Grobschnitt -

Grobschnitt was a German symphonic space-rock band that released eight studio albums and three live sets between 1972 and 1985 on Brain.

Members: Stefan Danielak (guitar, vocals), Eroc [Joachim Heinz Ehrig] (synthesizer, percussion, drums, vocals, 1972-83), Gerd Otto Kühn (guitar, vocals, 1972-89), Bernhard Uhlemann (bass, flute, percussion, 1972), Hermann Quetting (keyboards, 1972), Axel Harlos (drums, percussion, 1972), Toni Moff Mollo [Rainer Loskand] (vocals), Wolfgang Jäger [Hunter, Popo] (bass, guitar, 1975-79), Volker Kahrs [Mist] (organ, synthesizer, piano, keyboards, Mellotron, vocals, 1972-82), Jürgen Cramer [J.K.] (keyboards, 1982-85), Michael Kapollke [Milla] (bass, 1979-89, 2007-present), Peter Jureit (drums, flute, 1983-85), Thomas Waßkönig [Tarzan] (keyboards, 1985-89), Rolf Möller [Admiral Top Sahne] (drums, 1985-89, 2007-present), Harald Eller [Commodore Stulle] (bass, 1989), Dirk Lindemann [Sugar] (keyboards, 1989)

Background

Grobschnitt formed in West Germany in 1970 from the ashes of psych-rockers The Crew, led by drummer, keyboardist, and singer Joachim Ehrig (Eroc). The name Grobschnitt translates to “rough cut,” a reference to a type of tobacco. The other long-term members were rhythm guitarist Stefan Danielak and lead guitarist Gerd-Otto Kühn (Lupo).

In 1972, Grobschnitt grew to a six-piece with keyboardist/percussionist Herrmann Quettling (Quecksilber), drummer/percussionist Axel Harlos (Felix), and bass/flutist Bernhard Uhlemann (Bär). They were among the first groups signed to Brain, the underground division of Metronome.

Grobschnitt

Grobschnitt released their self-titled debut album in April 1972 on Brain.

The album contains two songs and two four-part suites credited to ‘Elias Grobschnitt,’ the collective pseudonym for the entire band.

Side A features “Symphony,” a melodramatic rock epic dominated by Lupo’s lyrical guitar leads and Quecksilber’s grand keyboards, which include organ, piano, and spinet.

Felix fuels “Traveling” with a paradiddle while Eroc employs percussive phasing on “Wonderful Music,” a jazzy number that showcases Bär’s flute.

A1. “Symphony” (13:44)
— a. Introduction
— b. Modulation
— c. Variation
— d. Finale
A2. “Traveling” (6:50)

B1. “Wonderful Music” (3:40)
B2. “Sun Trip” (17:43)
— a. Am Oelberg (Mount of Olives)
— b. On the Way
— c. Battlefield
— d. New Era

Sessions occurred in Hamburg at Windrose Studio, where Rattles guitarist Frank Mille produced the album along with Sinto‘s debut. Cluster soundman Conrad Plank engineered Grobschnitt along with 1972 albums by Gomorrha, Guru Guru, Ibliss, Jane, Kin Ping Meh, NEU!, Os Mundi, Night Sun, Scorpions, and Thirsty Moon.

Grobschnitt appeared in a gatefold with Dali-esque imagery inside a domed-square frame. It shows a knife at the foot of a ramp that a Victorian figure prepares to cross while a disembodied eye floats on the horizon. The inner-gate presents a Magritte-like illustration of invisible suited men with top hats; three with knives in their backs in front of a three-story facade beside a lake. Artist Günter Blum created the art in a similar style to his 1971 covers for UFO and Udo Lindenberg.

Between the first and second album, Grobschnitt lost Felix and Quecksilber, who later reemerged as an auxiliary for Blonker and Frizz. Eroc assumed full drum duties while Grobschnitt continued as a quintet with keyboardist Volker Kahrs (Mist).

Ballermann

Grobschnitt released their second album, the two-record Ballermann, in April 1974 on Brain.

The first record contains five epic rock numbers credited to Elias Grobschnitt. The second record features “Solar Music,” a 32-minute space-rock jam divided into two parts.

Ballermann presents a five-piece lineup with Eroc, Lupo, Bär (now spelled Baer), and new keyboardist Mist. Singer/guitarist Stefan Danielak adopts the name Wildschwein (“wild boar”). Eroc enacts the garble-voiced master of ceremonies on “Sahara.”

A1. “Sahara” (5:33)
A2. “Nickel-Odeon” (9:14)
A3. “Drummer’s Dream” (6:11)

B1. “Morning Song” (5:42)
B2. “Magic Train” (13:20)

C. “Solar Music, Part 1” (17:28)
D. “Solar Music, Part 2” (15:58)

Sessions occurred near Cologne at Dierks’ Studio, where Mille produced Ballermann with engineer Dieter Dierks, a concurrent soundman for Atlantis, Birth Control, Missus Beastly, Omega, Tea, and Tiger B. Smith.

Ballermann appeared in a gatefold with Grobschnitt pictured in their stage costumes (front) and grouped for an orange-tinted candid (inner-gates) with two face-painted stagemen: Tony Moff Mollo and Porneaux Talias — each photographed by Marcel Fugère, whose subjects grace 1972–74 sleeves for Emergency, Klaus Schulze, Tangerine Dream, and Witthüser & Westrupp.

After Ballermann, Bernhard ‘Bär’ Uhlemann cleared for bassist Wolfgang Jäger.

Jumbo

Grobschnitt released their third album, Jumbo, in September 1975 on Brain.

Jumbo contains four long songs composed and arranged by Elias Grobschnitt, bookended by intro/outro shorts.

The album retains four-fifths of the Ballermann lineup without the pseudonyms (barring Eroc). They continue the theatrical art-song approach with Volker Kahrs on organ, piano, mellotron, and synthesizer.

A1. “Jupp” (0:13)
A2. “The Excursion of Father Smith” (9:37)
A3. “The Clown” (6:44)

B1. “Dream and Reality” (5:28)
B2. “Sunny Sunday’s Sunset” (11:29)
B3. “Auf Wiedersehen” (0:58)

Grobschnitt co-produced the album between May and July 1975 at Conny’s Studio with Frank Mille.

The albums cover depicts assorted characters (Dumbo the Elephant, Leif Erikson) crammed into a jumbo jet by graphic illustrator Petrus Wandrey, whose imagery graces 1974/75 covers for George Gruntz (2001 Keys – Piano Conclave), Passport (Cross-Collateral), and Scorpions (Fly to the Rainbow).

In 1976, Brain issued a German-sung version titled Jumbo Mit Deutschen Texten. Meanwhile, Eroc self-recorded his first two solo albums, the 1975/76 Brian titles Eroc and Zwei.

Rockpommel’s Land

Grobschnitt released their fourth album, Rockpommel’s Land, in April 1977 on Brain.

The album contains two half-side epics, one shorter number, and the 21-minute title suite, group-written in the mold of English symphonic rock. The songs follow the story of Ernie, a little boy who flees home for Rockpommel’s Land, a fantasy world where he befriends a giant bird, Maraboo, and confronts the evils of Severity Town.

Rockpommel’s Land retains the Jumbo quintet with renewed use of mononyms: keyboardist Mist, bassist Pop, and the three remaining co-founders — singer/guitarist Wildschwein, lead guitarist Lupo, and drummer Eroc.

A1. “Ernie’s Reise” (10:56) [“Ernie’s Trip”]
A2. “Severity Town” (10:05)

B1. “Anywhere” (4:13)
B2. “Rockpommel’s Land” (20:55)

Grobschnitt rehearsed the material for ten months and self-produced the album on 24-track between November 1976 and February 1977 at Conny’s Studio, where Plank engineered and mixed Rockpommel’s Land in sequence with titles by Harlis, Kraan, Ramses, and Streetmark.

Mist conceived the gatefold cover art, executed by Heinz Dofflein, an illustrator for the Unsere Welt radioplay label with credits on prior covers for Birth Control (Hoodoo Man), Curly Curve, and Guru Guru (Känguru). The outer-gates present Ernie aflight on Maraboo on the outskirts of Rockpommel’s Land, a fantasy kingdom with yellow sunlight on green water under deep-blue sky. The inner-gates show the pair perched at a distance from Severity Town.

Dofflein’s Rockpommel’s Land imagery (down to the green, sword-serif title fonts) reflects the fantasy style of English artist Roger Dean, famed for his otherworldly gatefold illustrations for Yes, Uriah Heep, Osibisa, and Greenslade.

Later CD issues at “Tontillon,” an outtake first included on Eroc’s 1979 third solo album.

5. “Tontillon” (6:15)

Solar Music – Live

In September 1978, Grobschnitt released Solar Music – Live, a document of their April 7 showcase at the Otto Pankok Forum in Mühlheim.

Solar Music contains three rearranged portions of the title jam, interspersed with four unique numbers, composed and performed by the Jumbo/Rockpommel’s lineup.

A1. “Solar Music I” (3:55)
A2. “Food Sicore” (3:50)
A3. “Solar Music II” (6:02)
A4. “Mülheim Special” (12:18)

B1. “Otto Pankrock” (7:34)
B2. “Golden Mist” (10:06)
B3. “Solar Music III” (9:40)

Solar Music – Live appeared in a gatefold with concert photos of their costumed bonfire performance with Toni Moff Mollo, who joined as a second vocalist.

Merry-Go-Round

Grobschnitt released their fifth studio album, Merry-Go-Round, in September 1979 on Brain.

The album contains six group-composed songs from the Solar Music lineup: veterans Eroc, Lupo, Wildschwein, Mist, Popo, and stageman-turned-member Toni Moff Mollo.

A1. “Come On People” (6:30)
A2. “Merry-Go-Round” (6:11)
A3. “A.C.Y.M” (6:55)

B1. “Du schaffst das nicht” (8:30) [“You can’t do it”]
B2. “Coke-Train” (4:39)
B3. “May Day” (7:48)

Grobschnitt recorded the album between May and July 1979 at Rüssl Räckords, a Hamburg studio owned by comedian Otto Waalkes. Ex-Parzival violinist Walter Quintus engineered Merry-Go-Round amid titles by Jazztrack and Wintergarden.

Merry-Go-Round features toyset amusement park images (day and night) by Alster-Atelier, a cover artist for 1979 releases by Accept, Anyone’s Daughter, Epitaph, and Schicke Führs & Fröhling.

Volle Molle

In 1980, Grobschnitt released their second live album, Volle Molle.

The album contains renditions of two Merry-Go-Round songs (“Coke-Train-Show,” “A.C.Y.M.”) and the “Rockpommel’s Land” epic, plus four unique numbers, each from a different date on their October–December 1979 German tour, performed by the Solar/MGR lineup.

A1. “Snowflakes” (4:45)
A2. “A.C.Y.M.” (6:48)
A3. “Wuppertal Punk” (8:02)
A4. “Beifall” (1:25)

B1. “Waldeslied” (4:37)
B2. “Coke-Train-Show” (3:15)
B3. “Rockpommel’s Land” (16:36)

Illegal

Grobschnitt released their sixth studio album, Illegal, in February 1981 on Brain.

A1. “The Sniffer” (5:28)
A2. “Space-Rider” (4:49)
A3. “Mary Green” (8:20)
A4. “Silent Movie” (3:15)

B1. “Joker” (4:45)
B2. “Illegal” (8:12)
B3. “Simple Dimple” (4:42)
B4. “Raintime” (4:16)

Toni Moff Mollo – vocals, percussion
Lupo – lead guitar, acoustic guitar
Wildschwein – vocals, rhythm guitar, acoustic guitar
Mist – keyboards, synthesizer, backing vocals
Milla Kapolke – bass, vocals, acoustic guitar
Eroc – drums, electronics, electronic effects