ZUCKERZEIT

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Next to Ralf and Florian, the biggest pair of names in German electronic music might be Moebius and Roedelius, the brains behind CLUSTER (or KLUSTER, as they were called back when ex-Tangerine Dreamer CONRAD SCHNITZLER was in the group). Both teams grew from the same fertile incubator of late 1960s/early 1970s Krautrock, but unlike the robot-pop stars of KRAFTWERK the two Berliners stayed true to their counterculture roots, content to earn their stripes quietly somewhere on the outer fringes of sonic experimentation.

A subsequent joint endeavor with BRIAN ENO would belatedly fix the gold seal of avant-garde approval to their already sterling credentials, but this 1974 album was where CLUSTER found its true voice. The session was co-produced by MICHAEL ROTHER (joining the pair that same year in their side project HARMONIA), and the melodic instincts of the angelic ex-NEU! guitarist must have had a mellowing influence on the band, easing their transition from primitive noise merchants to prestigious ambient forefathers.

The big difference between the aptly titled "Zuckerzeit" (rough translation: "Sugartime") and the more difficult early KLUSTER recordings is how easily the newer album struck a perfect balance between two contrasting but complimentary talents. Hans-Joachim Roedelius was a modest ivory tickler with a flair for muted, minimalist electric piano arpeggios (a style he would later refine in countless, near-identical solo albums of simple, subtle nursery school tone poems). And Dieter Moebius was the hardcore knob twiddler responsible for that dirty, homegrown drum machine sound, like his occasional electric guitar used more for texture than actual rhythm.

Together they were adept at molding and massaging what might have been a series of strictly academic doodles into unexpected shapes and patterns. But unlike the electronic meditations of other German synth pioneers (I'm thinking of TANGERINE DREAM, naturally), CLUSTER added a measure of typically dry Teutonic wit to their music: check out the back cover photo here, with the two posing like Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy.

Or try a bite of "Caramel", the obvious highlight of the album, and the closest thing here to a genuine mainstream pop sound (as heard on the planet Mars, at any rate). The track is built entirely around a simple four-note synthesizer pattern, programmed in an up-tempo, toe-tapping 4/4 beat, and like all the best Krautrock it's almost absurdly repetitive and oddly compelling, suggesting a Third Reich and Roll RESIDENTS cover of Depeche Mode or (remember them?) the Silicon Teens.

The sugarcoated "Caramel" then dissolves into the throbbing drones and warped mechanical dreamscape of "Rote Riki", an embryonic foreshadow of the (highly recommended) 1979 Moebius and Conny Plank collaboration "Rastakraut Pasta", driven here by an uncertain but insistent rhythm sounding not unlike a dripping faucet at 2 a.m.

The remainder of the album alternates between gentle, more accessible Roedelius ditties and weirder Moebius detours (I don't know if Moebius is his real name, but it fits). Add them all together and the result is a minor milestone of electronic ingenuity, and a springboard to a larger family tree of challenging music, all of it linked by six degrees of kosmische separation. From the roots of KRAFTWERK and TANGERINE DREAM (and of course the Krautrock demigods of CAN) you can climb to just about every important German band of the era, and more than a few branches will eventually lead you back to CLUSTER.

Well there is a singular album, groundbreaking for the time it was recorded but not having aged all that well. After two solid albums that were revolutionary in the same mould than Tangerine Dream's Zeit and Atem albums, but this one was drastically different and will resemble Kraftwerk's works from their third album onwards (coincidence on the third album as well?). after two albums as Kluster and two more as Cluster developing a weird but free form music close to tangerine Dream and radical Polit rock as Floh De Cologne, Rodellius and Moebius met up with Neu!'s Michael Rother to experiment an interesting mix of their respective music in a project called Harmonia. The resulting music was definitely rhythmic and clearly Cluster was now influenced by Neu! By the time this album was released, the old Cluster was simply gone and resembled Kraftwerk.

Yes, this album boasts the same kind of proto-new wave that their countrymen would become so famous for, but Cluster will remain obscure, only known to a handful, most notably our great collab Philippe Blache (admirateur éternel de Krautrock électronique) and a few of his pupils. As much as I can recognize historical merits to Cluster, I cannot actually endorse this type of album, hating New Wave as a whole and not just to a rhetorical level. And the atrocious fact is that I cannot even spot one track that would eventually surface as a highlight and stand out on its own. Musically I find the album uninteresting outside its historical importance and it is a far cry from the incredibly adventurous 71 album.

So if you appreciate mid-period Kraftwerk or early 80's music, this album might just be close to indispensable to you, but I cannot think of a more boring (but not historically, though) album. According to this writer, this album is best avoided like the pest. Not sure I appreciate the tendentious photo on the back cover album, also. Let's just say that the album gets its rating rounded to the second star on the basis of its historical importance. But I still prefer the older Cluster or the early Neu! to this album

Sugar time!

This album marks the end of an era, Cluster as we knew it was gone. For everyone who is a fan of earlier albums and the "Kluster" period, this is likely to disappoint. In contrast to the minimalistic ambience of their previous efforts, Zuckerzeit takes a much more mainstream approach. Gone are the avant garde experiments of Kluster albums and the indulging ambience of Cluster 71 and Cluster II. Here we have a much more mainstream record that does indeed resemble Kraftwerk(whom I don't like). There are 10 pieces that actually have names and are much shorter than anything they've done before. Also, unlike the earlier albums, they have split the composing task so half of the songs are written by Moebius and half by Rodelius, while before they have always collaborated. The music is pleasant, but not very accessible and not very challenging, unlike the cosmic masterpieces that preceded it.

Different as it is, this is still Cluster, and there is plenty of harmony and good moments to enjoy on this album. All songs are different, entertaining, and fun. As opposed to the dark atmosphere of the first two albums, this has a cheerier and much more upbeat sound. There's actually a beat in each song, while their earlier output was all beatless ambience. Songs vary from sweet upbeat pieces like Hollywood or Caramel to trippier ones like Rote Riki or James to electrifying pieces like Caramba. Overall mood is relaxed, positive. Eerie, cold minimalistic compositions are absent. And it actually sounds lively, not robotic(one thing I dislike about Kraftwerk). The drum machines aren't repetitive, the compositions are crafted well and are captivating. The album is never samey or boring.

Overall, good album but nothing truly groundbreaking. You won't get anything like the first two albums, so you might want to thin twice before buying this album(and it's pretty expensive). I really enjoy it, it's a great background for relaxing. I guess it was really innovative at the time but now it's not all that interesting, considering the timeless masterpieces they've made before. If you want to get into the challenging, cosmic side of Cluster, get an earlier album. If you are looking for accessible, slightly poppy electronic music, get this.