Tracks and Traces
Encyclopedia
Tracks and Traces is the one and only album credited to Harmonia '76, but it is generally regarded as the third album by the highly influential Krautrock
/Kosmische Musik group Harmonia
. Harmonia was formed by the addition of Neu!
guitarist Michael Rother
to Cluster
, the duo of Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Dieter Moebius
. British
ambient
musician Brian Eno
joined the group at Harmonia's studio in Forst
, Germany
for the September 1976 recording sessions which resulted in this album.
Although Tracks and Traces was recorded in 1976, it was not released until 4 November 1997 by the American
Rykodisc
label (originally in Germany by the label S3, remastered by Eric Spitzer-Marlyn and Othmar Eichinger), at which time the labels appended "'76" to the group's name.
Various websites quote Eno as saying that Harmonia was "the world's most important rock band" in the mid '70s, including Sherman Wick in his review of Musik Von Harmonia
, the first Harmonia album. Daniel Dumych, who also cites that quote, writes in his article for hyperreal.org: "Perhaps Eno's reason for praising Harmonia so highly was that their music fit the requirements of ambient rock. Its music was equally suitable for active or passive listening. The careful listener found his/her attentions rewarded by the musical activities and sounds, but Harmonia's music was also capable of setting a sonic environment." Clearly Eno had been very impressed with both Musik Von Harmonia and Cluster
's fourth album Zuckerzeit
and had joined Harmonia on tour, first playing with the group at The Fabrik
in Hamburg
.
Jeff Melton, who reviewed Tracks and Traces for the Expose Progressive Music website, described the album, in part: "Overall the album is relaxing and evokes dream like images but doesn't force you to passively count sheep. For a lost project which had been unreleased for over twenty years, I'd say it's as current [as] any techno project if only for the strength of the collaboration and the blurring of egos." The album has only one vocal track, "Luneburg Heath". Jess Barnett, writing in her review for FensePost, comments that the song "has a strong Eno presence and a disembodied voice singing, 'Don’t get lost on Luneberg Heath'. The synth lines are twangy and muffled, repetitive but not boring." Ned Raggett, writing the review for Allmusic, says in part: "Having already created two excellent albums, the core Harmonia trio was easily placed to whip up a third, with Eno the wild-card factor who turned out to be a perfect addition. While contributing some lyrics and singing at a time when he was steering away firmly from both in his own solo work, most of the time Eno lets the band speak for themselves musically, most notably adding snaky, quietly threatening basslines."
After Michael Rother left Harmonia Eno continued to work with Moebius and Roedelius, recording two albums: Cluster & Eno
in 1977 and After the Heat
in 1978. Harmonia also continued to influence Brian Eno's work long after its demise. A review of Musik Von Harmonia on the Cult Cargo website cites the track "Ahoi" as "the blueprint for a couple of the tracks on Eno's Apollo
LP, with its minimalist picked guitar and simple piano runs."
. A 12" of remixes was also released, coupling "Sometimes In Autumn" and "By The Riverside" re-fixed by Dubstep-producers Shackleton and Appleblim/Komonazmuk.
2009 reissue bonus tracks (Grönland Records
)
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...
/Kosmische Musik group 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:...
. Harmonia was formed by the addition of Neu!
Neu!
Neu! was a German band formed by Klaus Dinger and Michael Rother after their split from Kraftwerk in the early 1970s...
guitarist 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...
to 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...
, the duo of 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...
. British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
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 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,...
joined the group at Harmonia's studio 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...
for the September 1976 recording sessions which resulted in this album.
Although Tracks and Traces was recorded in 1976, it was not released until 4 November 1997 by the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Rykodisc
Rykodisc
Rykodisc Records is an American record label. It is owned by Warner Music Group, operates as a unit of WMG's Independent Label Group and is distributed through Alternative Distribution Alliance.-Company history:...
label (originally in Germany by the label S3, remastered by Eric Spitzer-Marlyn and Othmar Eichinger), at which time the labels appended "'76" to the group's name.
Various websites quote Eno as saying that Harmonia was "the world's most important rock band" in the mid '70s, including Sherman Wick in his review of Musik Von Harmonia
Musik Von Harmonia
Musik Von Harmonia is the debut album from the highly influential Krautrock/Kosmische Musik group Harmonia. Harmonia, was formed by the addition of Neu! guitarist Michael Rother to Cluster, the duo of Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Dieter Moebius....
, the first Harmonia album. Daniel Dumych, who also cites that quote, writes in his article for hyperreal.org: "Perhaps Eno's reason for praising Harmonia so highly was that their music fit the requirements of ambient rock. Its music was equally suitable for active or passive listening. The careful listener found his/her attentions rewarded by the musical activities and sounds, but Harmonia's music was also capable of setting a sonic environment." Clearly Eno had been very impressed with both Musik Von Harmonia and 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...
's fourth 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...
and had joined Harmonia on tour, first playing with the group at The Fabrik
Fabrik (Hamburg)
The Fabrik is a cultural centre in Hamburg, Germany.It occupies a former machine parts factory in Ottensen, in the Altona district. The building dates from the Gründerzeit , and consists of a large, nave-like central hall with wooden girders, overlooked by running galleries on the two upper floors...
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...
.
Jeff Melton, who reviewed Tracks and Traces for the Expose Progressive Music website, described the album, in part: "Overall the album is relaxing and evokes dream like images but doesn't force you to passively count sheep. For a lost project which had been unreleased for over twenty years, I'd say it's as current [as] any techno project if only for the strength of the collaboration and the blurring of egos." The album has only one vocal track, "Luneburg Heath". Jess Barnett, writing in her review for FensePost, comments that the song "has a strong Eno presence and a disembodied voice singing, 'Don’t get lost on Luneberg Heath'. The synth lines are twangy and muffled, repetitive but not boring." Ned Raggett, writing the review for Allmusic, says in part: "Having already created two excellent albums, the core Harmonia trio was easily placed to whip up a third, with Eno the wild-card factor who turned out to be a perfect addition. While contributing some lyrics and singing at a time when he was steering away firmly from both in his own solo work, most of the time Eno lets the band speak for themselves musically, most notably adding snaky, quietly threatening basslines."
After Michael Rother left Harmonia Eno continued to work with Moebius and Roedelius, recording two albums: Cluster & Eno
Cluster & Eno
Cluster & Eno is a collaborative album by the German electronic music group Cluster and British ambient musician Brian Eno. The style of this album is a collection of gentle melodies: a mixture of Eno’s ambient sensibilities and Cluster's avant-garde style.In June, 1977 the duo of Hans-Joachim...
in 1977 and After the Heat
After the Heat
After the Heat is a 1978 album by Brian Eno, Dieter Moebius and Hans-Joachim Roedelius . The album represents the second collaboration by the trio, the first being 1977's Cluster & Eno...
in 1978. Harmonia also continued to influence Brian Eno's work long after its demise. A review of Musik Von Harmonia on the Cult Cargo website cites the track "Ahoi" as "the blueprint for a couple of the tracks on Eno's Apollo
Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks
-Credits:* Musicians: Brian Eno, Daniel Lanois, Roger Eno* Cover Art : Russel Mills* Mastered by Greg Calbi, at Sterling Sound-Versions:-Chart performance:-Uses in other media:* "An Ending ":** TV - James May on the Moon - opening sequence...
LP, with its minimalist picked guitar and simple piano runs."
2009 reissue
A remastered reissue with three previously unreleased bonus tracks was released in 2009 by Grönland RecordsGrönland Records
Grönland Records is an independent record label originally founded in London, England, which relocated to Berlin, Germany in 2009. "Grönland" refers both to the country and the label's founder, Herbert Grönemeyer.-Origin:...
. A 12" of remixes was also released, coupling "Sometimes In Autumn" and "By The Riverside" re-fixed by Dubstep-producers Shackleton and Appleblim/Komonazmuk.
Track listing
- "Vamos Companeros" – 4:32
- "By the Riverside" – 9:31
- "Luneburg Heath" – 4:53
- "Sometimes in Autumn" – 15:49
- "Weird Dream" – 6:39
- "Almost" – 5:28
- "Les Demoiselles" – 3:59
- "When Shade Was Born" – 1:30
- "Trace" – 1:31
2009 reissue bonus tracks (Grönland Records
Grönland Records
Grönland Records is an independent record label originally founded in London, England, which relocated to Berlin, Germany in 2009. "Grönland" refers both to the country and the label's founder, Herbert Grönemeyer.-Origin:...
)
- "Welcome"
- "Atmosphere"
- "Aubade"
Personnel
- Michael RotherMichael RotherMichael 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...
– e-guitar, keyboards, drum machine - 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...
– synthesizer, mini harp - Hans-Joachim Roedelius – keyboards
- Brian EnoBrian EnoBrian 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,...
– synthesizer, e-bass, voice, lyrics