Biography
Amon Düül originated as a German art commune whose participants began generating free-form psychedelic rock during the closing years of the 1960s. Commune participants issued multiple albums drawn chiefly from one lengthy collective improvisation. At the same time, commune participants possessing stronger musical drive established the more enduring Amon Düül II, whose first release was the 1969 album Phallus Dei; the group went on to produce further expansive works including the 1971 double album Tanz der Lemminge and the comparatively pop-oriented Made in Germany (1975). Both projects exerted substantial influence on later experimental rock acts and are recognized as foundational to the Krautrock movement.
Established in Munich during 1967, the collective counted bassist Ulrich Leopold, his brother Peter Leopold on drums, and guitarist Rainer Bauer among its participants. Although this core lineup captured a session that year, an enlarged configuration of Amon Düül committed a marathon improvisation to tape in 1968 or 1969; the resulting material later supplied the bulk of the group’s catalog. Psychedelic Underground and Collapsing: Singvögel Rückwärts & Co. appeared in 1969 and were subsequently reissued under numerous alternate titles. A 1970 session yielded the tighter, folk-leaning full-length Paradieswärts Düül, issued the next year. Two further documents from the original session, Disaster (Lüüd Noma) in 1972 and Experimente in 1984, were also made available.
Although membership in both the commune and the band Amon Düül remained open, several participants seeking greater musical focus elected to form a distinct rock outfit under the name Amon Düül II, seeing no need to contest the existing designation. Leadership fell to John Weinzierl, Chris Karrer, and Renate Knaup-Kroetenschwanz, who quickly delivered the striking debut Phallus Dei (1969). The follow-up arrived the next year in the form of the double album Yeti, whose artwork depicts one of the band’s roadies.
Another two-LP collection, Tanz der Lemminge (“Dance of the Lemmings”), surfaced in 1971 and is widely viewed as the cornerstone of the Amon Düül II discography. The set freely combined straightforward rock, extended experimental passages, and overarching science-fiction motifs. The performances conveyed an exuberance that masked the underlying rigor of the exploratory process.
The group sustained this trajectory for several years, issuing well-regarded albums that attained only modest commercial results at best. Made in Germany (1975), released in both double- and single-LP editions, represented an attempt to court broader audiences, yet produced negligible impact. Persistent inability to reach mainstream listeners eventually steered the band back toward its experimental origins, though not before the central lineup entered a period of inactivity.
A separate offshoot assembled by John Weinzierl under the original name (also known as Amon Düül UK and, on occasion, Amon Düül III) issued recordings sporadically throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Weinzierl collaborated with former Hawkwind member Dave Anderson across five albums (one of them, Airs on a Shoestring, a compilation drawn from the first two with supplementary tracks added), drawing additional personnel from the British progressive and psychedelic scenes. For Die Lösung, Weinzierl and Anderson worked with the late Robert Calvert and drummer Guy Evans.
Amon Düül II resurfaced in the 1990s, generating remixes, new material, the concert recording Live in Tokyo, and the benefit album Kobe (Reconstruction), which revisited pieces from 1969–1971. Participants have remained active in solo and ensemble contexts. EastWest Records Germany issued a four-CD retrospective box set in 1997. Renewed attention to Krautrock during the decade prompted the reappearance of three albums—Wolf City, Yeti, and Viva la Trance—in 1999. A 2010 reunion project was initially self-released digitally as Bee as Such and later received a formal release by Purple Pyramid under the title Düülirium in 2014.
Established in Munich during 1967, the collective counted bassist Ulrich Leopold, his brother Peter Leopold on drums, and guitarist Rainer Bauer among its participants. Although this core lineup captured a session that year, an enlarged configuration of Amon Düül committed a marathon improvisation to tape in 1968 or 1969; the resulting material later supplied the bulk of the group’s catalog. Psychedelic Underground and Collapsing: Singvögel Rückwärts & Co. appeared in 1969 and were subsequently reissued under numerous alternate titles. A 1970 session yielded the tighter, folk-leaning full-length Paradieswärts Düül, issued the next year. Two further documents from the original session, Disaster (Lüüd Noma) in 1972 and Experimente in 1984, were also made available.
Although membership in both the commune and the band Amon Düül remained open, several participants seeking greater musical focus elected to form a distinct rock outfit under the name Amon Düül II, seeing no need to contest the existing designation. Leadership fell to John Weinzierl, Chris Karrer, and Renate Knaup-Kroetenschwanz, who quickly delivered the striking debut Phallus Dei (1969). The follow-up arrived the next year in the form of the double album Yeti, whose artwork depicts one of the band’s roadies.
Another two-LP collection, Tanz der Lemminge (“Dance of the Lemmings”), surfaced in 1971 and is widely viewed as the cornerstone of the Amon Düül II discography. The set freely combined straightforward rock, extended experimental passages, and overarching science-fiction motifs. The performances conveyed an exuberance that masked the underlying rigor of the exploratory process.
The group sustained this trajectory for several years, issuing well-regarded albums that attained only modest commercial results at best. Made in Germany (1975), released in both double- and single-LP editions, represented an attempt to court broader audiences, yet produced negligible impact. Persistent inability to reach mainstream listeners eventually steered the band back toward its experimental origins, though not before the central lineup entered a period of inactivity.
A separate offshoot assembled by John Weinzierl under the original name (also known as Amon Düül UK and, on occasion, Amon Düül III) issued recordings sporadically throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Weinzierl collaborated with former Hawkwind member Dave Anderson across five albums (one of them, Airs on a Shoestring, a compilation drawn from the first two with supplementary tracks added), drawing additional personnel from the British progressive and psychedelic scenes. For Die Lösung, Weinzierl and Anderson worked with the late Robert Calvert and drummer Guy Evans.
Amon Düül II resurfaced in the 1990s, generating remixes, new material, the concert recording Live in Tokyo, and the benefit album Kobe (Reconstruction), which revisited pieces from 1969–1971. Participants have remained active in solo and ensemble contexts. EastWest Records Germany issued a four-CD retrospective box set in 1997. Renewed attention to Krautrock during the decade prompted the reappearance of three albums—Wolf City, Yeti, and Viva la Trance—in 1999. A 2010 reunion project was initially self-released digitally as Bee as Such and later received a formal release by Purple Pyramid under the title Düülirium in 2014.
Albums
