At a glance
- Artist
- Neu!
- Released
- 1972
- Label
- Billingsgate
- Catalogue number
- BG 1001
- Format
- 12″ Vinyl
- Country
- US
- Tracks
- 6, 45:45
In the issue
It established the motorik beat that defined krautrock's rhythmic identity and shaped later electronic dance music.
The debut established the motorik beat that came to define krautrock's rhythmic identity. Klaus Dinger's relentless quarter-note kick drum and Michael Rother's processed guitar produced a forward-flowing, hypnotic sound that shaped post-punk and later electronic dance music, with Joy Division's Stephen Morris among the drummers who took direct notes from it.
How it was made
Recorded over four nights in December 1971 at Star Studios in Hamburg with producer Conny Plank, Neu!'s debut was created under severe constraints that paradoxically freed Michael Rother and Klaus Dinger to follow their vision without overthinking. "We were lucky," Rother later said. "We had no experience. We just had a vision." That vision was the motorik beat—the steady, propulsive 4/4 rhythm that opens "Hallogallo." Plank miked the kit close and kept the reverb minimal, giving the drums a dry punch that locked with the bass. Rother's guitar floated above in shimmering, delay-drenched layers. The album introduced krautrock's defining rhythmic signature and influenced David Bowie, Joy Division, and Sonic Youth.
Listen
Track list
- 1Hallogallo10:07
- 2Sonderangebot4:51
- 3Weissensee6:47
- 4Im Glück6:53
- 5Negativland9:47
- 6Lieber Honig7:19
More by Neu! in the issues
- Neu! 21973
Terms
- Motorik
- A steady, driving 4/4 drumbeat associated with German krautrock, pioneered by Can's Jaki Liebezeit and Neu!'s Klaus Dinger.