Michael Rother

For the U.S. engineer, researcher, teacher, and public speaker, seeMike Rother.

Michael Rother
Rother in concert in November 2007
Background information
Born	(1950-09-02)2 September 1950 Hamburg,West Germany (now Germany)
Genres	Krautrock electronic experimental rock new age
Occupation	Musician
Instruments	Guitar keyboards programming
Years active	1971–present
Labels	Brain Sky Polydor Random
Website	www.michaelrother.de/en/

Michael Rother(German:[ˈmɪçaːʔeːlˈʁoːtɐ];born 2 September 1950) is a German experimental musician, best known for being a founding member of the influential bandsNeu!andHarmonia,and an early member of the bandKraftwerk.

Early life and education

Born in 1950, Rother was educated inMunich,Wilmslow(England),Karachi,andDüsseldorf.He also resided inPakistanin the early 1960s where he was exposed toPakistani musicthat would influence his own music in the late 1960s and early 1970s.From 1965 Rother played in the band Spirits of Sound, from which other members would later go on to joinKraftwerk(Wolfgang Flür) and Wunderbar.

Music career

Michael Rother live in 2007

Michael Rother (left) &Dieter Moebius(right) live in 2007

Rother is a multi-instrumentalist (primarily guitar and keyboards) who, along with a catalog of several solo albums starting in 1977, is best known for having co-founded the German groupNeu!with drummerKlaus Dinger(five albums between 1971 and 1996), and his collaborative efforts withHans-Joachim RoedeliusandDieter Moebius(akaCluster) under the nameHarmonia(two albums, one in 1974 and 1975, with later 1976 sessions recorded withBrian Eno;the studio tapes for the latter disappeared but were found by Roedelius two decades later; he remixed the tapes and released the results asTracks and Tracesin 1997; Rother was the main producer for the version re-released in 2009). Rother and Dinger were also in a short-lived version ofKraftwerkin 1971, withFlorian Schneider,during a time when founding memberRalf Hütterhad temporarily left the band (this version of the group was filmed during an appearance on the German music showBeat Club,which has been available sporadically on VHS and DVD).

Beginning in the late 1970s, Rother began issuing LPs under his own name:Flammende Herzen(1977),Sterntaler(1978), andKatzenmusik(1979) all featured drums byCandrummerJaki Liebezeit.Further releases includedFernwärme(1982),Lust(1983),Süssherz und Tiefenschärfe(1985) andTraumreisen(1987). Rother regained the rights to these releases in the late 90s, and re-released CD versions of them, all of which contained bonus tracks, usually in the form of then-current remixes of original album tracks. Along with these reissues were a best-of compilation,Radio,and a new release,Esperanza(1996). His album,Rememberfeatured vocals (a first for Rother's solo work) and was released in 2004.

On 1 July 2007, Rother joined theRed Hot Chili Peppersfor alive jamat the end of their concert inHamburg.Together they played for nearly 25 minutes in front of 35,000 people.In November 2007 he toured withDieter Moebius(another member of Harmonia) asRother & Moebius.On 27 November 2007, aHarmoniareunion concert was announced forBerlin,where they performed together live for the first time since 1976.

In 2010, Rother played five shows in Europe withSonic YouthdrummerSteve ShelleyandTall Firsguitarist Aaron Mullan (who played bass in the trio).This group, known as Hallogallo, performed the music of Neu! live for the first time in many years. They also played theATP New York 2010music festival in Monticello, New York andIncubate 2010inTilburg,Netherlandsin September 2010. In December 2012 Rother performed the music of Neu! and Harmonia at the ATP festival in Camber Sands, England, accompanied by the Berlin-based band Camera. In November 2013, he performed at the final UK holiday camp edition of ATP.

In 2015, Rother recorded scores for the German filmDie Räuber(The Robbers) by Paul Cruchten and Frank Hoffmannand the German TV filmHoustonby Bastian Günther.

In September 2016, Rother played Neu! & Harmonia at an underground music festival in Berlin called Synasthesie II, alongside notable acts such as Cavern of Anti-Matter.

In February 2019, Rother re-released his first four solo albums and his recent soundtrack work forThe RobbersandHoustonin the boxsetSolo.LP editions included the extra discLive & Remixes.

On 4 September 2020 Rother released his new albumDreaming.It was his first new music in sixteen years. An official video of the song "Bitter Tang" from the album was released on 21 August 2020. A second box set containing material released after 1980 and including the new album was also released on Groenland Records in September 2020.

"Edgy Smiles" is the title of Rother's new single which was released in November 2021. He recorded the track with Vittoria Maccabruni with whom he recorded a whole album which was released in January 2022 on Groenland Records titledAs Long As The Light.A second single from the album, titled Exp 1, was released in December 2021. An accompanying video was released on 10 December 2021.

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the 1972 Neu! debut album, Rother played two concerts, Michael Rother & Friends: Celebrate 50 years NEU!. The first was in Berlin, on 26 October 2022, and the second was in London on 3 November 2022.

Discography

Michael Rother discography
Studio albums	11
Compilation albums	5
Singles	11

The discography of Michael Rother consists of eleven studio albums, three compilations, two boxsets and eleven singles.

As a member ofNeu!Rother released three studio albums, two albums of studio outtakes (Neu! 4/Neu! '86) and a rehearsal recording. As a member ofHarmonia,Rother released two studio albums, one live album, a studio out-takes album and a remix album. In 2010 Rother released the "Blinkgürtel" single with his live group Hallogallo 2010.

Studio albums

Year	Album details
1977	Flammende Herzen Labels:Sky Records
1978	Sterntaler Labels: Sky Records
1979	Katzenmusik Labels: Sky Records
1982	Fernwärme Labels:Polydor Records
1983	Lust Labels: Polydor Records
1985	Süssherz & Tiefenschärfe Labels: Polydor Records
1987	Traumreisen Labels: Polydor Records
1996	Esperanza Labels: Random Records
2004	Remember Labels: Random Records, WEA, Gang Go Music
2020	Dreaming Labels:Grönland Records

Compilation albums

Year	Album details
1985	Glanzlichter Labels: Polydor
1993	Radio – Singles, 1977–1993 Labels: Random Records
1998	Chronicles I Labels: Purple Pyramid
2019	Solo(boxset) Labels: Grönland Records
2020	Solo II(boxset) Labels: Grönland Records

Singles

• "Flammende Herzen" b/w "Karussell" (1977)
• "Sterntaler" b/w "Sonnenrad" (1978)
• "Katzenmusik 9" b/w "Katzenmusik 2" (1979)
• "Silberstreif" b/w "Erlkönig" (1982)
• "Hohe Luft" b/w "Fortuna" (1982)
• "Palmengarten" b/w "Cascadia" (1983)
• "Süssherz" b/w "Maus-Mann-Motiv Nr. 4" (1985)
• "Glitzerglanz" b/w "Rapido" (1985)
• "Lichtermeer" b/w "Happy-End" (1987)
• "Edgy Smiles" (2021) (with Vittoria Maccabruni)
• "Exp 1" (2021) (with Vittoria Maccabruni)

Contributions

• Station 17(1990, Mercury/Phonogram) – "Morning Sun"
• A Homage To Neu!(1999, Cleopatra) – "Neutronics 98 (A Tribute To Conny Plank)"
• Brand Neu!(2009, Feraltone) – "Neutronics 98"
• Music For A Good Home(2009, Audioscope/Shelter) – "Maus-Mann-Motiv"

Collaborations

Year	Album details
1972	Neu!(with Neu!) Labels:Brain Records
1973	Neu! 2(with Neu!) Labels: Brain Records
1974	Musik von Harmonia(with Harmonia) Labels: Brain Records
1975	Neu! '75(with Neu!) Labels: Brain Records
	Deluxe(with Harmonia) Labels: Brain Records
1995	Neu! 4(with Neu!) Labels:Captain Trip Records
1996	Neu! '72 Live in Dusseldorf(with Neu!) Labels: Captain Trip Records
1997	Tracks & Traces(with Harmonia '76/Harmonia & Eno '76) Labels:Rykodisc
2007	Live 1974(with Harmonia) Labels:Grönland Records
2010	Tracks and Traces Remixed(with Harmonia & Eno '76) Labels: Grönland Records
	Neu! '86(with Neu!) Labels: Grönland Records
	"Blinkgürtel" b/w "Drone Schlager"(with Hallogallo 2010) Released: December 2010 Labels: Vampire Blues
2021	As Long as the Light(as Michael Rother and Vittoria Maccabruni) Labels: Grönland Records

Videography

• Romantic Warriors IV: Krautrock

External links

• ATP: Michael Rother
• "Michael Rother Comes to Hoboken"Paris Review Dailyessay, August 2010
• Neu! MorningAugust 2010 Interview by theVillage Voice
• KRAUTROCK DELUXEInterview for Blurt magazine, September 2009
• SF-EP-018 – Interview Series: Michael RotherSpecial Features Podcast, 14 March 2012