Month: September 2007

http://www.uncut.co.uk/blog/index.php?blog=6&p=379&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1#more379

a new Harmonia release, amazingly. There’s been some assiduous foraging of the Krautrock archives these past few years, that’s fetched up the “Harmonia 76” sessions with Eno already. This one, “Live 1974”, is a gig recording that appears to capture Rother, Moebius and Roedelius jamming with that typical impassive euphoria to an entirely empty room.
In fact, Michael Rother claims in the press release that the show (in a former railway station in Griessem) was attended by a good 50 or so people, who were too stoned to even applaud, or who couldn’t work out where the songs ended. That makes sense: the five lengthy tracks here stretch out to between nine and 17 minutes each, but have an enveloping momentum that makes them feel like they are – or at least should – go on forever.
I must admit I haven’t played the two studio Harmonia albums for a year or two, but from memory “Live 1974” is more in the vein of the first one, “Musik Von Harmonia”. If you’re familiar with the work of Harmonia’s constituent bands, Neu! and Cluster, but not Harmonia themselves, imagine the humming seascape pieces from “Neu! 75” augmented by the gently chattering rhythm patterns of Cluster’s “Zuckerzeit”.
Perhaps Cluster are fractionally more dominant; Rother’s always subtle guitar strafe is, if anything, more discreet than ever, though he does have a mild freak-out on “Arabesque”. Anyway, it all makes a very soothing start to the week.

AND SOUNDS PERFECTLY WONDERFUL ~C