Altered Zones

Last year, London's Grönland Records released a massive box set of seminal, motorik-powered recordings by '70s Krautrock legends Neu!, bringing together reissues of the band's four studio albums and a 12" maxi single of rough-hewn recordings from a 1972 rehearsal. To celebrate the release, NYC/London's 'Sup Magazine asked 10 artists from all over the alt-musical rainbow to share a few words about the role guitarist Michael Rother and percussionist Klaus Dinger's music has played in their lives-- not only as musicians, but as human beings. Below, some unequivocal commentary by Andy McCluskey from '80s synth-pop band Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark:

"Neu! were perfect. Their music was perfect. Their LP covers were perfect. Their name was perfect. Even the exclamation mark is perfect, and I dislike exclamation marks intensely. The way Für Immer begins as if someone has put their hand on the record to slow it down, is perfect. The drumbeat was perfect. The guitars were perfect. Neu! were perfect!"

Visit 'Sup Magazine for contributions by Ponytail's Dustin Wong, Moon Duo's Sanae Yamada, Apache Beat's Mike Dos Santos, The National's Bryan Devendorf, The Sea and Cake's Sam Prekop, and others.

Neu! vinyl box is out now on Grönland Records