Tune in on Friday, March 21st at 4:30 pm to hear DJ Massari check in with one of the pioneers of Kosmische Musik, Michael Rother (of previous bands: Neu!, Harmonia, and Kraftwerk), ahead of his show at Gray Area in SF on March 24th.
Mark E. Smith once squawked, “Check the record, check the guy’s rock record.” Michael’s influence on experimental, punk, rock, electronic, and beyond over the last 50 years is undeniable.
He and Klaus Dinger, who together left Kraftwerk before they hit the Autobahn, formed the incredibly important band, NEU!. The Residents took their name and record label name from their songs. They inspired Johnny Rotten to “sing” while Iggy Pop hasn’t stopped bringing them up for decades. Even David Bowie’s “Heroes” period took inspiration from Rother’s work.
Put simply, Michael Rother laid the motorik sound template for thousands of your favorite bands from Sonic Youth to Stereolab, and on & on.
Rother also formed what some rock journalists have deemed a supergroup – Harmonia – with the two members of Cluster (Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Dieter Moebius). It is a band that is so unfathomably cool that Brian Eno asked to join. Well, he did, resulting in the formation of Harmonia ‘76.
The late 70s found Rother taking flight on a successful solo career with only the aid of legends like Conny Plank on production and Jaki Liebezeit (Can) on drums. Like other groundbreaking artists of the early 80s, Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush also found a creative awakening in the early sampler technology of the Fairlight CMI. This tech led him to a singular artistic vision of/on his own, starting with Lust (1983).
The latest releases are a collaboration on Andy Bell’s (Ride, Oasis) latest album, Pinball Wanderer, Harmonia + Reworks album on Grönland, and As Long As The Light with Vittoria Maccabruni.
Photo: Vittoria Maccabruni
