West Germany following the Second World War was a country in shock: estranged from its recent history, and adrift from the rest of Europe. But this disorientating landscape proved fertile ground for a generation of musicians who, from the 1960s onwards, would develop the experimental and various sounds that became known as Krautrock.Eschewing the Anglo-American jazz/blues tradition, they took their inspiration from elsewhere: the mysticism of the East; the fractured classicism of Stockhausen; the pneumatic repetition of industry and the dense forests of the Rhineland; the endless winding of Autobahns.Faust, Neu!, Cluster, Ash Ra Tempel, Amon Düül II, Can and Kraftwerk. These may not all be household names, but the influence of their ruminative, expansive compositions upon Western popular music is incalculable. These groups were key to the development of postpunk, electronica and ambient music. Without them Bowie would not have made his Berlin trilogy, Talking Heads would have been a straight-ahead rock band, and the Pet Shop Boys would have a completely different stage act.Future Days is an in-depth study of this meditative, sometimes abstract, often very beautiful music and the groups that made it, throwing light on the social and political context that informed them. It's an indispensable book for those wanting to understand how much of today's music came about, and to discover a wealth of highly influential and pioneering musicians.

David Stubbs is a British author and music journalist. Alongside Simon Reynolds, he was one of the co-founders of the Oxford magazine Monitor before going on to join the staff at Melody Maker. He later worked for NME, Uncut and Vox, as well as The Wire. His work has appeared in The Times, The Sunday Times, Spin, The Guardian, The Quietus and GQ. He has written a number of books, including a song by song profile of Jimi Hendrix and Fear Of Music: Why People Get Rothko But Don't Get Stockhausen, a comparative study of 20th century avant garde music and art. He currently lives in London.