Novalis
Formed:	1971
Disbanded:	1985
Genre:	progressive rock Progressive rock Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
Original line-up
vocals Singing Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments... :	Jürgen Wentzel (until 1973)
bass Bass guitar The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... :	Heino Schünzel (until 1980)
organ Organ (music) The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with... :	Lutz Rahn
drums Drum kit A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person .... :	Hartwig Biereichel
guitar Guitar The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with... :	Carlo Karges Carlo Karges Carlo Karges was a German musician who became a guitarist and songwriter for the rock band, Nena. He wrote the lyrics of Nena's most famous song, "99 Luftballons", released in 1983...  (until 1975)
Most successful line-up
vocals Singing Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments... :	Fred Mühlböck (1976–1984)
bass Bass guitar The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... :	Heino Schünzel (1971–1980)
organ Organ (music) The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with... :	Lutz Rahn
drums Drum kit A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person .... :	Hartwig Biereichel
guitar Guitar The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with... :	Detlef Job (1973–1985)
Final line-up
vocals Singing Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments... :	Ernst Herzner (1984–1985)
bass Bass guitar The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... :	Hinrich Schneider (1983–1985)
organ Organ (music) The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with... :	Lutz Rahn
drums Drum kit A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person .... :	Hartwig Biereichel
guitar Guitar The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with... :	Detlef Job (1973–1985)

Novalis was a 1970s Krautrock

Krautrock

Krautrock is a generic name for the experimental music scenes that appeared in Germany in the late 1960s and gained popularity throughout the 1970s, especially in Britain. The term is a result of the English-speaking world's reception of the music at the time and not a reference to any one...

 group formed in Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

. Their best-known albums include Sommerabend and Wer Schmetterlinge lachen hört.

Band history

Vocalist Jürgen Wentzel and bassist Heino Schünzel placed a newspaper advertisement in search of bandmates in Hamburg

Hamburg

-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...

 in 1971. They were joined by organist Lutz Rahn and drummer Hartwig Biereichel. Together with guitarist Carlo Karges

Carlo Karges

Carlo Karges was a German musician who became a guitarist and songwriter for the rock band, Nena. He wrote the lyrics of Nena's most famous song, "99 Luftballons", released in 1983...

 they formed Mosaik, soon changing the name of the band to Novalis. After the release of their first album in 1973, Wentzel left the group and Heino Schünzel took on vocal duties. Carlo Karges, who would go on to join Nena

Nena

Gabriele Susanne Kerner , better known by her stage name Nena, is a German singer and actress. She rose to international fame in 1983 with the New German Wave song "99 Luftballons". In 1984, she re-recorded this song in English as "99 Red Balloons". Nena was also the name of the band with whom she...

's backing band, was replaced by Detlef Job. Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

n vocalist Fred Mühlböck joined the group in 1976.

The lyrics used on the group's first album were written in English, but on the suggestion of new producer Achim Reichel

Achim Reichel

Achim Reichel is a musician, producer and songwriter from Hamburg, Germany. He is known for his 1991 single "Aloha Heja He", and serving as the frontman for the 1960s beat group The Rattles, who, among other achievements, were selected to open for The Beatles on the Fabs' last-ever tour of Europe...

, formerly of The Rattles

The Rattles

The Rattles are a rock band from Germany. Their biggest selling record was their 1968 recorded song, "The Witch", which sold over one million copies globally.-Career:...

, they began to sing in German in 1975. The group incorporated poems by their namesake, the Romantic

Romanticism

Romanticism was an artistic, literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Europe, and gained strength in reaction to the Industrial Revolution...

-era writer Novalis

Novalis

Novalis was the pseudonym of Georg Philipp Friedrich Freiherr von Hardenberg , an author and philosopher of early German Romanticism.-Biography:...

, among others, into their work, along with their own lyrics.

With Fred Mühlböck's powerful and unmistakable voice, the group's greatest successes and even a degree of international recognition came with the albums Sommerabend, Brandung and Vielleicht Bist Du Ein Clown? Lutz Rahn released a 1978 solo album entitled Solo-Trip.

Proceeds from the group's 1979 concept album

Concept album

In music, a concept album is an album that is "unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical." Commonly, concept albums tend to incorporate preconceived musical or lyrical ideas rather than being improvised or composed in the studio, with all songs contributing...

, Flossenengel, which was based on the theme of whaling

Whaling

Whaling is the hunting of whales mainly for meat and oil. Its earliest forms date to at least 3000 BC. Various coastal communities have long histories of sustenance whaling and harvesting beached whales...

, went to the World Wildlife Fund.

By the early 1980s, and in the wake of the Neue Deutsche Welle

Neue Deutsche Welle

Neue Deutsche Welle is a genre of German music originally derived from punk rock and New Wave music...

, Novalis appeared rather outmoded. The group sought a new direction, but split following numerous personnel changes.

Their final album was 1985's Nach Uns Die Flut. They were accompanied on tour that year by guitarist Günther Brackmann. Rahn and Biereichel put together a 1993 compilation of live recordings of Novalis at their peak.

Discography

• Banished Bridge, 1973
• Novalis, 1975
• Sommerabend, 1976 (Summer evening)
• Konzerte, 1977 (Concerts)
• Brandung, 1977 (Tide)
• Vielleicht bist du ein Clown?, 1978 (Maybe you're a clown?)
• Wer Schmetterlinge lachen hört, 1978 (Who hears butterflies laughing)
• Sonnewende, 1978 (Solstice)
• Flossenengel, 1979 (Angel with fins)
• Augenblicke, 1981 (Moments)
• Neumond, 1982 (New Moon)
• Visionen, 1982 (Visions)
• Sterntaucher, 1983 (Star diver)
• Bumerang, 1984 (Boomerang)
• Nach uns die Flut, 1985 (After us the flood)
• Novalis lebt!, 1993 (Novalis lives!, live compilation)
• Flossenengel, 1995 (compilation)

External links

• Novalis on germanrock.de (in German)
• Novalis, from the Rock In Deutschland CD-ROM (in German)
• Novalis on Babyblaue Prog-Reviews (in German)
• The Novalis Story (in German)