It is quite difficult to chronicle the musical history of Manuel
Göttsching and his broad influence over contemporary electronic
music. Göttsching was a significant presence at the outset of
many of today's well-established modes of musical expression
and continues to inspire artists and audiences alike through his
prolific musical innovations.

In Berlin of 1970s Germany Manuel Göttsching along with
Hartmut Enke and Klaus Schulze formed the band Ash Ra
Tempel. With its free flowing improvisations and instrumental
excursions their music embodied the spirit of the times as it
showcased Göttsching's psychedelic guitar work. Because of
the use of cosmological imagery in their music, the style was
conveniently labled "Kosmische Rock".

Ashra was the second phase Ash Ra Tempel, where Manuel
Göttsching (often as a solo artist) refocused the project's vision
and began to concentrate more heavily on electronics and the
idea of sequencing synthesized sounds into continuous musical
compositions.

With an ever evolving line-up, Göttsching had always been the
focal point of Ash Ra Tempel. But at the outset of the Ashra era
(and the subsequent solo recordings), Göttsching was literally a
one-man band, later backing his guitar explorations with synths
and sequencers which made his music sound cleaner and
more pleasantly meditative.

Somehow enduring the more conservative musical landscapes
of the 1980's, Göttsching re-emerged in 1984 with the
minimalistic composition E2-E4. Equally a masterpiece of
minimal music, this composition remains a seminal building
block in the subsequent development of styles ranging from
techno and house to electronica and contemporary ambient
music.

More recently, Göttsching has been occupied with performing
live concerts throughout the world as well as working alone and
in collaboration in the recording studio - each album revealing
another approach to music.

In Summer of 2008, Manuel Göttsching will travel to the United
States for two performances. His stateside concert debut will be
made in New York City at Lincoln Center on 15 August 2008 as
the centerpiece of the Wordless Music Series, and in
Philadelphia on 16 August 2008 at The Gatherings Concert
Series.

In New York Manuel Göttsching will perform live his classic
album E2-E4 while in Philadelphia he will perform "Die Mulde" -
as well as his greatest hits released as Ashra and Ash Ra
Tempel (including selections from Inventions for Electric Guitar,
New Age of Earth and Blackouts among others).

Tune into STAR'S END this weekend for music from Live at Mt
Fuji by Manuel Göttsching

For more on Manuel Göttsching, access:
http://www.manuel-goettsching.com

For more on Manuel Göttsching live on 15 August 2008 at The
Wordless Music Series in New York, access:
http://www.wordlessmusic.org

For more on Manuel Göttsching live on 16 August 2008 at The
Gatherings Concert Series in Philadelphia, access:
http://www.thegatherings.org

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STAR'S END 30th Anniversary Anthology CD

To mark 30 years of continuous broadcast of STAR'S END,
WXPN has released the STAR'S END 30th Anniversary Anthology
CD. This double CD contains over 120 minutes of live music
from 12 renowned artists. The unique performances were culled
from on-air in-studio radio concerts by some of our community's
greatest talents. Included on the disc are previously unreleased
live selections donated by: The Ministry of Inside Things, Orbital
Decay, Ian Boddy, AirSculpture, Radio Massacre International,
Robert Rich, Rudy Adrian, Jonn Serrie, Jeff Pearce, Saul Stokes
and Steve Roach.

The STAR'S END 30th Anniversary Anthology CD is available for
a $60 donation to WXPN, which includes membership and all of
its benefits (current WXPN members can receive the STAR'S
END 30th Anniversary Anthology CD for a $25 donation). Call
1-800-565-WXPN for details.

Thanks very much for your support!

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STAR'S END broadcasts every Saturday night/Sunday morning
from 1am-6am (EDST) on:

88.5fm WXPN Philadelphia, PA
88.7fm WXPH Middletown, York and Lancaster, PA
90.5fm Worton/Baltimore, MD
99.7fm Harrisburg, PA
104.9fm Lehigh Valley, PA
W285DH Whitehall, PA

and live on the web at http://xpn.org

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Chuck van Zyl
Host of STAR'S END Ambient Radio
http://www.starsend.org