German band born out of the late 1960s underground scene in Berlin. Centered around Manuel Göttsching (guitar) and artist (bass), Ash Ra Tempel were rooted in a succession of beat and blues bands, including the Bluebirds, The Bomb Proofs, Bad Joe and artist. The latter were transformed entirely when Klaus Schulze from Tangerine Dream met up with them, and formed Ash Ra Tempel.
The trio of Göttsching / Enke / Schulze decided to abandon conventional composition and songwriting in favour of free-form improvising and developing a new musical language. As such, they became notorious for jams that could exceed 30 minutes (some such recordings can be found on The Private Tapes releases). Ash Ra Tempel went to Hamburg in March 1971 to record their debut, with the aid of top engineer Conny Plank. A Krautrock twist on the space-rock music as pioneered by Pink Floyd and Hawkwind, with elements of both yet devoid of songs. One track per side: the power-drive storming "Amboss" and the shimmering timeless "Traummaschine". A yin-and-yang type concept that was followed on further albums.
Schulze departed after the band's debut, with lots of other musicians passing through the group for their second album Schwingungen. The record had psychedelic blues numbers on one side, and a deep space trip on the other. The same concept appearing on the similarly balanced Seven Up collaboration with acid guru Timothy Leary. Other related "super-sessions" were born out of this so-called Cosmic Couriers collaboration idea included albums with Sergius Golowin, artist and The Cosmic Jokers. Schulze returned for the band's 4th album Join Inn, in 1973.
Hartmut soon left the band and abandoned music altogether, leaving Göttsching to keep the band-name going, with the duo project Starring Rosi, the cosmic guitar album Inventions For Electric Guitar, and the album New Age Of Earth, after which Ash Ra Tempel were re-branded as Ashra. A later incarnation of the band was called artist. The members were Manuel Göttsching, artist, artist and artist. When Göttsching died in December 2022, the Ash Ra projects died with him.