As Ezra said, the mp3’s keep coming, and far be it from me to break that trend. Unfortunately this one comes with a bit of bad news…

Klaus Dinger passed away recently. Dinger formed Neu! and played occasionally with Kraftwerk.

Now hold on a second—we don’t have to look at this with gloom—let’s make it a celebration.

From The New York Times:

Exemplified in songs like the 10-minute “Hallogallo,” Mr. Dinger’s beat was a steady pulse that seemed to extend rock’s most basic rhythmic patterns infinitely. The beat came to be known as Motorik, an allusion to the industrial style then prevalent among German groups. (The name Kraftwerk means power station.)

You can read the whole article here, and while you do, let me suggest you also listen to “Hollogallo.”

Apparently Dinger never liked the term “Motorik.” His response:

“That sounds more like a machine, and it was very much a human beat. It is essentially about life, how you have to keep moving, get on and stay in motion.”

I have two reflections on Dinger’s style: 1.) Restraint like that is rarely found, and it’s awesome. It’s about playing together as a unit, setting ego aside and doing what works for the group and sound in a greater sense. 2.) Playing pocket beats like that over extended intervels becomes trance like… love it.

Cheers, Klaus!

In case you missed it, listen to “Hallogallo”