble, who recorded a highly sought-after private pressing which will cost you more than 500 DEM today. Their music was totally instrumental jazz-rock, marked by some interesting electric piano, guitar and flute interplay. Certainly an interesting album for those of you who enjoy jazz-rock!
TRIKOLONA trio led by Hendrik Schapes. The sleeve of their 1970 album Cluster listed Brian Auger and Keith Emerson as inspiration sources. This was a very primitive live recording of four extended tracks: two Schaper originals, one blues number composed by Ambrose and an adaptation of a rondo by Mozart. These references will give you a good idea of what the music was like. Essentially very long keyboard improvisations interrupted only by a trumpet blow-out, as on "Trumpet For Example". Much the same musical concept (minus bass and trumpet) was adapted by the group Sixty-Nine. Trikolon meanwhile changed name to Tetragon and recorded another album in 1971.
TRITONUSPeter K. Seiler had a musical background from his university days (he studied classical music) which prompted him to form a "classical rock" trio, in the tradition of Emerson, Lake and Palmer. Their first album (1975) was quite conventional for the symphonic rock genre. However, Between the Universe (1976) was a definite improvement, benefiting from Geff Harrison's vocals (ex-2066 & Then and Kin Ping Meh), catchy tunes and great keyboard arrangements (mainly synthesizers). After this, Seiler seemed to lose the interest in Tritonus, and worked increasingly with other musicians, like Michael Bundt. Check out Bundt's solo albums if you enjoy the Tritonus-style.
TRIUMVIRATThis is probably the best internationally known German symphonic rock band. Triumvirat's music was very keyboard-oriented, earning their reputation as the German equivalent of Emerson, Lake and Palmer, Ekseption or P.F.M. It is tempting to think that these bands always attempted to outdo each other with their pompous, vast instrumental exhibitions, often based firmly on classical themes. In addition, Triumvirat's conceptual albums were often based around moments from European history. Organist and leader Jurgen Fritz assembled the original trio in 1970. In 1971 Hans Pape become their bassist and participated in the recording of their first album Mediterranean Tales in the Electrola Studio, Cologne, January 1972. Hans Pape later quit and was replaced by Helmut Kollen. Illusions On A Double Dimple (1974) did so well in the USA that it entered the Billboard charts! It was the combination of accessible symphonic-progressive music coupled with good marketing by EMI that made this possible! In Germany, however, the band wasn't able to sell its' records so well. In the press, their music was slaughtered by the overcool music journalists, then as now! Spartacus (1975) is considered by many to be Triumvirat's best album. Old Loves Die Hard (1976) saw the addition of the vocalist Barry Palmer and the re-instatement of former bassist Dick Frangenberg. This album sweetened their style, moving them dangerously close to supermarket-muzak.
TROYAA quartet who made a fine private pressing called Point Of Eruption. This contained six extended tracks ranging from the guitar-ridden, triumphal instrumental overtures "Chromatik" and "Sinclair" to the sensitive and nostalgic "Festival", an ode to the early seventies live hippie festivals:
Then the first group appears on the stage
their sound is average
Next, their favourite group
plays their daily gig moreever powerful
Thousands of friends and strangers
are sitting feet by feet to hear the heartbeat
Overall, Troya's sound was melancholic and lyrical - classical influenced progressive folk-rock, comparable to mid-seventies bands like Novalis, Jane, Epidaurus, Minotaurus, even to previous legends as Murphy Blend. The long instrumental parts were dominated by organ and guitar. I can't actually hear any flutes, mellotron or piano on Point Of Eruption! They were however able to produce a minor classic under relatively primitive conditions.
PETER TRUNKThe bass player Peter Trunk's album featured the well-known jazz musicians: Manfred Schoof (trumpet). Shake Keane (fluegelhorn), Jasper van t'Hof (keyboards), Jiggs Whigham (trombone), Sigi Schwab (guitar, tarang), Curt Cress (drums) and Joe Nay (drums, percussion). Sincerely P.T., an album of average jazz compositions, was recorded at Studio 70, Munich.
TWOGETHERIt seems as though Sixty-Nine inspired other musicians to try out the possibilities of an organ and drum duo. This was indeed the case with this obscure project, resulting in a practically unknown private pressing. However this record offered more space for the drums, resulting in something a bit closer to Niagara.
TYBURN TALLThese unknowns from Speyer are responsible for the most expensive German private pressing I know about! I've heard about a copy changing hands for 5000 DEM. Only 200 copies were originally printed and half of them were destroyed in a fire. Fortunately, the Tyburn Tall album is now avaiable on CD for a much cheaper price. Their music was rudimentary and raw-edged heavy symphonic rock - as if delivered straight from the rehearsal room in the garage! Unfortunately they had a creaky vocalist that partly spoils the listening pleasure for me!'
TYLLA little known group who released an album on the same label as Gaa & Epidermis.