Moebius - 2006 - Nurton

Review

Very good 2005 effort from half of Cluster, with this not sounding similar and happily not sounding completely plastic and digital... "As the more eccentric half of the pioneering electronic duo Cluster, Dieter Moebius has released challenging solo material ranging from off-kilter synth pop to proto-industrial clangor. Nurton strikes a satisfying middle ground between calming ambient soundscapes and polyrhythmic dissonance--this is metal machine music with an organic heart. Employing all manner of spontaneous, elliptical sounds--from buzz-saw synth drones to insect percussion--Moebius weaves pulsing lines from the synaptic misfiring of his electronics, all with the finesse of a veteran mensch-machine."

Track Listing

01. Anfahrt [4:48]

02. Gangig [3:54]

03. Mahalmal [4:49]

04. Born Neo [4:55]

05. Schleudergang [3:29]

06. Flag [4:39]

07. Opaque [4:16]

08. Snorkel [4:53]

09. Story [3:43]

10. Sad [4:40]

11. Warum? [3:31]

12. Moskito [3:01]

13. April [3:53]

14. Letzte [3:51]

pass: tangram

Cluster - Berlim 07

Review

Berlin 07 it was recorded in 2007 at a Cluster concert in Berlin, their first there since 1969.

Recorded much in the style of the duo's previous two albums, both of which drew from Roedelius' Sinfonia Contempora sound, that he developed on his two solo albums Sinfonia Contempora No. 1: Von Zeit zu Zeit and Sinfonia Contempora No. 2: La Nordica (Salz Des Nordens). The album's style differs from the Sinfonia Contempora albums as it quite obviously contains elements of Moebius' style as well. It mixes avant-techno with sound clips and mocking synth growls.

Track Listing

Part 1 - 29:47 

Part 2 - 36:45 

Cluster - First Encounter Tour 96

Review

First Encounter Tour 1996 is the thirteenth full-length album by German electronic music outfit Cluster. It is also the third live album released, and the only double album released by Cluster.

First Encounter Tour 1996 was recorded at various concert venues around the United States in 1996 and was produced by noted keyboardist and ambient musician Tim Story at Zeta in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was released on February 25, 1997. First Encounter Tour 1996 was Cluster's only release for the Purple Pyramid label.

The music of First Encounter Tour 1997 flows from one music style to the next and reflects all the varieties of Cluster's music from the 1979 release Grosses Wasser onwards. Some sections of the longer tracks do seem to break new musical ground for Cluster, with deeply atmospheric ambient music leading into sections with a definite melody and beat. Each track is named for the city or cities in which the concerts took place, with the sole exception of the last track which is named for guest musicians Bond Bergland and The Brain (the duo of Paul Fox and Tommy Grenas), which was recorded in Anderson, Indiana and Chicago, Illinois. Much of the music is improvisational but some set pieces were included. For example, the track "Portland Oregon #2" is a live performance of "Emmental" from the 1991 release Apropos Cluster. A short section of "New York City", the nearly 33 minute piece which opens the album, is taken from the avant-garde middle section of the title track from Grosses Wasser. A number of sections of various pieces are very similar to sections of Japan 1996 Live.

Track Listing

1 - "New York City - 32:58

2 - "Phoenix Arizona #1 - 4:04

3 - "Portland Oregon #1 - 29:05

4 - "New Orleans Louisiana" - 4:42

5 - "Portalnd Oregon #2" - 3:36

6 - "Providence Rhode Island" - 7:01

7 - "Eugene Oregon" - 20:13

8 - "Asheville North Carolina" - 2:41

9 - "Chicago Illinois" - 5:31

10 - "Phoenix Arizona #2" - 13:30

11 - "Covington Kentucky" - 4:51

12 - "Minneapolis Minnesota" - 6:51

13 - "Bond Bergland / The Brain" - 15:56

http://www.megaupload.com/ru/?d=XZBNZTOH

http://www.megaupload.com/ru/?d=BWEOOYHF 

Cluster - 1980 - Cluster & Farnbauer - Live in Vienna

Review

Live in Vienna is the eighth full-length album by German electronic music outfit Cluster and their first and only album with Joshi Farnbauer. It is the first of four live albums recorded by Cluster.

On June 12, 1980 Cluster performed at the Wiener Festwochen Alternativ with Farnbauer. The performance was recorded and released as a limited edition cassette on the British York House Records (YHR) label. It was reissued in Germany on the Transmitter label of "Grüne Kraft" owner Werner Pieper.The style of much of the music is highly experimental and discordant and very reminiscent of Moebius and Rodelius' early work with Conrad Schnitzler in Kluster, albeit with updated electronic instrumentation. Two notable exceptions are "Piano and "Ausgang", which are melodic in style. "Piano" concludes with a live rendition on "Manchmal" which originally appeared on the album Grosses Wasser (1979).

Two sections of this album, each between 15 and 16 minutes long, were included as bonus tracks on the Hypnotic CD reissues of the first two Kluster albums, Klopfzeichen and Zwei-Osterei. On August 24, 2010 the album was reissued as a double CD by the American label Important Records. The CD version includes remastered audio and newly created artwork by Dieter Moebius.

Track Listing

1 - "Service" - 32:00

2 - "Kurz" - 4:30

3 - "Piano" - 5:30

4 - "Drums" - 13:30

5 - "Metalle" - 25:15

6 - "Ausgang" - 6:45

Moebius - 1999 - Blotch

Review

This is the second solo album of Dieter Moebius (ex. CLUSTER, HARMONIA) after 16 years interval. 

Track Listing

1 - Ondulation [4:00]

2 - Meltaway [6:00]

3 - Temperate [3:45]

4 - The Tracker [8:25]

5 - Im Raum [12:00]

6 - Kohlzug [11:00]

7 - Balistory [8:30]

http://sharebee.com/180e36d9

http://sharebee.com/031c4ed5

Moebius, Plank, Mayo - 1998 - Ludwig's Law

Review

Ludwig's Law is the one and only album released by trio of Dieter Moebius, Conny Plank, and Mayo Thompson. It was actually the fourth album recorded by the team of Moebius & Plank. In 1983 the duo recorded a series of electronic tracks using an Emulator, an early form of sampling keyboard that enabled them to duplicate other instruments without having to deal with the musicians who played them. Mayo Thompson of Red Krayola recorded a series of monologues and vocal tracks which were added to the music Moebius & Plank had recorded. According to the Earpiece website "topics include the fate of chickens owned by a 'farmer gabriel' and the effect of lack of sunlight on human intelligence." Sky Records, which had released the first three Moebius & Plank album, rejected the master and Ludwig's Law was relegated to the vault. It was finally released on November 16, 1998 on the Drag City label.

Track Listing

1 - "Scientists" - 0:38

2 - "Das Apartment" - 4:30

3 - "The Truth?" - 5:14

4 - "Ludwig's Law" - 4:20

5 - "42" - 3:44

6 - "Farmer Gabriel" - 4:51

7 - "Gestalt" - 4:43

8 - "Taras Bulba" - 5:06

9 - "Boy Boy Boy" - 3:16

Moebius & Plank - 1995 - En Route

Review

En Route is the fourth full-length album released by German electronic music duo of Dieter Moebius and Conny Plank. It was actually the fifth and final album recorded before Plank's death in 1987. En Route was recorded in 1986 at Conny's Studio outside of Cologne. As Plank's health deteriorated the recordings were left incomplete. The album was completed and mixed by Moebius & Gebhard. The 11th through 13th tracks on the CD are remixes by Manu Guiot done in 1995. It was released by the Dubuque, Iowa-based Curious Music label in 1995.

Track Listing

1 - "Automatic" - 5:17

2 - "Don't Point The Bone" - 5:03

3 - "Drum!" - 4:47

4 - "EChaos" - 3:25

5 - "Muffler A" - 4:45

6 - "Pick The Rubber" - 4:33

7 - "The Truth?" - 3:28

8 - "Prehistoric" - 2:37

9 - "Die Wirren" - 3:26

10 - "Muffler B" - 2:25

11 - "Don't Point The Bone" (remix) - 5:09

12 - "Automatic" (remix) - 4:21

13 - "Prehistoric" (remix) - 5:38

Moebius - 1985 - Blue Moon

 Review

'Blue Moon' was Moebius's (Cluster/Harmonia) last solo release for Sky Records. It is the soundtrack to a film of the same name, which neither I, nor Asmus Tietchens (who writes the sleevenotes) have seen, but it looks pretty cool from the stills on the sleeve - some kind of late '80s German crime thriller, possibly. Anyway, this is the only instance of Moebius writing a film score and as such it's defined by certain parameters which mark it from the rest of his work. The eleven tracks were created to fit the timing of the scenes, and are generally shorter, measured, rhythmic miniatures of pure synth music, condensing his already simple style into awesome vignettes like the tense, blaring 'Am See', the very technofied and brilliantly titled 'Kriminelle Energie', or the distorted 303-alike peal of 'Hoffnungsschimmer', together with a weirdly discordant intro and the louche ende titles. A totally unique album.

Track Listing

A1 - Intro 2 - 2:14

A2 - Falsche Ruhe - 1:50

A3 - Ablenkung - 2:10

A4 - Im Wedding - 2:40

A5 - Dust Off - 2:05

A6 - Am See - 3:35

B1 - Bleifuß 1+2 - 4:05

B2 - Kriminelle Energie - 2:30

B3 - Traurige Zita - 3:35

B4 - Hoffnungsschimmer - 3:45

B5 - Das Ende 3:16

Moebius & Beerbohm - 1983 - Double Cut

Review

The second of two collaborations involving Moebius and Gerd Beerbohm, Double Cut sounds miles away from the relatively harmless electronic pop experiments of solo work by Moebius

Track Listing

1 - Minimotion - 6:58

2 - Hydrogen - 3:33

3 - Narkose - 6:37

4 - Doppelschnitt - 21:44

Moebius - 1983 - Tonspuren

Review

Tonspuren (Soundtracks), Moebius’s third solo album, is an interesting proto-techno trip full of relatively short songs that have that trademark Moebius “thing” that Allmusic describes as “an assortment of creaking, chirping and wheezing synthesizer lines.”

Track Listing

1  - Contramio 2:35

2  - Hasenheide 2:40

3  - Rattenwiese 3:20

4  - Transport 3:00

5  - Etwas 4:00

6  - Nervös 3:35

7  - B 36 4:20

8  - Furbo 4:50

9  - Sinister 4:10

10 - mmerhin 2:40

Moebius, Plank, Neumeier - 1983 - Zero Set

Review

Zero Set is the only album by the German electronic music trio of Dieter Moebius, Conny Plank, and Mani Neumeier. It followed two collaborations by Moebius & Plank as a duo. Zero Set was recorded in September, 1982 at Conny's Studio outside Cologne, and released by Sky Records in 1983.

The music on Zero Set is strongly influenced by African rhythms and music. One track, "Recall", features Sudanese vocals by Deuka. Matthew Weiner describes it for Soulmind Online: "Though not a dance record per se, Zero Set is one of the earliest extensions of Krautrock’s possibilities on the dance floor, pitting the profoundly electronic sequence patterns of Plank and Moebius against the hyperactive percussives of Guru Guru drummer Mani Neumeier. On tracks such as the prophetically titled 'Speed Display' and 'Pitch Control', the phasing, chattering and decidedly Germanic grooves found on Zero Set constitute vibrant proto-techno at its earliest and finest." David Ross Smith, writing for Allmusic, describes the album: "...a highly percussive affair with Mani Neumeier. The album is saturated in drum and synth rhythms and polyrhythms, resulting in compositions that are energetic and infectious." Zero Set was a turning point for Moebius and Plank, a fact lamented by Steven and Alan Freeman in their book The Crack In The Cosmic Egg. They say, in part: "...working with Mani Neumeier on Zero Set strangely took the music too close to techno for comfort..."

Track Listing

1 - "Speed Display" (5:13)

2 - "Load" (5:20)

3 - "Pitch Control" (6:23)

4 - "All Repro" (3:28)

5 - "Recall" (8:34)

6 - "Search Zero" (8:38)

Moebius & Beerbohm - 1982 - Strange Music

Review

The first collaborative album by electronic music pioneer Dieter Moebius and bassist Gerd Beerbohm, Strange Music originally surfaced in 1982. Recordings like 'Subito' and 'Glucose' seem to have as much to do with the rough-cut, primitive pop of the post-punk and new-wave scene as much as they do experimental electronics, yet this sort of impulsive DIY simplicity is counterbalanced by surreal and adventurous exercises such as 'White House', which toys with spiralling synth formations and radically warped vocal signals. A track like 'Clarks Shiraz' sounds incredibly modern in character - it could easily have been lifted from some particularly far-out underground emission from the likes of Daniel Lopatin or other such forward-thinking synth-wielders, but for all its prescience this record is equally aware of what's been going on in other fields of music, both past and present: something like '883' curiously combines influences from sprawling jazz and the rhythms of Jamaican dub records.

Track Listing

1 - Subito - 2:47
2 - White House - 5:34
3 - Fortschritt - 4:40
4 - Clarks Shiraz - 4:31
5 - Ying Yang - 6:21
6 - 883 - 6:49
7 - Glucose - 4:03

Moebius & Plank - 1981 - Material

Review

Material is the second full-length album by German electronic music duo of Dieter Moebius and Conny Plank. Material was recorded in July, 1981 at Conny's Studio outside of Cologne. It was released by Sky Records in 1981. Steven and Alan Freeman, writing in The Crack In The Cosmic Egg describe Material and the 1980 Moebius & Plank debut album Rastakraut Pasta, in part, this way: "Their early albums as a duo were revelations of innovation, bringing unlikely combinations of industrial rock, cosmic and even dub music (on Rastakraut Pasta) together in a hybrid of genres. A reborn spirit of Krautrock that played recklessly with offbeat forms..." The incessant, forceful beat on "Conditionierer", the opening track of Material, could easily have been suitable for club dance music if not for all the odd electronic sounds added on top.

Track Listing

1 - "Conditionierer" - 8:46

2 - "Infiltration" - 7:40

3 - "Tollkühn" - 6:11

4 - "Osmo-Fantor" - 4:27

5 - "Nordöstliches Gefühl" -7:13

Moebius & Plank - 1980 - Rastakraut Pasta

Review

Rastakraut Pasta was recorded in September, 1979 at Conny's Studio outside of Cologne. It was released by Sky Records in 1980. Instrumentation on the album includes electronics, voice, guitar, and flute, all of which are credited to both Moebius & Plank. Can alumnus Holger Czukay plays bass on three tracks: "Feedback 66", "Missi Cacadou", and "Two Oldtimers".

Track Listing

1 - "News" - 4:53

2 - "Rastakraut Pasta" - 6:17

3 - "Feedback 66" - 4:57

4 - "Missi Cacadou" - 5:31

5 - "Two Oldtimers" - 7:02

6 - "Solar Plexus" - 4:55

6 - "Landebahn" - 1:28

Moebius & friends - 1978 - Liliental

Review

Another of krautrocker Dieter Moebius's many side projects, Liliental boasted the participation of producer Conny Plank as well as several German jazz musicians who injected a sense of dynamics into the works. The range of sounds on this one-shot 1978 album is impressive, from the sparkling ambience of "Gebremster Schaum," with its gentle slide guitar and harmonics offsetting the weird, hushed vocal grunts in the background, to the drum-kit-centric "Nachsaison," a bit of Floydian funk

Track listing

1 - Stresemannstraae

2 - Adel

3 - Wattwurm

4 - Vielharmonie

5 - Gebremster Schaum

6 - Nachsaison.

Or

Harmonia & Eno - 1976 - Tracks and Traces

Review

Tracks and Traces was recorded at Harmonia's studio in Forst, Germany. It was not released until November 4, 1997 by the American Rykodisc label.

Various websites quote Eno as saying that Harmonia was "the world's most important rock band" in the mid '70s, including Sherman Wick in his review of Musik Von Harmonia, the first Harmonia album. Daniel Dumych, who also cites that quote, writes in his article for hyperreal.org: "Perhaps Eno's reason for praising Harmonia so highly was that their music fit the requirements of ambient rock. Its music was equally suitable for active or passive listening. The careful listener found his/her attentions rewarded by the musical activities and sounds, but Harmonia's music was also capable of setting a sonic environment." Clearly Eno had been very impressed with both Musik Von Harmonia and Cluster's fourth album Zuckerzeit and had joined Harmonia on tour, first playing with the group at The Fabrik in Hamburg.

Jeff Melton, who reviewed Tracks and Traces for the Expose Progressive Music website, described the album, in part: "Overall the album is relaxing and evokes dream like images but doesn't force you to passively count sheep. For a lost project which had been unreleased for over twenty years, I'd say it's as current [as] any techno project if only for the strength of the collaboration and the blurring of egos." The album has only one vocal track, "Luneburg Heath". Jess Barnett, writing in her review for FensePost, comments that the song "has a strong Eno presence and a disembodied voice singing, 'Don’t get lost on Luneberg Heath'. The synth lines are twangy and muffled, repetitive but not boring." Ned Raggett, writing the review for Allmusic, says in part: "Having already created two excellent albums, the core Harmonia trio was easily placed to whip up a third, with Eno the wild-card factor who turned out to be a perfect addition. While contributing some lyrics and singing at a time when he was steering away firmly from both in his own solo work, most of the time Eno lets the band speak for themselves musically, most notably adding snaky, quietly threatening basslines."

Track Listing

1 - "Vamos Companeros" – 4:32

2 - "By the Riverside" – 9:31

3 - "Luneburg Heath" – 4:53

4 - "Sometimes in Autumn" – 15:49

5 - "Weird Dream" – 6:39

6 - "Almost" – 5:28

7 - "Les Demoiselles" – 3:59

8 - "When Shade Was Born" – 1:30

9 - "Trace" – 1:31

Harmonia - 1975 - Deluxe

Review

Deluxe is the second album from the highly influential Krautrock/Kosmische Musik group Harmonia. Harmonia was formed by the addition of Neu! guitarist Michael Rother to Cluster, the duo of Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Dieter Moebius.

Deluxe was recorded in June, 1975 in Harmonia's studio in Forst, Germany. It was first released on the Brain Records label in 1975. It was produced by the band members and legendary Krautrock producer, Conny Plank.Ned Raggett's review for Allmusic opens: "A touch more immediate and song-oriented than its predecessor, but no less enchanting and lovely to hear, De Luxe again features the trio experimenting with a variety of approaches, most particularly including vocals here and there for the first time."The Ground and Sky review by Joe McGlinchey describes Deluxe, in part: "The album also has more of a drive to it than the first Harmonia album, perhaps in part to Rother's guitar being much more upfront and noticeable, as well as the addition of Guru Guru drummer Mani Neumeier on some tracks."Neumeier performs a lengthy jam on the track "Walky Talky". Ned Raggett adds: "The motorik pulses and rhythms, however soft and subtle, still dominate the proceedings, while the glazed, warm feeling of the whole album is astounding."

Deluxe ranked at #41 among Krautrock albums in sales at Amazon.com as of September 3, 2007. Musician, writer, and rock historian Julian Cope included Deluxe in his Krautrock Top 50.

CDs of Deluxe first appeared in 1994 on the Germanofon label. This dubious company based in Luxembourg released numerous Krautrock albums without proper authorization or paying royalties, in effect producing bootlegs that somehow found their way into mainstream distribution. The Germanofon CDs were transfers from vinyl LPs and generally were of inferior sound quality. The album was not properly released on CD until October 24, 2004 on the Motor Music label, a subsidiary of the Universal Music Group.It was also reissued by Universal in Japan in 2005, by the Russian label Lilith in 2006, and by the Revisited Records label in 2007.

Track Listing

1 - "Deluxe (Immer Wieder)" – 9:45

2 - "Walky-Talky" – 10:35

3 - "Monza (Rauf und Runter)" – 7:07

4 - "Notre Dame" – 4:15

5 - "Gollum" – 4:35

6 - "Kekse" – 5:35

Harmonia - 1974 - Musik Von Harmonia

Review

Musik Von Harmonia is the debut album of the group of krautrock highly influential Harmony . Harmony was formed by guitarist Neu! , Michael Rother and the duo of electronic music Cluster , Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Dieter Moebius.

Musik Von Harmonia was recorded between June and November 1973 in Forst , Germany . It was released by Brain Records in 1974. Ned Ragget to the site allmusic wrote:

"The debut of Harmony is both a product of the bands of their origin and refining a new twist on them, resulting in music that captures what for many is the Krautrock ideal ... It is both playful and dark, firm and mechanical, a kind of supergroup that easily achieves and maintains that status apparently exaggerated, embracing a variety of approaches to work wonderfully. "

Track Listing

"Watussi" - 6:00

"Sehr Kosmische" - 10:50

"Sonnenschein" - 3:50

"Dino" - 3:30

"Ohrwurm" - 5:05

"Ahoi!" - 5:00

"Veteran" - 3:55

"Hausmusik" - 4:30

Cluster & Brian Eno - Old Land - 1985

Review

Old Land is a Relativity Records 1985 compilation album by Cluster and Brian Eno. All of the tracks had been previously released on two prior albums: Cluster & Eno and After the Heat, which were released on LP by Sky Records in 1977 and 1978 respectively. The title is drawn from a track originally released on After the Heat.

Track listing

"Base and Apex" – 4:29

"Broken Head" – 5:25

"The Belldog" – 6:16

"Tzima N'Arki" – 4:30

"Schöne Hände" – 3:03

"Steinsame" – 4:06

"Wehrmut" – 3:20

"Für Luise" – 5:04

"Old Land" – 4:10