Kin Ping Meh -

Kin Ping Meh was a German rock band that released six studio albums between 1971 and 1977, plus a live double-LP in 1976. Their debut appeared on Polydor, followed by No. 2 (1972), Kin Ping Meh 3 (1973), Virtues & Sins (1974), Concrete (1976), and Kin Ping Meh 6 (1977). Founding members included keyboardist Frieder Schmitt, singer Werner Stephan, and bassist Torsten Herzog—veterans of local beat bands like Take Five and The Thunderbirds.

Members: Werner Stephan (lead vocals, acoustic guitar, percussion, 1969-73), Kalle “Charlie” Weber (drums, percussion), Torsten Herzog (bass, vocals, 1969-72), Fritz “Frieder” Schmitt (organ, piano, Mellotron, vocals, 1969-75, 2005), Joachim Schäfer (guitar, piano, vocals, 1969-72), Willie Wagner (guitar, harmonica, vocals, 1969-72), Alan “Joe” Wroe (bass, 1972-76, 2005), Gagey Mrozeck (guitar, 1972-77, 2005), Uli Groß (guitar, 1972-73), Geff Harrison (vocals, guitar, 1973-76, 2005), Chris Alex Klöber (keyboards, 1975-76), Michael Pozz (vocals, 1976-77), Ron Sheepmaker (keyboards, 1976-77), Chuck Trevor (bass, 1976-77)

Inception

Kin Ping Meh formed in 1969 in Mannheim. Their name is a German translation of Jin Ping Mei, a classic 16th-century Chinese novel of the Ming dynasty. Keyboardist Frieder Schmitt and singer Werner Stephan came from the local dance band Take Five. Stephan and bassist Torsten Herzog played together earlier in The Thunderbirds, one of the top-ranked German beat groups of the mid-1960s. Guitarist Willie Wagner and drummer Kalle Weber completed the original lineup. The group shifted quickly from beat and club fare into heavier material, rehearsing original songs throughout 1970 before recording their debut.

Kin Ping Meh

Kin Ping Meh released their self-titled debut album in December 1971 on Polydor.

Kin Ping Meh emphasizes long-form interaction between guitarist Willie Wagner and keyboardist Frieder Schmitt, who alternates between Hammond organ, electric and acoustic piano, and Mellotron textures. Wagner threads solo phrases around Schmitt’s chordal movements, while Werner Stephan reinforces the harmonic core with acoustic guitar and auxiliary percussion. Several tracks stem from group collaborations between Stephan, Schmitt, Wagner, and drummer Kalle Weber, with bassist Torsten Herzog and lyricist Gassenmaier contributing to the writing on three cuts.

“Fairy-Tales,” the ten-minute opener, moves from sparse cymbal and organ interplay into a mid-tempo sequence of alternating guitar and Hammond figures, then shifts into an instrumental middle stretch driven by percussive stabs and modulating organ leads. “Sometime” draws from minor-key restraint with floating organ layers and lightly phrased guitar lines, while “Don’t You Know” balances short vocal bursts with sudden instrumental breaks, eventually plunging into a dense midsection of overdriven rhythm guitar and sustained keyboard tones. “Too Many People,” recorded live, replaces electric instrumentation with strummed acoustic chords, twangy licks, subtle Mellotron, and unison harmonies.

“Drugson’s Trip” opens with clipped guitar motifs and low-register vocals before expanding into a distorted finale that pairs saturated lead guitar with surging organ. “My Dove” trades dynamic shifts between light vocal-organ interplay and Mellotron-supported peaks. “Everything” leans on organ bursts and riff-driven pacing with a doubled vocal refrain. “My Future” closes the album on a subdued note with strummed guitar, soft percussion, and suspended vocal phrases that taper into silence.

A1. “Fairy-Tales” (10:47) – Wagner
A2. “Sometime” (5:44) – Schmitt, Weber, Wagner
A3. “Don’t You Know” (7:24) – Weber, Herzog

B1. “Too Many People” (Live) (4:58) – Weber, Stephan
B2. “Drugson’s Trip” (5:53) – Gassenmaier, Herzog
B3. “My Dove” (3:34) – Schmitt, Weber, Stephan
B4. “Everything” (5:10) – Weber, Stephan
B5. “My Future” (2:42) – Herzog, Stephan, Wagner

Sessions took place at Windrose-Dumont-Time Studios in Hamburg under the guidance of Conny Plank, who handled engineering duties. Mixing occurred at Hamburg’s Star Studio. Kin Ping Meh arranged all material themselves with production credited to Gorilla Musik for Polydor. Conny Plank engineered the album in sequence with 1971 titles by Ash Ra Tempel, Cluster, Dies Irae, Eiliff, Eloy, Guru Guru, Kluster, McChurch Soundroom, Parzival, and Virus.

Kin Ping Meh displays a classical-style oil painting of naiads in a moonlit lagoon adoring a swaddled infant in a reed basket—whose face has been replaced with an awkward, cartoonish drawing. The surreal overlay disrupts the otherwise romantic neoclassical imagery, adding an absurdist undertone to the scene.

Around this time, Werner cut his first of five schlager singles under the name Marc Stephan.

No.2

Kin Ping Meh released their second album, No.2, in June 1972 on Zebra. For this album, they retain the original quintet with two featured guest guitarists: Gerhard (Gagey) Mrozek (of Twenty Sixty Six and Then) and classical player Uli Groß.

No. 2 opens with “Come Down to the Riverside,” a mid-tempo track with strummed acoustic figures and Southern-tinged phrasing, followed by “Don’t Force Your Horse,” where sustained guitar chords lock with compact rhythm stabs under group vocals. Their reworking of “Come Together” follows the original structure but overlays it with heavier guitar density and a lengthened solo section that bleeds into “Together Jam,” an instrumental workout with panned guitar exchanges, organ interjections, and a bass-led interlude. “Liveable Ways” shifts to slower pacing with alternating passages of phased distortion and ambient tension, carried by Mellotron swells and vocal lines that cut into instrumental recesses.

“Day Dreams” builds from a long atmospheric intro into a low-tempo verse sequence with organ textures behind soft guitar, never fully accelerating beyond its restrained pacing. “Very Long Ago,” composed by Wagner and arranged around Erich Doll’s banjo, drops into a short two-chord vamp that carries the piece across its runtime with clipped refrains. “I Wonna Be Lazy” returns to laid-back syncopation with descending vocal lines and staggered piano chords written by Achim Reichel, layered under Frank Dostal’s lyrics. “Love of Mine” and “Hooked,” co-written by Dostal and Hubert Stütz, contrast the set’s longer forms with steady rhythmic pacing and contour-shaped vocal phrasing.

The album’s tonal variety stems from the shared lead duties of Uli Groß and Gagey Mrozeck, who trade fingerstyle phrases and doubled figures while Frieder Schmitt threads Mellotron, organ, and electric piano through each transition. Schmitt’s role increases on the extended tracks, where he punctuates sectional changes with chromatic runs and interlocking voicings. Kin Ping Meh arranged all pieces internally, using “Together Jam” to stretch their dynamic range and foreground group interaction.

A1. “Come Down to the Riverside” (3:13) – Groß, Stephan
A2. “Don’t Force Your Horse” (3:46) – Dr. Gassenmaier, Groß
A3. “Come Together” (6:00) – Lennon, McCartney
A4. “Together Jam” (4:55) – Kin Ping Meh

B1. “Livable Ways” (8:00) – Dostal, Groß
B2. “Day Dreams” (7:56) – Dr. Gassenmaier, Groß, Stephan
B3. “Very Long Ago” (2:54) – Wagner
B4. “I Wonna Be Lazy” (2:58) – Reichel, Dostal

Sessions took place at Windrose-Dumont-Time Studios with engineer Conny Plank, who worked in sequence on 1972 albums by Association P.C., Gomorrha, Grobschnitt, Ibliss, Jane, Kraftwerk, Lucifer’s Friend, Neu!, Night Sun, Os Mundi, Scorpions, and Thirsty Moon. Kin Ping Meh arranged all material themselves with production by Gorilla Musik for Polydor.

Between albums, Torsten Hezog cleared for bassist Alan Joe Wroe. Willie Wagner also stepped down as Mrozek became an official member.

Kin Ping Meh 3

Kin Ping Meh released their numerically eponymous third album in October 1973 on Zebra. As sessions progressed, Werner Stephan vacated the vocal slot, claimed her and for the next three albums by English caterwauler Geff Harrison, Gagey Mrozeck’s recent Twenty Sixty Six and Then bandmate.

Kin Ping Meh 3 centers on dual guitar interlock between Uli Groß and Mrozeck, who layer 11- and 12-string textures across alternating verses and bridge sections. Frieder Schmitt anchors the arrangements with dense clusters on organ and electric piano, expanding the harmonic field with Moog and acoustic piano under shifting vocal dynamics. Alan “Joe” Wroe plays a more integrated role, co-writing half the album and locking into tightly phrased exchanges with the guitarists on extended midtempo forms.

“Come On In” opens with staggered chords and clipped fills that build into a double-vocal chorus, followed by “Random,” where Groß and Wroe drive the pacing with chordal rotation under vocal lines that stay rhythm-focused. “Rock Is the Way” pulls forward with flattened riff patterns and forceful verse cadences, but the album’s pivot comes on “Circus,” which shifts structure every few minutes—opening with hand percussion and low-register bass runs, then unfolding through open acoustic passages, off-meter keyboard phrasing, and brass swells that pass through synthesized interludes. “Mrs. Holmes” closes the set with sustained phrasing and blocked guitar chords that contrast with Schmitt’s piercing Moog lines.

Backing vocals from Elga Blask, Pete Bender, Ralle Oberpichler, and Rolf Köhler round out the choruses, giving denser resolution to otherwise angular melodic movement. Mrozeck and Schmitt, who co-wrote the bulk of the material, push toward dynamic contrast and harmonic rotation rather than repetition. Horns arranged by Helmut Mocker underscore moments of climax and accent, particularly in “Circus,” where the band stretches its timing and tonal palette further than on any previous release.

A1. “Come On In” (5:20) – Schmitt, Mrozeck
A2. “Random” (3:46) – Wroe, Groß
A3. “Love Is the Day” (4:55) – Wroe, Mrozeck, Groß
A4. “Rock Is the Way” (4:43) – Schmitt, Mrozeck

B1. “Circus” (14:06) – Wroe, Mrozeck, Groß
B2. “Mrs. Holmes” (7:20) – Wroe, Weber, Groß

Sessions took place at Windrose-Dumont-Time Studios in Hamburg, where staffer Wolfgang Klaus engineered the album amid 1973/74 titles by Achim Reichel, Franz K, Karthago, Ougenweide, and Randy Pie. Gorilla Musik produced the album for Deutsche Grammophon GmbH, with all studio work completed under amplification support from Echolette. The back cover lists Werner as a member and Harrison as a guest, but the latter appears in the group photo.

Virtues & Sins

Kin Ping Meh released their fourth album, Virtues & Sins, in November 1974 on NOVA.

The album marks the recorded debut of British vocalist Geff Harrison, whose presence aligns with an expanded sound palette shaped by guitarist Gagey Mrozeck and keyboardist Frieder Schmitt. Schmitt moves between piano, synthesizer, and string-organ textures while Mrozeck alternates between 6- and 12-string guitars across the sessions, frequently locking into structured interplay with bassist Alan Joe Wroe, who co-composed six of the album’s eight tracks.

Wroe, Mrozeck, Schmitt, and Harrison co-wrote the bulk of the material in collaboration with drummer Charly Weber, who replaced Kalle Weber ahead of the sessions. “Rich Kid Blues,” the only track not penned by the band, came from outside writer Reid and features Jean-Jacques Kravetz on guest organ with added vocals by Freya & Puppa, Ralle Oberpichler, and Rolf Köhler. Mrozeck arranged the track “Virtue and Sin,” which closes the album and also credits Schmitt, Weber, and Harrison.

A1. “Good Time Gracie” (3:30) – Wroe, Mrozeck, Harrison
A2. “You’re a Liar” (7:25) – Wroe, Mrozeck, Harrison
A3. “Night-Time Glider” (5:41) – Wroe, Mrozeck, Harrison
A4. “When Summer’s Gone” (5:39) – Wroe, Mrozeck, Harrison

B1. “Whiskey Flyer” (5:45) – Wroe, Mrozeck, Harrison
B2. “Rich Kid Blues” (6:55) – Reid
B3. “Living Your Lies” (5:38) – Wroe, Mrozeck, Harrison
B4. “Virtue and Sin” (4:27) – Wroe, Mrozeck, Schmitt, Harrison, Weber

Sessions took place at TELDEC Studio in Hamburg with Manfred Loose engineering the recordings. Mixing also occurred at TELDEC, with final pressing handled by Teldec-Press GmbH.

The cover depicts a mutated, topless Statue of Liberty with green skin, exaggerated anatomy, and a smug expression, holding a stone tablet and a glowing torch. Set against a cloudy sky, the image mixes iconoclasm and kitsch in a crude parody of national symbolism.

This was their final album with Fritz Schmitt, who cleared for Curly Curve keyboardist Chris Axel Klöber.

Concrete (live)

In January 1976, Kin Ping Meh released Concrete, a live double-album sourced from their 1975 tour.

The set captures the extended interplay between guitarist Gagey Mrozeck and keyboardist Chris Klöber, whose organ and synthesizer work threads through shifting instrumental segments. Alan “Joe” Wroe reinforces the harmonic foundation with responsive bass lines that often double or counter Mrozeck’s phrasings, particularly on longer mid-set numbers.

The album opens with “Light Entertainment,” a new composition written by Mrozeck, Harrison, and Charlie Weber, who drums throughout the set. Klöber and Harrison co-authored two unreleased numbers, “I Want to Die a Millionaire” and “East Winds,” introduced on this tour. “Me and I” and “Blue Horizon” also made their first appearance here, each credited to Mrozeck, Weber, and Harrison. Repertoire from the prior two studio albums appears throughout the set, including “Night-Time Glider,” “Good Time Gracie,” “Rock Is the Way,” and “Whiskey Flyer.” The band revisits two early-era tracks, “Too Many People” and “Don’t Force Your Horse,” and includes covers of “Come Together” and “Dancing in the Street.”

A1. “Light Entertainment” (4:15) – exclusive
A2. “Come Together” (5:35) – No. 2
A3. “Too Many People” (4:27) – Kin Ping Meh
A4. “Me and I” (4:43) – exclusive

B1. “I Want to Die a Millionaire” (8:01) – exclusive
B2. “Night-Time Glider” (6:48) – Virtues & Sins
B3. “East Winds” (7:04) – exclusive

C1. “High Time Whiskey Flyer” (11:54) – Virtues & Sins (“Whiskey Flyer”)
C2. “Blue Horizon” (7:19) – exclusive

D1. “Dancing in the Street” (3:39) – Martha & The Vandellas cover
D2. “Don’t Force Your Horse” (4:43) – No. 2
D3. “Good Time Gracie” (3:42) – Virtues & Sins
D4. “Rock Is the Way” (6:43) – Kin Ping Meh 3

Recordings were captured live during Kin Ping Meh’s Autumn 1975 tour and engineered by Conny Plank.

Soon after this release, Geff Harrison went solo with the 1976 German Nova release Salford, recorded with select backing by Klober, Mrozek, and Weber. Kin Ping Meh continued with singer Michael Pozz, bassist Chuck Trevor (Tscheschner), and ex-Hardcake Special keyboardist Ron Sheepmaker.

Kin Ping Meh 6

Kin Ping Meh released their fifth studio album, Kin Ping Meh 6, in August 1977 on Bacillus.

The album sharpens the band’s rhythmic contrasts through the phrased interplay between guitarist Gagey Mrozeck and keyboardist Ron Sheepmaker, whose piano and synth parts crosshatch guitar leads in passages of tightly blocked arrangement. English reedist Chris Mercer (Gonzalez, Kokomo) adds saxophone on two cuts, extending the harmonic range alongside Sheepmaker’s layered tonal shifts.

Michael Pozz co-wrote the majority of the album’s material in tandem with Mrozeck and Sheepmaker. “Love of Mine” and “Hooked” pair Pozz’s lyrics with music by Hubert Stütz, while “Hooked” and the extended closer “Never More” mark the only tracks where Stütz contributed without sharing credit with the band. “A Lick and a Promise” and “Elevator Love” feature Mercer, whose sax doubles rhythmic accents and bridges between choruses. Pozz also collaborated with lyricist Michael Bundt on “Love of Mine,” giving the album its only outside lyric pairing.

A1. “Things of Ages” (5:21)
A2. “Take Her Under” (4:11)
A3. “A Lick and a Promise” (4:00)
A4. “Love of Mine” (5:42) – lyrics: Michael Bundt, Michael Pozz · music: Hubert Stütz

B1. “Hooked” (5:10) – lyrics: Michael Bundt · music: Hubert Stütz
B2. “Elevator Love” (5:09)
B3. “Tin Solder” (3:24)
B4. “Never More” (6:27)

Sessions took place at Chipping Norton Recording Studios in Oxfordshire, where Barry Hammond handled recording, mixing, and co-production with the band.