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NEU!
From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist
NEU! · Neu! was a West German band from Düsseldorf that began in 1971 with two musicians who had just left Kraftwerk: the drummer Klaus Dinger and the guitarist Michael Rother. Together with the producer Conny Plank, who in the krautrock world was called the hidden third member, they recorded three albums: Neu! in 1972, Neu! 2 in 1973 and Neu! '75 in 1975. After that the band broke up. In the mid-1980s they briefly returned, and later two more records appeared with material from that time.
Music and breakthrough
The name came from the advertising world of Düsseldorf. Dinger considered new the strongest word in advertising. The cover of the first album was inspired by the pop art of Andy Warhol. The record sold little at first. The band's trademark is the motorik, a minimalist rhythm in 4/4 time that Dinger developed together with Jaki Liebezeit. The rhythm runs tight and unceasing, like a car driving along an empty motorway. On Neu! 2 the money for the recordings ran out, and the band filled the second side with processed versions of the single Neuschnee and Super, played back at different speeds. That is regarded as one of the earliest examples of a remix.
Influence
Commercially Neu! amounted to little, but in retrospect the group is regarded as one of the core bands of 1970s German krautrock. Their influence extends to electronic music and to punk. Drummers such as Stephen Morris of Joy Division also name Dinger as an example.
Listening
Hallogallo · NEU!, 1972Apple Music ↗