Ash Ra Tempel

This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2008)

Ash Ra Tempel (also known as Ashra) is a German Krautrock group of the 1970s, and are an example of cosmic or space rock.

History

The group was originally founded by guitarist Manuel Göttsching, keyboardist/drummer Klaus Schulze, and bassist Hartmut Enke in 1971. All three founding members had previously played together as part of the short-lived group Eruption founded by Conrad Schnitzler. Prior to that Schnitzler and Schulze had worked together in Tangerine Dream.

A short-lived project Manuel Göttsching had in 1970 was the Steeple Chase Blues Band, which also included Hartmut Enke, Wolfgang Müller, and Volker Zibell.

Ash Ra Tempel released its self-titled debut album in June 1971. This release is considered by critics to be a classic of the genre; Schulze temporarily departed for a solo career shortly after its release. Schwingungen (1972), Seven Up (with Timothy Leary) (1972), and Join Inn (1973) are all considered key works from the band. The pop-oriented 1973 album Starring Rosi was thus named because it featured lead vocals by Rosi Mueller.

Their music is widely characterized as cosmic and atmospheric. The early albums were more psychedelic-oriented and all had one lengthy track per side: one more powerful and dramatic, the other of a more atmospheric nature.

ART's last concert performance took place in Cologne in February 1973^[1].

Later, after recording the soundtrack Le Berceau de Cristal (1975; unreleased until the 90's) Ash Ra Tempel shortened its name to Ashra, making a more melodic, synthesizer-based music. In 2000 the band was reborn. Joined by longtime colleague Klaus Schulze, the album Friendship was released.

Influence

Ash Ra Tempel has exerted a relatively large influence on later space rock and krautrock bands. The psychedelic bands Acid Mothers Temple and Hash Jar Tempo named themselves in reference to Ash Ra Tempel.

Discography

Albums

• Ash Ra Tempel (1971)
• Schwingungen (1972)
• Seven Up (credited to: Timothy Leary & Ash Ra Tempel) (1972)
• Join Inn (1973)
• Starring Rosi (1973)
• Inventions For Electric Guitar (1974)
• Le Berceau de Cristal (soundtrack) (1975)
• New Age of Earth (as Ashra) (1976)
• Blackouts (as Ashra) (1977)
• Correlations (as Ashra) (1979)
• Belle Alliance (as Ashra) (1980)
• Walkin' the Desert (as Ashra) (1990)
• Tropical Heat (as Ashra) (1991)
• Friendship (2000)

Compilations

• The Best of the Private Tapes 2xCD (1998) (rare demo recordings)
• Schwingungen/ Seven Up (1998) (Two original LP's on one CD)
• Join Inn/ Starring Rosi (1998) (Two original LP's on one CD)

References

External links

• Official website
• Unsung: Ash Ra Tempel
• Myspace
• The Making Of Seven Up from April 2003 issue of Mojo magazine:
• Ash Ra Tempel at Last.fm