Krautrock
Photo: Unknown photographer
Krautrock was an experimental music movement that emerged in West Germany in the late 1960s, defined by its rejection of Anglo-American rock traditions and its embrace of repetition, electronics, improvisation, and futurism.
For David Bowie, Krautrock offered a radically new musical language — one that played a decisive role in his artistic rebirth during the mid-to-late 1970s.
- Name: Krautrock (German experimental rock movement)
- Period: Late 1960s – mid 1970s
- Origin: West Germany
- Role: Avant-garde music movement
- Bowie link: Foundational influence on the Berlin period
- Core idea: Repetition, experimentation, and sonic futurism
Breaking away from Anglo-American rock
Krautrock musicians deliberately rejected blues-based rock and Anglo-American pop formulas. Instead, they sought a new musical identity that reflected post-war German culture, technological optimism, and artistic freedom.
This rejection of tradition aligned strongly with Bowie’s own desire in the mid-1970s to escape the conventions and excesses of mainstream rock stardom.
Motorik rhythm and repetition
One of Krautrock’s most distinctive elements is the motorik beat — a steady, hypnotic rhythm designed to feel mechanical, forward-moving, and emotionally neutral.
Bowie absorbed this sense of momentum and repetition, particularly in his instrumental work and rhythm-focused compositions.
Key Krautrock artists
Several Krautrock groups proved especially influential within Bowie’s listening world, including Neu!, Can, Kraftwerk, Faust, and Tangerine Dream.
These artists treated the studio as an instrument and prioritised texture, atmosphere, and process over traditional song structures.
The Berlin period
Bowie’s immersion in Krautrock coincided with his move to Berlin in the mid-1970s. Albums such as Low, “Heroes”, and Lodger reflect a deep engagement with German experimental music.
Side two of Low, in particular, owes much to the ambient, electronic, and repetitive qualities pioneered by Krautrock artists.
Krautrock and emotional distance
Krautrock often avoided overt emotional expression in favour of detachment and restraint. This emotional distance resonated with Bowie’s interest in alienation, fragmentation, and the removal of autobiographical confession from his music.
Rather than telling stories directly, Bowie used sound, texture, and atmosphere to suggest inner states — a clear inheritance from Krautrock aesthetics.
Lasting influence
Krautrock’s impact on Bowie extended far beyond the Berlin period. Its principles — experimentation, repetition, and refusal to conform — remained central to Bowie’s creative thinking throughout his life.
In Bowie’s extended creative universe, Krautrock represents a turning point: the moment when rock music opened itself fully to the future.