It is now common knowledge that there was a lot of movement and new developments in German pop music in the late 60s and early 70s of the last century. Countless books have already been published on the subject of 'Krautrock', and many LPs from the period in question have been re-released.
Günter Schickert only released two LPs in the 70s: "Überfällig" (Sky Records, 1979 / Bureau B, 2012) and "Samtvogel" (Brain, 1976). Exactly 50 years after the LP was released, "Samtvogel" is now flying back. Günter Schickert used only guitars, echo devices and modest recording equipment for "Samtvogel". The album is a genuine DIY production - radical in every respect and not at all beholden to the spirit of the times. It was perhaps this radicalness that made it difficult to interest a suitable record label in releasing it. In any case, Schickert initially released "Samtvogel" himself in 1974 in an edition of 500 copies. It was not until two years later that the album was released in a much larger edition on Brain. "Samtvogel" is a particularly important Album because it shows what was possible musically in the 70s. There is no doubt about it: The album is extreme, although it is of high quality musically and technically. But it does not correspond to any of the krauty trends of the time; and that is probably the reason why it was never successful in a commercial sense. Günter Schickert was a remarkable exception in the overall concert of experimental German pop music of the 70s with his two albums "Samtvogel" and "Überfällig", which were wrongly underrated at the time. "Samtvogel" was a risk that was successful, but can perhaps only be truly appreciated today, 50 years after its first release. Asmus Tietchens, 2024
