Amon Düül

Amon Düül originated as a German art commune whose participants began generating spontaneous psychedelic rock during the closing years of the 1960s. Several releases drawn from one lengthy collective improvisation appeared under the group name, opening with Psychedelic Underground in 1969. At the same time, commune participants possessing stronger musical drive established the enduring Amon Düül II. Both ensembles left a deep mark on later experimental rock practitioners and rank among the earliest exponents of Krautrock.

The collective assembled in Munich during 1967 and counted bassist Ulrich Leopold, his brother Peter Leopold on drums, and guitarist Rainer Bauer among its ranks. Although a core lineup captured material that year, a larger configuration of Amon Düül undertook an extended improvisation in either 1968 or 1969 that later supplied the bulk of the group’s catalog. Psychedelic Underground and Collapsing: Singvögel Rückwärts & Co. both surfaced in 1969 and have since been reissued under assorted titles. A 1970 session yielded the more cohesive, folk-tinged Paradieswärts Düül, issued the next year. Two further documents of the original session reached the public as Disaster (Lüüd Noma) in 1972 and Experimente in 1984.

Membership in the commune and in the band Amon Düül remained changeable, yet several participants harboring greater musical goals elected to launch a distinct rock unit under the name Amon Düül II, seeing little need to devise a fresh moniker or contest rights to the existing one. John Weinzierl, Chris Karrer, and Renate Knaup-Kroetenschwanz guided the new ensemble, which promptly delivered its striking debut Phallus Dei in 1969. The double album Yeti followed in 1970, its cover displaying one of the band’s roadies.

Another double-LP set appeared in 1971 with Tanz der Lemminge (“Dance of the Lemmings”), an album frequently cited as the central achievement in the Amon Düül II discography. The recording freely blended direct rock passages with exploratory improvisation, all organized around science-fiction motifs, and the musicians projected an exuberance that masked the underlying rigor of their experiments.

The group maintained this trajectory for several years, issuing further acclaimed albums that attained only modest commercial returns. Made in Germany, offered in both two-LP and single-LP editions in 1975, represented an attempt to cultivate broader appeal, yet produced negligible marketplace impact. Persistent inability to reach mainstream audiences eventually prompted a return to experimental foundations, although the core lineup had already entered a period of inactivity.

John Weinzierl later formed a separate offshoot that performed under the original name (also known as Amon Düül UK and, on occasion, Amon Düül III) and issued sporadic recordings throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Working with former Hawkwind member Dave Anderson, Weinzierl completed five albums in total—one of them the compilation Airs on a Shoestring, assembled from the first two releases with supplementary tracks—drawing additional personnel from Britain’s progressive and psychedelic circles. For Lösung, Weinzierl and Anderson enlisted the late Robert Calvert along with drummer Guy Evans.

Amon Düül II resurfaced in the 1990s with remixes, new compositions, Live in Tokyo, and the benefit album Kobe (Reconstruction), the latter drawing on material from 1969 and 1971. Individual members pursued solo and collaborative projects alike. EastWest Records Germany issued a four-CD retrospective box set in 1997. Renewed attention to Krautrock during the decade led to reissues of Wolf City, Yeti, and Viva la Trance in 1999. A 2010 reunion recording first appeared as a digital self-release under the title Bee as Such before receiving a full release as Düülirium on Purple Pyramid in 2014.