Sowiesoso
Encyclopedia
Sowiesoso is the fourth full-length album by German electronic music outfit Cluster
.
Sowiesoso was recorded in just two days in Forst
, Germany
in 1976. It was Cluster's first release for Krautrock
label Sky Records
, a relationship which would last until 1983 including albums with Brian Eno
, solo recordings, and three albums by the duo of Moebius and former Cluster member and frequent engineer/producer Conny Plank
.
Sowiesoso was Cluster's gentlest and most melodic album of electronic music
to that point. Brian Eno had worked with Moebius and Roedelius with Harmonia
prior to the recording of Sowiesoso and worked with Cluster again on two albums in 1977 and 1978 and the influence of the British ambient
musician is clearly heard on the softer and more controlled sound of this album. Russ Curry describes the album this way: "...a fully realized marriage of electronic sounds with a pastoral warmth." Julian Cope
included Soweisoso in his Krautrock Top 50.
The album was first reissued on CD by Sky Records in the mid '90s. It has also been reissued by the American label Gyroscope in 1996, the San Francisco based Water label in 2006 and the Japanese label Captain Trip in 2007.
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...
.
Sowiesoso was recorded in just two days in Forst
Forst, Lower Saxony
Forst is a district of the municipality Bevern, Lower Saxony, Germany.Forst lies in the Weserbergland.In the 1970s, the musicians Hans-Joachim Roedelius, Dieter Moebius and Michael Rother lived there.....
, 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 1976. It was Cluster's first release for 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 Sky Records
Sky Records
Sky Records was a Hamburg, Germany based independent record label specializing in Krautrock/Kosmische Musik and electronic music. Some of their releases could be classified as progressive rock or art rock, experimental music, industrial, ambient, or New Age...
, a relationship which would last until 1983 including albums with Brian Eno
Brian Eno
Brian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno , commonly known as Brian Eno or simply as Eno , is an English musician, composer, record producer, singer and visual artist, known as one of the principal innovators of ambient music.Eno studied at Colchester Institute art school in Essex,...
, solo recordings, and three albums by the duo of Moebius and former Cluster member and frequent engineer/producer 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...
.
Sowiesoso was Cluster's gentlest and most melodic album of electronic music
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
to that point. Brian Eno had worked with Moebius and Roedelius with 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:...
prior to the recording of Sowiesoso and worked with Cluster again on two albums in 1977 and 1978 and the influence of the British ambient
Ambient music
Ambient music is a musical genre that focuses largely on the timbral characteristics of sounds, often organized or performed to evoke an "atmospheric", "visual" or "unobtrusive" quality.- History :...
musician is clearly heard on the softer and more controlled sound of this album. Russ Curry describes the album this way: "...a fully realized marriage of electronic sounds with a pastoral warmth." Julian Cope
Julian Cope
Julian Cope is a British rock musician, author, antiquary, musicologist, poet and cultural commentator...
included Soweisoso in his Krautrock Top 50.
The album was first reissued on CD by Sky Records in the mid '90s. It has also been reissued by the American label Gyroscope in 1996, the San Francisco based Water label in 2006 and the Japanese label Captain Trip in 2007.
Track listing
- "Sowiesoso" – 7:17
- "Halwa" – 2:47
- "Dem Wanderer" – 3:47
- "Umleitung" – 3:25
- "Zum Wohl" – 6:50
- "Es War Einmal" – 5:25
- "In Ewigkeit" – 7:10
Personnel
- 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...
– keyboards, percussion, vocals - Hans-Joachim Roedelius – keyboards, percussion, vocals
External links
- Bush, John []. Retrieved August 18, 2007.
- Curry, Russ A Curious History of Cluster. Retrieved August 18, 2007.
- Ground and Sky progreviews.com. Retrieved August 18, 2007.
- Freeman, Steven and Freeman, Alan The Crack In The Cosmic Egg. (Audion Publications, 1996) ISBN 0-9529506-0-X Retrieved September 4, 2007.
- Cope, Julian A Krautrock Top 50. Retrieved September 4, 2007.