ZUCKERZEIT

CLUSTER, not unlike KRAFTWERK, comprised of an experimental electronics duo, Dieter Moebius and Hans-Joachim Roedelius. This 1974 release, 'Zuckerzeit', was produced by Cluster and MICHAEL ROTHER and sees the pair toying around with electronic rhythm-boxes, Farfisa and Davoli synthesisers, as well as organs and pianos (and some guitars). The approach they've taken here draws parallels with Kraftwerk's 'Ralf and Florian' album, and one can also see how a certain fellow, commonly known to many as ENO, latched onto these guys. To briefly describe each piece - Side 1 opens with 'Hollywood', an oddly composed piece with its bizarrely programmed, off-beat electronic rhythms and synth - how on earth you program a rhythm-box like this I don't know, must be some weird loop arrangement. The lead synth sounds very much like a violin. 'Caramel' is upbeat and treads synth-pop territory. 'Rote Riki' is the long-ish piece at 6.10, and is a choice cut with strange sounds swirling over a slow beat. Very spacey, even a frad quirky and is closest to their previous work. 'Rosa' is pure Eno (or could it be Eno is pure Cluster ?....) - from the beats, to the sounds and more so the melodies created here - it wouldn't be out of place on his 'Another Green World' album. Side 2 opens with 'Caramba', a synthetic sounding two-chord jam complete with trippy guitar playing and has a slight hue of HAWKWIND to it. 'Fotschi Tong' is a gentle and nimble song - quite hypnotic. The repetitive 'James' features some guitars and a droney background, again very Krauty. 'Marzipan' is another tranquil piece similar to 'Rosa'. 'Rotor' is upbeat and poppish with weird synth sounds. The final track, 'Heisse Lippen' is short and sweet with similar instrumentation as the album opener. So, an engaging album which I enjoy a lot, not a jot of 'filler' and different enough from their earlier, more kosmiche experiments. 4 stars.