Hans-Joachim Roedelius

CD version. Bureau B reissues Momenti Felici by German keyboardist Hans-Joachim Roedelius , originally released in 1987 on the Virgin label Venture. Since the early '80s, Roedelius had more or less dispensed with electronics, focusing increasingly on the grand piano. He also collaborated with various combinations of musicians to create a new kind of music, vastly different from Cluster and Harmonia aesthetics. For Roedelius, it was not only a period of reorientation in musical terms, but also geographically: Austria was now his home. "Tu Felix Austria" (trans. "Oh, Happy Austria"), a time-honored Austrian campaign slogan, became his very own motto in no time at all. The pleasure he derived from playing the piano and meeting musicians on the same wavelength did the rest: an enthusiastic Roedelius allowed new impressions and discoveries to flow virtually unfiltered into his music. Momenti Felici is one of the finest examples hereof. With characteristically exuberant inventiveness, Roedelius tickles the ivories lightheartedly, or, entering into a more pensive mood, seems to caress the keys. With saxophonist Alexander Czjzek dueting on some of the pieces, Roedelius shuffles a pack of disciplined compositions and carefree improvisations. In this respect, Momenti Felici most closely resembles Jardin Au Fou . On closer listening, however, the length of time between the two albums can be discerned. Roedelius honed both his compositional and, more than anything, his playing skills in the lengthy period in between. Naturally, Momenti Felici saw Roedelius distance himself further still from the electronic scene. The signs had been there on his preceding albums and this release simply removed any last vestige of doubt. Roedelius had, in any case, long since found a new audience, who continue to follow him avidly today. With the passage of time, many of his companions from earlier days have come to realize that a beautiful melody and a rich piano chord can be just as pleasing to the ear as pure tones and rhythm machines. Includes three CD-only previously-unreleased bonus tracks. Liner notes by Asmus Tietchens .