1970-1971

• Artist: Kluster
• Rating:
• Release Date: May 20, 2008
• Total Time: 0:00
• Type: Compilation (best of)
• Genre: Rock

Review

The first three records by Kluster (later to be known as Cluster) are triumphs in the outgrowth of Krautrock, although rather illogically, they have nothing to do with rock. Recorded during 1970 and 1971 by the trio version of Kluster (comprised of Hans-Joachim Roedelius, Dieter Mobius, and the soon to depart Conrad Schnitzler), they were determinedly experimental creations that predated sampling technology by applying the techniques of musique concrète -- usually found sounds such as marbles in a bowl, heavily processed with the studio techniques of honorary Kluster member Conny Plank. A pivotal member of the team, Plank was an engineer extraordinaire who provided the direct link between musique concrète and Krautrock (he assisted Edgard Varèse in some of his early creations). And perfectly befitting the late-'60s counterculture, Kluster were not shy about politicizing their recordings. The trio included on its first two albums -- Klopfzeichen and Zwei-Osterei -- a series of spoken word passages written by poets who were critical of contemporary German society, both the indifference of the establishment and the political detachment of youth in general. The usefulness of the three-disc Water reissue 1970-1971 is at least twofold -- of course, it ushers back into print the first three Kluster records: Klopfzeichen, Zwei-Osterei, and 1971's live album Eruption, but the liner notes also provide a great deal of context about the band's early beginnings and its connections to experimental music, student culture, and political discourse. ~ John Bush, Rovi

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