Cluster

Artist: Cluster
P: 1974 / 2004
Originally released in 1974, Zuckerzeit (Moebius & Roedelius )marked a turning point for these seminal German space rockers. Recorded shortly after their move away from the metropolis of Berlin, it sees some of the abrasiveness of their earlier material slightly diffusing. With the addition of proto drum machines and the producing talents of Michael Rother, their sound here, while remaining firmly in anchored in experimental territory, has more pop sensibility. Here the Revisited Rec Version.

Artist: Eno, Moebius, Roedelius
P: 1978 / 2009
This album came from the same sessions which produced the 5 star masterpiece Cluster and Eno and the song By This River on Before and After Science. This is another splendid album, but it lacks the cohesiveness and sustained other worldly atmosphere of their previous release. It's also a rather more uptempo album a lot of the time, although the overall mood is still tranquil with some nagging dark undercurrents. One major difference between After The Heat and Cluster & Eno is the inclusion of Eno's vocal on a few tracks. This is particularly effective on T'Zima N'arki, which sounds as though Eno is singing his lyrics backwards or possibly is just singing nonsense syllables with bizarre inflections. This track also features Can's Holger Czukay on bass, and has some dub reggae styled sound effects - all in all, an oddly enjoyable musical confection. The Belldog, on the other hand, sounds like a track from an Eno solo album - a perfectly good song in its own right, but not quite in keeping with the rest of the album. The instrumental tracks mostly recall the spacy soundscapes of Cluster & Eno, which itself called to mind the best moments of Another Green World and Music for Films. After the Heat is a strong album from a remarkably productive collaboration, and is highly recommended.

Artist: Liliental
P: 1976 / 2024
Electronic music pioneer Dieter Moebius (Cluster, Harmonia) wanted to record an album together with his musical soul-mates, Okko Bekker and Asmus Tietchens, at Conny Plank s studio in 1976. In the event, Plank himself even participated in the recordings as a musician. Two other musicians also joined the fold: bassist Helmut Hattler and saxophonist Johannes Pappert (both from Kraan) had just finished working on an album and were happy to stay on at the studio. Suddenly, there were six musicians with six different personalities who had never worked together before. But what could easily have gone wrong turned into a great document of electronic music, which was rather atypical for its time and conveyed a certain lightness, revealing complex structures on closer inspection.

Artist: Moebius,+ Roedelius
P: 1990 / 2007
This rerelease out of 2007 shows the reminiscence of the both musicians out of the year 1990, where they remember the times of Cluster and play music again in that vitage style.
Comes in a CD sized papersleeve album replica, with Obi-strip and insert of notes.

Artist: Moebius,+ Roedelius
P: 1990 / 2014
Cluster (Dieter Moebius, Hans-Joachim Roedelius) are considered pioneers of electronic music and key Krautrock protagonists. In the late 1960s, together with Konrad Schnitzler as the trio Kluster, they changed the world of music for ever with their radical improvisations. Having split from Schnitzler, Moebius and Roedelius continued as Cluster, releasing eight further milestones of electronic and ambient music up until 1981, two of them with Brian Eno. A hiatus lasting almost a decade was brought to an end in 1990 when Cluster made a surprise comeback with "Apropos Cluster".

Artist: Qluster
P: 2012
“Antworten” (“answer”) is the third instalment in a trilogy of Qluster music, following on from the “Fragen” (“question”) and “Rufen” (“call”) studio albums. The fact that the music on “Antworten” was created before “Rufen” and “Fragen” were recorded is less of a paradox than it might at first appear. For the expansive piano fantasies of their 2007 recordings had already provided a clear answer to the two musicians’ question as to
whether, and to what degree, they wished to collaborate in the future. Seldom has a musical duo been so united in heart and soul as Roedelius and Bock that January of evening in 2007. Their improvised nocturnes on two Steinways in the Berliner
Philharmonie were delectable. Completely unplugged and utterly relaxed, Roedelius and
Bock tossed musical ideas back and forth without pause, occasionally adding in the delicate tone of a distant singing bowl. Something rare, something wonderful happened in the course of this midnight session. Two perfectly inspired virtuosos coalescing
into one person–Qluster–speaking in one language to tell us of something which we no longer need to dream, as we can hear on “Antworten”. The notes flow incessantly, yet they also convey peace and quiet, a balancing act of which only the most mature personalities are capable. Roedelius and Bock pulled off the trick, this sleight of hand, with the greatest of ease, The “Antworten/answers” are, in equal measure, lucid and lost in reverie. Lucid, because Qluster reveal the source of their art: inspiration and solid craftsmanship. Lost in reverie, because the music is far removed from daily monotony, from common cliché. Balsam for the ears, without any esoteric frippery or contrived secrecy. Nevertheless, the “Antworten/answers” remain auratic. Which can be explained with a single word: art. “Antworten” is an early Qluster statement, and thankfully Roedelius and Bock chose to continue and intensify their work together. The previously issued “Fragen” and “Rufen” albums offer convincing proof thereof. And Qluster senses a responsibility to long-term
artistic development whose transitory power continues to look ahead, into the future. Asmus Tietchens

Artist: Qluster
P: 2016
"Echtzeit" is already Qluster's sixth album. After the pure piano work on "Tasten" (2015), the group has now returned to their electronic equipment with renewed vigor on "Echtzeit". Yet Roedelius' favorite instrument, the piano, also receives its due. Large parts of the album were recorded in a church. The principle behind the creative process for Kluster/Cluster/ Qluster has always been much the same: Musical structures arise from the moment. The pieces on their albums are passages taken from long improvisations that feature a special atmosphere and engaging patterns or figures. Playful experimentation with new instruments and effects or settings is often what leads to the creative spark. Despite their high affinity for experimentation, the term "experimental music" would be misplaced here. Dissonance, noises or glitch sounds are largely absent. "Echtzeit" is consistently more harmonious and accessible than their previous electronic albums. The album "Lauschen" from 2013 previously indicated the direction in which Qluster is currently moving. "Echtzeit" is contemplative, mature, intelligent electronic music that could significantly expand the trio's audience.

Artist: Qluster
P: 2011
“Fragen” is the first part of an exceptional trilogy, a grandiose new beginning, backed up by forty years of tradition. Two fundamental decisions, borne of an acutely refined sense of musical self-conception, have shaped Qluster: the use of analogue keyboards only and a focus on improvisation through vibrant playing technique. Qluster have jettisoned all forms of ballast pertaining to music and sound. Roedelius and Bock develop their musical aesthetic through seven impressionistic pictures, an aesthetic which borders on ascetic rigour. And yet each piece is motivated by something deeply human, a playful
element setting the tone. Qluster’s modus operandi guides the listener towards peaceful, pale blue rooms where airy veils of suspended matter sparkle, as if floating gently to and fro on the breeze. Beyond the veils one senses further rooms, in colours which have lost their names and become sound. To be perfectly clear: Qluster’s music is not psychedelic, neither in the traditional, nor in a wider sense. This is no meditative soundtrack for a
“journey to the inner self”. In its own way, however, it does represent a trip to the realms of utopia, where particularly careful listening is required in order to appreciate the music in all its richness and splendour.

Artist: Qluster
P: 2011
“Rufen” is the second instalment in a trilogy of Qluster music, following on from the “Fragen” studio album. In four impressive live recordings, Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Onnen Bock (bios see below) unfold aural panoramas which can only be described, in the truest sense of the word, as fantastic. Had Claude Debussy not already composed “Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun”, then Qluster would have been ideally placed to do so, their transparency and polymorphism so reminiscent of his high impressionism. Shunning computers and discarding digital sound Roedelius and Bock appear to have detached themselves from their own age, exclusively playing analogue keyboards, such as
the good old Korg MS 20 synthesizer. Nevertheless, they do not revert to earlier periods in search of their stylistic approach. Conventional rhythmic and harmonic patterns are wholly absent. Qluster’s foreign sounds and lucidity bring their music closer to contemporary electronic chamber music; although, as paradoxical as it may sound, a form of chamber music which Qluster first had to invent. If this album’s predecessor “Fragen” (released in spring 2011) ventured into strange, unworldly musical territory, then “Rufen” pushes the boundaries still further. Qluster take the listener along a path which seems to disappear on an imaginary horizon. Roedelius and Bock neither drift off course, nor do they lose sight
of their destination. As such, they prove to be reliable scouts who earn the trust of the wanderer at their side. Perhaps there is no goal in Qluster’s music, unless it lies in cloud cuckoo land. The direction, however, is clear: head towards the sun, further and
further, to a place where everything looks – and sounds – a little different. New land, terra incognita. Listening to Qluster feels as new an experience as the music they play. “Rufen” is not new just for the sake of it. That would not be enough. “Rufen” is new because two mature musical personalities have succeeded (effortlessly) in creating music which cannot be plotted on a timeline. Music which defies comparison in terms of form and sound. A chance occurrence? Very rare, to say the least.
Asmus Tietchens

Artist: Qluster
P: 2015
QLUSTER are Hans-Joachim Roedelius, Onnen Bock and Armin Metz. "Tasten" is their fifth album. The trio explores the musical depths of three Steinway concert grands to their fullest potential. Spherical sounds of three overlapping instruments, complete with gentle tones and little melodies, sporadically culminating in impulsive sonic storms. A wonderful piece of "neo-classical" music by three masters of their art.