Neu!

NEU! was a German band formed in Düsseldorf in 1971 by Klaus Dinger and Michael Rother following their departure from Kraftwerk. Though Neu! had minimal commercial success during its existence, the band is retrospectively considered a central act of West Germany’s 1970s krautrock movement. They are known for pioneering the “motorik” beat, a minimalist 4/4 rhythm associated with krautrock artists. Their work has exerted a widespread influence on genres such as electronica and punk, with artists such as David Bowie, the Sex Pistols, Sonic Youth, Stereolab, and Tortoise drawning on the work of Neu! in their music. Neu! 2 is their second studio album, recorded in January 1973 at Windrose-Dumont-Time Studios in Hamburg, Germany. This album further focused the classic Neu! krautrock sound, with the 11-minute “Für Immer” in particular being the archetypal example of their style—a seemingly endless forward-driving vamping, propelled by Klaus Dinger’s drumming and Michael Rother’s layered guitar with its fluid lines and droning harmonic structure. Pitchfork described the album as featuring a proto-punk sound, while Fact labeled it “spartan psych-rock set to power-driven drum tracks.