EBERHARD KRANEMANN & HARALD GROSSKOPF

Krautrock royalty make a modern classic.

There’s some fierce pedigree running amok in this first collaboration between these two German maestros. Grosskopf first appeared playing drums on Klaus Schulze’s 70s albums including Moondawn and Body Music before joining Manuel Gottsching’s Ash Ra Tempel-succeeding Ashra (appearing on 13 LPs) and releasing several solo albums. Kranemann was an early member of Kraftwerk and Neu! before reinventing himself as Fritz Muller and forming his own band. Both also boast a heap of other collaborations. Working together, the pair show how Krautrock can still be a formidable force with unashamedly lengthy tracks that include Midnight In Dusseldorf

Berlin (a shadowy afterdark cruise with scathing guitar), and Happy Blue, combining ethereal melodies with mid-period Can-style disco groove exploring the unknown, Gosskopf lacing Jaki Liebezeit’s minimal drive with his own spin. Buddhatal is a 12-minute beatless drone meditation in deep space, before Be Cool ignites toupeewhisking banging techno, napalming the autobahn with cross-panning and scrabbling no wave guitar. All told, a relentlessly exciting or brain-massaging collaboration that can be considered a modern Krautrock classic. KN