{"title":"Wolfgang Seidel","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"friendly-electrons","title":"Friendly Electrons","description":"\u003cp\u003e\"Friendly Electrons\" presents the electronic side of the original TON STEINE SCHERBEN drummer, book author and longtime CONRAD SCHNITZLER friend \/ collaborator WOLFGANG SEIDEL. \nBorn in winter 1949 in a grey and gloomy post-war Berlin, WOLFGANG SEIDEL's first encounter with electronic sounds was at the cinema: the music for \"Forbidden Planet\" by LOUIS and BEBE BARRON sounded like the promise of a bright, exciting future … but in the 1960's, the biggest thing for young musicians was to play in a rock band, and as the friends around him all already played guitar, SEIDEL chose the drums and later co-founded TON STEINE SCHERBEN, the legendary German anarchist band. Around the same time, SEIDEL regularly attended the Zodiak Free Arts Lab, the birth place of so-called \"Kosmische Musik \/ Berliner Schule\" (TANGERINE DREAM, CLUSTER, MANUEL GÖTTSCHING etc), and became close friends with CONRAD SCHNITZLER. Realizing how much more artistic freedom electronic music offers, he grew tired of playing the same songs night after night, left the band after their debut album had been released and started experimenting with contact microphones and tape delay (and later, when he could afford one, with a Buchla synthesizer). SEIDEL joined SCHNITZLER's groupERUPTION and worked with him till his death in 2011 (sometimes credited as WOLF SEQUENZA) on several albums, and also toured some art institutions presenting SCHNITZLER's \"cassette concerts\" (who had dropped his suitcases with the tape machines in front of SEIDEL's flat door and appointed him the \"future conductor\").\nIn the 2000s, SEIDEL started playing drums again, this time in the free jazz \/ improv scene (a.o. others with ALFRED A. HARTH and HANS JOACHIM IRMLER), wrote books about his former band (\"Scherben – Musik, Politik und Wirkung der Ton Steine Scherben\") and Krautrock (\"Wir müssen hier raus! Krautrock, Free Beat, Reeducation\") … and continued his sonic explorations with his Buchla in his studio in Berlin-Wedding.\nWhen we met at a birthday party, Wolfgang told me about his electronic pieces - I was interested right away – so he browsed his archive and sent me a selection of tracks. These are often based on older ideas and sketches that he had completed during the pandemic when there were no concerts to play. The result is \"Friendly Electrons\" – a collection of 18 tracks, inspired by SCHNITZLER's collage technique and SEIDEL's own experiences with improvisation. With the exception of 2 pieces that are actually composed there were no fixed ideas – simply start from scratch and see what happens, review the result from different angles and refine the tracks where necessary. Whereas electronic music is often considered dystopian, the album title mirrors SEIDEL's positive attitude towards modernism, so his electrons are of a friendly kind!\n\n\ncredits:\nAll music created, mixed \u0026amp; produced by Wolfgang Seidel\nMastered by Ruy Mariné at D\u0026amp;M, Berlin\nCover photo by Wolfgang Seidel\nLayout \u0026amp; design by kaidoh\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Karlrecords","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":50417268916555,"sku":"2197973","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/test_061de887_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1726724270"},{"product_id":"krautrock-eruption-an-alternative-history-of-german-underground-in-the-60s-and-70s","title":"Krautrock Eruption: An alternative history of German underground in the 60's and 70's","description":"\u003cp\u003eKrautrock as an escape from post-war Germany. Krautrock Eruption is a rousing counter-narrative to the usual depictions of Krautrock, written by Wolfgang Seidel, member of Conrad Schnitzler's band Eruption and co-founder of Ton Steine Scherben. His groundbreaking book, which includes unique historical photographs, paints a vivid picture of the old Federal Republic of Germany, with all of its contradictions and struggles. What is now celebrated as Krautrock emerged in this environment, and at the time was an attempt to contribute the soundtrack to the revolution. As a fly on the wall, Seidel recounts the squats, demos and first concerts of bands such as Cluster, Tangerine Dream and Ash Ra Tempel. Just as precisely and vividly, he recapitulates the influence of minimal music composers such as Steve Reich and Philip Glass, the origins of many Krautrock musicians in jazz and the role of the synthesiser. Wolfgang Seidel delivers a captivating account on Krautrock that dispels many of the founding myths of the first genuinely German pop culture, which above all did not want to be German. In addition, the book is supplemented by a discography of the 50 most important Krautrock records, written by music journalist and Krautrock expert Holger Adam. Translated from German by Alexander Paulick (member of influential Dðsseldorf based avant-garde band Kreidler).\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Ventil Verlag","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":50968264311115,"sku":"2236146","price":20.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/61KYZWGU0pL._SY522_-1_20e9bd17_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1734027426"}],"url":"https:\/\/shop.roughtrade.com\/fr\/collections\/wolfgang-seidel.oembed","provider":"Rough Trade","version":"1.0","type":"link"}