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The youth in West Germany circa the early 1970's had significantly more reason to be pissed off than the British or American punks of the late seventies. They were lacking direction and inspiration in a country that was still in the shadow of its Nazi-led government barely two decades removed. They had no interest in the dominant traditions of German folk or American pop and sought to create something new. What they came up with was a propulsive, groove-laden, hypnotic sound that leaned heavily into repetition, extended improvisation, and early synthesizers, while avoiding hard rock's bombast or progs showy musicianship. Hamburg's Faust were early merchants of the sound and the lead track from their forth album, appropriately titled, Faust iV was named for the genre that they would help create and go on to inspire hundreds of musicians that would give birth to multiple, subsequent genres including ambient, techno, post-punk, new-age, and post-rock.
By Michael HuntsmanThe youth in West Germany circa the early 1970's had significantly more reason to be pissed off than the British or American punks of the late seventies. They were lacking direction and inspiration in a country that was still in the shadow of its Nazi-led government barely two decades removed. They had no interest in the dominant traditions of German folk or American pop and sought to create something new. What they came up with was a propulsive, groove-laden, hypnotic sound that leaned heavily into repetition, extended improvisation, and early synthesizers, while avoiding hard rock's bombast or progs showy musicianship. Hamburg's Faust were early merchants of the sound and the lead track from their forth album, appropriately titled, Faust iV was named for the genre that they would help create and go on to inspire hundreds of musicians that would give birth to multiple, subsequent genres including ambient, techno, post-punk, new-age, and post-rock.