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Karat

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Karat is a German rock band that was formed in 1975 in East Berlin, in the GDR. The band grew out of the jazz-rock group Panta Rhei. Keyboardist and composer Ulrich Ed Swillms and guitarist Herbert Dreilich both played in it. After singer Hans-Joachim Neumann went into military service in 1977, Dreilich became the only singer, and his voice became the group's trademark. The first album, Karat (1978), contained the hit König der Welt.

Music and breakthrough

The breakthrough came with Über sieben Brücken (1979). The title song, Über sieben Brücken musst du gehn, is still the band's best-known song. The song Albatros on the same record had a double meaning: the albatross knows no borders, and listeners could read that as criticism of the travel restrictions and the Wall. When the West German singer Peter Maffay recorded the song in 1980, it also became a big hit in the West. Der blaue Planet (1982), with a title song about the threat of nuclear war and environmental disasters, became the best-selling album ever made by an East German artist. Karat was the only GDR band to appear on the West German television programme Wetten, dass..?.

Influence

Karat's music is melodic progressive rock with a lot of keyboards, philosophical German lyrics and long, building songs. After the fall of the Wall, many East German fans chose Western records and the band briefly dropped out of view. Herbert Dreilich died in 2004; his son Claudius took his place. Karat shows how rock musicians in the GDR managed to say something within the limits of censorship.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to Über sieben Brücken musst du gehn and notice how Ed Swillms's keyboards and Herbert Dreilich's voice together set the mood. Then put Peter Maffay's version next to it and hear what changes when a West German singer takes the song over.

Discography

Studio albums

In School of Rock

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Categories: Artists