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I’m in the midst of a fascination with Krautrock. This was spurred on by two things : the fabulous BBC documentary and a discussion about moving to Berlin.

The documentary is well worth checking out. Try the BBC iPlayer

BBC Link is dead, Here is the promo site with some video clips

It traces the Krautrock scene from it’s psychedelic origins though to the cold, yet somehow human, approach of Kraftwerk and other electronic-based bands.

They touch briefly on Bowie’s Berlin trilogy, and it’s obvious influences, and hint that Bowie intended on making an album with Krautrock musicians. (Note to David : Make that album, the world needs something extremely interesting from you).

This also took me around to giving Achtung Baby another listen. Long held as my favorite U2 album, it’s influences are unmistakable, and the imagery that Anton Corbjin provides are truly the romanticized version of Berlin that I’ve built up over the years.

So when the brief mention of moving to Berlin was brought up, all this came together in my strange little brain. Berlin! Destiny, concrete, art, harsh yet beautiful, minimalistic tendencies made real. I was sold for all of 30 seconds.

It all comes down to one thing, which only a few people will understand. My faith is not yet stronger than my fear.