The difference, by ear
Post-rock is the most direct descendant, and it took the repetition and the instrumental approach while adding a crescendo krautrock never wanted.
Both are mostly instrumental, but post-rock is a little slower: 60 to 140 bpm against 120 to 150. To hear the difference, play Can next to Slint. They share a root in rock, and Krautrock came first, by 23 years.
In figures
Krautrock
Where it sits
Rock › Psychedelic rock › Krautrock
In short
A tireless motorik beat, studio improvisation and a refusal of the chorus. It shaped post-punk, post-rock and electronic music.
How it sounds
- The motorik beat: four to the floor, unvarying, for ten to twenty minutes.
- Studio improvisation later assembled at the mixing desk - the tape is an instrument.
- A refusal of the chorus, of virtuoso solos and of American blues.
Key acts
- Can
- Neu!
- Faust
- Amon Düül II
Start here
The pickNeu! - Hallogallo. Ten minutes that fed four decades of music.
Full page →Post-rock
Where it sits
Rock › Progressive rock › Post-rock
In short
Rock instruments used for texture and crescendo rather than for choruses. The song climbs for ten minutes and detonates once.
How it sounds
- A long crescendo: the piece starts near silence and ends in a wall of sound.
- Guitars with delay and reverb used for texture rather than riffs.
- Almost always instrumental, with pieces running eight to twenty minutes.
Key acts
- Slint
- Mogwai
- Godspeed You! Black Emperor
- Explosions in the Sky
Start here
The pickMogwai - Young Team. The closing track runs sixteen minutes and earns every one.
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