39 clocks “subnarcotic” compact disc

• heat of violence (3:35)
  
• dom (electricity elects the rain) (7:31)
  
• psychotic louie louie (3:00)
  
• past tense hopes & instant fears on 42nd street (6:22)
  
• virtuous girl (2:22)
  
• three floors down (3:50)
  
• rainy night insanities (7:14)
  
• a touch of rot (2:21)
  
• aspettando godo (5:27)
  
• past tense hopes & instant fears on 42nd street (live) (6:31)

bureau b press release...

39 clocks subnarcotic cd cat no.: bb95 release date: march 2nd, 2012 retrospectively, one could impute hanover of the late 1970s and early 1980s with the glamorous tristesse normally associated with places like manchester. but it was probably just dull and nothing more. it was here that the band came into existence, earning the greatest compliment one could possibly pay them: they were a foreign body. everything about this band must have unnerved for their contemporaries: the 39 clocks did not sing in german. this at a moment when, for the first time since the end of the second world war, it was possible to hang a “cool” tag on the german language. think neue deutsche welle (german new wave). commercial suicide. and the clocks looked like no one else: grainy black and white photographs reveal two thin men dressed in factory issue black. wearing sunglasses, they are only dimly recognizable. elusive and impossible to categorize: a little bit weird. fittingly, they discarded their names and classified themselves as machines: j.g.39 and c.h.39. a sense of the unreal pervaded their music: sizzling, trippy, repetitive. allusions to late 1960s psychedelia, to can, are on the money. “subnarcotic” is the second 39 clocks album. it still has the capacity to unsettle, it still sounds strange. the conscious (or perhaps unconscious) refusal to flex their muscles, to feel the groove, would be echoed by many lo-fi bands a decade later, but few would match their radical modus operandi. the 39 clocks brought together what did not belong together: noise and fragility, 60s garage punk and synthesizers. manic, chaotic and yet: pop music. in england they would have been welcomed with open arms by the likes of rough trade or factory. in germany, however, reactions were extremely different.

you “time code” long playing record

• time code (3:15)
  
• future/past (5:31)
  
• 20/11/28 (6:22)
  
• deep range (3:09)
  
• taurus-fantasia (2:32)
  
  
• metallique (3:39)
  
• live line (9:02)
  
• bluewater dream (2:10)
  
• mision: possible (5:22)

bureau b press release...

you time code lp (180g vinyl) 27. mai 2011 as synthesizers grew more popular from the mid-seventies onwards, an increasing number of groups swapped the classic instruments of a rock band for sequencers and synthesizers. pioneers (and paragons) of this electronically created music included of course tangerine dream, klaus schulze, manuel göttsching et al, who represent the “berliner schule” (in contrast to the düsseldorfer schule which developed around kraftwerk and co.) a hitherto less celebrated, yet outstanding exponent of the berliner schule was the krefeld combo you (udo hanten, albin meskes). their debut album “electric day” (bb073) immediately launched you into the elite echelon of germany’s electronic music scene. it would take four years for them to deliver the sophomore lp, entitled “time code”. if “electric day” was characterized by harald großkopf’s pulsating drums and uli weber’s solo guitar, “time code” emerged as an altogether more electronic affair, with both großkopf and weber having left the project. reduced to a duo, you largely remained faithful to their style, but expanded upon it. “time code” displays more range and variation than its predecessor “electric day”. down tempo and faster numbers alternate and sugar sweet melodies are followed by expanses of ominously dark or crystal clear synthesizers. hanten and meskes’ new sound was further refined by the use of drum computers and the omission of guitar . the album perfectly illustrates the transition of electronic music from the 1970s to the 1980s. sequencer patterns owe much to the legacy of the berlin school (berliner schule), whilst the synthesizer and drum computer sounds heralded the advent of the new decade. the level of interest and excitement was particularly high in italy, where songs from the album featured heavily on radio. listeners were clearly impressed by “live line”, which has resurfaced in various techno productions over the past twenty years, either as a cover (by diolac duvai, for example), or as “elektro message” (by gigi d’agostino).

you “electric day” compact disc

• electric day (5:51)
  
• magooba (6:30)
  
• son of a true star (5:03)
  
• sequential spectrum part 1 (2:01)
  
• sequential spectrum part 2 (0:45)
  
• slow go (11:56)
  
• zero-eighty-four (8:36)
  
  
• e-night (11:06)
  
• h.rays identity (5:59)
  
• hallucination engine (7:44)
  
• yousless (8:16)

bureau b press release...

you electric day cd release date: may 27th, 2011 as synthesizers grew more popular from the mid-seventies onwards, an increasing number of groups swapped the classic instruments of a rock band for sequencers and synthesizers. pioneers (and paragons) of this electronically created music included of course tangerine dream, klaus schulze, manuel göttsching et al, who represent the “berliner schule” (in contrast to the düsseldorfer schule which developed around kraftwerk and co.) a hitherto less celebrated, yet outstanding exponent of the berliner schule was the krefeld combo you. udo hanten and albin meskes teamed up with another iconic figure of electronic music, harald grosskopf, to issue two fantastic albums as the 1980s began. without disowning their berlin role models, you nevertheless came up with their own hypnotic mix of sequencer patterns, synthesizer melodies, pulsating drums and sporadic acoustic guitar phrases. now and again they even ventured into experimental territory. tracing you’s path from the idea of founding a band to the release of their first lp, one encounters a host of illustrious characters from the electronic / krautrock music scene. peter baumann, for example, a member of tangerine dream for so many years, who was the first to hear the material played to him by hanten and his guitarist uli weber at his paragon studios in berlin. they also met harald grosskopf here, a member of rolf-ulrich kaiser’s “kosmische kuriere” and former drummer with klaus schulze. großkopf was a member of manual göttsching’s ashra band at the time. which just leaves sound engineer, the legendary conny plank. it was he who suggested that you and grosskopf get together to set up the spiegeltraum studio in krefeld, with grosskopf supplying the recording gear and hanten the musical equipment. grosskopf completed “synthesist”, his most famous work, before you recorded “electric day” halfway through 1979. it now appears with four bonus tracks on bureau b.

hans-joachim roedelius “selbstportrait ii” long playing record

• signal (0:10)
  
• gewiss (4:46)
  
• aufbruch (3:45)
  
• schönheitsflecken (3:14)
  
• alle jahre wieder (4:43)
  
• übern fluss (3:45)
  
  
• tee für die geisha (5:25)
  
• kichererbsen (2:30)
  
• grundlsee (4:27)
  
• regenwurm (4:04)
  
• thronfolge (3:44)
  
• signal (0:10)

bureau b press release...

roedelius selbstportrait ii lp (180g vinyl) release date: december 3, 2010 with “selbstportrait i” roedelius gave unequivocal confirmation that he no longer was treading the hitherto common paths of electronic music. “selbstportrait ii” corroborated the findings: for roedelius, electronics would no longer be a means of creating abstract, noise-like music in the future, nor of generating utopian, mechanical rhythmic structures. his own utopia was quite a different place, more in keeping with his own personality and view of the world. hence both self- portraits, in particular “selbstportrait ii”, are programmatic. uniquely among musicians of the german electronic scene at the time, roedelius succeeded in blending european and extra-european musical styles quite intuitively, developing his own language of music, neither epigonic nor weighed down by stereotype, as often occurred in the emerging world music genre of the period. there is a fascinating simplicity to the music of roedelius: his vision does not reside in cloud-cuckoo-land. his utopia is founded in reason, his vision sustained by a simple base: not only did he ignore musical traditions, he also sought to create something new out of them. he succeeded where many of his contemporaries failed, going to ground as they attempted to bridge the postmodern gap. not roedelius. roedelius’ music is littered with stumbling blocks. the listener may not necessarily lose his footing, but will not exactly find himself sitting comfortably as he listens. with this album, roedelius has drawn a clearly delineated picture of himself. few musicians can say the same, few even harbour such aspirations. transcending styles, hypes and modernisms, “selbstportrait ii” is electronically sourced music, yet sounds anything but technical, dismantling the misconception that electronic music has to sound cold and distant.

hans-joachim roedelius “selbstportrait i” long playing record

• in liebe dein (3:43)
  
• girlande (3:47)
  
• inselmoos (5:40)
  
• fabelwein (5:05)
  
• prinzregent (5:53)
  
  
• kamee (3:59)
  
• herold (3:32)
  
• halmharfe (3:24)
  
• arcona (5:05)
  
• staunen im fjord (3:37)
  
• minne (2:09)

bureau b press release...

roedelius selbstportrait i lp (180g vinyl) release date: december 3, 2010 alongside his ongoing work with cluster and harmonia, roedelius amassed an almost incalculable number of musical notations during his time in the idyllic weser uplands. fleeting sketches, spontaneous improvisations, implied miniatures, rough compositions – roedelius recorded virtually every idea he came up with outside the studio sessions on his revox a77 reel to reel ; with the basic intention of capturing his moments of inspiration, he simply let the tape run as he played around on the farfisa organ. sound quality was not his prime concern, as he was not as yet entertaining any notion of releasing the results. as roedelius recalls, costly tape spools were at a premium, so he recorded over older tapes in mono, at a less than ideal speed. substandard, technically speaking (or listening), but as a self portrait, nothing short of a masterpiece. it would be inappropriate to measure this album by the hi- fidelity yardstick ; see it as something closer to an intimate confession, an unguarded communiqué from one person to another. bordering on naivety and free of conceit, roedelius introduces us to his world through these chiffonesque études. there may be little variation in the farfisa sound, but this is soon forgotten when roedelius invites us to listen, to enter the experience. no expensive technology, no producer, no collaborators. this is unfiltered personality, the real roedelius. musically, “selbstportrait i” is characterized by a combination of ländler, minimalism and harmonic simplicity. the weser uplands, where roedelius recorded his music, are certainly no arcadia and the village of forst is anything but atlantis, but perhaps it could become the graceland of german electronic music.

hans-joachim roedelius “selbstportrait i” compact disc

• in liebe dein (3:43)
  
• girlande (3:47)
  
• inselmoos (5:40)
  
• fabelwein (5:05)
  
• prinzregent (5:53)
  
• kamee (3:59)
  
• herold (3:32)
  
• halmharfe (3:24)
  
• arcona (5:05)
  
• staunen im fjord (3:37)
  
• minne (2:09)

bureau b press release...

roedelius selbstportrait i cd release date: december 3, 2010 alongside his ongoing work with cluster and harmonia, roedelius amassed an almost incalculable number of musical notations during his time in the idyllic weser uplands. fleeting sketches, spontaneous improvisations, implied miniatures, rough compositions – roedelius recorded virtually every idea he came up with outside the studio sessions on his revox a77 reel to reel ; with the basic intention of capturing his moments of inspiration, he simply let the tape run as he played around on the farfisa organ. sound quality was not his prime concern, as he was not as yet entertaining any notion of releasing the results. as roedelius recalls, costly tape spools were at a premium, so he recorded over older tapes in mono, at a less than ideal speed. substandard, technically speaking (or listening), but as a self portrait, nothing short of a masterpiece. it would be inappropriate to measure this album by the hi- fidelity yardstick ; see it as something closer to an intimate confession, an unguarded communiqué from one person to another. bordering on naivety and free of conceit, roedelius introduces us to his world through these chiffonesque études. there may be little variation in the farfisa sound, but this is soon forgotten when roedelius invites us to listen, to enter the experience. no expensive technology, no producer, no collaborators. this is unfiltered personality, the real roedelius. musically, “selbstportrait i” is characterized by a combination of ländler, minimalism and harmonic simplicity. the weser uplands, where roedelius recorded his music, are certainly no arcadia and the village of forst is anything but atlantis, but perhaps it could become the graceland of german electronic music.

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.

hans-joachim roedelius “lustwandel” long playing record

• lustwandel (3:49)
  
• legende (2:10)
  
• ansinnen (1:04)
  
• betrachtung (2:12)
  
• draußen vorbei (4:16)
  
• harlekin (1:05)
  
• von ferne her (3:28)
  
  
• vom fliegen (3:24)
  
• willkommen (1:56)
  
• pirouette (1:33)
  
• dein antlitz (4:07)
  
• langer atem (7:15)
  
• die andere blume (1:23)

bureau b press release...

roedelius lustwandel lp (180g vinyl) release date: june 4th, 2010 this album saw hans-joachim roedelius fulfill a dream he had long since cherished. a series of chamber music pieces, with grand piano solos taking centre stage in some places, archaised percussion patterns in others. lustwandel represents a logical progression, following on from jardin au fou (rereleased on bureau b in 2009). both albums were recorded at paragon studios in 1979 and produced by peter baumann (tangerine dream). electronica in the sense of synthetic sound sources or rhythm are absent from lustwandel, in keeping with so many roedelius solo works. this led to lively action amongst cluster fans 30 years ago, as they divided into different camps. roedelius’ unique musical style and irrepressible enthusiasm take his listeners down more of a sidetrack to the aural landscape of european harmonic and rhythmic tradition. there are obvious parallels to so-called serious chamber music, if not all the way along the route. his music has never been bound by contemporary aesthetic debate nor susceptible to emerging theory. as an autodidact, his techniques of composition and piano playing are so well developed, that roedelius has never wanted, nor needed to bother himself with any of that. it is a carefree roedelius who saunters through both the 19th and late 20th centuries. boundaries dissolve in his music. here the glow of a magic lantern, there the glare of a neon light. herein lay the originality of lustwandel: he availed himself of traditional forms yet expressed them in contemporaneous fashion. roedelius and lustwandel could easily have been assimilated into the postmodern era which arrived in the 1970s. but, as usual, he was many miles away from the hub of cultural activity, without the slightest inclination to pay any attention to new phenonema. this child of the sun walks some very different paths indeed.

hans-joachim roedelius “lustwandel” compact disc

• lustwandel (3:49)
  
• legende (2:10)
  
• ansinnen (1:04)
  
• betrachtung (2:12)
  
• draußen vorbei (4:16)
  
• harlekin (1:05)
  
• von ferne her (3:28)
  
• vom fliegen (3:24)
  
• willkommen (1:56)
  
• pirouette (1:33)
  
• dein antlitz (4:07)
  
• langer atem (7:15)
  
• die andere blume (1:23)

bureau b press release...

roedelius lustwandel cd release date: june 4th, 2010 this album saw hans-joachim roedelius fulfill a dream he had long since cherished. a series of chamber music pieces, with grand piano solos taking centre stage in some places, archaised percussion patterns in others. lustwandel represents a logical progression, following on from jardin au fou (rereleased on bureau b in 2009). both albums were recorded at paragon studios in 1979 and produced by peter baumann (tangerine dream). electronica in the sense of synthetic sound sources or rhythm are absent from lustwandel, in keeping with so many roedelius solo works. this led to lively action amongst cluster fans 30 years ago, as they divided into different camps. roedelius’ unique musical style and irrepressible enthusiasm take his listeners down more of a sidetrack to the aural landscape of european harmonic and rhythmic tradition. there are obvious parallels to so-called serious chamber music, if not all the way along the route. his music has never been bound by contemporary aesthetic debate nor susceptible to emerging theory. as an autodidact, his techniques of composition and piano playing are so well developed, that roedelius has never wanted, nor needed to bother himself with any of that. it is a carefree roedelius who saunters through both the 19th and late 20th centuries. boundaries dissolve in his music. here the glow of a magic lantern, there the glare of a neon light. herein lay the originality of lustwandel: he availed himself of traditional forms yet expressed them in contemporaneous fashion. roedelius and lustwandel could easily have been assimilated into the postmodern era which arrived in the 1970s. but, as usual, he was many miles away from the hub of cultural activity, without the slightest inclination to pay any attention to new phenonema. this child of the sun walks some very different paths indeed.

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.

hans-joachim roedelius “wenn der südwind weht” long playing record

• wenn der südwind weht (4:14)
  
• veilchenwurzeln (5:05)
  
• mein freund farouk (4:19)
  
• mutee (3:56)
  
• freudentanz (2:24)
  
  
• goldregen (1:05)
  
• auf leisen sohlen (3:52)
  
• saumpfad (8:33)
  
• sonnengeflecht (3:31)
  
• felix austria (4:20)

bureau b press release...

roedelius wenn der südwind weht release: feb 5th, 2010 cat no: bb41 • lp “where on earth does roedelius find such a beautiful array of notes?” wonders asmus tietchens in his sleeve notes for this reissue. not an unreasonable question. hans-joachim roedelius, a pioneer of ambient music, krautrock and, arguably, synthesizer pop, member of such seminal bands as cluster and harmonia, revels in alien worlds on this, his seventh solo record. “music to be listened to quietly”, as roedelius advised on the lp cover. indeed, listening at low volume enhances the sense of otherworldliness quite considerably. and yet, wenn der südwind weht (when the south wind is blowing) can hardly be termed “spacey” nor psychedelic in the slightest. electronic excesses are absent, aural exotica off-limits, bizarre cacophonies non-existent. the individual tracks are compact, lined up in quick succession like a string of pearls. wherein lies their fascination? from what distant place do they reach out to the listener? first of all, there is the roedelian “quietitude”. even when the music is turned up, it remains quiet in character, almost as if wrapped in cotton wool. the quiet nature of this music is inseparable from the serene and tranquil manner in which roedelius goes about creating his typical harmonies and melodies on an electric organ of decidedly limited sonic variability. roedelius leaves in the occasional blip and electric interference or tape hiss — nothing can distract him from the inspiration of the moment as it feeds his music. the contrast with the perfect, yet impersonal precision of minimalism could not be greater. improvisation is the driving force of roedelius’s music. without a trace of exhibitionism, the undisguised roedelius externalizes himself through his music with an honesty that could move one to tears. as a member of cluster and harmonia, such radicalism was never open to him. südwind is an undisputed highlight in the roedelius canon.

hans-joachim roedelius “wenn der südwind weht” compact disc

• wenn der südwind weht (4:14)
  
• veilchenwurzeln (5:05)
  
• mein freund farouk (4:19)
  
• mutee (3:56)
  
• freudentanz (2:24)
  
• goldregen (1:05)
  
• auf leisen sohlen (3:52)
  
• saumpfad (8:33)
  
• sonnengeflecht (3:31)
  
• felix austria (4:20)

bureau b press release...

roedelius wenn der südwind weht release: feb 5th, 2010 cat no: bb41 • cd “where on earth does roedelius find such a beautiful array of notes?” wonders asmus tietchens in his sleeve notes for this reissue. not an unreasonable question. hans-joachim roedelius, a pioneer of ambient music, krautrock and, arguably, synthesizer pop, member of such seminal bands as cluster and harmonia, revels in alien worlds on this, his seventh solo record. “music to be listened to quietly”, as roedelius advised on the lp cover. indeed, listening at low volume enhances the sense of otherworldliness quite considerably. and yet, wenn der südwind weht (when the south wind is blowing) can hardly be termed “spacey” nor psychedelic in the slightest. electronic excesses are absent, aural exotica off-limits, bizarre cacophonies non-existent. the individual tracks are compact, lined up in quick succession like a string of pearls. wherein lies their fascination? from what distant place do they reach out to the listener? first of all, there is the roedelian “quietitude”. even when the music is turned up, it remains quiet in character, almost as if wrapped in cotton wool. the quiet nature of this music is inseparable from the serene and tranquil manner in which roedelius goes about creating his typical harmonies and melodies on an electric organ of decidedly limited sonic variability. roedelius leaves in the occasional blip and electric interference or tape hiss — nothing can distract him from the inspiration of the moment as it feeds his music. the contrast with the perfect, yet impersonal precision of minimalism could not be greater. improvisation is the driving force of roedelius’s music. without a trace of exhibitionism, the undisguised roedelius externalizes himself through his music with an honesty that could move one to tears. as a member of cluster and harmonia, such radicalism was never open to him. südwind is an undisputed highlight in the roedelius canon.

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.

cluster “curiosum” compact disc

• oh odessa (3:04)
  
• proantipro (7:01)
  
• seltsame gegend (7:35)
  
• helle melange (3:37)
  
• tristan in der bar (2:55)
  
• charlic (4:28)
  
• ufer (8:16)

bureau b press release...

cluster curiosum release: december 4th, 2009 cat no: bb38 • cd with their sixth album as a duo, cluster drew a line under their music of the 1970s. curiosum was to mark a departure to pastures new. little did they know that this would be their last release for the next nine years. curiosum was launched in 1981 into an atmosphere of musical turbulence. electronic sounds had become commonplace in pop music and the voice of cluster could barely be heard through the noise of a new generation of music. curiosum is a decidedly tranquil, almost melancholy album – quiet being the operative word, as cluster slipped out of the limelight. it was recorded in rudimentary fashion in austria, now home to roedelius. this is cluster music at its most serene, a sense of profound humility running through the seven tracks of the lp. it says a lot about the state of mind of the two musicians, allied to the fact that this was the first time they chose to mix outside of conny plank’s studio where, in the past, the finishing touches had been applied. roedelius and moebius laid their cards on the table for all to see, offering up curiosum as an honest, unadorned selection of tracks, free of artifice and preconception. the album represented a return to the virtues of their early work (when cluster was written with a “k”), random and spontaneous. curiosum is nothing if not a curiosity, wholly resistant to the cacophonous zeitgeist of the early eighties, stripped down and keenly focussed. this is cluster’s swansong to the past.

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.

riechmann “wunderbar” long playing record

• wunderbar
  
• abendlicht
  
• weltweit
  
  
• silberland
  
• himmelblau

bureau b press release...

riechmann – wunderbar release: july 24th 2009 vinyl bb27 the bureau b release of wolfgang riechmann’s wunderbar unearths an absolute gem of german electronic music. this album, however, is beautiful and tragic in equal measure, as wolfgang riechmann fell victim to a knife attack just three weeks before the lp went on sale. he was stabbed in the chest in a chance encounter with a drunk in düsseldorf’s altstadt, the perpetrator “letting off steam” after a dispute with the landlord of his local pub, as he later recounted in court. wolfgang riechmann’s career as a musician did go all the way back to 1969, which was roughly when when he met michael rother (neu!, harmonia) and wolfgang flür (kraftwerk), who would be his colleagues in the spirits of sound group. later on he played with phönix, before going on to record two albums with streetmark, who enjoyed great popularity at the time. from november 1977 onwards, he devoted his full attention to the wunderbar lp. on his first and, regrettably, last recordings as a solo artist, riechmann was in an eclectic mood. distant echoes of the so-called berlin school (tangerine dream, klaus schulze and the like) can be detected on wunderbar, as well as the clear influence of the so-called düsseldorf school (neu!, kraftwerk, la düsseldorf). not that riechmann was attempting to copy their styles in any way. whilst contemporary influences need not be denied, wunderbar hints at the direction he would take in terms of sound and composition, reflecting a powerful, independent musician’s personality, one which would have caused quite a stir, had it been given the chance to unfold. this unmistakably optimistic music is characterized by simple sequencer and drum patterns, with riechmann adding his own highly individual layers of harmony. and then there are the melodies: simple, sometimes to the point of being simplistic, but never naive. »wunderbar« is modern, electronic pop, in a league with kraftwerk and neu!. bureau b is set to release the album on cd and vinyl, both featuring rare photographs and liner notes by asmus tietchens, one of the original pioneers of electronic music.

riechmann “wunderbar” compact disc

• wunderbar (5:47)
  
• abendlicht (4:27)
  
• weltweit (7:08)
  
• silberland (7:47)
  
• himmelblau (8:48)
  
• traumzeit (1:14)

bureau b press release...

riechmann – wunderbar release: july 24th 2009 cd bb27 the bureau b release of wolfgang riechmann’s wunderbar unearths an absolute gem of german electronic music. this album, however, is beautiful and tragic in equal measure, as wolfgang riechmann fell victim to a knife attack just three weeks before the lp went on sale. he was stabbed in the chest in a chance encounter with a drunk in düsseldorf’s altstadt, the perpetrator “letting off steam” after a dispute with the landlord of his local pub, as he later recounted in court. wolfgang riechmann’s career as a musician did go all the way back to 1969, which was roughly when when he met michael rother (neu!, harmonia) and wolfgang flür (kraftwerk), who would be his colleagues in the spirits of sound group. later on he played with phönix, before going on to record two albums with streetmark, who enjoyed great popularity at the time. from november 1977 onwards, he devoted his full attention to the wunderbar lp. on his first and, regrettably, last recordings as a solo artist, riechmann was in an eclectic mood. distant echoes of the so-called berlin school (tangerine dream, klaus schulze and the like) can be detected on wunderbar, as well as the clear influence of the so-called düsseldorf school (neu!, kraftwerk, la düsseldorf). not that riechmann was attempting to copy their styles in any way. whilst contemporary influences need not be denied, wunderbar hints at the direction he would take in terms of sound and composition, reflecting a powerful, independent musician’s personality, one which would have caused quite a stir, had it been given the chance to unfold. this unmistakably optimistic music is characterized by simple sequencer and drum patterns, with riechmann adding his own highly individual layers of harmony. and then there are the melodies: simple, sometimes to the point of being simplistic, but never naive. »wunderbar« is modern, electronic pop, in a league with kraftwerk and neu!. bureau b is set to release the album on cd and vinyl, both featuring rare photographs and liner notes by asmus tietchens, one of the original pioneers of electronic music.

39 clocks “pain it dark” compact disc

• shake the hippie (3:39)
  
• dns (3:22)
  
• 78 soldier dead (5:22)
  
• out of sight (2:23)
  
• stupid art (4:08)
  
• test the beat (2:51)
  
• psycho beat (2:56)
  
• twisted & shouts (4:31)
  
• radical student mob in satin boots (2:42)
  
• 39 explosion heats (2:29)
  
• a look into you (6:59)
  
• i love a girl (3:35)

bureau b press release...

the 39 clocks – pain it dark release: august 7th 2009 cat no: bb25 • cd many a wild tale has enriched the history of the 39 clocks. for example, the time they went on stage with vacuum cleaners and circular saws instead of guitars, the lsd inside their heads having erased all memory of how to play their songs. or the time when they were expelled from the documenta because joseph beuys was aggravated by their music. then there was the angry member of the audience who attacked one of the band with a knife on stage. not forgetting the concert in a cavernous aircraft hangar where the amps were turned up so loud, that by the end of the show not a single spectator was left. “sounds” music magazine duly confirmed it as “concert of the month”. the great thing is, every one of these stories is true. the duo from hannover, christian henjes (alias c.h. 39) and jürgen gleue (alias j.g. 39), were pure statement in everything they did – the musicians and their music smelted into provocative union, cold and dark. the 39 clocks are one of the most magnificent bands germany has ever produced; pop scholar diedrich diederichsen described them as the best german band of the eighties. the clocks took shape in 1979 as they turned their backs on punk and invented “psycho beat”. they were the self-styled counterdraft to the burgeoning german new wave scene, the ndw. their music can be seen as a futuristic, definitively urban, german form of us sixties garage punk, deferred to the early eighties with a referential nod to the new york duo suicide – mono-tone psychedelia chord progressions, hypnotic rhythms (invariably emanating from the beatbox), deadpan voice, english lyrics delivered with the heaviest of german accents and dirty sound. the 39 clocks were always intent on pushing back the borders of experimentation: barely sufferable live improvisation, atonal meanderings, interference, lower than low-fi and a tinny beatbox tested the resilience of their listeners to the full. the success of the 1981 debut album “pain it dark” was, in spite of the labels unjustly stuck on the 39 clocks – from retro band to traitors – astounding. for more accurate appreciation of their place in music history, they had to look further afield, to england, usa, japan, even greece. geographical and mental shifts brought about the split of the underground enfants terribles before the eighties were gone. that, however, is not the end of the matter. the whole story has yet to be written. this cd reissue contains a previously unreleased bonus track (“i love a girl”). in the 12 page booklet alfred hilsberg reminisces on the eccentric band who would later appear on his “what’s so funny about” label, illustrated by a wealth of rare photos.

hans-joachim roedelius “jardin au fou” long playing record

• fou fou
  
• toujours
  
• rue fortune
  
• balsam
  
• café central
  
  
• le jardin
  
• gloria dolores
  
• étoiles
  
• schöne welt
  
• finale

bureau b press release...

roedelius: jardin au fou vinyl release date: march 27th 2009 cat no bb23lp one of the most remarkable albums of the so-called krautrock scene has to be jardin au fou by hans-joachim roedelius (cluster, harmonia), issued in 1979. all the more noteworthy as it bore no resemblance whatsoever to what was expected of avant-garde electronica and displayed none of the typical krautrock characteristics. rhythm machine, sequencer and abstract sounds are conspicuous by their absence. indeed, listeners were stunned by one of the most beautiful, charming, ethereal and peaceful albums in the history of german rock music. it was produced by peter baumann at his own paragon studios in 1978, a year after he left tangerine dream to concentrate on a solo career and production work. at the time, he was charged by the french label egg with delivering three productions from the german electro / avant-garde / krautrock cosmos. he thus recorded three long-playing records by konrad schnitzler, asmus tietchens and roedelius – the jardin au fou album. none other than asmus tietchens, friend and artistic companion to roedelius, has written the following in the liner notes for the reissue: jardin au fou (fools’ garden) is a thoroughly romantic album, bursting with joie de vivre and unadulterated joy. with the greatest of pleasure, roedelius cranks up a carousel of fairground organs, popping corks, waltzes and sweet melodies. musical ideas come thick and fast. if you listen carefully and immerse yourself in jardin au fou, you might hear traces of the baroque in this romantic music. roedelius concentrates on keyboards, in particular the acoustic grand piano. he played most of the tracks by hand exploiting his virtuosity to the full. the sweet disposition of the album as a whole borders on the naive, bearing none of the krautrock hallmarks one might expect. sweetness and light it may be, yet the music of roedelius is less naive than it first appears. it carries a certain, gentle gravitas borne of maturity, reflecting the ongoing quest of a musician for new paths and forms. jardin au fou confronts the listener with the unfiltered, open perspective on how roedelius sees things. today, some thirty years after it was created, this music has lost none of its shine.

blue phantom “distortions” compact disc

• diodo (3:49)
  
• metamorphosis (2:59)
  
• microchaos (2:43)
  
• compression (2:47)
  
• equilibrium (4:00)
  
• dipnoi (2:50)
  
• distillation (3:44)
  
• violence (3:08)
  
• equivalence (2:35)
  
• psycho-nebulous (4:53)
  
• uncle jim (2:46)

kismet press release...

zbigniew karkowski / anton lukoszevieze “nerve cell_0 for cello and computer” compact disc

• nerve cell_o (37:48)

sub rosa press release...

zbigniew karkowski nerve cell_0 (for cello and computer) features zbigniew karkowski computer anton lukoszevieze cello show me something new and i will begin all over again. - erik satie zbigniew karkowski zbigniew karkowski is one of the most influential electronic music composers working today. linking the worlds of modern composition and industrial music he is a pivotal figure in the development of advanced noise. constantly on the road, he is a frequent performer on the geographical fringes of experimental music culture as well as a mainstay on the established festival circuit. anton lukoszevieze cellist anton lukoszevieze is one of the most diverse performers of his generation and is notable for his performances of avant-garde, experimental and improvised music. he is unique in the uk through his use of the curved bow (bach-bogen), which he is using to develop new repertoire for the cello. anton is the subject of several films by the renowned artist-filmmaker jayne parker and he is also a member of zeitkratzer. in june 2009 he was awarded the 'millennium star' medal, for services to lithuanian culture, by the government of the republic of lithuania. this work is not music in a conventional sense, it does inhabit that world, but in a new way. the cello is treated fundamentally, as a resonating body, transmitting sounds elementally. the bow on a string, the flux of weight, pressure, speed and angularity releases a myriad of complex sound phenomena. the juxtaposition of multiple sounds on adjacent strings creates fluctuating and rhythmical beatings. the detuning of the instrument increases its pitch potential and basso profundity. in combination with computer electronics these elements are multiplied, extended and enriched. nerve cell-0 is a joyous, ecstatic, exhilarating and epic vista of sound. it defies categorisation. play it very loud.   - anton lukoszevieze

fennesz “aun • the beginning and the end of all things” compact disc

• kae (2:11)
  
• aware (4:48)
  
• haru (4:42)
  
• sekai (2:14)
  
• euclides (3:04)
  
• sasazuka (3:51)
  
• trace (5:49)
  
• mori (1:15)
  
• aun40 (5:06)
  
• nemuru (2:50)
  
• himitsu (2:46)
  
• aun80 (3:37)
  
• nympha (2:30)
  
• shinu (3:35)
  
• hikari (4:16)

ash international press release...

ash 9.5 - christian fennesz - aun - the beginning and the end of all thingsreleased: 2012 an original soundtrack [ost] cd jewel case - 28pp full colour - 15 tracks - 50 mins approx this cd is the soundtrack to the film aun, directed by edgar honetschläger. with stills from the film in the full colour 28 page booklet, the artwork is designed by philip marshall. intention: ‘aun – the beginning and the end of all things’ tells the story of mankind’s quest for the future, his desire to create the tomorrow, his fear of and loathing for the apocalypse. it spins the faustian theme twice and lays bare open the inexhaustible judeo / christian believe in progress, which by the 21st century has taken over the entire world and has succeeded in maneuvering the globe into a situation that can’t be solved by means of economics and science anymore. enlightenment’s merits have taken the west’s ability to sense what is not to be seen, what is only to be felt. beliefs are so much more than religion, than monotheistic concepts. souls and spirits exist not only in film. denial and neglect of eternal laws lead to extinction – of the individual and the entire human race. aun invents rituals as well as mythologies and worships the creator of it all – nature – by playfully laying out its dichotomy with human culture. the film equals mankind’s beauty with nature by announcing that ‘everything mankind creates in nature’. sadly the hubris ends and gives the audience the chance to heartily weep for the world. director's statement: ‘aun – the beginning and the end of all things’ follows the strings of thoughts the late claude lévi-strauss revealed in his anthropological essays throughout the 20th century, as well as those of japan’s unique shintoism who’s millions of gods inhibit and preserve nature. the film focuses on the dichotomy man / nature and envisions a future world where life will be nothing but sensual. it contains references to brazilian writer clarice lispector, italian anthropologist fosco maraini and the japanese writer yoko tawada. ‘aun – the beginning and the end of all things’ is a 100 min., 35mm feature drama written/directed by the austrian artist/filmmaker edgar honetschläger. it is a austrian / japanese co-production realized by edoko institute vienna and ribo ltd. tokyo in cooperation with kgp vienna. aun was supported by the austrian film institute, the vienna film fund, the orf (austrian tv), the province of upper austria, the city of tokyo, tochigi province, shizuoka province, yamanashi province.

decimus “decimus 11” long playing record

• decimus #11 (1)
  
  
• decimus #11 (2)