Ash Ra Tempel were one of the founding bands of krautrock — a Berlin trio whose free-form, cosmic guitar improvisations helped invent the music that came to be called “kosmische Musik”. Led by the guitarist Manuel Göttsching, and including the future electronic legend Klaus Schulze, they made, in their 1971 debut, one of the greatest records the German underground ever produced.

The short version

Formed in Berlin in 1970 by Manuel Göttsching, Klaus Schulze and Hartmut Enke, Ash Ra Tempel were pioneers of cosmic, improvised space-rock. Their self-titled debut (1971) and “Schwingungen” (1972) are touchstones of krautrock; along the way they made the legendary LSD-fuelled “Seven Up” (1972) with Timothy Leary. Built around Göttsching’s extraordinary guitar, theirs is some of the most adventurous psychedelic music ever recorded.

Berlin, 1970: from Eruption to the temple

Ash Ra Tempel grew out of the Berlin underground, where guitarist Manuel Göttsching, bassist Hartmut Enke and drummer Klaus Schulze — the last fresh from a brief stint in Tangerine Dream — had all played together in Conrad Schnitzler’s short-lived group Eruption. In 1970 they struck out on their own, travelling to London to buy the same equipment Pink Floyd used and abandoning conventional songwriting for pure improvisation. The name joined “Ash”, the sun god “Ra” and the German “Tempel” — a temple of sound. With Tangerine Dream and Amon Düül II, they became founders of what would be called krautrock, or “kosmische Musik”.

Cosmic guitar improvisation

Ash Ra Tempel made music of vast, spacey improvisation — long, free-form excursions built around Manuel Göttsching’s soaring, ecstatic guitar, driven by elemental rhythm and washed in early electronics. Their early albums typically gave a side to each mood: one aggressive and feedback-laden, the other drifting and atmospheric, building from serene meditation to rapturous climax. Rooted in the psychedelia of Pink Floyd and Hawkwind but pushing far beyond it, they helped define the cosmic, improvisational heart of krautrock, and few guitarists have ever sounded quite so transported.

If this is your scene, the books go deeper →

From the debut to Starring Rosi

Their self-titled debut, “Ash Ra Tempel” (1971), is a cornerstone of the genre — two side-long improvisations, the ferocious “Amboss” and the ethereal “Traummaschine”, that Julian Cope would call one of the greatest rock records ever made. Soon after, Klaus Schulze left for the solo career that would make him an electronic-music giant. “Schwingungen” (1972), with new drummer Wolfgang Müller and the wild vocals of guest John L., expanded their sound into dreamlike, blues-tinged psychedelia. That same year came the notorious “Seven Up” (1972), recorded in Switzerland with the exiled LSD guru Timothy Leary — half blues song, half electronic chaos. For “Join Inn” (1973) the original trio reunited for a wholly improvised return to space-rock; and the final album of the era, “Starring Rosi” (1973), turned toward a gentler electronic folk, named for the singer Rosi Müller.

Album by album

Five albums charting the band’s journey from cosmic improvisation to electronic folk. Tap any title for its guide.

The players and afterwards

Ash Ra Tempel were founded by Manuel Göttsching, Klaus Schulze and Hartmut Enke, with Göttsching the one constant — most of the band’s music was essentially his, surrounded by a rotating cast of players and guests. The threads that led out of the band run all through German music: Schulze became one of the most important figures in electronic music; Göttsching co-founded the studio project The Cosmic Jokers, then steered the band toward its later, more electronic incarnation as Ashra (with guitarist Lutz Ulbrich of Agitation Free), before his solo masterpiece “E2-E4” (1984) became a touchstone for dance music decades later. The band reunited in 2000 for a celebrated London concert. All three of its founders are now gone — Hartmut Enke in 2005, and both Klaus Schulze and Manuel Göttsching in 2022 — but the music they made together remains as visionary as ever.

Where to start

Begin with the self-titled debut, “Ash Ra Tempel” (1971) — the band at their most elemental and one of the essential krautrock albums, its two improvisations a perfect immersion in their cosmic sound. From there, “Schwingungen” (1972) offers a richer, more melodic journey, while “Join Inn” (1973) captures the original trio improvising at full power. Together they map the heart of the band’s work.

Why they still matter

Ash Ra Tempel matter as founders of krautrock and as one of the most visionary bands of the cosmic era — pioneers who turned improvisation, electronics and the electric guitar into something genuinely new. Through Klaus Schulze’s electronic music and Manuel Göttsching’s guitar and later “E2-E4”, their influence reaches across ambient, electronic and dance music to this day. For anyone drawn to the spacey, exploratory edge of rock, they are essential — and very nearly where the cosmic story begins.

Browse the bookshelf in the footer →