Hans-Joachim Roedelius

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Roedelius (2007)

Hans-Joachim Roedelius (born October 26, 1934 in Berlin ) is a German musician of experimental, ambient and electronic music . He is best known as a co-founder of the Krautrock bands Cluster and Harmonia as well as for his contribution to the ambient jazz trio Aquarello. Since the beginning of his musical career he has also been active as a writer / poet and in the field of fine arts, as a photographer and filmmaker.

Life and musical work

As a child, he played in UFA films such as Faded Melody , The Stars Shine etc.

In 1968 he founded the underground club Zodiak Free Arts Lab , the center of the Berlin scene at the time, with the conceptual artist Conrad Schnitzler . There he met Dieter Moebius and the three founded the formation Kluster , after he had previously been co-founder of “Human Being” with Elke Lixfeld, Boris Schaak, Verena Schirz, Christoph Sievernich, Beatrix Rief and other members who joined sporadically, the group that followed the Schnitzlers Leaving the zodiac, this artslab ran until it closed in spring 1969.

Schnitzler left "Kluster" in 1971 and started a long solo career. Roedelius and Moebius anglicized the band name to cluster , deepened their style, first published with Philips and then switched to the record label Brain . From 1973 they started working with the Neu! - Guitarist Michael Rother together under the name " Harmonia ".

Rother made the production of the third album of "Cluster" Zuckerzeit possible by providing recording equipment . The band switched from their avant-garde sound to a more melodic style of music. Harmonia had toured Germany and the Netherlands since the spring of 1973 and decided to record an album together. The album " Musik von Harmonia " was released accompanied by a large advertising campaign by the Brain company.

Harmonia released another album in 1975 called Deluxe . The British artist and musician Brian Eno got in touch with them as a big fan of Cluster and Harmonia, and the 1997 album " Tracks & Traces " emerged from joint jam sessions .

Rother left Harmonia for his solo career and Cluster recorded as a duo Sowiesoso , their first album on the Sky Records label, founded in 1975 . Brian Eno, who was currently working with David Bowie in Germany , went to Connis Studio with Cluster to record two more albums with them: “ Cluster & Eno ” in 1977 and “ After the Heat ” in 1978 , which attracted a lot of attention in the British music press .

On another cluster album, “ Großes Wasser ”, they expanded their music to include longer pieces. In 1978 Roedelius created his first solo album “ Through the Desert ” and continued his solo career with the 1979 “ Jardin au Fou ” (1979). This album established Roedelius' future style: melodic piano and (imitated) acoustic instruments, in combination with electronic sound generators.

As part of a long series of self-portraits, from 1979 onwards, in addition to his work with Cluster and Harmonia, Roedelius published other works of his own to which his fellow musicians contributed nothing.

Roedelius left Sky in 1982. When he went under contract with Virgins sub-label Venture , his work condensed more and more to his very own style. During this period his best-selling solo album " Gift of the Moment - Gift of the Moment " was created.

The collaboration with Venture ended in 1989 and he then released on various small labels, such as Multimood Records and Prudence . During this time he moved into the field of the just developing techno - without realizing that he was possibly influencing any emerging music genre, for the first time with his 1991 album Der Ohrenspiegel , whose 25-minute opening piece "Reflectorum" was already characteristic of his later series Sinfonia Contempora showed.

In 1994 Roedelius' style was a bold mix of electronics and sometimes clichéd ambient jazz. Theatreworks , which emerged that year, was named album of the month by The Wire , an experimental music magazine.

A major turning point in Roedelius' career was the release of the Sinfonia Contempora No. 1: From time to time in 1994. Roedelius says: "Since the beginning of my career nothing has been more important than finding my own musical language and I think I have found it." The album consists of randomly created im A process of improvising adapted band fragments (sound puzzle pieces from many different sessions between the mid-eighties and the mid-nineties), which, superimposed on several tracks, result in an apparently incoherent and peculiar sound.

The “ Sinfonia Contempora No. 2: La Nordica (Salt of the North) “was released in 1996 and sounded darker and more murky than its predecessor. The " Self-Portrait VI: The Diary of the Unforgotten ", the first of the more recent self-portraits, also dates from this period . Instead of just technically revising tapes from the seventies ( remastering ), Roedelius supplemented them with feeds. The sound montage " Homage à Forst " processed many pieces by Harmonia and Cluster into a new mixture.

In the meantime, the cluster formed anew. With the 1990 album “ Apropos Cluster ” the band renewed itself and embarked on a new path towards techno in a style not unlike that of “ Großes Wasser ”. In 1996 Cluster went on a tour to Japan and one to America. Both tours flowed into the live albums of the following years. Cluster's new sound benefited from Roedlius '" Sinfonia Contempora " and Moebius' unmistakable style.

The year before the turn of the millennium was Roedelius' most productive year: between 2000 and 2001 he released eight albums. When Roedelius turned to the subject of self-portraits for the seventh time in 2000, he composed completely new pieces for the first time for the emerging album “ Selfportrait VII: dem Windvors - ahead of the wind ”. In the new millennium Roedelius also began to work with other musicians, mostly younger than those with whom he had worked in the late 1980s.

Another series started in 1995 is " Lieder vom Steinfeld ". In it, Roedelius speaks - mostly in his mother tongue - poems about the pieces of music. In 2001 he worked again with Conrad Schnitzler for the first time since 1971, which resulted in the project album " Acon 2000/1 ", which was later released on the Japanese label "Capt.Trip-Records ".

Roedelius has become increasingly famous since the group Cluster went on tour again in 1996. Often quoted by musicians in the electronic genre, he releases several albums a year, many of which are collaborations with contemporary musicians who are his fans. One of the highlights was the opening concert of documenta12 2007 in Kassel hosted by Cluster . Roedelius worked closely with the composer Tim Story, and in 2009 the album Fiber was released with the musicians Jez Coad, Martin Barker and George Taylor. It reached thirteenth place on "the Third Uncut Playlist of 2009" by British music magazine Uncut , ahead of Bruce Springsteen's Working on a Dream .

In November 2010, the third separation from Cluster was announced. It was officially announced that the separation would consist in Dieter Moebius leaving the group. In the course of the public interest in this news, Roedelius announced that he would start a new project called Qluster as the successor to the bands Cluster and Kluster . This music group consists of Roedelius supplemented by the electronic musician and sound engineer Onnen Bock and brought out a trilogy in 2011: “ Calling ”, “ Questions ” and “ Answers ”, followed by the recording of a live performance “Listening” at the CTM Festival in Berlin . Two more works are planned for publication in 2015. One of them, Onnen Bock / Armin Metz and Roedelius together on three grand pianos, titled "Keys" and another, purely electronic one with the working title "Real Time"

Work phases

Roedelius' publications can be roughly divided into seven phases:

Years Label / description
1968-1971 Schwann Records
1972-1975 Brain Records
1976-1982 Sky Records
1983-1989 Virgin Records
1990-1993 Early years in Baden near Vienna
1994-1998 Symphonic
Since 1999 present

Discography

With bands

Human being

  • 2008: Live at the Zodiak - Berlin 1968 ( live album )

Clusters

  • 1970: Knock Mark (studio album)
  • 1970: Two Easter Eggs (studio album)
  • 1971: Eruption (live album, originally published as Kluster and Eruption )

Cluster

  • 1971: Cluster '71 (studio album)
  • 1972: Cluster II (studio album)
  • 1974: Zuckerzeit (studio album)
  • 1976: Anyway (studio album)
  • 1979: Big Water (studio album)
  • 1980: Live In Vienna (live album)
  • 1981: Curiosum (studio album)
  • 1984: Moods ( compilation )
  • 1990: Apropos Cluster (studio album, credited to Moebius + Roedelius )
  • 1994: One Hour (live album)
  • 1997: Japan 1996 Live (Live album, credited to Roedelius Moebius on some editions)
  • 1997: First Encounter Tour 1996 (live album)
  • 2008: Berlin 07 (live album)
  • 2009: Qua (studio album)

Harmonia

  • 1974: Music By Harmonia (studio album)
  • 1975: Deluxe (studio album)
  • 2007: Live 1974 (live album)

Aquarello

  • 1991: Friendly Game (studio album, credited to Roedelius, Capanni, Alesini )
  • 1993: To Cover The Dark (studio album)
  • 1998: Aquarello (live album, credited as Roedelius solo album)

Global Trotters Project

  • 1999: Vol. 1: Drive (studio album)
  • 1999: Drive - Remix (Remix album)

Qluster

  • 2011: Questions (live album)
  • 2011: Calling (studio album)
  • 2011: Answers (studio album)

Solo works

  • 1978: Through the Desert (studio album)
  • 1979: Jardin au Fou (studio album)
  • 1979: self-portrait (studio album)
  • 1980: Self-Portrait - Vol. II (studio album)
  • 1980: Self-portrait Vol. III "Reise durch Arcadien" (studio album)
  • 1981: Lustwandel (studio album)
  • 1981: When The South Wind Is Blowing (studio album)
  • 1981: Open Doors (studio album)
  • 1982: Flieg 'Vogel fliege (studio album)
  • 1982: Wasser im Wind (studio album)
  • 1984: On Quiet (Compilation)
  • 1984: Gift of the Moment - Gift of the Moment (studio album)
  • 1984: Encounters (Compilation)
  • 1985: Encounters II (compilation)
  • 1986: Like the Whisper of the Wind (studio album)
  • 1987: Momenti Felici (studio album)
  • 1989: Bastionen der Liebe - Fortress of love (studio album)
  • 1990: Variety of Moods (studio album)
  • 1991: Der Ohrenspiegel (studio album)
  • 1991: Piano Piano (studio album)
  • 1992: Cuando… Adonde (studio album)
  • 1992: Spring (studio album) later re-released as Romance in the Wilderness
  • 1993: Tace! (Studio album)
  • 1994: Sinfonia Contempora No. 1: From time to time (studio album)
  • 1994: Theater Works (studio album)
  • 1995: Self-Portrait VI: The Diary of the Unforgotten (studio album)
  • 1995: The Benefit of Hours - Lieder vom Steinfeld Vol. I (studio album)
  • 1995: 61 sixty years (compilation, released privately)
  • 1996: Sinfonia Contempora No. 2: La Nordica (Salt of the North) (studio album)
  • 1996: Pink, Blue And Amber (studio album)
  • 1999: Selfportrait VII: ahead of the wind (studio album)
  • 1999: Amerika Recycled by America Inc (studio album)
  • 1999: The Benefit of Hours - Lieder Vom Steinfeld Vol.II (studio album)
  • 2000: Roedeliusweg (studio album)
  • 2001: Roedelius 2001 - Organ Solo (studio album)
  • 2001: The Confused Sheep - Word-Sound Collage for Ash Wednesday (studio album)
  • 2002: Self-Portrait VIII - Introspection (studio album)
  • 2003: American Steamboat (studio album)
  • 2003: Counterfeit (studio album)
  • 2003: Lieder vom Steinfeld Vol.III (studio album)
  • 2003: Roedelius 1969–2002 (compilation)
  • 2006: Works 1968-2005 (compilation)
  • 2007: Snapshots / Sidesteps (studio album)
  • 2008: Back Soon (compilation)
  • 2010: Ex Animo (studio album)
  • 2016: Sometimes (1 song on the 4 track compilation EP past forward, vinyl release)
  • 2020: Self-Portrait True Love (studio album)

Working together

With Brian Eno, Dieter Moebius and Michael Rother

  • 1997: Tracks and Traces (credited to either Harmonia '76 or Harmonia and Eno '76 )
  • 2009: Harmonia & Eno '76 Remixes (remix album)

With Brian Eno and Dieter Moebius

  • 1977: Cluster & Eno (credited to Cluster & Eno )
  • 1978: After the Heat (studio album)
  • 1985: Old Land (compilation) (credited to Cluster and Brian Eno )

With Brian Eno and Dieter Moebius on Eno's solo album

  • 1977: Before and after Science (studio album)
    • Track: "By This River"

With Alexander Czjzek

  • 1987: Weites Land (studio album)

With Aqueous

  • 1994: Grace Notes (studio album)
  • 1997: Meeting The Magus (studio album)

With Barbieri and Chianura

  • 1998: T'ai (studio album)

With Alquimia

  • 2000: Move and Resonate

With Tim Story (sometimes collectively referred to as Lunz )

  • 2000: The Persistence of Memory (studio album)
  • 2002: Lunz (studio album)
  • 2005: Lunz reinterpretations (remix album)
  • 2008: Inlandish (studio album)

With Conrad Schnitzler

  • 2001: Acon 2000/1 (studio album)

With Fabio Capanni, Felix Dorner, Hirishi Nagashima and Robin Storey

  • 2001: Evermore

With Lynn

  • 2001: Act of Love (studio album)

With Nikos Arvanitis

  • 2002: Digital Love (studio album)

With Noh 1

  • 2003: Imagine Imagine (soundtrack, released as Roedelius and Fratellis )
  • 2009: Fiber (studio album)

With Morgan Fisher

  • 2005: Neverless (studio album)

With David Bickley

  • 2008: Bonaventura (studio album)

With kava

  • 2008: The Gugging Album (studio album)

With Tim Story and Dwight Ashley

  • 2008: Errata (studio album)

With Alessandra Celletti

  • 2009: Sustanza di cose sperata (studio album)

With Christopher Chaplin

  • 2012: King Of Hearts (studio album)

With Lloyd Cole

  • 2013: Selected Studies Vol. 1 (studio album)

With Arnold Kasar

  • 2017: Influence (studio album)

Filmography

literature

  • Stephen Iliffe: Painting with Sound. The Life and Music of Hans-Joachim Roedelius . Meridian Music Guides, London 2003, ISBN 978-0-9545995-0-8 (With a foreword by Brian Eno.).
  • Alexander Simmeth: Krautrock transnational. The reinvention of pop music in Germany, 1968–1978 , Transcript Verlag, Bielefeld 2016, ISBN 978-3-8376-3424-2

Web links

Commons : Hans-Joachim Roedelius  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

English pages

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ documenta12 archive
  2. ↑ kozek Hörlonski | Projects: past forward - 100 years of the Kunstverein Baden, 2016. Accessed on February 20, 2017 .
  3. ↑ Roedelius - Self-Portrait True Love. Retrieved April 23, 2020 (English).
personal data
SURNAME Roedelius, Hans-Joachim
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Roedelius, Joachim
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German musician, producer and composer of electronic music
DATE OF BIRTH October 26, 1934
PLACE OF BIRTH Berlin