''Cluster II'' is the second full-length album by

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

electronic music Electronic music is a Music genre, genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or electronics, circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromech ...

act

Cluster may refer to: Science and technology Astronomy * Cluster (spacecraft), constellation of four European Space Agency spacecraft * Asteroid cluster, a small asteroid family * Cluster II (spacecraft), a European Space Agency mission to study th ...

, released in 1972 by record label

Brain The brain is an organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It consists of nervous tissue and is typically located in the head ( cephalization), usually near organs for special ...

Production

It is their first album with the band reduced to a duo;

Conny Plank Konrad "Conny" Plank (3 May 1940 – 5 December 1987) was a German record producer and musician. He is known for his innovative work as a sound engineer and producer in Germany's krautrock and kosmische music scene in the 1970s. Plank was invol ...

, who was credited as a member on the first album, decided to concentrate on production and engineering. Plank is still credited as a composer together with

Hans-Joachim Roedelius Hans-Joachim Roedelius (born 26 October 1934) is a German electronic musician and composer, best known as a co-founder of the influential 'kosmische' groups Cluster and Harmonia. He also performed in the ambient jazz trio Aquarello, and rele ...

and

Dieter Moebius Dieter Moebius (16 January 1944 – 20 July 2015) was a Swiss-born German electronic musician and composer, best known as a member of the influential krautrock bands Cluster and Harmonia. Moebius was studying art at Berlin's Akademie Grafik and ...

on all tracks. ''Cluster II'' was recorded at Star-Studio in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

in January 1972. It was Cluster's first release for legendary

krautrock Krautrock (also called , German for ) is a broad genre of experimental rock that developed in West Germany in the late 1960s and early 1970s among artists who blended elements of psychedelic rock, avant-garde composition, and electronic music, a ...

label

, a relationship which would last until 1975 and include the subsequent album ''

Zuckerzeit ''Zuckerzeit'' (German: ''Sugar Time'') is the third studio album by German band Cluster, released in 1974 on Brain Records. It was co-produced by Michael Rother, their bandmate in side-project Harmonia. The music on ''Zuckerzeit'' marks a shift f ...

'' as well as the first two

Harmonia In Greek mythology, Harmonia (; grc, Ἁρμονία / harmoˈnia/, "harmony", "agreement") is the immortal goddess of harmony and concord. Her Roman counterpart is Concordia. Her Greek opposite is Eris, whose Roman counterpart is Discor ...

albums, a group which included both remaining members of Cluster and

Michael Rother Michael Rother (born 2 September 1950) is a German experimental musician, best known for being a founding member of the influential bands Neu! and Harmonia, and an early member of the band Kraftwerk. Early life and education Born in 1950, ...

Neu! Neu! (; German for "New!"; styled in block capitals) were a West German krautrock band formed in Düsseldorf in 1971 by Klaus Dinger and Michael Rother following their departure from Kraftwerk. The group's albums were produced by Conny Pl ...

Content

''Cluster II'' continued the transition away from the discordant, proto- industrial sound of

Kluster Kluster was a Berlin-based German experimental musical group formed in 1969 by Hans-Joachim Roedelius, Conrad Schnitzler, and Dieter Moebius. Their improvisational work presaged later industrial music. The original Kluster was short-lived, exis ...

towards a more electronic sound. It was the first album to feature relatively short tracks and it was the first album in which tracks were named. (Earlier Kluster albums as well as the eponymous first Cluster album had unnamed pieces.)

Release

The album was first reissued on CD in 1994 on the

Spalax ''Spalax'' is a genus of rodent in the family Spalacidae, subfamily ''Spalacinae'' (blind mole-rats). It is one of two extant genera in the subfamily Spalacinae, alongside '' Nannospalax''.' Species in this genus are found in eastern Europe ...

label with subsequent reissues on Universal in 2004, Revisited in 2007 and Esoteric in 2012.

Reception

Julian Cope Julian David Cope (born 21 October 1957) is an English musician and author. He was the singer and songwriter in Liverpool post-punk band the Teardrop Explodes and has followed a solo career since 1983 in addition to working on musical side pro ...

included ''Cluster II'' in his "Krautrock Top 50" list.

Track listing

All tracks written by

and Conrad Plank. ; Side A # "Plas" – 6:00 # "Im Süden" – 12:50 # "Für die Katz'" – 3:00 ; Side B # "Live in der Fabrik" – 14:50 # "Georgel" – 5:25 # "Nabitte" – 2:40

Personnel

– electronics *

– electric organ, guitars, effects & electronics * Conrad Plank – producer

Notes

External links

*
Prog Archives article on the album

{{Authority control 1972 albums Cluster (band) albums Albums produced by Conny Plank