Honestly, I originally only picked up this record cuz I liked the cover. I later learned that I was holding one of the greatest, if not THE greatest krautrock record ever made (best cover too). If you hadn’t heard this before, you’d assume a collaboration between Möbius and Roedelius of Cluster and Neu!’s Michael Rother to be chock full of dark floating synth stardust propelled by boilerplate motorik beats. But this session yields some quite interesting and unexpected results (although track 2 “Sehr Komisch” does pretty much match that description perfectly). Iconic opening track “Watussi” lurches in with the intergalactic reggae circus vibes swirling around a blunted midtempo beat. “Ohrwurm” and “Ahoi” allow the trio to really stretch out and get wispy, in a way that’s less spooky than the early Cluster joints and less self-aware than the incredibly pretentious (by 1970s standards) Neu! albums. “Dino” is the most Neu!-esque tune on here, with a crispy, analog motorik riddim driving a decidedly eastern-sounding synth chorus (and finally, some guitars!). Check out the last track on side B if you wanna hear what house music sounded like before Frankie Knuckles. Digitally remastered and reissued by Grönland Records, housed in full-color replica gatefold jacket. Recommended.

• digitally remastered
• gatefold sleeve
• music label: Grönland Records 2018

reviewed by edward james almost 04/2018