Ohr ("Ear") was an influential German electronic/experimental record label set up by

Rolf-Ulrich Kaiser Rolf-Ulrich Kaiser (born June 18, 1943) is a German writer and record producer. He is best known as the founder of the Ohr, Pilz, and Cosmic Couriers record labels. These labels released many of the earliest Krautrock albums in the early 1970s, a ...

in 1970.Julian Cope 'Krautrocksampler' (Head Heritage 1995) Ohr released the debut albums of

Tangerine Dream Tangerine Dream is a German electronic music band founded in 1967 by Edgar Froese. The group has seen many personnel changes over the years, with Froese the only constant member until his death in January 2015. The best-known lineup of the grou ...

and

Klaus Schulze Klaus Schulze (4 August 1947 – 26 April 2022) was a German electronic music pioneer, composer and musician. He also used the alias Richard Wahnfried and was a member of the Krautrock bands Tangerine Dream, Ash Ra Tempel, and the Cosmic Jokers ...

History

The first five Ohr releases featured sleeves by Reinhard Hippen, all with dismembered baby doll parts as a central aspect of the imagery. These were

's ''

Electronic Meditation ''Electronic Meditation'' is the debut album by German electronic music group Tangerine Dream. It was released in June 1970 by record label Ohr. Recording and release The album was recorded in a rented factory in Berlin in October 1969, using ...

'', Bernt Witthüser's ''Lieder von Vampiren...'',

Embryo An embryo ( ) is the initial stage of development for a multicellular organism. In organisms that reproduce sexually, embryonic development is the part of the life cycle that begins just after fertilization of the female egg cell by the male sp ...

's ''Opal'', Floh de Cologne's ''Fließbandbabys Beat-Show'', and Limbus 4's ''Mandalas''. Other releases included

Ash Ra Tempel Ash Ra Tempel was a German krautrock group led by guitarist Manuel Göttsching that was active from 1970 to 1976. Their debut album '' Ash Ra Tempel'' was released in 1971. Following the band's demise, Göttsching released music under the name A ...

, Cosmic Jokers,

Guru Guru Guru Guru is a German krautrock band formed in 1968 as The Guru Guru Groove by Mani Neumeier (drums), Uli Trepte (bass) and Eddy Naegeli (guitar), later replaced by the American Jim Kennedy. After Kennedy collapsed on stage due to a serious i ...

Popol Vuh ''Popol Vuh'' (also ''Popul Vuh'' or ''Pop Vuj'') is a text recounting the mythology and history of the Kʼicheʼ people of Guatemala, one of the Maya peoples who also inhabit the Mexican states of Chiapas, Campeche, Yucatan and Quintana Roo, ...

, Sergius Golowin, Amon Düül,

Birth Control Birth control, also known as contraception, anticonception, and fertility control, is the use of methods or devices to prevent pregnancy. Birth control has been used since ancient times, but effective and safe methods of birth control only be ...

, Witthüser & Westrupp, and numerous others. The Ohr office in New York City was run by Neil Kempfer-Stocker. Kaiser also set up the label Pilz for more folkish/ethnic releases – such as Popol Vuh, Wallenstein and Hoelderlin. Further to this, he also set up the

Cosmic Couriers Cosmic Couriers / Cosmic Music (also known as by its German name Kosmische Kuriere / Kosmische Musik) was a West German experimental/space-rock label set up by Rolf-Ulrich Kaiser in 1973 following his association with Ohr and Pilz. A number of ...

label for more space-rock type releases – Cosmic Jokers, Ash Ra Tempel, Manuel Gottsching, et al.

Brain Records Brain was a Hamburg-based record label prominent in the 1970s releasing several important Krautrock records by bands such as Neu!, Cluster and Guru Guru. Many of its more prominent records are currently being reissued on CD by Repertoire Rec ...

was set up when two disgruntled A&R men left Ohr to start their own label, taking Guru Guru with them.

Discography

Albums

Singles

References

External links