028 Marshall Gu on Krautrock

On this episode, Marc talks to Marshall Gu, author of “Krautrock,” published on November of 2023. Part of the 33.3 "Genre" series, it's a look at Krautrock through chapter-length examinations of 12 individual groups: Can, Faust, Cluster & Harmonia, Tangerine Dream, Ash Ra Tempel, Agitation Free, Guru Guru, Popol Vuh, Amon Duul II, Embryo, NEU!, and Kraftwerk. Along the way Marshall points out commonalities between these groups without boxing them into strict genre rules.

As he writes in his introduction, “What does Krautrock actually sound like? It can sound the most unrelenting psychedelia you’ve ever heard. It can sound like the most hypnotic grooves found in rock music. It can sound like jazz, like junk, like pure noise, or like peaceful ambient music. It can sound like nothing you’ve ever heard before, which was certainly the original mission statement of many of its practitioners.”

We hope you enjoy Marc's chat with Marshall Gu!