So a bit of history, NEU! formed when him Michael Rother and Klaus Dinger left Kraftwerk in the early 70s and released releasing their self-titled debut LP on German label Brain (the one with just “NEU!” written on the cover that was produced and engineered by Conny Plank; remember the desk that Flithy Dukes now have?) In keeping with there minimalist ideology, the second album Neu! 2 came out in 1973 that featured the early remix experiments and then in 1975 the band split after releasing Neu! 75 with Rother pursuing a solo career and Dinger went on forming La Düsseldorf. Perhaps it’s because of their limited releases they have become so admired? Or as Bobby Gillespie (he of Primal Scream) points out in the sleeve notes, Joy Division, Public Image Limited, Siouxsie & The Banshees were all heavily influenced by “the sound of NEU!” And they were influences for the next generation. In addition to Gillespie, Radiohead, Bono, Noel Gallagher, Damon Alban and LCD Soundsystem are all fans of the hypnotic drum and bass innovators (but not that d’n’b).

BRAND NEU! is a collection of previously released cover verions that show NEU! love like the opener, Sonic Youth’s ‘Two Cool Rock Chicks Listening To Neu!’ from their Ciccone Youth; as an aside, I’d love Kim Gordon to ‘phone one day and the obvious tributes, like LCD Soundsystem’s ‘Watch the Tapes’. A lot less obvious is Oasis’s ‘I Can See It Now’ which without Liam’s presence, it’s the best track I’ve heard from them (Oasis are now added to the 15th Benicàssim Festival line up).

Further down the road, a band influenced by Primal Scream are Kasabian who, at one stage, were the next saviours of rock as their heavy percussive sound crossed over with rock fans and dancefloor remixers (including Afrika Bambaataa!) And then there’s the NEU! wave (sorry) of groups like Foals who had the impressive ‘Cassius’ out last year (with Kieran Hebden remix) with the super rare split 12” track ‘Super Inuit’ along with ‘Balloons’ by the Toronto-based outfit Holy Fuck, their concept is to mimic modern electronic music without using laptops and sticking to drums, bass and keyboards (very NEU!)

The album is worth getting for the Foals and Holy Fuck tracks alone but there’s also highlights from Brighton’s kraut-fans, Fujiya & Miyagi and the exclusive track by School Of Seven Bells who were also featured on last months’ shoegazing inspired Cathedral Classics Volume One compilation.

Dinger past away last year so it’s fitting that the album ends with the last track he was involved with as a drummer (and previously unreleased), ‘Sketch 1_08’ from his post-Neu! band La Düesseldorf. The last track is another previously unreleased track, this time from the other half of NEU!, Rother’s ‘Neutronics 98’ showing a more gentler side.

So don’t be put off by the mention of “rent a gob” Gallagher but enjoy this 101 on NEU! and don’t forget to check out those original 70’s albums, particularly the first two original albums.

Reviewed: Various Artists - Brand NEU! (Feraltone) Cat. No. FER02CD Release date: 11th May 2009
01 Ciccone Youth (Sonic Youth) - “Two Cool Rock Chicks Listening to Neu!’
02 Primal Scream - ‘Shoot Speed / Kill Light’
03 Pets With Pets - ‘We Only Found This Place’
04 Oasis - ‘I Can See It Now’
05 Foals - ‘Titan Arum’
06 Cornelius - ‘Wataridori’
07 Holy Fuck - ‘Super Inuit’
08 LCD Soundsystem - ‘Watch the Tapes’
09 Kasabian - ‘Stuntman’
10 School of Seven Bells ‘Device fuer M’
11 Fujiya & Miyagi - ‘Electro Karaoke’
12 Hook & the Twin - ‘They’ll Get Your Head’
13 La Duesseldorf - Sketch 1_08’
14 Michael Rother - ‘Neutronics 98’

Links:
www.myspace.com/feraltones
www.michaelrother.de
www.dingerland.de
www.sonicyouth.com
www.myspace.com/kasabian
www.myspace.com/foals
www.myspace.com/holyfuck
www.fujiya-miyagi.co.uk
www.myspace.com/fujiyaandmiyagi
www.myspace.com/schoolofsevenbells