German Oak was formed in Düsseldorf by Wolfgang Czaika (g) and the brothers Harry (b) and Ulli Kallweit (dr) at the beginning of the 70s. As a rehearsal room, the trio temporarily rents the basement of an old air-raid shelter, because it was cheap. Some demo recordings were also made there, together with Manfred Uhr, an occasional keyboarder of the band. Some of this Material appeared on their self-produced and self-titled only LP in 1972. In the claustrophobic atmosphere of the bunker with the dark, creepy ambient they played extended psychedelic space rock jams.
According to Wolfgang Czaika the band wasn't political at all and also the song titles and the controversial cover design with the Landser were the idea of Manfred Uhr only. The band members were not involved. With a tiny edition of only 200 copies, original pressings of this hidden krautrock gem are now traded at top prices.
