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Manuel Goettching (1952-2022)
Photo:
Thielker / ullstein picture
The Berlin musician Manuel Göttsching died on December 4th.
This was made public by a post on its website, Ashra.com, on Monday.
It says he fell asleep peacefully surrounded by his family.
Göttsching is also internationally one of the best-known musicians of the so-called "Berlin School" and is revered as a pioneer for later musical styles such as house or trance.
Born on September 9, 1952 in Berlin, Göttsching had learned to play the classical guitar when he became part of the »Berlin School for Electronic Music« at the Electronic Beat Studio in Wilmersdorf.
Together with Klaus Schulze and Hartmut Enke he founded the band Ash Ra Tempel, whose debut album of the same name from 1971 is considered a Krautrock classic.
Recorded in Hamburg with Conny Plank, one piece can be heard on each side of the LP – »Amboss« and »Traummaschine«.
Schulze left the band soon after, Göttsching and Enke released more Ash Ra Temple albums with various guest musicians;
Music was also released under the name Ashra, including the album »New Age of Earth«.
In 1974 Manuel Göttsching recorded his first solo album, »Inventions for Electric Guitar«, whose echo effects Göttsching's frequent musical partner Lutz »Lüül« Ulbrich described as sounding »quite like minimal music«.
In the early 1990s, the meditative sounds were "sorted on the record shelves under 'Dancefloor' or 'Trance'," as SPIEGEL noted in 1992.
Way to New York
The piece of music with which Manuel Göttsching made the greatest impression on music history was »E2-E4«.
The electronic improvisation based on two synthesizer chords, recorded in Berlin in 1981, impressed Göttsching's label boss at the time, Richard Branson of Virgin Records: "My baby fell asleep with this record, you'll make a fortune with it, Manuel!" he is said to have said.
But the album was not released by Virgin, but only three years later on Klaus Schulze's Inteam label.
Even in 1984 hardly anyone was interested in it.
The record then found its way to New York, where DJ Larry Levan made "E2-E4" his signature track at Paradise Garage.
It was later played at Levan's funeral as well, at Levan's request.
In 1989 Italian producers built a club hit called »Sueño Latino« on the basis of »E2-E4«.
This in turn was looped by British ambient DJs - and little by little the original found its way into the canon of music journalism best lists.
In 2006, Manuel Göttsching performed his pioneering electronic piece in Berlin's Berghain – in front of old companions and new admirers.
Göttsching last appeared in 2021 together with Krautrock colleague Hans-Joachim Roedelius at the HAU in Berlin, as the RBB broadcaster Radio Eins reported in an obituary.
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