Amon Düül II and the birth of Krautrock

The German rock band Amon Düül II quickly rose to prominence in West Germany due to their energetic live performances and the pioneering debut album Phallus Dei in the late 60s. They were frontrunners in what would be termed Deutschrock or Krautrock, a loose and sprawling musical movement which included acts like CAN and Kraftwerk. The tension between Germany’s past, present and future provided the energy for this movement, which had its own artists, record labels and fans.

The people of this movement worked mostly outside the sphere of the establishment and the commercial record labels and institutions, although the most economically viable acts would later be picked up by major companies.

In many ways, this movement was in opposition to the current situation, to politics, society and music. They were looking for freedom, and the different paths leading there; one was through politics via anarchism, socialism or communism, towards a new society beyond traditional values and monetary power; another was spiritual, through artistic expression, psychology and psychedelic drugs.