Neu!

Neu!
Neu! in 2000. From left to right: Klaus Dinger, Michael Rother.
Background information
Origin	Düsseldorf, Germany
Genres	Krautrock experimental rock electronic proto-punk space rock ambient
Years active	1971 (1971)–1986 (1986)
Labels	Brain United Artists
Associated acts	Kraftwerk La Düsseldorf La! Neu? Harmonia Die Engel des Herrn Conny Plank
Website	neu2010.com
Past members	Klaus Dinger Michael Rother Eberhard Kranemann Uli Trepte Thomas Dinger Hans Lampe Konrad Mathieu Georg Sessenhausen Nikolas Kolman

Neu! (styled as NEU! in block capitals, German: New!, pronounced [ˈnɔʏ]) was a German krautrock band formed in Düsseldorf in 1971 by Klaus Dinger and Michael Rother, after their split from Kraftwerk. The group's albums were produced by Conny Planck, who has been regarded as the group's "hidden member". Though Neu! had minimal commercial success during its existence, the band is retrospectively considered one of the founders of krautrock and a significant influence on a variety of subsequent rock, post-punk, and electronic music artists.

Neu! was formed in 1971 in Düsseldorf as an offshoot from an early line-up of another seminal krautrock band, Kraftwerk, whose early works were also produced by Conny Plank. The name ("new!") was inspired by the prevalence of the advertising business in Düsseldorf at the time, according to Dinger, who described it as "the strongest word in advertising" and even owned a pro forma advertising agency himself for the purpose of booking studios.

Drummer Klaus Dinger had joined Kraftwerk midway through sessions for their eponymous debut album. Guitarist Michael Rother was then recruited to the Kraftwerk line-up on completion of the album. (Rother had been playing in a local band called The Spirits of Sound, the line-up of which also included drummer Wolfgang Flür, who would himself go on to join Kraftwerk two years later.)

Kraftwerk founder Ralf Hütter left the band at this point and, for six months, Kraftwerk consisted of a trio of Rother, Dinger and Florian Schneider. This line-up played sporadic gigs and made a live appearance on German TV programme Beat Club. Recording sessions at Conny Plank's Windrose studio were unsuccessful (Rother later attributed the failure to "a difference of temperament"). Dinger and Rother parted company from Schneider and began Neu! with Plank. Hütter rejoined Schneider and the pair continued recording the second Kraftwerk album with Plank.