Neu! - Biography
August 16th, 2003 by Koldo Barroso
Neu!
Neu! was one of the most innovative bands from the 70’s krautrock scene and one of the most influential German bands in modern music.
Neu! was formed in Dusseldorf in 1971, when guitarist Klaus Dinger and Michael Rother quit Kraftwerk to record their first and legendary album “Neu!”, with the support of producer Conny Plank. The album called the attention of BBC DJ John Peel and got some international attention, being one of the most unique pieces of innovative experimental rock albums ever produced which featured some of the most pioneering punk rock and minimalist music from the 20th Century.
Neu! recorded just 2 studio albums, both of them true masterworks. “Neu! 2″ is credited for being one of the first albums that features remixes when Rother and Dinger, after having spent the whole recording company budget for the recording of the half of the album, decided to use the same material to remix it in different cassette speeds.
In 1975, Neu! rejoined for the recording of the live album “Neu!75″ featuring new material. After their disband Michael Rother joined Cluster, and later he formed Harmonia along with Roedelius and Dieter Moebius, meanwhile Klaus Dinger formed La Dusseldorf in 1974.
In 1985, Dinger and Rother rejoined for a modern version of Neu! including more synthesizers and a more commercially oriented sound, but the differences between both musicians spoiled the whole project. The out-take recordings of this project would be released in 1996 in the album “Neu! 4″ on the Japanese label Captain Trip label without Rother’s consent. This would cause the acrimony between both musicians for the next decade, which coincides with the legal disputes between Dinger and the members of his parallel project, La Dusseldorf. In the same manner, in 1996 was released the album “Neu! ‘72 Live!”, recorded in Dusseldorf on May 6th, 1972. The recording was taken from an on-stage rehearsal with a poor sound quality, and featuring a new member, the bass player Eberhard Kranemann. Captain Trip also released another two CD reissues the albums from Klaus Dinger’s post-Neu! project “La! Neu?” and “La Dusseldorf”.
The continuous legal battles on licensing arrangements for the Neu! catalogue caused their lack in the CD market. In 2001, the situation was finally resolved when Klaus Dinger and Michael Rother got to an agreement to re-master the classic Neu! albums to CD and they were released on the Astralwerks label.
After quitting Neu!, Michael Rother wrote and produced several solo albums. Klaus Dinger has also produced several solo works apart from his side project La Dusseldorf. Thomas Dinger died on April 9th, 2002 after having released several solo albums.