Krautrock Album Database

The story of Sand can be traced back to 1970 when brothers Ulrich and Ludwig Papenberg along with Johannes Vester formed the 5 piece band P.O.T. (Part Of Time) in Lower Saxony. After opening for Can in 1971, Johannes Vester was invited to Cologne by Cans manager Manfred Schmidt. While in Cologne Johannes Vester befriended Klaus Schulze who was living in Berlin. The band P.O.T. relocated to Berlin, but soon disbanded. After loosing their drummer and organ player, Johannes, Ulrich and Ludwig renamed the group Sand, "the material on which the town of Berlin is built of". Together they developed the concept of the 'Golem' album parts of which were representative of the fairy-tale landscape of Lower Saxony where coincidently the Brothers Grimm collected their famous stories. These influences were then merged with the lifestyle of modern Berlin: the Cold War, Vietnam, environmental pollution and individual suffering. The legnth of the tracks were intentionally extended as a way to answer to "impatience, abundance and giantism, not least in popular music." The album was produced using a traditional 8-track recorder which was mixed by Klaus Shulze as part of a series utilizing Kunstkopf-Stereophonie (Artificial Head Stereo Sound). "The aim was to get an illusion of perfect surrounding space. The idea was brilliant but unfortunately not the sound." In total the album was pressed 3 times, all of which were not to the bands satisfaction.
This information has been paraphrased from the Johannes Vester forward included with the World Serpent CD Reissue

Albums

Golem 1974

Golem (Delta Akustik 1974)

Album Legnth: 41.51

Genre: Electronic/Folk

Best Song: 'May Rain'

Release Info: 1996 CD Reissue World Serpent UDOR 2/3 CD

Tracks:

1. Helicopter 13.42
2. Old Loggerhead 8.23
3. May Rain 4.35
4. On The Corner 4.30
5. Sarah 10.41
6. Vulture 1 5.38*
7. Doncha Feel 6.04*
8. Moonlightlove 5.26*
9. Burning House 2.08*
10. Vulture II 14.08*
11. May Rain I 2.50*
12. Desert Storm 10.49*
13. Sarah 12.16*
14. Power Station 19.40*
15. Old Loggerhead 12.44*
16. Helicopter 15.18*
17. May Rain II 2.50*

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*=Bonus Track
Overview:

Sand is a legendary studio group who recorded just this one album under the direction of Klaus Schulze whose cosmic presence is felt throughout the album. The album was originally recorded with the artificial head sound system which enhanced the sound when listening with headphones! This CD release issued as 'Sand' "Ultrasonic Seraphim" by World Serpent contains 2 Discs. Disc 1 contains the album 'Golem' along with 2 unreleased Sand tracks (6 + 10) plus 3 unreleased tracks by Sand member Johannes Vester from his unreleased solo album "Born At Dawn" under the group name 'Johannes Vester and his Vester Bester Tester Electric Folk Orchestra'. Disc 2 contains the original Schulze-less recordings done by the band which I would argue sound better than the versions which were released! Be sure to note the incredibly long running times!

The music is dominated by a thick, dark atmosphere which is accompanied by equally dark and spacey vocals. The end result lies somewhere between an acoustic Ash Ra Temple and Kalacakra. 'Helicopter' is dominated by swirling electronic sounds which take the track to a tripped out spiritual plane. 'Old Loggerhead' is similar to 'Helicopter' in that it is a slow brooding acoustic ballad with thick atmospheric vocals and electronic effects from the fourth-dimension. 'May Rain' combines the trademark Klaus Schulze-like cosmic synthesizer sound with a somewhat upbeat folk guitar and ascending/descending folk-bass lines. 'On The Corner' introduces percussion to the album and is most notable for being the only track devoid of electronics. The vocals on this track are also noteworthy for their Syd Barrett-esque qualities! The final track, 'Sarah', begins like a soundtrack to a horror film with its eerie synth and electronic effects which build slowly and eventually turn into an acoustic jam with celestial vocals. The dark brooding nature of this music can make for difficult listening. The tracks are long and usually hinge on a single slow repeating riff. Best listened to when there is nothing to distract from the experience. [4/5 Doug]

Musicians:

Johannes Vester - Vocals, VCS3 Synthesizer, Guitar
Ludwig Papenberg - Guitar, Organ Electronic Drums
Ulrich Papenberg - Bass, Percussion