“It’s Like A Vehicle That’s Barely In Control”
Stereolab’s TIM GANE explains the appeal of Neu!’s motorik blueprint.
“I BOUGHT the first Neu! album from Notting Hill Record And Tape Exchange around 1980. I’d just discovered the first Faust album so I’d started looking for other German bands. I didn’t like Neu! as much as Can or Faust at first but after a while I started to find it much more interesting, something about the linearity. I became obsessed with Klaus Dinger’s drumming because it was so relentless, while Michael Rother’s guitar sound, a two-note chord all along the six strings, was so simple but strange.
People like Terry Riley had been doing that kind of minimalism for a long time but this was different because it was firmly in the rock world, primitive, but also complex because it opens up so many vistas. When I started playing like that with Stereolab I noticed that the fewer notes you have, the more choices you can make for melodies. You could have these quite linear patterns, but then have Beach Boys-style melodies over the top. It transforms an ordinary idea into something very un-ordinary. So when we first started playing gigs in London we automatically sounded different.
Also, I discovered it’s great music to play live, because it really takes off. It’s like a vehicle that’s barely in control and you’re just about keeping it on the road. It’s got the relentless excitement of punk but it’s texturally not the same at all. Harmonic resonances rise up like a cloud of bees, creating cosmic interactions.
There are lots of unforeseen things that can happen when you’re playing that music. But you have to remember it’s not just a formula – it’s also a secret.
It’s there for you to utilise, to create something texturally and harmonically complex. Klaus, Michael and Conny created the pathway, a new approach to rock music that will always be with us.”