Cluster and Harmonia

[fange]

I'm making this about both groups now, coz i can.

I'm not sure how many fans there are of these groups here - apart from Toby of course - but i went through a big period of obsession with them about 10 years ago, and when a song pops up at random or on my playlist unexpectedly it still fills me with joy.

Take this one for instance, 'Hollywood' off Zuckerzeit...



The "anybody with an early drum machine and synth set-up could've done something like that!" simplicity of it is off-putting or even galling to many, i get that. Maybe it's the fact that i'm a child of the 70s, but the sound of synths will always be an audio lingua for the sound of the future to me. The very spare and primitive rhythm sound also means that the melody is brought right to the fore, and fuck me but Cluster were full of melody. Not necessarily as hooky as a pop band, but extremely melodic nevertheless, the kind that drifts in and out of my awareness and leaves me wanting more, a la The Cocteau Twins.

Anyway, what do you think of Cluster?

[Deleted]

I went through a weird obsession with them for awhile too - about 15 years ago when I was really in to new folk and more Americana stuff and they fell into this weird place I liked. I came across them again a few years ago, listened, and wondered what I was thinking.

[Crunchy Col]

After Can and Amon Duul II they're my favourite German band.

Zuckerzeit is a very special album but maybe my favourite is Cluster II which is really odd and uncompromising - lots of floaty noisy stuff, it creates a very specific, unignorable atmosphere. What Tangerine Dream threaten to do, they pull off. Great cover, too



this is my favourite but it's not going to convert anyone unless they're in a very specific stoned/patient sort of mood!

[Deleted]

I was thinking of a totally different band - Guster

[Deleted]

The track Fange posted treads a thin line between something hypnotic and something tedious. I would say it falls more on the positive side of that line for me most of the time. It's very blank music in a way, dryly functional.

[Crunchy Col]

Try this

[DarknessFish]

It's the kind of thing that I'd expect to love, but I just don't find myself heading back for more. I prefer Harmonia for some reason, I think that Rother must just bring that extra bit of spark to the table. I find them enjoyable enough in small doses, but as G says, it's functional rather than inspiring.

[fange]

Harmonia made some lovely music too.

[Reactionary Rage]

I always get some of these fuckers confused....cluster..harmonia…

It's the kind of thing that when I put it on I think "this is pretty good!" but then I get bored and turn it off after a while. But the odd song, moment, yeah.

[Deleted]

Dec 4, 2019 7:51:54 GMT Crunchy Col said:

Try this

Pretty good, but I think I'm with DF and GB with this stuff. There's not enough happening to really excite me, it's a little one-dimensional.

[Crunchy Col]

I get that.

In some ways it's a bit like early Stereolab, groovy sounds/repetition, great as a kind of 'life soundtrack', but not too much to get hold of.

[Sneelock]

repetition can be a powerful aphrodisiac!

[Deleted]

Dec 4, 2019 11:37:51 GMT Crunchy Col said:

I get that.

In some ways it's a bit like early Stereolab, groovy sounds/repetition, great as a kind of 'life soundtrack', but not too much to get hold of.

I think Stereolab add more in terms of textures, vocal melodies etc. It's not quite so spartan and minimalist.

[Crunchy Col]

Generally, yeah, they do. But I specified 'early' because they were more about textures back then, the melodies came later. At least that's how I see them.

[fange]

This is maybe my fave by Harmonia; it's gorgeously hypnotic with those driving yet subtly shifting rhythms, and full of melodic beauty.