Ashra – New Age of Earth (1976)

We have all read the stories of the band’s expansive greatness. Or supposed greatness… Maybe I should be more respectful?  Certainly Mr. Julian Cope will clear my head of any misconceptions I may have in his next, soon-to-be-out-of-print book on Krautrock. So let’s not argue the matter here.

By 1976, Ash Ra Tempel was less a band than ever. Originally founded under the moniker in 1970 by Manuel Göttsching, Hartmut Enke and Klaus Schulze, this German Krautrock power-trio explored the rather challenging end of the space-freakout jam session over the course of its line-up changing tenure. Their guitar explorations and periodic excursions into blues and drone are said to be “legendary”. And to their credit, the Ash Ra Tempel was fueled by the need to see beyond the limitations of western tuning, timbre, and spectrum. All of which sounds great in theory. Let’s just say the Ash Ra Tempel’s catalogue often tests my patience. The rest I leave to Mr Cope.  

The good news is that by 1975, the limits of endurance had been reached and the band dissolved. Well, almost. Leaving only hero, Manuel Göttsching alone for several years before releasing his first solo album, Inventions of the Electric Guitar (1975), an album that is an important but tentative step forward into electronic-ambient universe. And a highly recommended listen for anyone interested in the evolution of electronic music. Best of all, this new electronic universe would be even more fully explored on Göttsching’s next project, Ashra’s debut New Age of Earth the following year.

Don’t let that album title discourage you; this music has absolutely nothing to do with the “New-Age” movement, vegans or crystal-magic mysticism. There will be no need to search out your local occult book store after listening. The music of Ashra is a bold development in the voyage into the space rock orbit. The endless jam sessions of the original band replaced by the synchronized repetition, echo and delay that Göttsching first envisioned on his solo album.  

Left to his own head-space with Ashra, Göttsching developed a sound that was transformative. Instead of deep featureless space drones, Ashra’s music searches the heavens for a musical bliss. The studio now functioning as a laboratory of electronic orchestration – producing crisp, synthetic sounds with perpetual harmonies and textures.  

Göttsching approaches the electric guitar in a very different way than in the past, allowing the synth to dominate the sound structure, pulsating and pushing the music forward. The electric guitar solos are dense, processed and smooth, adding shading instead of overwhelming the music. 
The guitars give the music a heavy, dynamic punch while the synthetic music dances between the stars. It’s an amazing and innovative contrast between the instruments, a bend that you will hear nowhere else.  

This is lush, lyrical electronic music that never never loses its sense of analogue humanity.  The spiraling layers of guitars and keyboards transforming naturally as we listen, moving in unexpected directions.  Creating complex motifs and vibrant colors as the sound advances forward. It’s nearly impossible to identify a centerpiece here. Göttsching creates an effortless experience that really insists on being viewed as a whole. Krautrock, New-Age, Space-Rock, Electronic… Ashra’s New Age of Earth moves between these categories and beyond them.   

by Shawn Ciavattone