Music from Germany

NEU! was/is/will be a big deal in the history of 20th century music. They laid the foundation for scores of musicians who followed them. But why were Neu! so great? Part of their appeal lies in the fact that their music was so simple, so natural and so easy to listen to and absorb. Each of their pieces draws you in with its own unique mood. The music is emotive in so many different ways: the icy melancholy of Weissensee and Leb'wohl, the tranquil yet sinister brooding of Im Glück, the rage and s…

Gronland's recent re-release of three completely remastered (Tim Young, Metropolis Studios, London) classic works: NEU!, NEU! 2, and NEU! 75 has been met enthusiastically, with prominent musicians weighing in on the influence of NEU! Massive press throughout the world (in Rolling Stone, US, SPIN Magazine, Entertainment Weekly, MoJo, WIRE and others) accompanied the long-awaited May 2001 release date, and recent quotes from the likes of Blur, David Bowie, Placebo, Radiohead, Sonic Youth and Stere…

Neu! were formed by Kraftwerk members Michael Rother and Klaus Dinger who took the sparse early Kraftwerk electronic sound and utilized many effects like lock-groove rhythms and minimalist melodies currently used by today's electronic artists. Neu! created a new kind of rhythm that bridged the gap between rock n roll's syncopation and dance music's four-to-the-floor beats. Stereolab's Tim Gane says "Neu!'s longer tracks are far closer to the future of house and techno than guitar rock." Neu!'s m…

City Raga marked a new direction in Popol Vuh's style and broadened the sound of their musical experiments. Reflecting the ambient dance music of the trendy international club scene, Florian Fricke described the latest project this way: "City Raga is a concept album, i.e. the tracks are not put together at random but instead they describe a rhythmic, danceable way of life in our cities."

Music by: Conrad Schnitzler, Klaus Freudigmann, Wolfgang Seidel and friends. Three side-long tracks, the complete concert. For the first time ever the complete Live Action, 1972 recorded in Wuppertal by Conrad Schnitzler's loose collective. Credited to Eruption, that was a short-lived German krautrock or experimental music super group founded by former Tangerine Dream member and then current Kluster (3) member Conrad Schnitzler. Eruption performed free-form, improvisational, experimental music, …

Japanese-only CD reissue of what was originally a Japanese-only LP in the 80s, issued in support of a Der Plan tour. Der Plan is a German music art group who is running an independent label Ata Tak. The original LP was released only in Japan in 1985. Including 12. EP track, 2 unreleased tracks. Japan only.

Roedelius always surprises us with his imaginative, unusual, unexpected music. The four long electronic pieces that integrate this CD are each one a journey towards the unknown. All of them possess a decidedly mysterious, enigmatic character, like soundtracks for nocturnal walks in deserted cities. The music is mostly static, even though there also are passages with a slow percussive rhythm. The themes are a succession of whispers that come and go, sometimes intertwining. Other passages consist …

The latest in Asmus Tietchens ongoing Mengen series, this album maintains the bold adventurousness and strict minimalism of previous recordings whilst suggesting some sense of evolution along the way. The series was initiated as an exercise in composition based exclusively around spatial manipulations of white noise and sine tones, but this instalment seems to hint at a heightened level of sonic richness and diversity than that policy could ever reasonably hope to accommodate. Some of the pieces…

Long out of print. Though it begins with a few minutes of depth-plumbing space music, Constellations soon evolves into a series of tuneless synthesizer squiggles tweaked to perfection by Schnitzler with help from his effects array (reverb, delay, echo, etc.). The assortment of electronics is reminiscent of '60s academia but loaded with emotion nevertheless.

Roedelius (who is one-half of the legendary German electronic band Cluster) has had a solo career for many many years. Alas, his solo work tends to be less electronic and more keyboard easy listening fare. "Theatre Works" is a departure from that trend, with modern classical overtones and a modulated sense of drama. But the real surprise here lies with two of the tracks which are unreleased performances by Harmonia and Brian Eno--truth! Astute audiophile historians will recall the two remarkable…

This release documents the second collaboration between Conrad Schnitzler and Jörg Thomasius (the first, “Tolling Toggle” came out on Fünfundfierzig). 15 tracks of their experimental collaborations. Recorded in 1991 and 1992, and released in 1992 in an edition of 500.

Meanwhile hard to find collaboration release. Swirling und grinding sounds in spooky layers. A rather dark and moving release.

Asmus Tietchens and Arcane Device’s debut, ‘DBL.FDBK’, does not fit easily into one genre. If you want to hear real Ambient, get this record now! This is the most melodic ambitious and satisfying track in DBL.FDBK. It’s also one of those rare songs that touchingly comfort the listener. T4-M1-4 is a pleasing, and full of overall coherence that goes beyond other creations. I was truly moved when I heard T5-M2-1. T6-M2-2 - My least favorite song on this album. T13-M3-4 is possibly the best song Asm…

This eleven-song debut EP shows the promise that Hans Joachim Roedelius has. This album has some very good songs like Muy Encantado and Bons Jours. Hans Joachim Roedelius’s debut, ‘Variety Of Moods’, does not fit easily into one genre. Unappreciated gift to Ambient Song Bons Jours is actually a funny song. A great put together song. Mattgold is the song that really did it for me. Music and lyrics of Der Mann Aus Lodz creates, for me, fertile ground for daydreaming. Albumblatt is one of those son…

Conrad Schnitzler is a genuine legend in the krautrock and electronic music worlds. Schnitzler studied under Joseph Beuys before joining an early Tangerine Dream. Their first album Electronic Meditation shows a band highly influenced by Schnitzler's unique, singular approach. Schnitzler left Tangerine Dream to form Kluster with friends Dieter Moebius and Hans Joachim Roedelius. When Schnitzler left Kluster they changed their name to Cluster, eventually merging with Michael Rother (of Neu!) to fo…

Previously unreleased recordings from 1971. Admira is sourced from original master recordings discovered by Kluster member and Tangerine Dream engineer Klaus Freudigmann. Along with Vulcano, also being released at the same time on Important, Admira is presented here for the first time in this deluxe package. These intense sessions were made with Schnitzler at the helm, as always, after the departure of Mobius and Roedelius from the group. Conrad Schnitzler founded Kluster in 1969 along with Roed…

The Kompakt label presents the work of Wolfgang Voigt's Gas -- a remastered deluxe package that includes all four of his Mille Plateaux albums: Gas (1996), Zauberberg (1997), Königsforst (1998) and Pop (2000). Wolfgang Voigt, in the past known under a great many pseudonyms such as Mike Ink, Studio 1 or Grungerman, is the driving force behind the rise of Cologne minimal techno and also Kompakt's co-founder and co-owner. In the 1980s, Voigt began working under a concept he named BLEI -- extracting…

Karlheinz Stockhausen's 'Harlekin' ('Harlequin') for clarinet; and 'Der Kleine Harlekin' ('The Little Harlequin') for clarinet (performed here by Suzanne Stephens). Only one copy available.

After finishing the transall cycle and introducing the series of xerrox, Alva Noto makes a move back to his more rhythmic approach in unitxt. It could be seen as a kind of continuation to the transspray ep from 2004. A preview of unitxt concept was already released as a remix track for the björk cd-s release innocence produced by Björk-Timbaland, from her latest album volta (2007). Unitxt was recorded during raster-noton japan tours 2006 and 2007. it was reviewed and edited in berlin early 2008.…

Described as a "strange mechanical ballet for Androids" - " Con Brio " reveals one more time that Conrad Schnitzler, usually described as a " mad-berliner" is first a poet, a sculptor, & a painter...who expresses himself through musical pieces.