Cluster

Bureau B reissues Cluster's 1994 album One Hour. "Cluster's hiatus between Curiosum (BB 038CD/LP) and Apropos Cluster (BB 171CD/LP) in 1990 lasted for almost 10 years. Roedelius and Moebius spent this time developing their individual musical characteristics in a series of solo albums and collaborations which they released with other musicians. Naturally, they also thoroughly explored newly emerging digital technology. Cluster's music evolved substantially through this decade, less so in basic style (color had simply been added to Cluster's world), but more in a more mature handling of rhythm, harmony and melody. If Apropos Cluster had been the fulminant reboot, then One Hour four years later already represented a fully-formed progression of the new concept. Roedelius and Moebius stayed true to their spirit of improvisation, playing together with a minimum of prior arrangements. So, in the duo's finest tradition, One Hour is the product of two sessions recorded in the studio of musician and sound engineer Eric Spitzer-Marlyn in Austria. Sixty minutes were selected from the most interesting passages and assembled into a coherent, cohesive musical sequence. The askesis in the apparent matter-of-factness and lightness of One Hour is an expression of strict artistic conception. Nothing veers off course, not a single flash of genius is overplayed. Moebius and Roedelius guide their listeners deeper and deeper into the fantastical realm of musical extravaganzas. One image follows the next, disappearing in similarly unhurried fashion to be replaced by another. As placid as One Hour may seem, the album is nothing less than meditative. This is not ambient music. High impressionism would be a more apposite description. Appreciating the fleeting imagery and flow of ideas requires the listener's undivided attention. Using Cluster as acoustic room scent would be a hopeless undertaking. The exquisite particles of sound would dissipate far too quickly and ineffectively." --Asmus Tietchens