[2011] Valborg - Barbarian

The most active Zeitgester Music project as of lately (considering the latest three albums), Valborg's new album is a followup of the sound established in Crown of Sorrow, combining several influences and aesthetics in their music ranging from progressive rock to death and doom metal, making their music hard to describe at first.
Similar enough, however, to the likes of late Celtic Frost and Triptykon (specially the latter), and this comparison is fair given their participation in Tom Warrior's Roadburn Festival 2010 and later praise he gave to the band. What's for sure is that the unique blend of sounds in Barbarian makes it one of my favorites of this year.




Buy it directly from Zeitgeister Music here.

[2007] Peter Brötzmann, Paal Nilssen-Love & Mats Gustafsson - The Fat Is Gone

Three long songs, three renowned exponents of the contemporary european jazz scene. The Fat Is Gone gathers Paal Nilssen-Love and Mats Gustafsson (from The Thing) with one of the big legends of the German jazz scene (Peter Brötzmann), who displays his wildest, most intense musical side to be in par with the two Scandinavian improvisers, resulting in a very dense record, a must listen.

Buy it directly from Robot here.

[2011] Faust - Something Dirty

One of my most expected releases for this year comes from the masterminds of the second official half of Faust, and their album Something Dirty. Radically different from last year's release (Faust Is Last), Péron's half leans more towards the psychedelic side of the original band (reminiscent of their s/t and Faust IV), making most of the songs included in this album more accessible (in the way Faust could allow itself) and less on the experimental side (yet unmistakenly focused on it, as usual), which was Joachim Irmler's half and their Faust Is Last's release. 13 tracks that remind ourselves of the krautrock gold era without any sort of revivalist complex that some bands are experiencing (talking about Amon Düül II), and definitely one of the most solid releases of this year, so far.

Download it here: [V0]

Buy it directly from Bureau B here.

[2010] Human Intruder / Thou - A Faire Quarrel

Split between Thou and Human Intruder, a german sludge band who's planning a full length debut called Approved Methods for Annihilation, likely to be released sometime this year. Short split release, typical Thou delivery (quality band) and a Human Intruder song (also their first official release) that may as well serve as an intro, but so far it gives a really good idea on how it's going to turn out in the future.

Download it here: [320][V0]

Unavailable through Dead Earth Records. Buy it from Gilead Media here.

[2010] Tangerine Dream - Zeitgeist Concert

The most prolific, well known German progressive electronic/ambient band Tangerine Dream comes back with yet another live album, from last year's performance in the Royal Albert Hall in London. 3 discs, in which they revise some of their acclaimed works in albums like Phaedra and Stratosfear, along with some more recent material. It all makes up for a great listening experience.

Download it here: [320 Part 1 Part 2 Part 3][V0]


Buy it directly from Eastgate here.

[1973] Faust - The Faust Tapes (2010 ReR Reissue)

After their s/t, this is essential Faust material, which also has more of the tape manipulation and spoken word bits already present on the s/t and took it somewhere unknown. The standard "krautrock" songs are quickly replaced by weirdness track after track, leaving the listener sometimes completely unaware of what's going on if not enough attention is paid. In my opinion this is material that should be own not only by fans of the genre, but those interested in experimental music in general, seeing as this album set precedents still groundbreaking until our days.

Download it here: [V0] Updated!

Buy it directly from Recommended Records here.

[2002] Tony Conrad with Faust - Outside The Dream Syndicate: 30th Anniversary Edition

Quintessential Table of Elements release and a classic within the drone scene, Tony Conrad teamed up with Faust to make this interesting album, in which the syncopated drumming of Faust is combined with the slow violin delivery of Tony Conrad. The songs flow seamlessly following an almost natural structure, in total disregard for time and even the listener's patience. In spite of that, this is easily one of the best minimalist drone/krautrock albums I'm aware of, and one of the main reasons I enjoy listening to this album every so often.
This release isn't the original 1973 release, it belongs to the Table of Elements release, which is actually the second re-release (with three live performances) of this album, dubbed as "30th Anniversary Edition".

Download it here: [320: Part 1 Part 2][V0]

Buy it directly from Amazon here.

[2009] The Inner Space - Agilok & Blubbo

A document of how early Can used to be, more focused on psychedelic proto-krautrock (not too different from Amon Düül II) with an emphasis on flutes. Released in 2009 (but recorded during the 70's), the "Can sound" isn't quite there yet, this one sounds more alike to british psychedelic rock being composed around the same time, but it's still one of the best to date. The Inner Space supposedly did a soundtrack for a softcore porn movie called Kamasutra, again working on the same grounds as this album (though there's an obvious eastern music approach).

Download it here: [V2]

[2010] Saturnalia Temple/Nightbringer/Nihil Nocturne/Aluk Todolo - On The Powers of The Sphinx

My third favorite split of this year (first would be Lose / Lose / Lose, and second Dirtpill / Заводь / Zuboroth), this 4-way split delivers the best of occult-influenced bands I've heard so far. Saturnalia Temple's song (To Know) manages to sound even dirtier and obscure than their previous albums (specially UR), but enough to be a perfect mood-setter for this interesting release. Admittedly I'm not a fan of what they do, but at least I can say it might be of interest to those into the occult vibe of some recent doom metal bands (Moss and Dark Buddha Rising come to mind, for instance). Next we have Nightbringer (To Will), band already well-known in the orthodox black metal scene, with a song that I wouldn't really consider their best of their career, but at least goes along nicely with the concept. It does drag a bit, but this is normal with Nightbringer.
Next song would be To Dare by Nihil Nocturne, a german black metal band with a long career, with this song being one of the main highlights of this split. The prize goes, however, to Aluk Todolo with To Keep Silent, one of their longest songs, in which the mood set by Saturnalia Temple earlier in the album is improved by the syncopathed drumming and the heavy feedback that characterizes this band. It sounds as if it was recorded live, seeing as the production is not as good compared to their previous albums, although it doesn't affect at all their quality. Top quality release, as it's usual with Ajna Offensive.

Download it here: [V0]

Buy it directly from The Ajna Offensive here.

[2009] Woburn House - Monstrous Manoeuvres In The Mushroom Maze

One of the most under-appreciated bands that came out of the Zeitgeist Music collective, Woburn House delivers excellent metal music for those open minded enough to appreciate it. In this case, three members of the collective (Christian Kolf, Florian Toyka and Fabian Fabian) composed this excellent album with interesting spoken word interludes (in a political vein, similar to their first album) and atmospheric passages that contrast with much heavier sections, in which we can hear how technically skilled they actually are. I've listened to this album several times without getting tired of it, it has a very refreshing sound, similar to Slint in mood (even though it's unrelated to their genre), although in Woburn House, the vocals make it seem much more melancholic.
Big favorite, back in 2009.

Download it here: [320][V0]

Buy it directly from Zeitgeister Music here.

[2009] Bohren & Der Club Of Gore - Mitley Lady

10min of pure slow, mourning jazz, is what Mitley Lady is about. Without straying much out of their usual style, Bohren & Der Club of Gore created a beautiful composition resembling the mood and atmosphere of a rainy evening in a busy city, the smell of coffee and humid air, and old rusty bars during a Friday night.
Works nicely for looped listening sessions.

Download it here: [320][V0]

Buy it directly from Southern Records here.

[2010] Hallogallo 2010 - Blinkgurtel/Drone Schlager

A Neu! half reunion, Michael Rother joined forces with Steve Shelley (Sonic Youth's drummer) and Aaron Mullan (from Tall Firs) for a series of live shows recreating the music of Neu!, releasing a series of original compositions resembling their first albums (which is rather evident by the name of the trio). This single contains two new songs, interesting new material that may lead in the near future to a full length.

Download it here: [320][V0]

Buy it directly from Juno Records here.

[2007] Faust & Nurse With Wound - Disconnected

The big krautrock veterans and the experimental collective by definition joined forces in one of the best collaborations the genre has seen. Disconnected resembles the best of Faust's debut with the unpredictability of Nurse With Wound, making them even more bizarre than what they normally are. Six tracks, one of them a live session, in which both projects explore unlikely sounds in a way few would. Essential material for krautrock fans.

Download it here: [320][V0]

Buy it directly from Art-Errorist here.
Buy it directly from Recommended Records here.

[REQUEST] [1993] Slapp Happy - Casablanca Moon / Desperate Straights

Compilation of one of the german bands that earned a cult following after their release with Henry Cow and later merge. Dagmar Krause's vocals, a trademark of their sound, shines like the previous chanson performer she used to be before the band and even after, when she released her solo works. This compilation gathers the most brilliant moments of their career and is, therefore, a must-have for the followers of the genre and its roots.

Download it here: [320]

[2004] The Ruins of Beverast - Unlock The Shrine

Storytelling in music, in the best way german blackmetallers can achieve it, The Ruins of Beverast is just another gem within the vast BM genre, in which war, decayed citadels and cries of forgotten armies manifest themselves in this album as the sound of ghosts from centuries ago. Few bands of this nature manage to achieve this sort of feeling, and it's no surprise Alexander Von Meilenwald's solo project has gotten so much attention during the last decade, almost even more than the other bands he has been involved with. Percussion, naturally, receive an obvious emphasis in this album, grabbing the attention most of the time, going from slow-paced to furious, war-like blasting.

Download it here: [V0]

Buy it directly from Ván Records here.