by Sean Cooper
Kreidler is a Düsseldorf-based side-project of Stefan Schneider, bassist with Cologne neo-Krautrock group To Rococo Rot. Kreidler is similar to that group in its attempts to combine catchy, acoustic-based compositions (e.g., guitar, bass, drums) with bizarre electronic tangents, a tact that allies them with such American post-rock outfits as Tortoise and Trans Am. However, Kreidlers approach is both more filled out than the former and less derivative than the latter, and is probably closer to countrymen Can or Faust than any of the more contemporary rock-based extrapolators. The group record for Kiff SM and produced their first album, Weekender, in 1996. The remix EP Resport featured work from Jim ORourke and L@n, among others. Their second album Appearance and the Park earned a record deal with Mute. A self titled album followed a year later, in 2000.