Bureau B Announces New Krautrock Eruption Book and Album Compilation, Capturing Genre's Enduring Relevance
Krautrock Eruption – An Introduction To German Electronic Music 1970-1980 by Wolfgang Seidel, and accompanying album capture genre's enduring relevance
Hamburg, Germany, January 30, 2025 — Bureau B, the quintessential German electronic music label, announces the forthcoming book and accompanying album collection Krautrock Eruption, to be released on March 21st. The 160 page book, Krautrock Eruption: An alternative history of German underground in the 60s and 70s, is authored by Berliner Wolfgang Seidel and offers a comprehensive look and exhaustive annotated discography of fifty of the genre's most compelling albums. The album, available on LP / CD / digital, is also set for release on March 21st and includes a 12 page booklet and highlights 12 compelling tracks from the many titles included in the book.
Krautrock - what is it anyway?
Krautrock, what is it anyway? A genre, a derogative term, a song by Faust, … or: a welcome (and recurring) opportunity to talk about all of this. The music associated with the term in question has eagerly been canonized. From the enthusiastic and idiosyncratic ramblings of Julian Cope’s “Krautrocksampler” to encyclopaedic approaches like Alan and Stephen Freeman’s “Crack in the Cosmic Egg”, there are plenty of books to read and lists to discuss: Who’s in, who isn’t? The quarrels and disputes surrounding the terms "Krautrock" and "Kosmische Musik" are a testament to their enduring relevance and fascination.
Without getting into the weeds discussing how to separate one from the other – for all those who do want to, the book “Krautrock Eruption” by Wolfgang Seidel addresses some of those questions. In this book, readers will find an annotated discography of fifty albums. Out of these fifty, there is an even narrower selection of tracks being presented from twelve albums on this compilation. Lists and compilation track listings inevitably see tracks missing and being left out. The compilation was produced in cooperation with the label Bureau B and therefore has a partial focus on some of the label's back catalogue. That said, the list is meant to inspire repeated or further listening, to spark discussions and – potentially – to provoke new lists, perhaps your own! It’s all part of the fun. Music is made for enjoyment in the first and for friendly debate in the second place, after all.
Artists on the album compilation include: Conrad Schnitzler, Faust, Eno/Moebius/Roedelius, Harald Grosskopf, Cluster, Moebius & Plank, Roedelius, Pyrolator, Kluster, Günter Schickert ad Asmus Tietchens
Compilation artist/Track listing
- A1 Conrad Schnitzler - Ballet Statique
- A2 Faust - I’ve Heard That One Before/Watch Your Step
- A3 Eno Moebius Roedelius - Foreign Affairs
- A4 Harald Grosskopf - Emphasis
- A5 Cluster - 21:32 (bureau b edit)
- A6 Moebius & Plank - Rastakraut Pasta
- B1 Roedelius - Glaubersalz
- B2 Pyrolator - Minimal Tape 3/7.2
- B3 Riechmann - Himmelblau (bureau b edit)
- B4 Kluster - Kluster 2 (Electric Music) (bureau b edit)
- B5 Günter Schickert - Apricot Brandy II (bureau b edit)
- B6 Asmus Tietchens - Falter-Lamento
Krautrock as an escape from post-war Germany
The book “Krautrock Eruption” is a rousing counter-narrative to the usual depictions of Krautrock, written by Wolfgang Seidel, member of Conrad Schnitzler’s band Eruption and co-founder of Ton Steine Scherben.
Seidel's groundbreaking book, which includes unique historical photographs, paints a vivid picture of the old Federal Republic of Germany, with all of its contradictions and struggles. What is now celebrated as Krautrock emerged in this environment, and at the time was an attempt to contribute the soundtrack to the revolution. As a fly on the wall, Seidel recounts the squats, demos and first concerts of bands such as Cluster, Tangerine Dream and Ash Ra Tempel. Just as precisely and vividly, he recapitulates the influence of minimal music composers such as Steve Reich and Philip Glass, the origins of many Krautrock musicians in jazz and the role of the synthesiser.
Wolfgang Seidel delivers a captivating account on Krautrock that dispels many of the founding myths of the first genuinely German pop culture, which above all did not want to be German. In addition, the book is supplemented by a discography of the 50 most important Krautrock records, written by music journalist and Krautrock expert Holger Adam. Translated from German by Alexander Paulick (member of influential Düsseldorf based avant-garde band Kreidler).
Wolfgang Seidel was born in 1949 in a backyard in West Berlin. He survived the first half of the 1960s thanks to the science fiction books he bought with his meagre pocket money and the music broadcast by the Allied broadcasters AFN and BBC. Music that promised that there must be more and better out there than post-war Germany. Seidel co- founded Ton Steine Scherben in 1970, joined the Krautrock legends Eruption and is active in free music as a drummer and electronic musician with Alfred Harth and others.
Release details:
Krautrock Eruption – An Introduction To German Electronic Music 1970-1980
Bureau B LP / CD / digital, Release Date: March 21st, 2025 - Bureau B BB478
Album preview: https://on.soundcloud.com/LsX5FkZ3ynQumjNC8
Genres: Krautrock // Electronica
Formats: CD Jewelcase with 12p booklet // LP with printed inner sleeve
For more information, visit: https://www.bureau-b.com/releases.php
Krautrock Eruption: An alternative history of German underground in the 60s and 70s by Wolfgang Seidel
Paperback, illustrated - approx. 160 pages
ISBN: 978-3-95575-233-0
Language: English
Dimensions: 13x19,5 cm
Price £20
Publish Date: 21 March 2025
Categories: Popular Culture, Music, Pop, Art, Indie, Krautrock, Kosmische Musik, Counterculture
For more info, visit: https://www.ventil-verlag.de/titel/1966/krautrock-eruption
About Bureau B
Bureau B is platform for exciting varieties of electronic, free-spirited music. The spectrum ranges from pop to avant-garde, and the label has amassed an impressive catalogue of reissues and new productions in recent years, including classics from the genre of electronic music in the 1970s and early 1980s popularly classified as Krautrock (Cluster, Roedelius, Moebius, Plank, Schnitzler), alongside new recordings by such formative artists as Faust, Kreidler, Roedelius, Tietchens, Moebius, to name just a few. Bureau B is based in Hamburg, Germany.
