“I’ve always loved Pink Floyd, especially the obscure instrumental improvisations they used as bridges between verses and choruses of their songs.”
Then came post-rock with bands like Talk Talk in the 1980s and recently with bands like Slowdive, Mogwai, Godspeed You Black Emperor, and the early Sigur Ros albums.
If you dig more deeply into instrumental rock and especially extended improvisations, you will soon meet the Krautrock scene of the 1970s. In my opinion, the best thing about the Berlin and Düsseldorf School was the attempt to create its unique blend of blues, free jazz, electronica. And they did it successfully. Krautrock extended the borders of the British and American music it was inspired by. One of the first bands of the Krautrock music scene was Ashra Tempel.
Manuel Göttsching was born in Berlin in 1952 and, in my opinion, became what the western music press would describe as a Guitar Hero. In my opinion, he was definitely a guitar hero, back in the 1970s, as relevant as Jimmy Page, Jimi Hendrix, or Steve Ray Vaughan more recently. His style was very, very different, though.
To understand my statement, you have to play (possibly very loud) the first self-titled album by Ashra Tempel (released in 1971).
Göttsching, like many of the best musicians in history, had a classical music background. He was exposed, in his childhood, to the music of Verdi and Puccini by his mother and then developed a very personal style that influenced all his future works. His classical music background blended with the new American and British music he discovered in the 1960s, like Motown music from the United States and the Rolling Stones, The Beatles, The Who, and British blues bands. Like many musicians, he started playing guitar with cover bands and gradually discovered the free jazz movement.
As a result of his interest for free improvisation, in 1970, Göttsching founded Ashra Tempel with keyboardist/drummer Klaus Schulze, and bassist Hartmut Enke. I often repeat that the Krautrock/Kosmische music scene was a blend of genres, and if you explore the history of this musical movement, it is clear that it was also a blend of people.
Musicians, producers, and audio engineers frequently worked with each other and created a music scene that kept mixing with itself for more than a decade. Schulze and Enke had previously worked with Tangerine Dream. The three founding members of Ashra Tempel met as part of a short-lived group called Eruption, founded by another central figure of the German music scene: Conrad Schnitzler.
Göttsching also had another short-lived project in 1970 called Steeple Chase Blues Band, which also included Hartmut Enke, Wolfgang Müller, and Volker Zibell.
Ashra Tempel released Ash Ra Tempel in 1971, Schwingungen in 1972, Seven Up (with Timothy Leary) in 1972, Join Inn in 1973, and Starring Rosi in 1973. Ashra Tempel is considered one of the most influential bands of space rock and psychedelia but never gained mainstream success as many of the other Krautrock bands. You probably know about the band only if you are a fan of the genre or listen to a Krautrock-based playlist on your favorite streaming service.
I described Göttsching as a guitar hero, but what happened in 1975, after releasing his first solo album, Inventions for Electric Guitar and the soundtrack Le Berceau de Cristal, might confuse the perception you have of a guitar hero.
While the influence of Blues was still a big part of Ashra Tempel's records, Inventions for Electric Guitar, the first album he released under his name, doesn't have the same roots. The album was inspired by minimalism and classical music and recorded only with Göttsching guitar, with heavy effects, delays, reverbs, and loops.
We already spoke about Inventions for Electric Guitar as one of the most influential guitar albums of all time, and it truly is. Göttsching explored the use of his instrument and brought it to another level.
Le Berceau de Cristal represented another drastic change in his style, but the music was more based on ambient sounds. It was re-recorded in 1975 by Göttsching alone, not only on guitar but was never released until 1993, still under Ashra Tempel's name.
Probably inspired by the recordings of Le Berceau de Cristal, Göttsching decided to change his band name to Ashra.
Under the new band name, Göttsching released New Age of Earth in 1976, Blackouts in 1977, Correlations in 1979, Belle Alliance in 1980, Walkin' the Desert in 1990, and Tropical Heat (1985-1986) in 1991. The first two albums were Göttsching alone releases, but the band featured Lutz Ulbrich on guitar and keyboards and drummer Harald Grosskopf from Correlations.
As a solo artist, Manuel Göttsching released Inventions for Electric Guitar (initially as Ashra Tempel) in 1975, his masterpiece E2-E4 in 1984, Dream & Desire in 1977, and Die Mulde in 2005.
Manuel Göttsching's discography is highly variegated and inspiring. His albums symbolize the transaction from classical music to jazz, blues, space rock, electronica, and techno—something to cherish.