TONSPUREN

Dieter Moebius has to be included as one of the pioneers of electronic music. He arrived upon the scene with the band KLUSTER, when invited by Conrad Schnitzler to join he and Hans Joachim Roedelius. When Schnitzler left, the duo changed their name to CLUSTER. Later they would form HARMONIA with Michael Rother from NEU!, plus there were collaborations with Eno and others, plus their solo albums on top of that. And while "Tonspuren" was released in 1983 it was actually the first solo album that Dieter recorded, and in the second half of the seventies. It's pure speculation as to why he didn't release it at the time.

This comes across as a stripped down electronic pop album. We get ten tracks worth under 35 minutes. The sweetness level is a notch above what he and Roedelius did with "Zuckerzeit" when with CLUSTER, and later with some of those HARMONIA tracks. There's just no way this is a four star record in my world. Dieter had a fairly prolific solo career by the way, releasing something like 20 albums before his death in 2015. This album is all Moebius, and at times it sounds like he's using a toy keyboard, there's piano, and a rhythm machine involved I understand. But we mostly get electronic noises that move.

Three tracks stand out. "Transport" at just under 3 minutes with the piano and rhythm as electronics do their thing over top. "B 36" for the depth, plus it's catchy. This one just resonates with me more than the rest. The closer "Immerhin" just sounds good with the repetitive beats and sounds. I also want to mention both "Etwas" and "Nervos" as being two entertaining tracks as well. A good album, but not my scene.