# The 9 Best Krautrock Tracks of All Time West German bands from around 1970 who declined to inherit the blues. In its place: a steady unaccented pulse, tape editing treated as composition, and synthesisers used for texture rather than for showmanship. - **Origin:** West Germany, 1970 - **Tempo:** 100–140 BPM - **Also known as:** kosmische musik, kosmische, german experimental rock, motorik - **Tracks:** 9 - **Updated:** 2026-08-29 - **Canonical page:** https://waxonia.com/genre/krautrock/ ## Curators on Krautrock - [The Waxonia Desk](https://waxonia.com/artist/the-desk/): 4 picks. Four records for the reader who arrived here from a techno page and wants to know what a German band from 1972 has to do with anything. ## The list ### 1. [Neu!](https://waxonia.com/artist/neu/) — [Hallogallo](https://waxonia.com/track/neu--hallogallo/) *1972 · Brain* Ten minutes of Klaus Dinger playing one beat perfectly. The motorik pulse is the single most exportable idea German rock produced, and every record that drives forward without swinging owes it something. Also on: [Roots](https://waxonia.com/theme/the-desk-roots/), [The Waxonia Desk — Krautrock](https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-krautrock/), [The Waxonia Desk — The Hundred](https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-the-hundred/). [Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Neu!%20Hallogallo) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=zndpi8tNZyQ) ### 2. [Kraftwerk](https://waxonia.com/artist/kraftwerk/) — [Autobahn](https://waxonia.com/track/kraftwerk--autobahn/) *1974 · Philips* Twenty-two minutes of a car journey, and the record where Kraftwerk stop being a rock group. Detroit heard the machine precision; Britain heard the pop tune hiding inside it. Both were right. Also on: [The Waxonia Desk — Krautrock](https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-krautrock/), [The Waxonia Desk — The Hundred](https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-the-hundred/). [Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Kraftwerk%20Autobahn) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=vkOZNJYAZ7c) ### 3. [Can](https://waxonia.com/artist/can/) — [Halleluhwah](https://waxonia.com/track/can--halleluhwah/) *1971 · United Artists* Jaki Liebezeit holds one figure for eighteen minutes while the band come apart around him. The strongest evidence that repetition is not the opposite of drama but its cheapest fuel. Also on: [The Waxonia Desk — The Hundred](https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-the-hundred/). [Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Can%20Halleluhwah) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=-ukhZgsC4vc) ### 4. [Kraftwerk](https://waxonia.com/artist/kraftwerk/) — [Trans-Europe Express](https://waxonia.com/track/kraftwerk--trans-europe-express/) *1977 · Kling Klang* Afrika Bambaataa built Planet Rock on it, Detroit built a genre on it, and it remains a wistful song about trains. No other record on this site has been quite so productive for people who misheard it. Also on: [The Waxonia Desk — The Hundred](https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-the-hundred/). [Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Kraftwerk%20Trans-Europe%20Express) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=i_85fUIRlmU) ### 5. [Tangerine Dream](https://waxonia.com/artist/tangerine-dream/) — [Phaedra](https://waxonia.com/track/tangerine-dream--phaedra/) *1974 · Virgin* A sequencer drifting out of tune with itself for seventeen minutes, which the band kept because it was better than the accurate take. Ambient's immediate ancestor, and considerably more sinister than its descendants. Also on: [The Waxonia Desk — Krautrock](https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-krautrock/). [Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Tangerine%20Dream%20Phaedra) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=EhQpXD2Z9WQ) ### 6. [Faust](https://waxonia.com/artist/faust/) — [It's a Rainy Day, Sunshine Girl](https://waxonia.com/track/faust--its-a-rainy-day-sunshine-girl/) *1972 · Polydor* A nursery rhyme played by a band who seem to be sabotaging the tape as it runs. Faust treated the studio as the only real instrument, decades before that became a normal thing to say. [Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Faust%20It's%20a%20Rainy%20Day%2C%20Sunshine%20Girl) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=8Z4ahue-pSo) ### 7. [Cluster](https://waxonia.com/artist/cluster/) — [Hollywood](https://waxonia.com/track/cluster--hollywood/) *1974 · Brain* Moebius and Roedelius abandon drone for something that clanks and bounces. The direct line between this and every warm, slightly broken analogue electronic record made since is short and well documented. [Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Cluster%20Hollywood) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=L2n7ZueDbWg) ### 8. [Manuel Göttsching](https://waxonia.com/artist/manuel-gottsching/) — [E2-E4](https://waxonia.com/track/manuel-gottsching--e2-e4/) *1984 · Inteam* One hour, one sequence, one guitarist improvising over it in a single take. Sueño Latino lifted it, Balearic DJs adopted it, and it accidentally became the bridge from kosmische to the dancefloor. Also on: [The Waxonia Desk — Krautrock](https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-krautrock/), [The Waxonia Desk — The Hundred](https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-the-hundred/). [Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Manuel%20G%C3%B6ttsching%20E2-E4) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=pUfIqO5arq4) ### 9. [Amon Düül II](https://waxonia.com/artist/amon-duul-ii/) — [Archangels Thunderbird](https://waxonia.com/track/amon-duul-ii--archangels-thunderbird/) *1970 · Liberty* The commune end of the scene: Renate Knaup howling over a band that can genuinely play. Included because krautrock was never only the tidy, metronomic half that got the better press. [Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Amon%20D%C3%BC%C3%BCl%20II%20Archangels%20Thunderbird) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=sfu-k9CKq2w) --- Hand-curated by Waxonia. We host no audio; all links point to streaming platforms.