The ’70s cult band for the first time ever on CD! What began humbly – if not easily (- with Gronland’s signing of NEU!) and Kraftwerk founding members Michael Rother and Klaus Dinger has taken on monumental proportions.
“NEU! is so wonderful. They make me very happy. I love it when people glorify space and simplicity. Yay! for Neu!”
John Frusciante – Red Hot Chilli Peppers
Grönland’s re-release of three completely remastered (Tim Young, Metropolis Studios, London) classic works: NEU!, NEU! 2, and NEU! 75 has been met enthusiastically, with prominent musicians weighing in on the influence of NEU!. Massive press throughout the world (in Rolling Stone, US, SPIN Magazine, Entertainment Weekly, MoJo, WIRE and others) accompanied the long-awaited May 2001 release date, and recent quotes from the likes of Blur, David Bowie, Placebo, Radiohead, Sonic Youth and Stereolab clearly show the band retain their influence.
“NEU? to me they sound like joy. like endless lines stretching on foreverinparallel. fragile. like a BRandNEWnew motorway and you are the first person to drive along it…”
Thom Yorke – Radiohead
NEU! was/is/will be a big deal in the history of 20th century music. They laid the foundation for scores of musicians who followed them. But why were NEU! so great? Part of their appeal lies in the fact that their music was so simple, so natural and so easy to listen to and absorb. Each of their pieces draws you in with its own unique mood. The music is emotive in so many different ways: the icy melancholy of Weissensee and Leb’wohl, the tranquil yet sinister brooding of Im Glück, the rage and spleen of Negativland, Hero and After Eight, and of course the irrepressible driving energy of Für Immer, Isi and Hallogallo.
“NEU!: aural visionary minimalist icons in a wilderness of psychedelia and beyond, inspired us with their heroic beats and flat-out grooves on the expressway to our collective skulls.”
Lee Ranaldo – Sonic Youth
If you take the music apart and examine the components, its simple beauty becomes especially apparent, not just because of the harmonic modality in some cases but also due to the basic nature of the arrangement and instrumentation. This group and the music they made are worthy of acknowledgement and celebration!