Monday's Long Song

Back to work today after two weeks off so something calming is needed to ease my way back into the maelstrom. This is some gentle, analogue ambient/ cosmische music from Cluster in 1976, the duo formed by Roedelius and Moebius, with Conny Plank in the producer's chair and after some time with Brian Eno the previous year when they all recorded together with Michael Rother as Harmonia. Eno's influence can be heard all over the eight minutes of this track as can their decision to leave Berlin and head for the West German countryside, where they built a studio in a village in Forst, Lower Saxony. 

Sowiesoso, the album from which this song is the opener as well as the title track, is a kind of pastoral krautrock, ambient sounds, washes and soft pulses, a step away from the motorik drumbeat into a calmer world. Sowiesoso translates as 'anyway' and that's kind of how this sounds. 

Sowiesoso

Very Cosmic

How about some krautrock? Oh don't groan you lot.

In 1974 Michael Rother (from Neu!) joined with Moebius and Roedelius (both from Cluster) to make the Musik Von Harmonia album. This track (song isn't really the right word) is Dino, lovely swathes of sound and melody with rhythm driving it on. The album also contains tracks called Sehr Kosmisch and Hausmusik- both of it's time and ahead of time. I've got a feeling the last time I played this in full the even numbered tracks were good and odd numbered tracks less interesting, but I could be imagining it.

There's something about all this snow and ice which seems quite teutonic. If you're interested BBC 4's excellent krautrock documentary is repeated tonight at 10.30. Worth staying up for.

04 Dino.wma