Feature

Krautrock is better late than never

By Adam Stackhouse
Contributing Writer

Due to America's strictly U.S.-centered mindset, Americans have missed out on many foreign musical movements. Among the U.S.'s biggest losses is missing out on almost the entire German progressive rock movement, also known as krautrock.
There was a plethora of incredible German albums released from the late `60s through the early `80s. The only ones that made it here were several Kraftwerk albums, one Faust album and some Tangerine Dream albums. Only in recent years has a small effort been made to release some of these classic albums domestically. The first great effort came from Mute Records, who released the entire Can catalog domestically. Cleopatra Records has also been releasing a number of good krautrock compilations.
The latest krautrock re-release effort is from Gyroscope which has released eleven albums and two compilations from Cluster's stay with the Germany's Sky Records. Krautrock enthusiasts should be overjoyed to pay the domestic price rather than the steep import price for these classic releases--not to mention that they'll actually be able to find the albums now.
A brief history of pre-Sky Cluster is probably in order since little has been written about the duo in this country. Cluster began as Kluster with early Tangerine Dream member Conrad Schnitzler along with future Cluster duo, Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Dieter Moebius. The trio met with the legendary producer/collaborator Conny Plank during this time. After three darkly experimental albums, Schnitzler left to pursue a solo career and Roedelius and Moebius formed Cluster.
After releasing two albums as Cluster, the duo met with ex-Kraftwerk/Neu! guitarist Michael Rother, who produced the third album and then joined the duo to form Harmonia. Two great Harmonia albums later, Roedelius and Moebius were on their own again, this time on Sky Records.

Cluster
Sowiesoso
1976's Sowiesoso (which means anywayway) was the first Cluster release on Sky Records. This album is, like all of the albums in the domestically released Cluster catalog, a key to understanding the current crop of electronic music artists. These albums are like missing pieces that only Europeans had at their disposal. The U.S. may have actually been as advanced as Europe in the field of electronic music if these albums were available long ago. Then again, maybe not. Most Americans are too hung up on electric guitars.
Simply put, Sowiesoso is gorgeous without being fluffy. Pianos, synth washes and noodles, guitars, sparse percussion and other sounds and instruments blend perfectly to form a thematically strong album. The rhythm comes and goes but the music never falls out of form. The album goes from introspective to almost joyous in the space of a few minutes, but still, the theme remains strong. The album's highest moment comes during the closing track, "In Ewigkeit," which sounds like a Gershwin melody in space with its lush, experimental combination of piano, vibes and extremely quirky synthesizer. This track, and the whole album for that matter, deserves endless listens. A
Cluster & Eno
Cluster & Eno
Cluster began a collaboration with Brian Eno in 1977 with both Cluster & Eno and as guest musicians on Eno's uneven pop album Before and After Science. Recorded by Conny Plank in Germany, Cluster & Eno was probably made during the same time as David Bowie and Brian Eno's Low. The two albums sound very much alike, although Cluster & Eno lacks the vibrancy of Low. Eno doesn't seem to be able to fit in very well and the result is a rather dull album. Even a guest appearance by Can bassist Holger Czukay can't add life to this album. It's a shame because if only the gentle soundscapes had a little more direction, they would be quite effective. The only track that really works is "One," which is sort of a merger of Indian classical music and Cluster- and Eno-brand ambiance. The sitar, tamboura, synthesizer drones and what sounds like a bowed guitar are all quite magical. B-

Eno Moebius Roedelius
After the Heat
Cluster and Brian Eno did another album together, but this time under the moniker, Eno Moebius Roedelius. The album, entitled After the Heat, was released a year after the last collaboration and it seems that many of the last album's problems were remedied (quite possibly with the help of Eno's Oblique Strategies.) It seems that Eno had a larger role in this album since three of the tracks bear a close resemblance to some of Eno's pop excursions--complete with his vocals. All three of these tracks are excellent--especially "Tzima N'arki" with its backward vocals and guest Czukay's song-centering bass work.
The leanings toward electro add the direction that the soundscapes of the last album desperately needed. Moebius seems to have asserted his harsher side here and a few of the tracks give an indication of his solo work and his collaborations with Conny Plank that were yet to come. These electro tracks are paired with a few gentle soundscapes and the result is a fine, balanced album that's leaps and bounds better than the previous album. A-

Cluster
Grosses Wasser
Cluster parted with Eno and in 1979 the duo released Grosses Wasser - an album way ahead of its time. The mixture of electro, techno and electronica is dated only by the analog synthesizer technology utilized. The Kraftwerk influence is apparent, but this album is far less structured and has an even keener eye for the future.
The album seems tailor made for record with a clear division of sides. The first five tracks are the tempo-driven nuggets that span the gap between Walter Carlos (pre-operation Wendy) and contemporary electronic music. The 18 and a half minute title track that closes the album can only be a side of its own. It begins with gentle piano, drifts to Oriental strangeness, moves toward tom tom pulsing trance music, devolves into sparse atmospherics and finally ends with more gentle piano.
Grosses Wasser was produced by ex-Tangerine Dream member Peter Baumann rather than Plank, and this could be one reason why this album is far more clean and straightforward than the previous Cluster albums. Whatever the reason, Grosses Wasser excels into new and interesting territory--something to expect from Cluster. A

Moebius and Roedelius only released one more album for Sky Records as Cluster, Curiosum. Unfortunately, that album is not scheduled for release domestically. But, three Roedelius solo albums (which are a bit sleep-inducing - in a bad way), one Moebius solo album, a Moebius & Beerbohm album, and best of all, three Moebius & Plank projects are being released by Gyroscope.

Moebius & Plank
Rastakraut Pasta/Material
Moebius & Plank's 1980 masterpiece, Rastakraut Pasta, is an absolutely essential album. The two bring a keen sense of humor to the album's Teutonic electro-funk. The base of the songs may be the bouncing basslines, but the fun is in the multitude of blips and bleeps that litter the pathway.
The title track is the clincher. It's the best non-Jamaican take on reggae ever, with dub-style drums, on-the-upbeat guitar and plenty of warped synthesizer sounds and melodies. The album gets a little more serious with the fuzz guitar-driven electro-sludge rock of "Feedback 66" and the sci-fi atmospherics of "Solar Plexus," but there's still humor deep within.
As if Rastakraut Pasta weren't enough, Gyroscope added Moebius & Plank's 1981 release, Material to the same CD. This album is almost as fun as Rastakraut Pasta. "Conditionierer" gets the album off to a good start with a stab at the jugular of rock'n'roll with a standard rock guitar chord progression "desecrated" by sound effects. The rest of the album is a sort of free-form electronica that would put half of today's technoheads to shame. A

Moebius-Plank-Neumeier
Zero Set
The third and final Moebius and Plank collaboration, 1983's Zero Set, adds a third member, Guru Guru drummer/leader, Mani Neumeier. Neumeier's tom tom-happy presence drives the album into a rhythm-heavy frenzy - sort of like an electro-tribal freakout. Somehow, Moebius and Plank manage to hang on for the entire fast-paced, psyched-out ride and add a diverse electro/acoustic texture that combines indigenous African music with Western electronic music. This album puts most other similar musical blends to shame. Not once does the album lose its intensity.
"Recall" is particularly interesting in the way it seamlessly blends authentic African vocals into the electronic fold. It would have been great to see what Moebius and Plank could have done to top this album, but unfortunately, Plank died in 1987 before the two could join forces again. A

Cluster is still together and, to coincide with Caroline's reissue campaign, Moebius and Roedelius are currently touring the U.S.. This is their first ever North American tour, so it's highly advisable to do everything you can to see this legendary duo.

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Cluster is appearing with the Brain, this Friday at Spaceland in Silverlake. The show is being put on by the moving ambient club, Public Space. For more information, call (213) 486-4536.