Reception
John Bush of AllMusic described Zuckerzeit as "an unexpected jump from the extended kosmische jams of Cluster 71 into uncharted territory [...] fusing the duo's haunted melodic sense with crisp, scratchy drum programs." [10] Andy Beta of Pitchfork described it as "electronic pop at its most protean," and compared it to "a sugar overload: giddy, infectious, manic and a little queasy." [4] Peter Cauvel of Vinyl Me, Please stated that "even with drum machines and synths, Cluster pushed past the rigidity that defined their more successful peers in Kraftwerk, making spacier, improvisational electronic music." [1]
Legacy
In a review of Cluster's 1971–1981 box set, AllMusic's Paul Simpson called the album a "masterpiece [that] combined trippy drum machine rhythms with woozy, pastoral melodies, resulting in a skewed, playful vision of futuristic pop. The recording remains a watershed moment in electronic music, and is easily one of the best albums of the '70s." [12] Writer Ulrich Adelt stated that the album's "influence on electronic music was significant, and many more contemporary groups have copied [its] lo-fi sound." [8] The Quietus stated that the album "surely have been a template for so many of Warp's early roster of artists." [13]
Pitchfork ranked the album at number 63 on its list of the top 100 albums of the 1970s. [5] Among its fans are Brian Eno [5] and Julian Cope, with Cope including Zuckerzeit in his "Krautrock Top 50" list. [6]
Krautrock is a broad genre of experimental rock that developed in West Germany in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It originated among artists who blended elements of psychedelic rock, avant-garde composition, and electronic music, among other eclectic sources. Common elements included hypnotic rhythms, extended improvisation, musique concrète techniques, and early synthesizers, while the music generally moved away from the rhythm & blues roots and song structure found in traditional Anglo-American rock music. Prominent groups associated with the krautrock label included Neu!, Can, Faust, Tangerine Dream, Kraftwerk, Cluster, Ash Ra Tempel, Popol Vuh, Amon Düül II and Harmonia.
Neu! were a West German krautrock band formed in Düsseldorf in 1971 by Klaus Dinger and Michael Rother following their departure from Kraftwerk. The group's albums were produced by Conny Plank, who has been regarded as the group's "hidden member". They released three albums in their initial incarnation—Neu! (1972), Neu! 2 (1973), and Neu! 75 (1975)—before disbanding in 1975. They briefly reunited in the mid-1980s.
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.
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.
Michael Rother is a German experimental musician, best known for being a founding member of the influential bands Neu! and Harmonia, and an early member of the band Kraftwerk.
After the Heat is a 1978 album by Brian Eno, Dieter Moebius and Hans-Joachim Roedelius, credited to "Eno Moebius Roedelius". The album represents the second collaboration by the trio, the first being 1977's Cluster & Eno. As with the previous album, After the Heat was created in collaboration with the influential krautrock producer Conny Plank.
Dieter Moebius was a Swiss-born German electronic musician and composer, best known as a member of the influential krautrock bands Cluster and Harmonia.
Klaus Dinger was a German musician and songwriter most famous for his contributions to the seminal krautrock band Neu!. He was also the guitarist and chief songwriter of new wave group La Düsseldorf and briefly the percussionist of Kraftwerk.
Begegnungen II is a Sky Records 1985 compilation album with recordings by Brian Eno, Dieter Moebius, Hans-Joachim Roedelius, Conny Plank, Cluster, from solo albums, and from various collaborations between the artists. All of the tracks had been previously released elsewhere. The albums these tracks were drawn from are: Material by Moebius & Plank, Zero Set by Moebius, Plank, Neumeier, Durch Die Wuste and Lustwandel, both Roedelius solo albums, After The Heat by Eno, Moebius, Roedelius, Tonspuren, the first solo album by Moebius, Sowiesoso by Cluster, and the eponymous Cluster & Eno. These albums were released by Sky between 1976 and 1983.
Hans-Joachim Roedelius is a German electronic musician and composer, best known as a co-founder of the influential 'kosmische' groups Cluster and Harmonia. He also performed in the ambient jazz trio Aquarello, and released several solo studio albums.
Cluster II is the second full-length album by German electronic music act Cluster, released in 1972 by record label Brain.
Sowiesoso is the fourth studio album by German electronic music band Cluster, released in 1976. It was Cluster's first release for Sky Records. Sowiesoso was recorded in just two days in Forst, Germany in 1976 and mixed at Conny's Studio in Wolperath.
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.
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.
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
Sky Records was a Hamburg, Germany-based independent record label specializing in krautrock/Kosmische Musik and electronic music. Some of their releases could be classified as progressive rock or art rock, experimental music, industrial, ambient, or new age. No new releases appeared after 1998.
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.
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.
Live 1974 is the only live album released by the highly influential krautrock group Harmonia. It was recorded live in concert on 23 March 1974 at Penny Station in Griessem, Germany. The live album was released in 2007 by Grönland Records. Its release sparked enough interest in the group to convince them to reform in order to promote the album.
