dieter moebius / conrad plank “en route” long playing record

• automatic (5:17)
  
• don’t point the bone (5:03)
  
• drum! (2:39)
  
• echaos (3:26)
  
• muffler a (4:45)
  
• pick the rubber (4:33)
  
  
• the truth? (3:28)
  
• prehistoric (2:37)
  
• die wirren (3:26)
  
• muffler b (2:25)
  
• don’t point the bone (remix) (5:10)
  
• automatic (remix) (4:22)
  
• prehistoric (remix) (5:39)

bureau b press release...

moebius & plank en route reissue (recorded in 1986, originally released in 1995) lp release date: september 28, 2012 “en route” was created in 1986, when the era of analogue synths and rhythm machines seemed to be drawing to a close. drum computers, samplers and digital instruments such as the synclavier and fairlight cms would shape the immediate future of electronic music. naturally, these wonderful machines formed a part of plank’s arsenal and were used extensively by him and moebius. the duo explored the new devices with their inimitable, cheerful sense of abandon, but were wise enough not to rely on them entirely. analogue instruments resurface time and again, such as trumpet (!), guitar and other sonic sources which are less easy to identify. nor had moebius packed his analogue synthesizers away in mothballs. rhythmic throughout, the music is wholly free of the darkness which characterized the fashionable industrial or new wave scenes of the period. a tendency to descend into enraptured sonic abstraction is similarly absent. the pieces almost sound as if they are the product of real-time improvisation – airy and self-evident, ballast-free of and without unnecessary embellishment. moebius and plank must have had so much fun during the recording sessions! “en route“ is hip electronic music, yet it steers well clear of the mainstream. the fact that three tracks were remixed for a commission by dave stewart (eurythmics) did nothing to change that. stewart was planning a film project (which never came to fruition) and hired producer manu guiot, who reshaped the tracks together with dieter moebius shortly before release in conny's studio. moebius and plank were en route, “on the way" so to speak. a damned fine way at that. sadly, “en route” was to be the last in a sequence of five albums they recorded and released together. conceived in 1983, “ludwig’s law” was the fourth album in chronological terms but only appeared in 1998, three years after “en route”. debilitated by severe illness, plank was no longer able to mix the recordings himself. his studio colleague bruno gebhard took on the task, together with moebius. shortly afterwards, in 1987, conny plank died. the common path of the two friends was now at an end. but “en route” was certainly not intended to mark the conclusion of their lengthy collaboration. for how much of the future, how much optimism were implicit in the certitude of being en route? - asmus tietchens

dieter moebius / conrad plank “en route” compact disc

• automatic (5:17)
  
• don’t point the bone (5:03)
  
• drum! (4:47)
  
• echaos (3:26)
  
• muffler a (4:45)
  
• pick the rubber (4:33)
  
• the truth? (3:28)
  
• prehistoric (2:37)
  
• die wirren (3:26)
  
• muffler b (2:25)
  
• don’t panic the bone (remix) (5:10)
  
• automatic (remix) (4:22)
  
• prehistoric (remix) (5:39)

bureau b press release...

moebius & plank en route reissue (recorded in 1986, originally released in 1995) cd release date: september 28, 2012 “en route” was created in 1986, when the era of analogue synths and rhythm machines seemed to be drawing to a close. drum computers, samplers and digital instruments such as the synclavier and fairlight cms would shape the immediate future of electronic music. naturally, these wonderful machines formed a part of plank’s arsenal and were used extensively by him and moebius. the duo explored the new devices with their inimitable, cheerful sense of abandon, but were wise enough not to rely on them entirely. analogue instruments resurface time and again, such as trumpet (!), guitar and other sonic sources which are less easy to identify. nor had moebius packed his analogue synthesizers away in mothballs. rhythmic throughout, the music is wholly free of the darkness which characterized the fashionable industrial or new wave scenes of the period. a tendency to descend into enraptured sonic abstraction is similarly absent. the pieces almost sound as if they are the product of real-time improvisation – airy and self-evident, ballast-free of and without unnecessary embellishment. moebius and plank must have had so much fun during the recording sessions! “en route“ is hip electronic music, yet it steers well clear of the mainstream. the fact that three tracks were remixed for a commission by dave stewart (eurythmics) did nothing to change that. stewart was planning a film project (which never came to fruition) and hired producer manu guiot, who reshaped the tracks together with dieter moebius shortly before release in conny's studio. moebius and plank were en route, “on the way" so to speak. a damned fine way at that. sadly, “en route” was to be the last in a sequence of five albums they recorded and released together. conceived in 1983, “ludwig’s law” was the fourth album in chronological terms but only appeared in 1998, three years after “en route”. debilitated by severe illness, plank was no longer able to mix the recordings himself. his studio colleague bruno gebhard took on the task, together with moebius. shortly afterwards, in 1987, conny plank died. the common path of the two friends was now at an end. but “en route” was certainly not intended to mark the conclusion of their lengthy collaboration. for how much of the future, how much optimism were implicit in the certitude of being en route? - asmus tietchens

kluster “zwei osterei” long playing record

• electric music und texte (22:31)
  
  
• electric music (kluster 4) (22:17)

bureau b press release...

kluster zwei osterei reissue (originally released in 1971) lp (180g vinyl) release date: june 29, 2012 zwei osterei is the second half of a recording session which took place on a single day in november 1970. klopfzeichen is the first part. yet the uncompromising zwei osterei surpasses the earlier klopfzeichen album by some distance in terms of its harsh noisiness and near brutal sonic attacks. everything that was left of the revolutionary verve of the late 1960s seems to have been distilled into this music with a burning glass: aesthetic destruction to liberate the mind and ears for utopian designs; the definitive coalescence of art and pop into something completely new; unbridled musical freedom, coupled with a love of noise. zwei osterei is all of this. how unsettling kluster’s music must have been for the professional avant-garde of the period (music journalists, critics etc.). kluster turned pretty much everything associated with so-called progressive pop music on its head. no song structure, no rhythm, little more than muffled pulsation. no heroic poses, no transfigured gestures on stage. this attitude, or rather anti-attitude is particularly in evidence on track two of zwei osterei. still no electronic instruments, just guitar, drums and non-musical sonic sources as kluster unleash a sound spectacle which anticipates the industrial artists who emerged some years later. conny plank played a pivotal role as sound engineer with the relatively limited studio equipment available to him. his meticulous reading of the band’s intentions let to the creation of pure, electroacoustic music – loud, violent, real-time improvisation. shrill feedback, tape echo loops and layers of sonic cascades dominate this section of the album. this was no longer psychedelic, nor “progressive”. it was more like sonic warfare, waged against all musical categories and conventions. many a listener posed the rather helpless question “what is that supposed to be?”... art? music? a happening? according to statements made by the band, none of the above. it was simply kluster. a lofty, nigh exclusive claim which “zwei osterei” fulfills one hundred per cent. translated, the statement is nothing more nor less than a challenge to ignore the accumulated theory of art and music, with all the risks and side effects this entails. back in 1970, kluster could not have known that they were setting in motion a process which would endure until the present day. but they no doubt hoped as much. kluster are history, the klopfzeichen and zwei osterei lps their legacy. and above all, an idea of artistic freedom has remained, worlds away from commerce and public servility. even if the concept of “utopia” has lost something of its former allure, kluster can at least be a catalyst for those who may wish to entertain the idea once again.

kluster “zwei osterei” compact disc

• electric music und texte (22:31)
  
• electric music (kluster 4) (22:17)

bureau b press release...

kluster zwei osterei reissue (originally released in 1971) cd release date: june 29, 2012 zwei osterei is the second half of a recording session which took place on a single day in november 1970. klopfzeichen is the first part. yet the uncompromising zwei osterei surpasses the earlier klopfzeichen album by some distance in terms of its harsh noisiness and near brutal sonic attacks. everything that was left of the revolutionary verve of the late 1960s seems to have been distilled into this music with a burning glass: aesthetic destruction to liberate the mind and ears for utopian designs; the definitive coalescence of art and pop into something completely new; unbridled musical freedom, coupled with a love of noise. zwei osterei is all of this. how unsettling kluster’s music must have been for the professional avant-garde of the period (music journalists, critics etc.). kluster turned pretty much everything associated with so-called progressive pop music on its head. no song structure, no rhythm, little more than muffled pulsation. no heroic poses, no transfigured gestures on stage. this attitude, or rather anti-attitude is particularly in evidence on track two of zwei osterei. still no electronic instruments, just guitar, drums and non-musical sonic sources as kluster unleash a sound spectacle which anticipates the industrial artists who emerged some years later. conny plank played a pivotal role as sound engineer with the relatively limited studio equipment available to him. his meticulous reading of the band’s intentions let to the creation of pure, electroacoustic music – loud, violent, real-time improvisation. shrill feedback, tape echo loops and layers of sonic cascades dominate this section of the album. this was no longer psychedelic, nor “progressive”. it was more like sonic warfare, waged against all musical categories and conventions. many a listener posed the rather helpless question “what is that supposed to be?”... art? music? a happening? according to statements made by the band, none of the above. it was simply kluster. a lofty, nigh exclusive claim which “zwei osterei” fulfills one hundred per cent. translated, the statement is nothing more nor less than a challenge to ignore the accumulated theory of art and music, with all the risks and side effects this entails. back in 1970, kluster could not have known that they were setting in motion a process which would endure until the present day. but they no doubt hoped as much. kluster are history, the klopfzeichen and zwei osterei lps their legacy. and above all, an idea of artistic freedom has remained, worlds away from commerce and public servility. even if the concept of “utopia” has lost something of its former allure, kluster can at least be a catalyst for those who may wish to entertain the idea once again.

kluster “klopfzeichen” long playing record

• kluster 1 (electric music und texte) (23:33)
  
  
• kluster 2 (electric music) (21:38)

bureau b press release...

kluster klopfzeichen reissue (originally released in 1970) lp (180g vinyl) release date: june 29, 2012 imagine finding a message in a bottle, forty years after it was dispatched. that is what it feels like when you listen to klopfzeichen for the first time, mysterious, hard to decipher, a relic of a time long since passed. the handwriting is archaic, barely legible, the complex contents only falling into place when examined through the light of historical context. klopfzeichen is an incredibly important release for the time in which it appeared (1971), an extraordinarily significant document. more than anything, the three messengers konrad schnitzler, hans-joachim roedelius and dieter moebius formulated a radical claim with klopfzeichen: anarchic, unlimited freedom of art and music. kluster’s music may have aged, but their message has not. that the recording session happened at all is, curiously enough, down to a church musician, a man one would then have described as extremely progressive. oskar gottlieb blarr not only made it possible for these musical enfants terribles to work in düsseldorf’s rhenus studio, he also orchestrated the release of klopfzeichen shortly afterwards through the schwann verlag, a publisher closely associated with the church, on their own record label, ams studio (subtitled “werkraum für neue kirchenmusik” / workspace for new church music!). this “ecclesiastical” affinity is probably the reason for the strongly committed political and religious texts spoken over the music on the a side. kluster lyrics they are not, and they sound a little strange today. true to their understanding of artistic freedom (joseph beuys was undoubtedly an influence), kluster improvised with all sources of sound they could lay their hands on: guitar, bass, cello, flute, drums and various other pieces of equipment not usually intended for musical use. none of them could profess to be an expert on any of the instruments. they were brilliant dilettantes, a decade before the concept („geniale dilettanten“) was invented. electronics? no sign of them. the budget did not stretch to synthesizers or anything of that ilk. that said, a certain conny plank was on board as sound engineer for the early recordings. he added an apocalyptic character to kluster’s lindwormish, menacing and chaotic music. roedelius and moebius still refer to him as the “éminence grise”. klopfzeichen was the most radical album of the early german pop music avant-garde by a country mile. its sounds and noises had nothing in common with the sequencer-generated electronic music emerging from berlin or düsseldorf. kluster music was angstmusik, the music of fear. “klopfzeichen”, knocking on the wall, is how the imprisoned call for attention or communicate with one another. kluster certainly wanted to break free with their own klopfzeichen. and they succeeded in liberating not only themselves, but generations of musicians to come.

kluster “klopfzeichen” compact disc

• kluster 1 (electric music und texte) (23:33)
  
• kluster 2 (electric music) (21:38)

bureau b press release...

kluster klopfzeichen reissue (originally released in 1970) cd release date: june 29, 2012 imagine finding a message in a bottle, forty years after it was dispatched. that is what it feels like when you listen to klopfzeichen for the first time, mysterious, hard to decipher, a relic of a time long since passed. the handwriting is archaic, barely legible, the complex contents only falling into place when examined through the light of historical context. klopfzeichen is an incredibly important release for the time in which it appeared (1971), an extraordinarily significant document. more than anything, the three messengers konrad schnitzler, hans-joachim roedelius and dieter moebius formulated a radical claim with klopfzeichen: anarchic, unlimited freedom of art and music. kluster’s music may have aged, but their message has not. that the recording session happened at all is, curiously enough, down to a church musician, a man one would then have described as extremely progressive. oskar gottlieb blarr not only made it possible for these musical enfants terribles to work in düsseldorf’s rhenus studio, he also orchestrated the release of klopfzeichen shortly afterwards through the schwann verlag, a publisher closely associated with the church, on their own record label, ams studio (subtitled “werkraum für neue kirchenmusik” / workspace for new church music!). this “ecclesiastical” affinity is probably the reason for the strongly committed political and religious texts spoken over the music on the a side. kluster lyrics they are not, and they sound a little strange today. true to their understanding of artistic freedom (joseph beuys was undoubtedly an influence), kluster improvised with all sources of sound they could lay their hands on: guitar, bass, cello, flute, drums and various other pieces of equipment not usually intended for musical use. none of them could profess to be an expert on any of the instruments. they were brilliant dilettantes, a decade before the concept („geniale dilettanten“) was invented. electronics? no sign of them. the budget did not stretch to synthesizers or anything of that ilk. that said, a certain conny plank was on board as sound engineer for the early recordings. he added an apocalyptic character to kluster’s lindwormish, menacing and chaotic music. roedelius and moebius still refer to him as the “éminence grise”. klopfzeichen was the most radical album of the early german pop music avant-garde by a country mile. its sounds and noises had nothing in common with the sequencer-generated electronic music emerging from berlin or düsseldorf. kluster music was angstmusik, the music of fear. “klopfzeichen”, knocking on the wall, is how the imprisoned call for attention or communicate with one another. kluster certainly wanted to break free with their own klopfzeichen. and they succeeded in liberating not only themselves, but generations of musicians to come.

dieter moebius / asmus tietchens “moebius + tietchens” long playing record and compact disc set

• cremon
  
• kattrepel
  
• vincent
  
• thorax
  
• yes, yes
  
• fontenay
  
  
• lange reihe
  
• raboisen
  
• im windkanal
  
• grimm
  
• herrlichkeit
  
• plan
  
• mach auf!
  
  
• cremon (2:23)
  
• kattrepel (9:56)
  
• vincent (3:43)
  
• thorax (3:56)
  
• yes, yes (5:41)
  
• fontenay (2:57)
  
• lange reihe (10:32)
  
• raboisen (3:39)
  
• im windkanal (2:41)
  
• grimm (4:22)
  
• herrlichkeit (2:17)
  
• plan (4:02)
  
• mach auf! (2:33)

bureau b press release...

moebius + tietchens lp (180g vinyl) plus cd release date: june 29th, 2012 with this album, dieter moebius and asmus tietchens fulfill a promise that they made 35 years ago. that is, in 1976, when the five musicians of liliental completed the recordings for their eponymous album (released 1978) and again scattered to the winds, moebius called out to tietchens from the already moving car: "we have to make a record together sometime." at least that is the report of an ear-witness. whether or not it's true ... in any case, both decided in 2011 to record the album which is now to be released. moebius (cluster, harmonia), since the early years of cluster, has neither lost his curiosity nor his eagerness for experimentation. on the contrary: he has downright cultivated them. tietchens is not only a true aficionado of the cluster's music and friend of the duo, but has also released countless albums of electronic music and musique concrète since the 1980's – like cluster, initially on sky records – then later only in the field of industrial and abstract music. their album may come from out of the blue, but the large amount of overlap in the music of both artists made it a forgone conclusion to finally make good on the aforementioned promise. thirteen pieces carries the album. these are thirteen ideas that could hardly be heterogeneous – no two pieces are similar. moebius and tietchens show us what they are capable of together. from the rough sketch to densely gripping rhythms, one can clearly hear just what these two old masters of electronic music have in their arsenals. this is not a result of the routine that comes with so many years of experience, nor a thin portion of tired old recipes for success. other than for a few faint echoes of a bygone era (perhaps as a sentimental reminder), “moebius+tietchens“ is an album that could only emerge from the here and now. it is contemporary, new music. unfortunately, this time there was no ear-witness as moebius and tietchens said goodbye after finishing these recordings. so we do not know if they made a new agreement similar to the one from 35 years ago. let's hope so.

dieter moebius / asmus tietchens “moebius + tietchens” compact disc

• cremon (2:23)
  
• kattrepel (9:56)
  
• vincent (3:43)
  
• thorax (3:56)
  
• yes, yes (5:41)
  
• fontenay (2:57)
  
• lange reihe (10:32)
  
• raboisen (3:39)
  
• im windkanal (2:41)
  
• grimm (4:22)
  
• herrlichkeit (2:17)
  
• plan (4:02)
  
• mach auf! (2:33)

bureau b press release...

moebius + tietchens cd release date: june 29th, 2012 with this album, dieter moebius and asmus tietchens fulfill a promise that they made 35 years ago. that is, in 1976, when the five musicians of liliental completed the recordings for their eponymous album (released 1978) and again scattered to the winds, moebius called out to tietchens from the already moving car: "we have to make a record together sometime." at least that is the report of an ear-witness. whether or not it's true ... in any case, both decided in 2011 to record the album which is now to be released. moebius (cluster, harmonia), since the early years of cluster, has neither lost his curiosity nor his eagerness for experimentation. on the contrary: he has downright cultivated them. tietchens is not only a true aficionado of the cluster's music and friend of the duo, but has also released countless albums of electronic music and musique concrète since the 1980's – like cluster, initially on sky records – then later only in the field of industrial and abstract music. their album may come from out of the blue, but the large amount of overlap in the music of both artists made it a forgone conclusion to finally make good on the aforementioned promise. thirteen pieces carries the album. these are thirteen ideas that could hardly be heterogeneous – no two pieces are similar. moebius and tietchens show us what they are capable of together. from the rough sketch to densely gripping rhythms, one can clearly hear just what these two old masters of electronic music have in their arsenals. this is not a result of the routine that comes with so many years of experience, nor a thin portion of tired old recipes for success. other than for a few faint echoes of a bygone era (perhaps as a sentimental reminder), “moebius+tietchens“ is an album that could only emerge from the here and now. it is contemporary, new music. unfortunately, this time there was no ear-witness as moebius and tietchens said goodbye after finishing these recordings. so we do not know if they made a new agreement similar to the one from 35 years ago. let's hope so.

cluster “cluster 71” compact disc

• (untitled) (1) (7:42)
  
• (untitled) (2) (15:43)
  
• (untitled) (3) (21:32)

bureau b press release...

cluster cluster 71 cd release date: december 3, 2010 cluster 71 is a monster: the debut work from the year 1971 (actually just called cluster) contains a mere three tracks (untitled) and is quite an ordeal for untrained ears – back then, at least. yet the album pointed the way forward like no other electronic opus. cluster’s previous incarnation was a trio named kluster. a change in direction and musical differences moved dieter moebius and hans-joachim roedelius to split from their third member, konrad schnitzler, in 1970. the following year, as well as playing live, they recorded their first album, cluster 71, in publisher ralf arnie’s star musik studio in hamburg. here they first met conny plank, who would himself become a legend. they remained close friends until his death in 1987. early cluster music was new. new in the sense that it did not continue any tradition, instead laying the foundations for a future tradition. the duo’s utter renunciation of conventional harmony and rhythm, their embracing of near total aural abstraction, confident use of noise, rigorous live electronic improvisation and a positive mindset tuned to winning rather than losing – these were all factors in cluster’s innovative trailblazing of 1971. for want of a better category, cluster 71 was classified rather inappropriately and incorrectly as “cosmic". few recognized cluster for what it was - the synthesis of pop music stripped of embarrassing glamour and so-called serious music without intellectual constraints. moebius and roedelius took the liberty of raiding both disciplines to perfect their musical concept. a common enough practice today, but akin to a palace revolution in 1971. so it is that three pieces of electronic music meander and pulsate through cluster 71, with no beginning and no end. cluster’s music is free and open in all directions. there are sounds, noises and structures to be heard on this album which would become ingrained in the electronic pop music of the 1980s and 1990s. cluster had taken the first step into the future with cluster 71.

dieter moebius / conrad plank “material” long playing record

• conditionierer (8:46)
  
• infiltration (7:40)
  
  
• tollkühn (6:11)
  
• osmo-fantor (4:27)
  
• nordöstliches gefühl (7:15)

bureau b press release...

mœbius & plank material in stores: may 7th 2010 cat no: bb49 • lp (180g vinyl) dieter moebius and conny plank got to know each other through their work on cluster’s 1971 album and remained friends until plank’s death in 1987. they made a congenial pair as musicians, as amply demonstrated by their brace of albums “rastakraut pasta” (1980) and “material” (1981). on their second album material, moebius and plank ventured far, far away from the double coordinates of the harmonia world and pop music cosmos. amazingly, they did not find themselves floating in space, but made an exemplary landing, avoiding getting caught between a rock and a hard place. “material” saw them generate a form of genre-busting electronic music, more radical than anything one might have expected to come out of germany, not even from the likes of cluster or harmonia. having said that, one should add that the album is in no way a copy of the new wave and industrial scenes that were enjoying such prominence at the time. “material” is, in the best sense of the word, without style, that is to say, it cannot be aligned with any of the conventional styles available. on these two albums, moebius and plank take up their place in a lengthy list of musicians and composers who, from roughly the end of the 1970s, gave up caring about which stylistic category their music might belong to, no longer looking upon experimentation as a strategy of reckless abandon, but as a perfectly normal course of action.

dieter moebius / conrad plank “material” compact disc

• conditionierer (8:46)
  
• infiltration (7:40)
  
• tollkühn (6:11)
  
• osmo-fantor (4:27)
  
• nordöstliches gefühl (7:15)

bureau b press release...

mœbius & plank material in stores: may 7th 2010 cat no: bb49 • cd dieter moebius and conny plank got to know each other through their work on cluster’s 1971 album and remained friends until plank’s death in 1987. they made a congenial pair as musicians, as amply demonstrated by their brace of albums “rastakraut pasta” (1980) and “material” (1981). on their second album material, moebius and plank ventured far, far away from the double coordinates of the harmonia world and pop music cosmos. amazingly, they did not find themselves floating in space, but made an exemplary landing, avoiding getting caught between a rock and a hard place. “material” saw them generate a form of genre-busting electronic music, more radical than anything one might have expected to come out of germany, not even from the likes of cluster or harmonia. having said that, one should add that the album is in no way a copy of the new wave and industrial scenes that were enjoying such prominence at the time. “material” is, in the best sense of the word, without style, that is to say, it cannot be aligned with any of the conventional styles available. on these two albums, moebius and plank take up their place in a lengthy list of musicians and composers who, from roughly the end of the 1970s, gave up caring about which stylistic category their music might belong to, no longer looking upon experimentation as a strategy of reckless abandon, but as a perfectly normal course of action.

dieter moebius “tonspuren” long playing record

• contramino (2:25)
  
• hasenheide (2:36)
  
• rattenwiesel (3:14)
  
• transport (2:55)
  
• etwas (3:53)
  
  
• nervös (3:26)
  
• b 36 (4:21)
  
• furbo (4:43)
  
• sinister (4:04)
  
• immerhin (2:38)

bureau b press release...

moebius tonspuren release: jan 8th, 2009 cat no: bb40 • lp by 1969 at the latest, dieter moebius was synonymous with the avant-garde electronic music scene in germany. he and hans-joachim roedelius formed cluster, a seminal electronic / ambient duo, whilst moebius was also a member of the so-called krautrock supergroup harmonia (with michael rother and roedelius), as well as collaborating on various other projects with the likes of brian eno and mani neumeier from guru guru. somehow, it took moebius until 1983 to release his own solo debut album, tonspuren. tonspuren is an album of minimalisms, miniatures and stringent form, ten consistently concise and precise pieces. moebius develops tonal variations out of minimalistic, rhythmic, harmonic basic tracks, sometimes coming close to tangible melodies. yet this is exactly the point at which he purposely steers clear of electronic pop criteria. nevertheless, tonspuren is a pop album, its radically stripped down contents replenished with harmonious elements of prevalent popular music. echoes of cluster notwithstanding, the music of tonspuren is a separate entity altogether. moebius seems to be avoiding improvisation as the devil keeps his distance from holy water. each piece is thoughtfully composed, as moebius crafts his miniatures layer by layer. spontaneous inaccuracies have no place here, noise escapades are nipped in the bud. baroque, folklore and frivolity are not admitted into the studio when the red light is on. thanks to tonspuren, the keen listener now has the opportunity of direct comparison in his appraisal of the solo albums of dieter moebius, hans joachim roedelius and michael rother. what role did each of the harmonia triumvirate play in creating the style of the supergroup? tonspuren thus represents a vital piece of the harmonia puzzle.

dieter moebius “tonspuren” compact disc

• contramino (2:25)
  
• hasenheide (2:36)
  
• rattenwiesel (3:14)
  
• transport (2:55)
  
• etwas (3:53)
  
• nervös (3:26)
  
• b 36 (4:21)
  
• furbo (4:43)
  
• sinister (4:04)
  
• immerhin (2:38)

bureau b press release...

moebius tonspuren release: jan 8th, 2009 cat no: bb40 • cd by 1969 at the latest, dieter moebius was synonymous with the avant-garde electronic music scene in germany. he and hans-joachim roedelius formed cluster, a seminal electronic / ambient duo, whilst moebius was also a member of the so-called krautrock supergroup harmonia (with michael rother and roedelius), as well as collaborating on various other projects with the likes of brian eno and mani neumeier from guru guru. somehow, it took moebius until 1983 to release his own solo debut album, tonspuren. tonspuren is an album of minimalisms, miniatures and stringent form, ten consistently concise and precise pieces. moebius develops tonal variations out of minimalistic, rhythmic, harmonic basic tracks, sometimes coming close to tangible melodies. yet this is exactly the point at which he purposely steers clear of electronic pop criteria. nevertheless, tonspuren is a pop album, its radically stripped down contents replenished with harmonious elements of prevalent popular music. echoes of cluster notwithstanding, the music of tonspuren is a separate entity altogether. moebius seems to be avoiding improvisation as the devil keeps his distance from holy water. each piece is thoughtfully composed, as moebius crafts his miniatures layer by layer. spontaneous inaccuracies have no place here, noise escapades are nipped in the bud. baroque, folklore and frivolity are not admitted into the studio when the red light is on. thanks to tonspuren, the keen listener now has the opportunity of direct comparison in his appraisal of the solo albums of dieter moebius, hans joachim roedelius and michael rother. what role did each of the harmonia triumvirate play in creating the style of the supergroup? tonspuren thus represents a vital piece of the harmonia puzzle.

hans-joachim roedelius “durch die wurste” long playing record

• am rockzipfel
  
• durch die wüste
  
  
• glaubersalz
  
• johanneslust
  
• mr. livingstone i suppose
  
• regenmacher

bureau b press release...

hans-joachim roedelius – durch die wüste release: august 14th 2009 lp • cat no bb28 having made records with other musicians for a good ten years, hans-joachim roedelius presented his first solo album, durch die wüste, in 1978. fans of electronica awaited the lp with particular anticipation, as the founding member of cluster had played a major role in the development of synthesizer music. they were in for a shock, however, as durch die wüste turned out to be anything but an electronic album; in the avant-garde landscape of popular music, the roedelius record was a beacon of innovation, with failure a distinct possibility. ultimately, roedelius would not fail with the lp, instead laying down a trail that more and more listeners would follow in the future. initial reaction was rather less auspicious, centering around the question: what did this music have to do with harmonia and cluster? anyone who has listened carefully to cluster’s 1974 effort zuckerzeit will have come to recognize the handwriting of roedelius on this and all subsequent cluster and harmonia albums. just how far roedelius would develop his own compositional technique and mode of playing would only become obvious when he was set free from the ensemble environment on durch die wüste. listeners at the time will have been baffled by just how little electronically generated sounds were a feature of the album. synthesizers and electronic effects did play a part, but roedelius integrated them so seamlessly into the arrangement that one barely noticed them. the rhythm machine was relegated to the status of metronome. in fact, roedelius’s decision to distance himself from electronic music, rigid in structure as it had become, and turn to a new form of musical expression is what really gave the album its experimental character. assisting roedelius were the brilliant sound engineer conny plank with his unmistakeable guitar style and dieter moebius who, in spite of everything, set a few significant markers with the synthesizer. durch die wüste is available on 180g vinyl.

cluster “zuckerzeit” compact disc

• hollywood (4:40)
  
• caramel (3:00)
  
• rote riki (6:10)
  
• rosa (4:08)
  
• caramba (3:55)
  
• fotschi tong (4:15)
  
• james (3:18)
  
• marzipan (3:15)
  
• rotor (2:38)
  
• heiße lippen (2:20)

lilith press release...

album title: zuckerzeit artist: cluster catalogue number: lr132 cd digipack originally released in 1974, zuckerzeit 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.

harmonia “deluxe” long playing record

• deluxe (immer weider) (9:42)
  
• walky-talky (10:41)
  
• monza (rauf und runter ) (7:06)
  
• notre dame (4:15)
  
• gollum (4:38)
  
• kekse (5:34)

harmonia “deluxe” compact disc

• deluxe (immer weider) (9:42)
  
• walky-talky (10:41)
  
• monza (rauf und runter ) (7:06)
  
• notre dame (4:15)
  
• gollum (4:38)
  
• kekse (5:34)

brian eno / dieter moebius / hans-joachim roedelius “after the heat” compact disc

• foreign affairs (3:30)
  
• the belldog (6:17)
  
• base & apex (4:32)
  
• tzima n'arki (4:36)
  
• luftschloss (3:15)
  
• oil (4:16)
  
• broken head (5:27)
  
• light arms (1:31)
  
• the shade (3:09)
  
• old land (4:16)