Hans-Joachim Roedelius

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Hans-Joachim Roedelius
Hans Joachim Roedelius 2015 (cropped).jpg
Roedelius in 2015
Background information
Born (1934-10-26) 26 October 1934 (age 89)
Origin Berlin, Germany
Genres Electronic, ambient, experimental, kosmische, new age
Occupation(s)Musician, producer
Instrument(s)Synthesizer, keyboards, piano, guitar
Years active1968–present
Website roedelius.com

Hans-Joachim Roedelius (born 26 October 1934) is a German electronic musician and composer, known as a co-founder of the influential 'kosmische' groups Cluster and Harmonia. He is notable for his prolific discography, either as a solo artist, as part of a band, or in collaboration with other artists. [1] He has more than 100 releases to his name. [1] He also performed in the ambient jazz trio Aquarello, [2] and released several solo studio albums.

Contents

Biography

Early life

Roedelius was born on 26 October 1934 in Berlin [3] in the family of a dentist. He was an unwilling member of the German Youngsters in the Hitler Youth, membership being mandatory for all boys from the age of ten, and appeared in several propaganda films ( Faded Melody by Viktor Tourjansky in 1938 ; Riding for Germany by Arthur Maria Rabenalt in 1941). Roedelius and his mother Gertrud were evacuated from Berlin to a small hamlet in East Prussia. In his book Future Days: Krautrock and the Building of Modern Germany, David Stubbs writes that "the aftermath of the war was most difficult for the Roedelius family" who didn't have "enough to live on and just a bit too much to die on". [4] He served two years in prison after the war when he attempted to defect from East Germany. [5] Before managing to escape over the border into West Berlin in 1961, he had worked as a physical therapist and masseur. [6] Soon thereafter he gave up his day job to pursue a career in music.

Kluster, Cluster and Harmonia

In 1968 Roedelius co-founded the music commune known as "Human Being" and co-formed Zodiak Free Arts Lab, the center of Berlin's Underground Culture at the time, with conceptual artist Conrad Schnitzler. He met Dieter Moebius at the Zodiak. In 1969 Roedelius, Schnitzler and Moebius formed Kluster. In 1971 Schnitzler left the group to start a long-running solo career and Moebius and Roedelius anglicised the band's name to Cluster. They signed first to Philips then to Brain.

In 1973 Roedelius and Moebius worked with Neu! guitarist Michael Rother under the name of Harmonia. Musik Von Harmonia was released on the back of a huge publicity campaign by Brain. Harmonia released one further album, 1975's Deluxe . Rother also co-produced the 1974 Cluster album Zuckerzeit . British musician Brian Eno, a fan of both Cluster and Harmonia, joined them for several jams, the result of which was released in 1997 as Tracks and Traces . Rother left Harmonia to pursue his solo career and Cluster returned to the studio to record Sowiesoso which was released on Sky Records. Brian Eno later worked on two albums with Cluster: 1977's Cluster & Eno and 1978's After the Heat , the latter of which gained the band much attention in the British music press. A further Cluster album produced by former Tangerine Dream member Peter Baumann Großes Wasser extended Cluster's music into long form.

Solo career

Roedelius' solo career began with Durch die Wüste in 1978 and then Jardin Au Fou in 1979. The first of the lengthy Selbstportrait series was released in 1979, being material done beside his work with Cluster and Harmonia, without the input of his collaborators. Mostly recorded on simple two-track equipment, the Selbstportraits make up the backbone of Roedelius' early solo recordings. Leaving Sky in 1982, his work took a more new-age style as he signed to Virgin's Venture sub-label. During this period, his best selling solo album Geschenk des Augenblicks – Gift of the Moment was released.

He was dropped by Venture in 1989 and began releasing on a variety of small labels. Sinfonia Contempora No. 2: La Nordica (Salz Des Nordens) was released in 1996. Also released in this period was Selbstportrait VI: The Diary of the Unforgotten, the first of the modern Selbstportraits. Now, rather than merely remastering the seventies tapes, Roedelius also played over them, the sound montage Homage á Forst samples many Harmonia and Cluster tracks into the mix.

21st century

The turn of the century was Roedelius' most productive year, with no fewer than eight albums being released between 2000 and 2001. Reprising the Selbstportrait series for the seventh time in 2000, Roedelius composed entirely new tracks for the first time on Selfportrait VII: dem Wind voran – ahead of the wind. The new millennium also saw Roedelius begin to work with other, usually younger, musicians than he had done since the late eighties.

In the meantime, Cluster had reformed. 1990's Apropos Cluster was an update for the band, being a work of avant-techno not dissimilar in style to Großes Wasser. In 1996 Cluster embarked on two international tours, one of Japan and one of America. Cluster reunited again in 2007.

In November 2010 it was announced that Cluster had split up for the third time. In the official announcement, the split up was described as Moebius leaving the group. In the wake of this news, Roedelius announced that he was beginning a new project called Qluster, to follow on from Cluster and Kluster. The band is made up of Roedelius and accomplished electronic musician Onnen Bock with third member Armin Metz and released a trilogy consisting of "Rufen", "Fragen" and "Antworten" (Calling, Asking and Answering) in 2011.

His autobiography, The Book – The Autobiography of Hans-Joachim Roedelius, was published in 2018. [7]

In March 2021 Roedelius launched his official website and in April he performed his first free surprise live stream concert on YouTube. [8] [9]

Discography

In bands

In Human Being
In Kluster
In Cluster
In Harmonia
In Aquarello
In Global Trotters (Kenji Konishi, Susumu Hirasawa, Alquimia, David Bickley, Felix Jay, Alex Paterson)
In Qluster

Solo

Collaborations

With Brian Eno, Dieter Moebius and Michael Rother
With Brian Eno and Dieter Moebius
With Brian Eno and Dieter Moebius on Eno's solo album
With Alexander Czjzek
With Aqueous
With Richard Barbieri and Chianura
With Alquimia
With Tim Story (sometimes collectively referred to as Lunz)
With Conrad Schnitzler
With Fabio Capanni, Felix Dorner, Hirishi Nagashima and Robin Storey
With Lynn
With Nikos Arvanitis
With Noh 1
With Morgan Fisher
With David Bickley
With Kava
With Tim Story and Dwight Ashley
With Alessandra Celletti
With Christopher Chaplin

With Andrew Heath and Christopher Chaplin

With Lloyd Cole
With Leon Muraglia
With Mateo Latosa and Cesar Gallegos (aka TKU Tecamachalco Underground)
With Arnold Kasar
With Thorsten Quaeschning, Hoshiko Yamane, and Paul Frick

With Stereo Hypnosis and Eraldo Bernocchi

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cluster (band)</span> German musical duo

Cluster were a German musical duo consisting of Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Dieter Moebius, formed in 1971 and associated with West Germany's krautrock and kosmische music scenes. Born from the earlier Berlin-based group Kluster, they relocated in 1971 into the countryside village of Forst, Lower Saxony, where they built a studio and collaborated with musicians such as Conny Plank, Brian Eno, and Michael Rother; with the latter, they formed the influential side-project Harmonia. After first disbanding in 1981, Cluster reunited several times: from 1989 to 1997, and from 2007 to 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harmonia (band)</span> German band

Harmonia was a West German musical "supergroup" formed in 1973 as a collaboration between members of two prominent krautrock bands: Cluster's Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Dieter Moebius joined by Neu! guitarist Michael Rother. Living and recording in the rural village of Forst, the trio released two albums—Musik von Harmonia (1974) and Deluxe (1975)—to limited sales before dissolving in 1976. AllMusic described the group as "one of the most legendary in the entire krautrock/kosmische scene."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Conrad Schnitzler</span> German experimental musician (1937–2011)

Conrad "Conny" Schnitzler was a prolific German experimental musician associated with West Germany's 1970s krautrock movement. A co-founder of West Berlin's Zodiak Free Arts Lab, he was an early member of Tangerine Dream (1969–1970) and a founder of the band Kluster. He left Kluster in 1971, first working with his group Eruption and then focusing on solo works. Schnitzler participated in several collaborations with other electronic musicians.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dieter Moebius</span> Musical artist

Dieter Moebius was a Swiss-born German electronic musician and composer, best known as a member of the influential krautrock bands Cluster and Harmonia.

Kluster was a Berlin-based German experimental musical group formed in 1969 by Hans-Joachim Roedelius, Conrad Schnitzler, and Dieter Moebius. Their improvisational work presaged later industrial music. The original Kluster was short-lived, existing only from 1969 until mid-1971 when Conrad Schnitzler left and the remaining two members renamed themselves Cluster. Schnitzler later revived the band from 1971 to 1973 and then from 2007 until his death in 2011.

<i>Grosses Wasser</i> 1979 studio album by Cluster

Großes Wasser is the seventh album by the electronic music outfit Cluster. It was co-produced by former Tangerine Dream member Peter Baumann. Großes Wasser marked the return to Cluster working as a duo of Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Dieter Moebius after two albums collaborating with Brian Eno.

<i>Cluster II</i> (album) 1972 studio album by Cluster

Cluster II is the second full-length album by German electronic music act Cluster, released in 1972 by record label Brain.

<i>Musik von Harmonia</i> 1974 studio album by Harmonia

Musik von Harmonia is the debut album from the influential German krautrock group Harmonia, released in January 1974 by Brain Records. Formed by the addition of Neu! guitarist Michael Rother to Cluster, they recorded the album from June to November 1973 in Cluster's Forst recording studio. It was self-produced by the group using a primitive mixer and three tape recorders.

<i>Deluxe</i> (Harmonia album) 1975 studio album by Harmonia

Deluxe is the second album from the West German krautrock group Harmonia, consisting of Neu! guitarist Michael Rother and the Cluster duo of Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Dieter Moebius. It was recorded in June 1975 in Harmonia's studio in Forst, Germany. It was first released on the Brain Records label in 1975.

<i>Tracks and Traces</i> 1997 compilation album by Harmonia 76

Tracks and Traces is a collaborative album by German kosmische supergroup Harmonia and British musician Brian Eno, initially credited to Harmonia 76. Eno joined the group at Harmonia's studio in Forst, Germany for the September 1976 recording sessions.

Moebius & Plank was a German electronic music duo consisting of musicians Dieter Moebius and Conny Plank. They recorded three albums between 1979 and 1986 as well as two additional albums, one a collaboration with Mani Neumeier and the other with Mayo Thompson. Plank died of cancer in 1987. Their final two albums were released posthumously in 1995 and 1998 respectively

<i>Durch die Wüste</i> 1978 studio album by Hans-Joachim Roedelius

Durch die Wüste is the first full-length solo album by German keyboardist Hans-Joachim Roedelius, best known for his work with Cluster, Harmonia, and Aquarello. The title is German for "Through the Desert."

<i>Selbstportrait</i> 1979 studio album by Hans-Joachim Roedelius

Selbstportrait is the third solo album by German keyboardist Hans-Joachim Roedelius, best known for his work with Cluster, Harmonia, and Aquarello. The title is German for "Self Portrait", a title meant to reflect the gentle, introspective nature of the ambient and new-age music of the album. The original Sky Records release was subtitled Teil 1 Sanfte Musik, German for "Part 1, Soft Music."

<i>Selbstportrait – Vol. II</i> 1980 studio album by Hans-Joachim Roedelius

Selbstportrait – Vol. II is the fourth solo album by German keyboardist Hans-Joachim Roedelius, best known for his work with Cluster, Harmonia and Aquarello. The title is German for "Self Portrait - Vol. II", a title which clearly reflects the gentle, introspective nature of this album of ambient or new-age music. It is the second of seven albums in Roedelius' Selbsportrait series of recordings. The album is subtitled "Freundliche Musik", German for "Friendly Music".

<i>Offene Türen</i> 1982 studio album by Hans-Joachim Roedelius

Offene Türen is the eighth solo album by German keyboardist Hans-Joachim Roedelius, best known for his work with Cluster, Harmonia, and Aquarello. The music of Offene Türen is more avant-garde than other Roedelius solo albums of the 1970s and 1980s. It can best be compared to Cluster's Curiosum which was released by Sky Records the previous year.

<i>Berlin 07</i> 2008 live album by Cluster

Berlin 07 is a live album by the German experimental music group Cluster. It was recorded in 2007 at a Cluster concert in Berlin, their first there since 1969.

<i>Flammende Herzen</i> 1977 studio album by Michael Rother

Flammende Herzen is the debut studio album by the German solo artist Michael Rother. It was released in 1977 and includes the single "Flammende Herzen" b/w "Karussell". The music was used the following year to soundtrack Flaming Hearts. It was Rother's first solo venture after having recorded five albums prior as a member of Neu! with Klaus Dinger and Harmonia with Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Dieter Moebius.

<i>Flieg Vogel Fliege</i> 1982 studio album by Hans-Joachim Roedelius

Flieg' Vogel fliege is the ninth solo album by keyboardist Hans-Joachim Roedelius, best known for his work with Cluster, Harmonia, and Aquarello. According to Roedelius biographer Stephen Iliffe this album is also titled Selbstportrait IV, but that name does not appear on the album sleeve or label. Flieg' Vogel fliege was recorded at Roedelius' home studio and completed at Erpelstudio, Vienna, Austria. Flieg' Vogel fliege was released by Sky Records on vinyl in 1982. Flieg' Vogel fliege was the final album Roedelius recorded for Sky Records.

<i>Auf leisen Sohlen</i> 1984 compilation album by Roedelius

Auf leisen Sohlen is a compilation by Sky Records of works by German keyboardist Hans-Joachim Roedelius, best known for his work with Cluster, Harmonia, and Aquarello. It is subtitled Das Beste von H. J. Roedelius and includes tracks from seven of the eight albums he recorded for Sky Records during that period. All music included in this collection was composed by Hans-Joachim Roedelius.

Bureau B is an independent record label, music publisher and booking agency from Hamburg, Germany, founded in 2005 by Gunther Buskies as a sister label to Tapete Records. The label releases varieties of electronic, free-spirited music, with the spectrum ranging from pop to avant-garde. The label has amassed an extensive catalogue of reissues and new productions, including classics from the genre of electronic music in the 1970s and early 1980s popularly classified as Krautrock, alongside new recordings by such formative artists as Faust, Kreidler, Roedelius, Tietchens, Moebius.

References

  1. 1 2 "Hans-Joachim Roedelius, Artist [a105272]". Discogs. 2024. Archived from the original on 21 January 2024. Remarkably prolific, Roedelius has appeared on well over 100 releases between his own work and collaborations.
  2. ↑ Painting with Sound: The Life and Music of Hans-Joachim Roedelius by Stephen Iliffe. Foreword by Brian Eno – Meridian Music Guides 2003. ISBN   0-9545995-0-0
  3. ↑ Baden bei Wien – Stadt der Musik (in German). Kral. 2007. pp. 85–. ISBN   978-3-902447-23-4.
  4. ↑ Stubbs, David (2020). Future Days: Krautrock and the Building of Modern Germany. Melville. ISBN   978-1-61219-474-5 . Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  5. ↑ Stubbs, David (2015). Future Days: Krautrock and the Building of Modern Germany. Melville. ISBN   978-1-61219-474-5 . Retrieved 3 May 2019.
  6. ↑ "Manual Therapy". frieze.com.
  7. ↑ "The Book - The Autobiography of Hans-Joachim Roedelius (in English)". Curious Music.
  8. ↑ "Hans-Joachim Roedelius". Hans-Joachim Roedelius.
  9. ↑ "Surprise livestream concert". Hans-Joachim Roedelius.
  10. ↑ "kozek hörlonski | Projects: past forward – 100 Years Kunstverein Baden, 2016". kozek-hoerlonski.com. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  11. ↑ Fyi Editor (16 December 2021). "FYI Schedule of Upcoming Releases, Dec. 16, 2021".
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