“Paperhouse” by Can
From the 1973 album Tago Mago

If there’s any subgenre of prog that isn’t tragically uncool these days, it’s probably Krautrock, the German offshoot of prog that was more electronic, avant garde, experimental and minimalist than the overblown symphonic bombast of most of its British contemporaries.

There were several big names in Krautrock: Neu!, Amon Duul, Faust, Guru Guru. But for me, the Krautrock band will always be Can.

Though Can’s instrumental members were all German, their original lead singer was an African-American, Malcolm Mooney, replaced after a couple albums by Japanese street performer Damo Suzuki. (I can’t tell you how disappointed I was when I first heard the band Mooney Suzuki, especially since their album cover was a direct reference to another prog classic, Soft Machine Third. They sound nothing like the bands they’re referencing. But I digress.)

Can has been highly influential on some musicians who are quite popular in the indie rock scene these days, most notably Fujiya & Miyagi.