Technical Space Composer's Crew - Canaxis 5 - 1969

Review

Although usually cited as a solo album, Canaxis is in fact a collaboration between Can bassist/sound manipulator Holger Czukay and producer/engineer Rolf Dammers. The album credit, is in fact listed as Technical Space Composer's Crew. Although recorded a short time after Can's inception, Canaxis shares little with that band's sound except maybe in their most experimental and freaked out moments.

This disc's foundation is a series of field recordings, mostly from Vietnam. Mistakingly playing some of these recordings together with a completely different music source, Czukay realized the possibilities of found sound manipulation, and began work on this album. This has absolutely nothing to to with rock at all and is more a realization of contemporary avant music theory.

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

Cluster - After the Heat - 1978

Review

After the Heat is a 1978 album by Brian Eno and both members of Cluster, namely Dieter Moebius and Hans-Joachim Roedelius. The album represents the second collaboration by the trio, the first being 1977's Cluster & Eno. Again, it was created in collaboration with the influential "krautrock" producer, Conny Plank.

The track "Tzima N'Arki" contains a reversed vocal track, part of which includes the chorus of Eno's song "King's Lead Hat" (from his album Before and after Science), itself an anagram of "Talking Heads", whose recordings Eno was producing during that period.

"Broken Head" makes prominent use of tape flanging on Eno's declaimed vocal. The song "The Belldog" is notable for its sequenced analogue synth bassline.

Track listing

"Oil" – 4:12

"Foreign Affairs" – 3:30

"Luftschloß" – 3:10

"The Shade" – 3:08

"Old Land" – 4:10

"Base & Apex" – 4:29

"Light Arms" – 1:29

"Broken Head" – 5:25

"The Belldog" – 6:16

"Tzima N'Arki" – 4:30

Cluster - Cluster & Eno - 1977

Review

Cluster & Eno is a collaborative album by the German electronic music group Cluster and British ambient musician Brian Eno. The style of this album is a collection of gentle melodies: a mixture of Eno’s ambient sensibilities and Cluster's avant-garde style.

In June, 1977 the duo of Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Dieter Moebius joined with Brian Eno for recording sessions at Conny Plank's studio. The first release from those sessions on Sky Records was Cluster & Eno. Guest musicians on the album included Can bassist Holger Czukay and Asmus Tietchens on synthesizer. The association with Eno brought Cluster a much wider audience than previous albums and international attention.

Bryan Reesman, in his editorial review for Amazon.com, writes, in part:

"Meshing Cluster's affinity for loops and repetition and Eno's penchant for processing sounds, the trio proves that ambient music does not merely consist of drawn-out drones and insipid keyboard tapestries. Certainly many of these nine tracks play off of sustained sounds and atmospheres, but their shorter running times make them more digestible, as does their variety of moods and textures. Highlights include the angelic atmosphere of "Für Luise," the classically inspired piano interlude "Mit Samaen," and the Indian-influenced "One," a trippy progenitor of ethnoambient music, ripe with sitar drones, guitar noises, and exotic percussion that features contributions from Okko Becker and Asmus Tietchens."

The American Gyroscope label reissued Cluster & Eno on CD in 1996. The album was also reissued in the United States by the San Francisco based Water label in 2005.

Track listing

"Ho Renomo" – 5:07

"Schöne Hände" – 3:03

"Steinsame" – 4:06

"Wehrmut" – 3:20

"Mit Simaen" – 4:26

"Selange" – 3:30

"Die Bunge" – 3:45

"One" – 6:06

"Für Luise" – 5:01