The pair recorded in Star Studios in Hamburg, with the up-and-coming Krautrock producer Plank, as Dinger had with Kraftwerk. Dinger noted that Plank served as a "mediator" between the often disagreeing factions within the band.
The band were booked in to the studio for four days in late 1971. According to Dinger, the first two days were unproductive until he brought his koto ("Japanese banjo") to the sessions, a heavily treated version of which can be heard on "Negativland", the first of the album's six tracks to be recorded.
It was during these sessions that Dinger first played his famous "motorik" beat. Two songs on the album, "Hallogallo" and "Negativland", feature this beat. Motorik is a repeated 4/4 drumbeat with only occasional interruptions, perhaps best showcased on "Hallogallo". Dinger claimed never to have used the term "motorik" himself, preferring either "lange gerade" ("long straight") or "endlose gerade" ("endless straight"). He later changed the beat's "name" to the "Apache beat" to coincide with his 1985 solo album Neondian.