RELEASES

CLUSTER

Apropos Cluster. Reissue from 1990. CD / vinyl / DL. Out May 2, 2014

Cluster (Dieter Moebius, Hans-Joachim Roedelius) are considered pioneers of electronic music and key Krautrock protagonists. In the late 1960s, together with Konrad Schnitzler as the trio Kluster, they changed the world of music for ever with their radical improvisations. Having split from Schnitzler, Moebius and Roedelius continued as Cluster, releasing eight further milestones of electronic and ambient music up until 1981, two of them with Brian Eno. A hiatus lasting almost a decade was brought to an end in 1990 when Cluster made a surprise comeback with "Apropos Cluster".

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DIE PARTEI

La Freiheit des Geistes. Reissue from 1981. CD / vinyl / DL. Out April 11, 2014

DIE PARTEI was a one-off project featuring musician Tom Dokoupil (Siluetes 61, The Wirtschaftswunder) and the artist and musician Walter Dahn (Die Hornissen). The pair met up for a single weekend in 1981 to record "La Freiheit des Geistes" ("La Freedom of the Spirit"), a fantastic instrumental post-punk synthpop album. At times its forward thrust sounds cold, restless and hectic, at other moments it comes across as pleasantly winsome and melodic, plangent even. Film quotes and sporadic bursts of instruments (in particular Dokoupil's clean Vox guitar and a saxophone) flavour the music. "La Freiheit des Geistes" is an album of opposites in a state of mutual attraction, just as Dokoupil and Dahn intended.

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AUTOMAT

Automat. CD / vinyl+CD / DL. Out April 4, 2014

Since 2011 the Berlin-based musicians Jochen Arbeit (Die Haut, Einstürzende Neubauten), Achim Färber (Project Pitchfork, Prag, Phillip Boa), and zeitblom (Sovetskoe Foto) have been collaborating under the name AUTOMAT. Their self titled debut album tells the story of the four Berlin airports and is a dark dub/dance/groove masterpiece with guest appearances by Blixa Bargeld, Genesis Breyer P-Orridge, and Lydia Lunch.

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ANDREAS DORAU

Hauptsache Ich!. CD / LP+CD / DL

On January 19, 2014, Andreas Dorau will celebrate his fiftieth birthday. Reason enough to release a comprehensive retrospective of the work of the "eternal boy" (Spiegel Online). "Hauptsache Ich" contains 21 songs from nine albums and spans a period of 32 years, from his first album "Blumen und Narzissen" to his latest work "Aus der Bibliothèque". As a bonus, the first edition of "Hauptsache Ich!" includes the rarities collection "Silbernes Ich". Congratulations!

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ANDREAS DORAU

Aus der Bibliothèque. CD / LP+CD / DL. Out Jan 17, 2014

Finally a new album by the grandmaster of pop! "Aus der Bibliothèque" is the first album which Dorau has recorded with a band since "Demokratie" (1988). Backed by "Die Liga der gewöhnlichen Gentlemen". he sought inspiration in the quarry of ideas known as the Hamburg Central Library. The result: poppy krautrock, Beatlesque sunshine pop, soft rock, electronica. In short, a superb album!

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MOEBIUS NEUMEIER ENGLER

Other Places. Reissue from 1996. CD, LP (180 g), DL. Out March 14, 2014

In 1996 three old hands of German underground music came together to record nine improvised "one take recordings" without overdubs or corrections: Dieter Moebius (Kluster, Cluster, Harmonia) on synthesizer and electronics, Mani Neumeier (Guru Guru) on drums, and Jürgen Engler (Male, Die Krupps) on guitars. The result: a fascinating electronic world of sonic spectra, cacophony on the one hand, harmony on the other; dark but not murky, outlandish without being weird – an almost magical, ritualistic atmosphere. The reissue comes with new artwork.

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MOEBIUS NEUMEIER ENGLER

Another Other Places. CD, LP (180 g), DL. Out March 14, 2014

"Another Other Places" is – after a 17 year hiatus – the successor to "Other Places" (see above), this manifesto of improvised avant-garde music by Dieter Moebius (Kluster, Cluster, Harmonia) on synthesizer and electronics, Mani Neumeier (Guru Guru) on drums, and Jürgen Engler (Male, Die Krupps) on guitars. The result: no repeat performance, instead a clear progression from its predecessor – the ambitious, but never unduly cerebral improvisation of three musical eccentrics.

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ASMUS TIETCHENS

Nachtstücke. Reissue from 1980. CD, LP (180 g), DL. Out March 7, 2014

Before Asmus Tietchens released four albums on Germany's Sky Records label (home of Cluster, Michael Rother etc.), he recorded "Nachtstücke" (nocturnes) for the french EGG label, produced by Tangerine Dream's Peter Baumann. It was recorded between 1975 to 1978 and features shadowy, ghostly, predominantly solemn synthesizer music, far removed from the oblique synth pop albums of his subsequent Sky Records phase. The reissue comes with new artwork.

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ASMUS TIETCHENS

Der Fünfte Himmel. Outtakes. CD, LP (180 g), DL. Out March 7, 2014

Asmus Tietchens is one of the most renowned German artists in the abstract music scene. He began by recording a handful of Residents-influenced synthesizer albums, launching into a peerless mix of stuttering beats and off-kilter harmonies which earned his music the generic tag "pseudo pop". "Der Fünfte Himmel" (The Fifth Sky) reaches back to a time before and after the so-called Zeitzeichen phase (Sky Records phase), gathering up unwanted or rejected pieces, the ones considered unsuitable or simply left behind. This collection has never been released before in this form!

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CONRAD SCHNITZLER

"Congratulacion". Reissue. CD, LP (180 g), DL. Out March 14, 2014

Conrad Schnitzler (1937–2011), composer and concept artist, is one of the most important representatives of Germany's electronic music avant-garde. A student of Joseph Beuys, he founded Berlin's legendary Zodiak Free Arts Lab, a subculture club, in 1967/68, was a member of Tangerine Dream (together with Klaus Schulze and Edgar Froese) and Kluster (with Dieter Moebius and Hans-Joachim Roedelius) and also released countless solo albums. On "Congratulacion" (originally released 1987 on the small spanish label Esplendor Geometrico) Schnitzler experimented with the Yamaha CX5 synthesizer, new on the market. The results were surprisingly structured and harmonious for Schnitzler.

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PYROLATOR

Pyrolator's Traumland. Reissue from 1987. CD, vinyl (180 g), DL

The adventurous avant-garde musician Pyrolator (member of Der Plan, DAF, Fehlfarben and Ata Tak label founder) struck out on a completely new path for his fourth solo album in 1987: sophisticated pop music, potentially compatible with the charts – proper vocals, jazzy harmonies and sax solos. The album divided opinion: critics were enthralled, fans alienated. Time to rediscover this unusual work. CD, vinyl (180g), download.

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GÜNTER SCHICKERT

Kinder in der Wildnis. Reissue from 1983. CD, vinyl (180 g), DL

Acclaimed in the Krautrock scene, Günter Schickert is most closely associated with the repetitive echoes of his distinctive guitar sound. Following "Samtvogel" (1974) and "Überfällig" (1979), he released "Kinder in der Wildnis", a collection of songs from the 1981 to 1983 period. First issued in 1983 on cassette by the English label YHC. The reissue (with new artwork!) features two previously unreleased bonus tracks.

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PYROLATOR

Pyrolator's Wunderland. Reissue from 1984. CD, LP (180 g), DL

Pyrolator, born Kurt Dahlke in 1958, co-founder of the legendary German label and publisher Ata Tak, member of various seminal post-punk bands such as D.A.F. and Der Plan, also released solo albums under his artist name from 1979 onwards. His third solo effort "Wunderland" is Pyrolator's very special take on easy listening music – sprinkled with his own samples of animal calls now and then. In Pyrolator's musical wonderland beautiful melodies encounter surprising arrangement ideas.

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ASMUS TIETCHENS

In die Nacht. Reissue from 1982. CD, LP (180 g), DL

Asmus Tietchens is one of Germany's most renowned artists in the field of abstract music. He began by recording a handful of Residents-influenced synthesizer albums, launching into a peerless mix of stuttering beats and off-kilter harmonies which earned his music the generic tag "pseudo pop". "In die Nacht" was Tietchens' third solo album on Sky Records. It was first released in 1982.

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ASMUS TIETCHENS

Litia. Reissue from 1983. CD, LP (180 g), DL

The "Litia" album concluded Asmus Tietchens' etudes phase and bid a farewell to rhythmic synths – well, almost. All the signs of "pseudo pop" as heard on "Biotop", "Spät-Europa" and "In die Nacht" resurfaced: squeaky sounds and protracted, rattling rhythms grouped into abstract forms through their accentuated artificiality. Sporadic noisiness is as much a part of it as is a winking gesture, which should not detract from the basic sobriety of the work, however.

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ULRICH SCHNAUSS & MARK PETERS

Tomorrow Is Another Day. CD, LP (180 g), DL

Electronic duo Ulrich Schnauss ("A Long Way to Fall", "A Strangely Isolated Place") and Mark Peters (of the band Engineers) return with a second collaborative album titled "Tomorrow is Another Day". This second project offers a sublime exploration into their signature expressionistic landscapes while exploring the potential of a collaborative model in which Schnauss's keyboards and Peters's guitar work together in juxtaposition.

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CONRAD SCHNITZLER

"Silber/Silver" (Reissue). CD, LP (180 g), DL

Conrad Schnitzler (1937–2011), composer and concept artist, is one of the most important representatives of Germany's electronic music avant-garde. A student of Joseph Beuys, he founded Berlin's legendary Zodiak Free Arts Lab, a subculture club, in 1967/68, was a member of Tangerine Dream (together with Klaus Schulze and Edgar Froese) and Kluster (with Dieter Moebius and Hans-Joachim Roedelius) and also released countless solo albums. The silver album is a collection of tracks from Schnitzler's archive, recorded between 1974/75, originally released (on vinyl only) in 2009. It represents Schnitzler's unique and inimitable blueprint for a music of the future, music which still astounds when we hear it today.

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CONRAD SCHNITZLER

"Gold" (Reissue). CD, LP (180 g), DL

Like the silver album the golden album is a song collection from Schnitzler's archive. The "golden" collection has been recorded between 1976 and 1978, originally released (on CD only) by the German label Marginal Talent in 2003. The compositions are guaranteed to dumbfound even the most enlightened Schnitzler listeners. Stuctured like a symphony in various movements, utterly abstract atonal passages are followed by solid sequences of rhythm and harmony, as energetic as Cluster, yet equally evocative of 1980s electronic pop music. Once again, his execution bordering on perfection, Schnitzler has pulled off the ultimate balancing trick between pop and so-called serious music.

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SCHNEIDER TM

Guitar Sounds. CD, LP (180 g) + CD, DL

After turning building site noises into music on "Construction Sounds" (2012), Schneider TM now explores the full potential of the electric guitar and an array of effects. Technical perfection is not paramount on "Guitar Sounds". The focus is on spontaneity, improvisation – if the result is flawed in the classic sense of the word, this concerns him not one iota. Schneider TM is interested in atmosphere, in the intensity and magic of the initial moment when decisions are made and played without knowing which direction they will take or where they might end – music without a safety net, so to speak.

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THOMAS DINGER

Für mich. Reissue from 1982. CD, LP (180 g), DL

Thomas Dinger was Klaus Dinger's younger brother. He was a member of the legendary Krautrock band La Düsseldorf and also worked on the third NEU! album. In 1982 he released his only solo album, imbued with the spirit of La Düsseldorf, yet more measured and melancholic, redolent of the music of Michael Rother or Wolfgang Riechmann. Thomas Dinger died in 2002. He was just 49 years of age.

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YOU

Laserscape. Reissue from 1986. CD, LP (180 g), DL

The Krefeld duo YOU played their way into the elite of the German electronic music scene with their first two albums "Electric Day" (1979) and "Time Code" (1983). The music on "Laserscape" (1986) was conceived to accompany the laser performances of the same name by Horst H. Baumann. And that's what it sounds like: multilayered drones, up to 13 minutes long, evocative of Blade Runner's menacing atmosphere, sometimes laced with driving, pulsating sequences, typical of the so-called Berlin School (Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze etc).

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ASMUS TIETCHENS

Biotop. Reissue from 1981. CD, LP (180 g), DL

Asmus Tietchens is one of the best known German artists in the field of abstract music. His early works though are finest avant-garde synthesizer pop. "Biotop" was Tietchens' first release on the German label Sky Records (Cluster, Michael Rother etc.). It is inhabited by insectoid squeaks, banging percussion and echoes of displaced nursery rhymes. These blaring, crashing tracks glare with artifice, mirroring the ideas of an artist lacking the inclination and capacity to compose straightforward easy listening music.

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ASMUS TIETCHENS

Spät-Europa. Reissue from 1982. CD, LP (180 g), DL

Asmus Tietchens' second album on Sky Records not only continued in the style of its predecessor "Biotop", it managed to refine it a little more precisely. "Spät-Europa" also conveys a banefully distorted pseudo pop soundscape of disjointed rhythms and oblique melodies, defined by nervous pulses, cool alacrity and croaking toots; tongue in cheek it most certainly is, but the musical arrangement again affirms its own identity. Here, shadowy, rumbling industrial elements cut into the neon coloured pieces indicative of the artist's parallel lines of development.

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ROEDELIUS SCHNEIDER

Tiden. CD, vinyl (180 g + CD), download

Their debut album has been highly acclaimed by the media worldwide, now Hans-Joachim Roedelius (legendary figure in krautrock, part of the seminal bands Cluster and Harmonia) and Stefan Schneider (founding member of the neo krautrock band Kreidler, part of the trio To Rococo Rot), present their follow-up "Tiden". With cheerful gravitas, the two artists create absolute music – music which desires only to be itself, without ulterior effects and with the declared intent of involving the listener in his emotional, inventive game. "Tiden" keeps the promise which their first album made, genial contemporary music from two artists who are as one in heart and soul.

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DER PLAN

Die letzte Rache (reissue from 1983). CD, vinyl (180 g), download

Der Plan (Moritz R®, Frank Fenstermacher, Pyrolator) were instrumental in ushering in the German New Wave (NDW) and are considered free spirits of synthesizer pop: electronic music created with minimal means, sometimes experimental, playful or even bordering on dilettantism, but always with a sense of humour. "Die letzte Rache" (The Last Revenge) was the soundtrack to the cult film of the same name by Rainer Kirberg – and at the same time a varied and thoroughly entertaining journey to the musical world of Der Plan. Reissued on CD, LP and as download.

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DER PLAN

JaPlan (reissue from 1984). CD, vinyl (180 g), download

"JaPlan" was produced for the Japanese market, based on a series of gigs for a department store chain. Featuring some previously released songs as well as songs from the double single "Golden Cheapos". "JaPlan" also includes rare instrumentals produced for their Tokyo shows ... and one of their most famous songs: "Gummitwist" ... and the film music to "The Grottenolm" as bonus tracks. Special extra: "JaPlan" comes in a new cover artwork that in a way corrects an optical error in the band's discography. Reissued on CD, LP and as download.

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CONRAD SCHNITZLER

Contempora (reissue from 1981). CD, vinyl (180 g), download

Conrad Schnitzler (1937–2011), composer and concept artist, is one of the most important representatives of Germany's electronic music avant-garde. A student of Joseph Beuys, he founded Berlin's legendary Zodiak Free Arts Lab, a subculture club, in 1967/68, was a member of Tangerine Dream (together with Klaus Schulze and Edgar Froese) and Kluster (with Dieter Moebius and Hans-Joachim Roedelius) and also released countless solo albums. "Contempora" is a sort of collection of sketches, reflecting Schnitzler's inexhaustible creative powers in condensed form. "Contempora" again underlines Schnitzler's noble ethos. Reissued on CD, LP and as download.

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CONRAD SCHNITZLER

Conrad & Sohn (reissue from 1981). CD, vinyl (180 g), download

Conrad Schnitzler is undoubtedly one of the founding fathers of German electronica. And his son, Gregor Schnitzler, matched the father's extraordinary level of creative output. They appear to have settled any musical differences amicably. After all, how else could they have "shared" an LP released by Conrad Schnitzler himself? One half features music by Conrad, the other his son Gregor. Two mini albums on one disc, so to speak. Father and son offer up drastically opposing musical concepts to our ears. Reissued on CD, LP and as download.

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SØLYST

Lead. CD, vinyl (180 g / plus CD), download

The second album by KREIDLER drummer THOMAS KLEIN – alias SØLYST – is a hypnotic journey into the heart of darkness. Foreboding synth patterns, menacing bass lines, driving drum figures, cavernous percussion effects: SØLYST delves into new depths with his TRIBAL KRAUT DUB.

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ROEDELIUS

Offene Türen. CD, vinyl (180 g), download.

Originally released 1982 on Sky Records. Electronical chamber music that impressively renders audible Roedelius' musical transition from the 70s into the 80s. Roedelius delights in playing a selection of synthesizers. He even deploys an analogue rhythm machine now and then to discreet effect. Complex, vibrant, enigmatic, avant-garde, timelessy beautiful. Out April 12, 2013. Reissued on CD, LP and as download.

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HOME TAPING IS KILLING MUSIC

by A.K.KLOSOWSKI & PYROLATOR. CD, vinyl (180 g), download

"Home-Taping is Killing Music" is the first and only LP by Pyrolator (Ata Tak label operative and member of Der Plan) and tape loop tinkerer Arnd Kai Klosowski. The result: whimsical, raw sound experiments from the early days of sampling technology. Originally released 1985 on Ata Tak. Reissued on CD, LP and as download.

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ROEDELIUS

Selbstportrait III/Reise durch Arcadien. CD, vinyl (180 g), download

The long overdue reissue of "Selbstportrait Vol. III/Reise durch Arcadien" closes a gap in the Roedelius oeuvre which his followers have long since had their eyes on. Those who found the self-portrait series irresistible had to endure a lengthy, impatient wait for the "Journey Through Arcadia". "Selbstportrait III" gathers together (as did parts I and II) enraptured low-fi piano/synthesizer/electronic miniatures, musical sketches and ideas which Roedelius recorded at home in the living room on his Revox tape machine between 1973 and 1979 as a kind of "musical diary".

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KARL BARTOS

Off The Record. CD, vinyl (180g), download

Karl Bartos is well-known as one-quarter of the "classic" Kraftwerk line-up. Many of their most influential rhythms and memorable melodies were actually conceived in his home studio. They would later be used on an unstoppable succession of hits from the Düsseldorf band as they ascended to the lofty heights of popular music culture. As a major contributor to "The Man-Machine" (1978) and "Computer World" (1981) Bartos has had a decisive influence on Kraftwerk's music. Bartos' new album is an audio-visual sensation! Lost for many years, some of his early music has been reconceived and re-contextualised in a thrilling modern setting. Here's the story: during Kraftwerk's heyday Karl Bartos wrote – off the record – a secret acoustic diary. Based on his musical jottings – rhythms, riffs, hooks, sounds, chords and melodies – this is what he has come up with today: twelve brand new, exciting, timeless songs.

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KARL BARTOS

Atomium. Single. Out now.

"Atomium" is the first single from the new album by ex-Kraftwerk member Karl Bartos (see above). No other edifice in Europe symbolizes the rise and fall of atomic power quite as dramatically as the Atomium. This gigantic model of an iron crystal, erected for the 1958 World's Fair in Brussels, finds its musical voice on the first single lifted from the new Karl Bartos album "Off the Record" (out March 15, 2013).

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LLOYD COLE / HANS-JOACHIM ROEDELIUS

Selected Studies Vol. 1. CD, vinyl (180g), download

What a collaboration! The British singer-songwriter Lloyd Cole has always been a Cluster fan, especially of the 1976 LP "Sowiesoso". Cole released his own heavily Cluster-influenced album "Plastic Wood" in 2001. Roedelius liked it and, over the next decade, Cole and Roedelius considered working together from time to time, but never actually got around to it. It was not until 2011 when they finally met in Vienna that they could finally begin in earnest. The album reveals mature, carefully composed music, as if Cole and Roedelius had been working together for years already. Both artists focus on electronic sounds in a selection of succinct, direct pieces, free of musical garrulousness. Cole neither sings nor plays guitar and Roedelius rarely touches the keys of his grand piano. Instead, both musicians have developed a subtle soundscape which only drifts towards pure noise on one track. All of the other "studies" on the album move within a vast spectrum of harmonic wonder and rhythmic stepping stones.

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QLUSTER

Lauschen. CD, vinyl (180g), download.

Kluster (1969) metamorphosed into Cluster (1971) and Cluster became Qluster (2011). In a period spanning over 40 years, Hans-Joachim Roedelius was a driving force behind this unique transformation. Now, as Qluster, he has recorded together with Onnen Bock in the latest incarnation. Three albums already released document the current status of their musical journey to pastures new. The fourth work, "Lauschen" (recorded live with the guest musician Armin Metz), is a particularly impressive document, with the musicians raising their art close to perfection. Using predominantly analogue electronic keyboards, they play together – in the truest sense of the word – with intense levels of concentration and yet with incredible ease.

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