CLUSTER 71′

Although re-issued for some time now, I post this for the neo-synth nerd who can’t get enough, as the original LP version here contains slightly longer track times than any of the CD releases (and has the way cooler magic marker cover). Analogue synthesizer is big stuff these days, and if you haven’t climbed on board the express train, or your new band isn’t channeling that big Cluster sound, you’ll do yourself a favor by downloading these immense slabs of modular synthesizer bushwhacking. Verging on the nightmarish, with very little by way of harmonic foil, these dissonant streams-of-control-voltage-consciousness are ready-made for all cultivators of the ‘pure tone’, and are sure to unleash the analogue animal within.

Sky 047, 1971

Side One:

1. 14′43
2. 7′42

Side Two:

1. 21′32

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HANS-JOACHIM ROEDELIUS “JARDIN AU FOU”

Unlike with 71′, one can generally suss out the Roedelius imprint on Cluster. That said, this 1979 solo release for EGG (his second, and his only not on Sky) serves up ample chunks of his trademark playfully elegiac melodies. On first take this might sound like a whimsical record, but given further listens, it reveals more complex structures woven into seemingly simple tunes. Additionally, the record contains one of the all time great HJR tracks “Le Jardin”, evoking a deep emotional sense of place like few other songs I know. In fact, the whole second side is brutally gorgeous, incorporating cellos, electric guitar, and flute in some fantastic and earthly ways. Encouraging, if not at times forcing the musical partnership between the acoustic and the electronic, this record achieves some of HJR’s finest musical moments.

EGG BA-215, 1979

Side One:

1. Fou Fou (3′59)
2. Toujours (2′59)
3. Rue Fortune (2′23)
4. Balsam (2′18)
5. Café Central (3′40)

Side Two:

1. Le Jardin (4′30)
2. Gloria Dolores (4′14)
3. Étoiles (3′55)
4. Schöne Welt (4′48)
5. Final (0′49)

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KLAUS SCHULZE “MIRAGE”

“Music is a dream without the isolation of sleep”. Unaccompanied synth can be an acquired taste, often sounding like an end in itself rather than a means to an end. This record (and much of Schulze’s music from the 70’s) is quite the opposite. Originally drummer for Tangerine Dream, and then co-founder of Ash Ra Temple with Manuel Göttsching (leaving after only one release to embark on the solo career), Schulze utilizes the synth as a means to express creative vision, producing evocatively transcendent works that serve as vehicles for transformative listening experiences. The long emotive passages here could serve as a soundtrack to any number of visual counterparts, often yielding disturbing dreamlike qualities of flying over post-apocalyptic wastelands, for example. Although tossed into the New Age ring, Schulze denies any association with that camp, yet to his credit is simultaneously aligned with Eno and the Ambient Music genre. Waking dreams aside, this is a great example of well crafted electronics ala 1977, with side two’s “Crystal Lake” knocking it clean out of the park.

From the liner notes:

“The principles of my music are to make the listener powerful and happy to endure our dying planet life by using their own creativity, and being aware of emotion.”

The record consists of two compositions with titled sub-sections.

EMI/Island Records, 2C 068-98870, 1977

Side One:

Velvet Voyage (28′24)
1) 1984
2) Aeronef
3) Eclipse
4) Exvasion
5) Lucidinterspace
6) Destinationvoid

Side Two: (29′08)

Crystal Lake
1) Xylotones
2) Cromwaves
3) Willowdreams
4) Liquidmirrors
5) Springdance
6) A Bientot

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PATRICK GLEESON “RAINBOW DELTA”

Since I’m in the zone, here’s a 1980 recording by pioneering synth man Patrick Gleeson. Gleeson bought his first Moog in 1968, and opened the Different Fur recording studio (which was given it’s name by the poet Micheal McCLure) in San Francisco’s Mission District that same year. Among other heavy’s, Herbie Hancock, Stevie Wonder, and Devo recorded there, as well as Brian Eno and David Byrne for their seminal “My Life in the Bush of Ghosts” record. This leads to another interesting facet of Gleeson’s history, his collaborations with filmmaker Bruce Conner. Gleeson’s soundtrack is credited on the film “Crossroads” (along with Terry Riley), while the 3rd section of the first track on side one of this record is the soundtrack to Conner’s film by the same name “Take the 5:10 to Dreamland”, one of my favorites! Conner also used the Eno/Byrne tune “Mea Culpa” for a film by the same name, and Conner and McClure were also collaborators and great friends. Safe to say that Gleeson and the Different Fur studio were likely a touchstone to the San Francisco film and music scene ala the 1970’s and 80’s.

As far at the record itself goes, it’s a richly textured/layered and complex work, at times beautifully composed, serving as a fine blend of the various shades, tones and incidentals that make up the magical analogue synthesizer sound as we know it - a solid example of its infinite possibilities.

The record consists of two compositions with titled sub-sections.

Passport Records PVC 7914, 1980

Side One:

Rainbow Delta
1) Frank Stella by Starlight
2) Unacceptable Dance Styles
3) Take the 5:10 to Dreamland
4) La Grange Point Five

Side Two:

Draconian Measures
1) Arrival Music
2) Ravel Goes to Germany
3) Hobbits Are Dancing
4) Clouds/Blue Skies

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DEUTER “CICADA”

Probably as good a place as any to insert some Deuter, this 1982 release on Kuckuck is another fine example of his dedication to craft, as well as his commitment to a spiritual connectedness to nature and the self through music. This record is a well balanced (and tasteful) mix of the acoustic alongside the electronic, and features Chaitanya Hari Deuter performing all the instruments with the exception of the harp on the track “Haiku” played by Deva Renu.

“Deuter began to go into the mountains to record birds, water and wind to accompany his music. He was one of the first artists to do so and his deep relationship with nature persists to this day. He also began his spiritual search, spending much of his time at an ashram in Poona, India. Deuter was also one of the first artists to blend that Eastern influence into his music. He did that blending in such a gentle fashion that it never jarred Western ears, unaccustomed to Eastern rhythms and tonalities”

Kuckuck 056, 1982

Side One:

1. From Here to Here (3′14)
2. Light (9′04)
3. Cicada (6′35)
4. Sun On My Face (4′05)

Side Two:

1. From Here to Here (Reprise) (3′31)
2. Sky Beyond Clouds (5′29)
3. Haiku (3′39)
4. Alchemy (7′31)
5. Between Two Breaths (3′18)

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GEORGIA KELLY “TARASHANTI: MUSIC FOR HARP”

Since the reflecting pool behind the trees here is catching fragments of New Age light from the above post, I might as well add something that fits undeniably into that camp. All the same, this 1979 release yields two continuous sides of well crafted music that’s both entirely listenable and enduring. The first slab is all Georgia and her harp, as she channels the universal rhythms with delicate improvisations and compositional acuity. Working with the usual East Indian influences, she gracefully passes in and out of her “freer more meditative style”. The second side includes Georgia on harp, this time accompanied by Richard Hardy on flute. This track is another exercise in meditative bliss, as the two weave their sound around hints of Middle Eastern and Indian Classical music styles. Topanga Canyon anyone? From the liner notes:

“The music speaks its own heart, sharing resonates with a song of spirituality that to integrate the revelations of life into has been Georgia’s accomplishment in its joyful peace”

Heru Records, Heru-102, 1979

Side One:

1. Tarashanti (19′45)

Side Two:

1. Marupavana (21′50)

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CAN “SAW DELIGHT”

Brimming with an international poly-rhythmic/world music flair, this record comes a decade or so before that type of pastiche became widely popular. Mixing up-tempo Reggae-style jams with psychedelic Polynesian flourishes, the record contains some really amazing sonic textures embedded with infectious Can-style grooves. The recording is interesting on a number of fronts, one of which is the fact that it was produced using the binaural method (aka 3D Stereo). That means it was meant to be fully experienced through headphones, and while listening on a conventional stereo system works, it tends to sound flat compared to the way it sounds through the headphones (give it a try!). The cover is one of my favorites, and yet other than the mandala in the middle, it doesn’t really convey the essence of the record (perhaps it’s ’seeing’ delight, as through concentrating on the mandala itself, with the saw blade as visual pun…). This was the ninth album for Can, and featured two new members, Rosko Gee and Rebop Kwaku Baah (ex Traffic), with Czukay giving up the bass to play solely with experimental effects.

*Tracks two and three on side one have no logical break so they are reproduced as one track, making a total of four tracks for the download.

Harvest, IC 064-32 156, 1977

Side One:

1. Don’t Say No (6′36)
2. Sunshine Day and Night (5′52)
3. Call Me (5′51)

Side Two:

1. Animal Waves (15′29)
2. Fly by Night (4′08)

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