CLUSTER: I have fallen in love with this band, please help

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isn't it Harmonia that are playing that tour, not Cluster?

unless you said that up thread and I'm lazy.

Hamildan, Saturday, 16 February 2008 15:26 (sixteen years ago) link

one of the 9 shows theyre doing is in detroit!!!! howd we manage that?!

filthy dylan, Saturday, 16 February 2008 15:30 (sixteen years ago) link

one month passes...

Floristree
May, 18 2008 CLUSTER w/ Keith Fullerton Whitman, Daniel Higgs, Blues Control, Axolotl and more TBA
Not Available , Baltimore, Maryland
Cost :

am0n, Saturday, 12 April 2008 23:24 (sixteen years ago) link

<i> "Apr 18 2008 8:00P Queen Elisabeth Hall London" </i>

I am stoked about this concert.

so much that I am using expressions for excitement, not seen this side of the millennium.

Hamildan, Monday, 14 April 2008 08:36 (sixteen years ago) link

or able to do italics properly.

Hamildan, Monday, 14 April 2008 08:36 (sixteen years ago) link

Baltimore:

http://www.wildfirewildfirerecords.com/CLUSTERWEB.jpg

http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=81708068&blogID=378857046

FLORISTREE SPACE IS PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE THE LINE-UP FOR THE INAUGURAL FULL HOUSE FEST. THIS ONE DAY EVENT WILL TAKE PLACE ON SUNDAY MAY 18TH IN THE HEART OF THE BEAUTIFUL PORT CITY OF BALTIMORE, MD. THE FESTIVAL WAS CURATED AROUND THE RARE US APPEARANCE OF KRAUTROCK/AMBIENT PIONEERS CLUSTER. THE RESIDENTS OF FLORISREE DECIDED THAT RATHER THAN HAVING A NORMAL SHOW, WE WOULD PAY HOMAGE TO THE IMPACT OF THESE LIVING LEGENDS BY CURATING A DAY-LONG EVENT THAT HIGHLIGHTS CLUSTER'S WIDE REACHING INFLUENCE AND SPIRIT IN CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN MUSIC. THE FESTIVAL WILL RUN FROM 4PM TIL MIDNIGHT WITH A SUNSET PERFORMANCE BY OUR GUESTS OF HONOR.

LINE-UP IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER:

CLUSTER (kraut-rock legends)

BLUES CONTROL (Holy Mountain)

ERIC COPELAND (of Black Dice, Paw Tracks)

KEITH FULLERTON WHITMAN (Kranky)

DANIEL HIGGS (of Lungfish, Holy Mountain)

TICKLY FEATHER (Paw Tracks)

AXOLOTL (Important)

SUSAN ALCORN (Olde English Spelling Bee)

BLACK VATICAN (Locust)

AFTERNOON PENIS (of Mouthus)

CAGUAMAS (of The Peppermints, Paw Tracks)

PONCE ROCKET (Delaware)

ADVANCE TICKETS ARE ON SALE NOW FOR $15 OR $20 AT THE DOOR. CAPACITY FOR THIS EVENT WILL BE KEPT AT 400.

Russell, Tuesday, 15 April 2008 14:47 (sixteen years ago) link

already posted

am0n, Tuesday, 15 April 2008 16:26 (sixteen years ago) link

oh wait, advance tickets? huh.

am0n, Tuesday, 15 April 2008 16:40 (sixteen years ago) link

http://www.donutsparty.com/ac.html

the Berlin September 2007 live show is evidently being released on Important in one month

Milton Parker, Wednesday, 16 April 2008 20:41 (sixteen years ago) link

target?

omar little, Wednesday, 16 April 2008 23:37 (sixteen years ago) link

even Target knew about the new Cluster album before I did

also looks like Schnitzler has a new group he's calling 'Kluster 2007', a bit iffy even if he was the founder of the original Kluster. Important's putting out two 1971 recordings by 'Kluster' (lineup Schnitzler / Freudigmann / Seidel) which is a little confusing because I thought that trio released under the name Eruption and Kluster had officially broken up after Roedelius & Moebius took off, but... well Schnitzler can do whatevers

http://fancymoon.com/mrs/index.php?c=14-

Milton Parker, Thursday, 17 April 2008 00:07 (sixteen years ago) link

I'm still seething with disgust at my sluggish assed self for not getting it together to buy tickets for the harmonia south bank show, if anyone hears of a spare ticket, please post here

cw, Thursday, 17 April 2008 07:53 (sixteen years ago) link

me too. as it is i'm considering going all the way to birmingham to see them in july instead...

braveclub, Thursday, 17 April 2008 09:22 (sixteen years ago) link

two weeks pass...

still a little on-the-fence on Schnitzler calling these Kluster records instead of Eruption 1971 records. but I have to admit -- one of them, Vulcano, does sound a lot like the first 3 Kluster records -- recorded live with the same instruments and equipment. there's more atonal flute, and it takes about 20 minutes for them to really get going (out of 60+ total), but if you like the instrumental sides of the other Kluster, this is worth it.

the other one, Admira, is studio sessions, much higher fidelity. most tracks are purely space / textural sounds, though with recognizable instruments, drums / guitar / violin / organ. there's one straight-up krautrock track with drummer accellerandos, freakout guitar & everything. last twenty minutes are a weird open-string violin & delay solo spread across 5 tracks and it's beyond minimal, but interesting

I file the first three Kluster albums before my Cluster discs, but these are getting filed before the other Schnitzler discs

their website published some pretty interesting recollections about West Berlin psychedelia i.e. the music that later started getting called Krautrock, I wish these had been included in the packaging

http://www.importantrecords.com/releases/imprec180_release_page.htm
http://www.importantrecords.com/releases/imprec179_release_page.htm

Milton Parker, Wednesday, 7 May 2008 22:17 (fifteen years ago) link

I'm starting to get nervous about how the L.A. tickets haven't gone on sale yet. I'm trying to check www.donutsparty.com every day, but if someone more in-the-know hears that they have gone on sale, please post here or email me or something. Thanks.

Bimble, Thursday, 8 May 2008 03:30 (fifteen years ago) link

got tix to see them at no fun fest so psyched

sleep, Thursday, 8 May 2008 04:05 (fifteen years ago) link

hello from DONUTS!! we finally nailed down the venue. it will take place at FARMLAB. tickets will go on sale very soon. we hope in the next few days! i'll post again when they're available. the big sur show still has some tickets remaining. if you're in the area - it would be an amazing show. Cluster in a redwood clearing under the stars by the ocean!!! donutsparty.com

love,
donuts

donuts party, Thursday, 8 May 2008 18:56 (fifteen years ago) link

<img src="http://a116.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/55/l_0d6b70e810fd8a4bcf3c8ed06a2012c3.gif";>

donutsparty.com

donuts party, Thursday, 8 May 2008 18:57 (fifteen years ago) link

their night of no fun = definitely the night to go... thinkin about it.

for teh record my favorite cluster is "sowiesoso" but i have great love for everything i've heard by them. except the vocal stuff with eno. but that's only a few tracks.

ian, Friday, 9 May 2008 04:58 (fifteen years ago) link

that's my fave as well. Very pastoral.

dan selzer, Friday, 9 May 2008 05:19 (fifteen years ago) link

Yeah I think a long time ago I was adamant that Zuckerzeit & Sowiesoso were even, but now I think Sowiesoso takes it.

Bimble, Friday, 9 May 2008 05:21 (fifteen years ago) link

anyone else disappointed by the set at no fun fest? I'm more into the zuckerzeit/sowiesoso/harmonia material, so maybe that's why.

I did like how they were mad at the dj, though.

original bgm, Tuesday, 20 May 2008 14:06 (fifteen years ago) link

i had to leave about 30-40 minutes in but what i heard was really really cool. i was warned beforehand not to expect them to sound like zuckerzeit or whatever, so that probably helped.

sleep, Tuesday, 20 May 2008 14:21 (fifteen years ago) link

Well what did they sound like then? Do tell!

Bimble, Tuesday, 20 May 2008 16:12 (fifteen years ago) link

they were mad at the DJ?
Peiter of Wierd??
I was too wasted after Demons to understand much of anything

sexyDancer, Tuesday, 20 May 2008 16:24 (fifteen years ago) link

yeah, I had to leave early too. it was just getting way too late. which was part of my problem. I think some of my disappointment could def be attributed to the sheer fatigue that sets in after having already spent hours in a crowded, smelly, enclosed space with noise bands playing the whole time!

and it is more than a little unfair to hope they'll sound like some record from 40 years ago. I think hearing that really outstanding harmonia live record that just surfaced this year set the bar too high in my mind. endlessly looping/permutating melodies and stuff. their set was very much not that.

I'd say they sounded closer to the kluster/early cluster material. mostly pretty dark with a couple pertty ambient bits here and there.

and yeah, they seemed to have gotten fed up with the music the dj was playing. kept gesturing for him to stop it but he seemed to be waiting for a song to play out, the word from someone to stop, or whatever. hard to tell what was going on but a bunch of people in the crowd kept looking back and forth between them and the dj. cluster looked grumpy. it was funny.

original bgm, Tuesday, 20 May 2008 16:28 (fifteen years ago) link

I actually thought the DJ was ace, but I can understand Cluster's grumpiness. Not the best idea to put on veterans of their age on in the middle of the night. Or veterans of my age in the audience for that matter!

sexyDancer, Tuesday, 20 May 2008 16:36 (fifteen years ago) link

yeah, by that time, I was pretty grumpy myself!

original bgm, Tuesday, 20 May 2008 17:35 (fifteen years ago) link

booking Cluster at No Fun was an interesting idea but I could tell that wasn't going to be the best environment for what they're doing now. on friday they're playing here, much more appropriate

even 30 years ago, live Cluster was all improv, they've never played songs from their records live. structurally the 'Metz 77' mp3 isn't that different than the new 'Berlin 07' CD, space music & textures. the new record has its moments, I love the goony rave music that kicks off the 2nd track

Milton Parker, Tuesday, 20 May 2008 18:38 (fifteen years ago) link

set last night in Chicago was awesome. They are a treasure.

Stormy Davis, Wednesday, 21 May 2008 17:21 (fifteen years ago) link

worth $20 to see them? (keep in mind i'm pretty broke)

t. weiss, Thursday, 22 May 2008 04:29 (fifteen years ago) link

Pretty excited for the show tonight...

Bus Driver Stu, Thursday, 22 May 2008 16:36 (fifteen years ago) link

Hey Bus Driver Stu! Wanna hook up? I'm in Hollywood on vacation, looking forward to tonight...

Bimble, Thursday, 22 May 2008 19:01 (fifteen years ago) link

I just emailed you through ILX...

Bimble, Thursday, 22 May 2008 19:05 (fifteen years ago) link

Aw man, I didn't check this thread since yesterday morning. Totally missed your post, Bimble. Didn't get an email either.

Anyway, the show was awesome and Farmlab is the coolest venue I've ever been to. Also, Roedelius is huge.

Bus Driver Stu, Friday, 23 May 2008 19:36 (fifteen years ago) link

Well I'm glad you liked it. I was bored senseless from the minute I got there.

Bimble, Friday, 23 May 2008 19:45 (fifteen years ago) link

no fun @ no fun fest. too many blips and bleeps, not enough kraut and rocking. huge letdown after all that waiting and religious knives shaking shit up right before. roedelius solo live is much more entertaining

kamerad, Saturday, 24 May 2008 21:27 (fifteen years ago) link

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k122/folkyeah/2540447252_951be41580.jpg
http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k122/folkyeah/2516531789_5617610fd9copy.jpg

I caught the Big Sur, Santa Cruz, SF & Aquarius shows. R had three CD players, a Nord Electro & FX, M had two CD players, a MicroKorg & a Kaosillator. some people were nervous at their use of CD players, but all four shows were completely different -- on the 96 tour, they were using DAT machines for playback with no cueing flexibility or varispeed, and this time around they've got quicker access to a much wider variety of CDRs, so many to choose from that each night had maybe 30% recognizable overlap, and even then every night they'd respond to the other's ingredients in completely different ways -- one night, for M's rave loop, R faded up layers of tibetan bowl hits, the next lay a melody over it with the Nord, the next a minor key pulsing drone

the 96 shows were attended by hardcore faithful, but those CD reissues have obviously made the rounds because these shows were packed with young kids expecting tunes, and probably not this degree of improv ambience. the Big Sur was the most diffused and scattered, no rhythm ever took over, but the constant left turns in the mix were so disorienting as to become hypnotic and the completely silent audience was drawn in (especially those who knew they'd signed up for an outdoor show and brought coats -- it was cold and some people were going under). in Santa Cruz they took the stage after 7 opening bands, all rock, and they played their quietest show to the loudest crowd -- if you speakerhugged, this set had the most keyboard playing from R. in SF the Great American was nearly sold out, 6-800 people -- halfway through the set, they finally met the hallwide chatter with fantastic waves of slowly building white noise and people stopped talking and started screaming for the sudden noise show -- they played for 85 minutes, and the encore was the peak of all 4 nights, noisy atonal cosmic pulse, digital return to 'Cluster II', jaws had been dropped as they left the stage. the Aquarius show was half as long as the other shows, the mellowest & maybe the deepest and definitely the most intimate -- everyone sat crosslegged on the floor, and they were right there in front of us

great projections by Alison Childs, 80's vintage vector computer graphics slowly spinning about, projected wide angle across the entire stage -- but particularly special at the Big Sur outdoor show, where she projected onto the trees behind the stage -- that first picture doesn't even begin to hint at what those grids looked like slowly converging and refracting off thousands of leaves, I realized that I hadn't seen anything quite like that before and perfectly fit the music.

obviously being a beyond-the-pale cluster fanboy I knew I was going to have a great time at these shows, and I was occasionally frustrated that they're of a size now that has them in venues not perfect for what they're currently doing. but I thought they were in fantastic form. and it was pretty easy to see that they seemed to be getting along beautifully.

Milton Parker, Tuesday, 3 June 2008 20:35 (fifteen years ago) link

That all sounds really cool, Milton. Buddy of mine was at the Big Sur show and he was very into it.

Trip Maker, Tuesday, 3 June 2008 20:53 (fifteen years ago) link

one other tidbit. I was in Aquarius when M & R discovered the two new albums Schnitzler re-released on Important as 'Kluster' -- they hadn't heard about them. feeling more and more sketchy about them all the time, seeing them come out the month before Water released the 3 CD box of the three historical Kluster albums (which has great liner notes)

for fans of Kluster / Cluster '71 (or AMM / Stockhausen circa 'Sieben Tagen' / 60's noise psychedelia / the spacier Krautrock) this is my most awaited archival release of 2008: Human Being: Live at the Zodiak - Berlin 1968

http://www.nepenthemusic.com/catalog/humanbeing.html

Milton Parker, Tuesday, 3 June 2008 21:12 (fifteen years ago) link

ten months pass...

Kluster and Friends - 1969-1973 6xLP Box $199.99 (QBICO)
black vinyls/black labels/black inner sleeves. box, spray painted (stencil/lettering by Troglosound) in gold or silver or bronze (3 versions) and with clear plastic insert (rare photos). UNRELEASED MUSIC ! here's a little story for you:
when i mailed the news about the closure of qbico in 2010, some friends and musicians wrote me back... one was Conrad Schnitzler wondering if i wanna close with THE BOMB ! i said "yes, why not !?". so Con sent me 6 CD-R of UNRELEASED Kluster music, rec. in 1969-73 (along with Klaus Freudigmann and Wolfgang Seidel) ! he said to choose yr favourite 40 (+/-) from the 1 hour lenght of each CD-R, so to adjust to vinyl format... well, that's was one of the most joyful experience of my life ! this 6LP box collect that music which it's simply some of the most outstanding and revolutionary music that i ever heard !!! One of the most legendary release on Qbico ?! YES (screaming)!" - QBICO

any thoughts other than "too broke to buy?"

sleeve, Thursday, 23 April 2009 18:38 (fifteen years ago) link

jeezus, that's expensive. and the write-up is pretty.... uh, hyperbolic?

and why not just release 6 full-length cds along with the edited 40min. lps?

but I'm more into the zuckerzeit/harmonia era stuff, so I guess I wouldn't be too excited anyway...

original bgm, Thursday, 23 April 2009 18:55 (fifteen years ago) link

qbico is always expensive

pfunkboy (Herman G. Neuname), Thursday, 23 April 2009 18:59 (fifteen years ago) link

well, let the buyer beware, I think -- Schnitzler / Freuigmann / Seidel historically played under the name 'Eruption' from 69-73, and he's now retroactively taken to calling that band 'Kluster' for new CDs of unreleased music, like the two on Important last year. Which I liked all right, though nowhere near as much as Kluster proper. The three Moebius / Roedelius / Schnitzler Kluster albums have their own sound (the sound = the instrumental lineup) and I think Schnitzler's muddying the waters a bit with these.

I'm glad they're coming out & there's got to be some good music somewhere on that box, but I'm not really tempted by this.

The real news though is this: April 30th, 2009:
http://www.nepenthemusic.com/catalog/humanbeing.html
http://www.amazon.com/Human-Being-Live-Zodiak-Berlin/dp/B001UTXAV6/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1236707860&sr=8-4

Milton Parker, Thursday, 23 April 2009 19:04 (fifteen years ago) link

Rastakrautpasta's getting a release on Water this week.

Alex in SF, Thursday, 23 April 2009 19:08 (fifteen years ago) link

I saw that at Aquarius last week, I'd love to see an opened copy, they do such a great job with their booklets. The original Sky CDs are all 1-sided inserts.

there are late 60's film clips from the Zodiak Free Arts Club in the Kraftwerk and the Electronic Revolution DVD, which is actually a very interesting documentary on the origins of Krautrock -- the first hour is all about Tangerine Dream / Kluster / Ash Ra Tempel, with interviews with Schulze / Moebius / Roedelius / Schnitzler & lots of clips. Kraftwerk's first record isn't even mentioned until 60 minutes in, at which point the documentary switches over mostly to critics talking about the records and the archival footage becomes far less interesting, but if you like Krautrock 68-71 you definitely want to see that DVD

Milton Parker, Thursday, 23 April 2009 19:16 (fifteen years ago) link

whoa, that sounds great! just bumped the kraftwerk dvd to the top of my netflix queue.

never heard of human being before.

original bgm, Thursday, 23 April 2009 19:51 (fifteen years ago) link

Me too! Thanks Netflix!

Alex in SF, Thursday, 23 April 2009 20:07 (fifteen years ago) link


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