Ash Ra Tempel

Formed in 1970 in Berlin, Germany, Ash Ra Tempel was a krautrock group founded by guitarist Manuel Göttsching, drummer/keyboardist Klaus Schulze, and bassist Hartmut Enke. All three members had come from the late 1960s underground German music scene, having played together in the group Eruption. Klaus Schulze had also been a member of pioneering electronic group Tangerine Dream. Ash Ra Tempel released their self-titled debut album in 1971 and it became an underground krautrock classic. However, Schulze temporarily left the band to pursue a successful solo career. The group returned in 1972 with two albums: Schwingungen and Seven Up, which was recorded with American psychologist and psychedelic drug advocate Timothy Leary. In 1973, Ash Ra Tempel offered up two more albums – Join Inn, which featured Klaus Schulze, and Starring Rosi featuring lead vocals by Rosi Mueller – and performed a reunion concert featuring the group’s original line-up. Ash Ra Tempel returned in 1975 with the soundtrack to the film Le Berceau de Cristal. Since he was the only remaining member of the original group, Manuel Göttsching changed the name of the band to Ashra and pursued a more melodic keyboard-oriented musical direction. Manuel Göttsching also pursued a solo career that included the album E2-E4 (1984), which was a huge influence on the house and techno scenes of the late 1980s and early 1990s. Manuel Göttsching and Klaus Schulz reunited in 1998 and revived the Ash Ra Tempel band name for the album Friendship (2000). Klaus Schulze died on April 26, 2022, at the age of 74. Manuel Göttsching passed away on December 4, 2022, at the age of 70.