Kreidler

Düsseldorf, Germany-based Kreidler combine catchy, acoustic-based compositions (e.g., guitar, bass, drums) with bizarre electronic tangents, an approach that initially allied them with such American post-rock outfits as Tortoise and Trans Am. However, Kreidler's music was both more filled out than the former and less derivative than the latter, and was probably closer to that of fellow countrymen Can and Faust than any of the more contemporary rock-based extrapolators. The band, formed in 1994 by Thomas Klein, Andreas Reihse, Stefan Schneider, and Detlef Weinrich, debuted with the cassette-only Riva in 1994 and released a pair of discs — 1996's Weekend and 1998's Appearance and the Park — on the PIAS subsidiary Kiff SM. Schneider left to concentrate on the like-minded To Rococo Rot and was replaced temporarily by Alex Paulick, who played on the band's self-titled 2000 album, its first for Hamburg's Wonder label. (A short-lived deal with Mute allowed the band to release the album in the U.S.) Kreidler put together a second album for Wonder, 2002's Eve Future, as well as a remix disc, prior to a break that lasted several years. The band resurfaced with Mosaik 2014 (Italic, 2009) and Tank (Bureau B, 2011), the latter of which featured Paulick's bass once more, before 2012's Den switched to a more elegant, chilled-out approach. The band celebrated its 20th anniversary with ABC, a concise yet expansive effort featuring a Georgian choir as well as Kreidler's more expected mix of rock and electronic instrumentation. ~ Sean Cooper & Andy Kellman, Rovi