Concert / Psychedelic & Krautrock Minami deutsch

The fourth release from GuruGuruBrain (label created by members of Kikagaku Moyo) is a debut self-titled LP from friends (and, apparently, housemates) Minami Deutsch. With vinyl/​CD distribution secured in the US through Captcha and in Europe via the unimpeachably cool Cardinal Fuzz, and surfing the crest of the current wave of interest in psychedelic and vintage krautrock, the timing of this release could not have been better. This album is excellent, and essential listening for lovers of ​’70s motorik in the vein of Neu!, Harmonia, and Kraftwerk. Stripped back to the absolute essentials, each song locks squarely in the groove and begins unfurling its color-soaked fractals. There is not a single bum vibe on this album, yet it’s made by human hands and not by machines. It’s how each song breathes and how it grows in the soil that frees it from the cold, mechanical ​“motorik” stereotype. At times dreamy and evocative and at others electrifying in its energy, Minami Deutsch is the kind of record you stay with from beginning to end.