Cluster II
Encyclopedia
Cluster II is the second full-length album by German
electronic music outfit Cluster
and their first album with the band reduced to a duo. Conny Plank
, who was credited as a member on the first album, decided to concentrate on production and engineering. Plank is still credited as a composer together with Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Dieter Moebius
on all tracks.
Cluster II was recorded at Star-Studio in Hamburg
, Germany
in January, 1972. It was Cluster's first release for legendary Krautrock
label Brain Records
, a relationship which would last until 1975 and include the subsequent album Zuckerzeit
as well as the first two Harmonia
albums, a group which included both remaining members of Cluster and Michael Rother
of Neu!
.
Cluster II continued the transition away from the discordant, proto-industrial sound of Kluster
towards a more electronic sound. It was the first album to feature relatively short tracks and it was the first album in which tracks were named. (Earlier Kluster albums as well as the eponymous first Cluster album had unnamed pieces.) Julian Cope
included Cluster II in his Krautrock Top 50.
The album was first reissued on CD in 1994 on the Spalax
label with subsequent reissues on Universal in 2004 and Revisited in 2007.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
electronic music outfit Cluster
Cluster (band)
Cluster is a German experimental musical group who influenced the development of contemporary popular electronic and ambient music. They have recorded albums in a wide variety of styles ranging from experimental music to progressive rock, all of which had an avant-garde edge. Cluster has been...
and their first album with the band reduced to a duo. Conny Plank
Conny Plank
Konrad "Conny" Plank was a German record producer and musician. He was born in Hütschenhausen. His creativity as a sound engineer and producer helped to shape some of the most important and innovative recordings of postwar European popular music, covering a wide range of genres including...
, who was credited as a member on the first album, decided to concentrate on production and engineering. Plank is still credited as a composer together with Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Dieter Moebius
Dieter Moebius
Dieter Moebius is a German/Swiss experimental/krautrock/ambient/electronic musician.Moebius studied art in Brussels and Berlin and met there Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Conrad Schnitzler . They founded a band Kluster in 1969. After the departure of Schnitzler, they changed their name to Cluster...
on all tracks.
Cluster II was recorded at Star-Studio in Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
in January, 1972. It was Cluster's first release for legendary Krautrock
Krautrock
Krautrock is a generic name for the experimental music scenes that appeared in Germany in the late 1960s and gained popularity throughout the 1970s, especially in Britain. The term is a result of the English-speaking world's reception of the music at the time and not a reference to any one...
label Brain Records
Brain Records
Brain was a Hamburg-based record label prominent in the 1970s releasing several important Krautrock records by bands such as Neu!, Cluster and Guru Guru...
, a relationship which would last until 1975 and include the subsequent album Zuckerzeit
Zuckerzeit
Zuckerzeit is the third full-length album by German electronic music outfit Cluster. It was co-produced by Michael Rother, their bandmate in Harmonia...
as well as the first two Harmonia
Harmonia (band)
Harmonia is a Krautrock supergroup from Germany. They formed as a collaboration between Michael Rother of Neu! and Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Dieter Möbius of Cluster and later included the British musician Brian Eno.-Musical style:...
albums, a group which included both remaining members of Cluster and Michael Rother
Michael Rother
Michael Rother is a German experimental Krautrock musician and composer.- Early life and education :Born in 1950, Rother went to school in Munich, Wilmslow , Karachi, and Düsseldorf. He also lived in Pakistan in the early 1960s where he was exposed to Pakistani music that would influence his own...
of Neu!
Neu!
Neu! was a German band formed by Klaus Dinger and Michael Rother after their split from Kraftwerk in the early 1970s...
.
Cluster II continued the transition away from the discordant, proto-industrial sound of Kluster
Kluster
Kluster is a German experimental musical group whose work often resembles later industrial music.The original Kluster was short-lived, existing only from 1969 until mid-1971 when Conrad Schnitzler left and the remaining two members renamed themselves Cluster...
towards a more electronic sound. It was the first album to feature relatively short tracks and it was the first album in which tracks were named. (Earlier Kluster albums as well as the eponymous first Cluster album had unnamed pieces.) Julian Cope
Julian Cope
Julian Cope is a British rock musician, author, antiquary, musicologist, poet and cultural commentator...
included Cluster II in his Krautrock Top 50.
The album was first reissued on CD in 1994 on the Spalax
Spalax (record company)
Spalax is a record label in France that specializes in progressive rock and experimental music, it features a huge krautrock catalog too. Spalax music re-released, among others, albums by Amon Düül, Cluster, Harmonia, Popol Vuh, Annexus Quam, and Bernard Szajner....
label with subsequent reissues on Universal in 2004 and Revisited in 2007.
Track listing
All tracks by ClusterCluster (band)
Cluster is a German experimental musical group who influenced the development of contemporary popular electronic and ambient music. They have recorded albums in a wide variety of styles ranging from experimental music to progressive rock, all of which had an avant-garde edge. Cluster has been...
- "Plas" – 6:00
- "Im Süden" – 12:50
- "Für die Katz" – 3:00
- "Live in der Fabrik" – 14:50
- "Georgel" – 5:25
- "Nabitte" – 2:40
Personnel
- Hans-Joachim Roedelius – electronics
- Dieter MoebiusDieter MoebiusDieter Moebius is a German/Swiss experimental/krautrock/ambient/electronic musician.Moebius studied art in Brussels and Berlin and met there Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Conrad Schnitzler . They founded a band Kluster in 1969. After the departure of Schnitzler, they changed their name to Cluster...
– electric organ, guitars, effects & electronics - Conrad PlankConny PlankKonrad "Conny" Plank was a German record producer and musician. He was born in Hütschenhausen. His creativity as a sound engineer and producer helped to shape some of the most important and innovative recordings of postwar European popular music, covering a wide range of genres including...
– producer
External links
- Prog Archives http://www.progarchives.com/album.asp?id=8118. Retrieved August 17, 2007.
- Bush, John [ Allmusic review] Retrieved August 18, 2007.
- Curry, Russ A Curious History of Cluster Retrieved August 17, 2007.