The Krautrock scene of the late 1960’s and early 1970’s produced some fine bands that many people will be familiar with, yet with that boom period came a number of albums that at the time didn’t garner the same acclaim as Tago Mago by Can or the 1971 debut by Faust. Since then some of the albums by lesser known acts have become highly desirable, often reaching astronomical figures on the collector’s market. One of those is the self-titled 1970 debut by Nosferatu.
Born from the same highly influential German scene as Kraftwerk, Guru Guru and Cluster, Nosferatu had a very short run and released only one album. Produced by the legendary Konrad ‘Conny’ Plank, who worked with aforementioned bands as well as Eurythmics and Ultravox later in his career, the album blends jazz rock with raw aggression, searing guitars and nods towards psych-folk. While certainly not easy on the ear to the casual listener as the flute and sax-driven freak outs are not for everyone, but it has been highly regarded in contemporary reviews and is a weird and wonderful trip.
The LP itself has been reissued on two occasions as well as a low quality bootleg, but the original pressing was released in Germany by the short lived Vogue Paris subsidiary, Vogue Schallplatten. Like a lot of bizarre records from this time so few copies were sold, and those who had them played and enjoyed them meaning finding them in any condition is nothing short of a miracle. A mint condition copy would set you back around £995 now, but serious collectors have paid higher prices just to own this elusive gem from a scene that continues to have an influence on many of todays indie bands.
This article appeared in issue 31 of Long Live Vinyl magazine, available now
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