Customer Reviews

Kluster: 1970-1971

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German ambient/krautrock pioneers Kluster were originally a trio featuring Conrad Schnitzler, Hans-Joachim Roedelius, and Dieter Moebius. Between 1969-1971 they recorded three albums: KLOPFZEICHEN (1969), ZWEI-OSTEREI (1970), and ERUPTION (1971), all available in this box set.

KLOPFZEICHEN and ZWEI-OSTEREI were the trio's only two studio albums. The third, ERUPTION (aka SCHWARZ), was a live recording from the group's last concert in 1971. All three are amazing examples of the experimentation into ambient sound occurring in Germany during that time. Featuring guitar, percussion, organ and cello with sound processing devices, tape machines, echo and filtering, Kluster could create effects and textures which were beyond those of more electronically oriented contemporaries like Tangerine Dream. Kluster's music has been best described by Steven and Alan Freeman in their encyclopedia of Krautrock/Kosmische Musik, THE CRACK In The COSMIC EGG, as "music that oozed electricity--stark, bleak, industrial, and nightmarishly unnerving."

Conrad Schnitzler left Kluster in the middle of 1971. Moebius and Roedelius carried on with Cluster (note the initial letter "C"), briefly with Conny Plank, and later as a duo.

In 2007 Schnitzler, along with American Michael Thomas Roe and Japanese Masato Ooyama, resurrected the Kluster name to record KLUSTER 2007.

All I can say is this is a great box set and it is worth every dollar.

A specially designed 3-CD box set to give you Kluster's three 'actual' - proper, legit (however you wish to put it) albums on CD reissue. There's 'Klopfzeichen' ('69), 'Zwei-Osterei' ('70) and my personal favorite of the three krautrock classics - 'Eruption' ('71) See my reviews of each one of the titles. Keep in mind that following the release of these lp's, member Conrad Schnitzler left the band, then they changed their name to Cluster. This was 'true' industrial hard rock before it became known to the masses. Simply, a must-have.