Six years in the making, Author Christian Wheeldon's magnificent account of The Musical Life of Manuel Göttsching is now available to the public. Weeldon takes the reader on a journey through the rebirth of German music in the 1970s, the fusion of rock, minimalism and electronics, and through all of the pioneering music that followed.
Wheeldon's is the first proper book to examine the life of Manuel Göttsching, and is an absolute triumph at the task. From the back cover:
[The book provides] previously unpublished interviews the author conducted with members of Ashra, as well as correspondence with other key personalities and selective historic sources.
But even more effective are Wheeldon's rich and impassioned analyses of each of Göttsching recording sessions. He provides an historic account of the socio-cultural circumstances surrounding each album's production, and descriptions of the music which will undoubtedly inspire readers to seek out and enjoy these albums for themselves.
A few examples from the opening chapters of the book -
On Ash Ra Tempel's self-titled record from 1971:
Ash Ra Tempel's first track is freeform and as untamed as any open, mud-spattered festival jam ever hammered out. A musical locomotive underpinned by the impressive, primal rumble of Hartmut Enke's bass, there is a sense that Amboss could derail at any one of several moments as a result of its own pile driving brute force. After a brief atonal guitar impasse the band steam back into action, finally rattling and clanging towards a furious, exhausted climax after 20 sweat-soaked minutes.
On The Cosmic Jokers' self-titled debut LP from 1974:
Soothing guitar work from Manuel introduces the final part of the original first side. The waters of a gently lapping chemical ocean gradually become more turbulent and as proceedings gather pace we plummet beneath the surface into a swirling wormhole, hurtling towards some far corner of the universe at breakneck speed. Schulze's booming synthesizer suggests myriad multi-colour fragments of giant rock colliding in an asteroid field and a rather kitsch intergalactic voice confirms that we are now charting the far reaches of the great beyond.
I repeatedly found myself putting the book down to scribble notes for future listening. A book exploring the incredible impact of Manuel Göttsching music is long-overdue, and thankfully Wheeldon's guided tour of his catalog will spark a renaissance of listenership and musical discoveries for both long-time fans and for young listeners eager to develop a better understanding of the foundations of ambient and electronic sound.
The book was printed in a short run, so don't miss your chance to claim a copy for your music library. Find out more at
Manuel Göttsching Book - 'Deep Distance' - Available now.
Author Christian Wheeldon with his, the first-ever
publication celebrating the music of Manuel Gottsching