(Thanks to Thus... Records for the mini-biography)
Astraleinhorn was a relatively short-lived decet rock ensemble formed in Schwerin, Germany in 1968, made up of international personnel from various musical backgrounds. Existing as one of krautrock's more obscure and unheard of bands, Astraleinhorn over the span of three years performed a sparse amount of public shows (most notable being the unauthorized free-improvisation performance outside of the "Staatliches Museum" in '68 - by nature met with a confused and umbrageous reception from the mass-bourgeois), and also summoned two independently-released albums, Cosmo Clockwork in 1969 and Höhlendelikum in 1970; both albums enveloping an entire plethora of ideas and ignoring the general consensus of musical orthodoxy.
Despite their enigmatical prominence in krautrock's evolution, Astraleinhorn actually began experimenting with soundscaping and in-studio effects before the likes of Can and Agitation Free, pre-dating the movement's most revered giants and standing as a retroactive influence on many progressive artists to come. This advanced psychotropic emphasis on mood and texture above general pedestrian convention and comprehension, combined with the group's cryptic, archaic, surreal, left-wing political and barely intelligible lyrics, played out as a highly contentious trait amongst the local audiences of post-WW2 Schwerin, with nearly all of the band's public performances resulting with outrage, protest and even spiteful mass-riot.
This pushed the band further underground, which was actually considered a blessing by the band's main-composer Peter Garwood. "Discarding the straight-jacket of conventionality was our main intention to begin with, so naturally the public's and media's scorn only gave us more air to breathe. It allowed us complete freedom with no compromises along the way. We remained outsiders out of will, not herding obligation". With this new found sense of freedom and lack of outside influence, Astraleinhorn burrowed deep into their collective psyche via lucid dreaming, using automist techniques and instinct to produce the majority of their recorded works. Their first album Cosmo Clockwork was limited to a dismal 100 copies due to band's misfortunate financial situation at the time. Despite this dilemma, the album did better than expected amidst the then spawning underground "experimental rock" scene of both Germany and Austria. The several local critics that managed to hear Astraleinhorn were mostly skeptical and at loss as to what it actually was, but an open-minded few did realize its ultimate potential. One critic went on to say "Astraleinhorn have defined the unforeseen universal prospect of altering the dimensions of the canvas rather than the surface itself... patently, the Hobbyhorses of Dadaville would relish in such bohemian purity".
Even so, the album's initial underground popularity was nimbal as the vinyl copies diminished. Astraleinhorn went into hiatus for six months, allowing the collective to gather funds and ideas seperately. They reunited in the Spring of 1970 to record what would lamentably be their final album. Höhlendelikum was somewhat of a depature from their earlier "abstract" work towards a more defined and conceptually mature sound; balancing on the line between avant-prog and discordant proto-metal. Even though it had more appeal to the growing audiences of krautrock over their debut, it wasn't well recieved which thusly sealed the fate of Astraleinhorn. They broke up in the winter of 1971.
Although the band's legacy has remained overclouded and vague throughout the years, their albums have since been remastered and reissued by Thus... Records in hope of bringing one of krautrock's most prodigious artifacts to what the members of Astraleinhorn hope to be a more thoughtful, intrigued and open-minded audience.
DISCOGRAPHY:
Cosmo Clockwork (1969)
1. Schlemiel Part I
2. Schlemiel Part II
3. Schlemiel Part III
4. Schlemiel Part VI
5. Schlemiel Part V
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Höhlendelikum (1970)
1. Dharma
2. Zea Mays Rugosa
3. Koyättoe
4. Bitter Aura o' the Wisp
5. Unto Kafkaesque
6. Chiaroscuro Sonicist
7. Yon Smolt...
