Hans-Joachim Roedelius (born 26 October 1934) is a German

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic co ...

musician and composer, best known as a co-founder of the influential '

kosmische 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, ...

' groups

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 ...

and

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 ...

. He also performed in the ambient jazz trio

Aquarello Aquarello was a musical group which blended ambient music and jazz. The trio included keyboardist Hans-Joachim Roedelius, based in Austria, and two Italian musicians, multi-instrumentalist Fabio Capanni, and saxophonist Nicola Alesini. They we ...

, and released several solo studio albums.

Biography

Early life

Roedelius was born on 26 October 1934 in

Berlin Berlin is Capital of Germany, the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and List of cities in Germany by population, by population. Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European U ...

in the family of a dentist. He was an unwilling member of the German Youngsters in the Hitler Youth, membership being mandatory for all boys from the age of ten, and appeared in several propaganda films ('' Faded Melody'' by Viktor Tourjansky in 1938 ; ''

Riding for Germany ''Riding for Germany'' (german: Reitet für Deutschland) is a 1941 German drama film directed by Arthur Maria Rabenalt and starring Willy Birgel, Gertrud Eysoldt and Gerhild Weber. A German cavalry officer, badly injured during the First World W ...

'' by Arthur Maria Rabenalt in 1941). Roedelius and his mother Gertrud were evacuated from Berlin to a small hamlet in

East Prussia East Prussia ; german: Ostpreißen, label= Low Prussian; pl, Prusy Wschodnie; lt, Rytų Prūsija was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 1 ...

. In his book ''Future Days: Krautrock and the Building of Modern Germany'',

David Stubbs David Stubbs (born 13 September 1962 in London) is a British music journalist. He grew up in Leeds and in the early Eighties was a student at the University of Oxford where he was a close friend of Simon Reynolds. The two were part of the Oxford ...

writes that "the aftermath of the war was most difficult for the Roedelius family" who didn't have "enough to live on and just a bit too much to die on". He served two years in prison after the war when he attempted to defect from

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

. Before managing to escape over the border into West Berlin in 1961, he had worked as a physical therapist and masseur. Soon thereafter he gave up his day job to pursue a career in music.

Kluster, Cluster and Harmonia

In 1968 Roedelius co-founded the music commune known as "Human Being" and co-formed

Zodiak Free Arts Lab The Zodiak Free Arts Lab, sometimes known as the "Zodiak Club" or "Zodiac Club", was a short-lived but highly influential experimental live music venue, founded in the then West Berlin in spring 1968 by German artists/musicians Conrad Schnitzler ( ...

, the center of Berlin's Underground Culture at the time, with conceptual artist

Conrad Schnitzler Conrad "Conny" Schnitzler (17 March 1937 – 4 August 2011) was a prolific German experimental musician associated with West Germany's 1970s krautrock movement. A co-founder of West Berlin's Zodiak Free Arts Lab, he was an early member of Tanger ...

. He met

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 ...

at the Zodiak. In 1969 Roedelius, Schnitzler and Moebius formed

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 ...

. In 1971 Schnitzler left the group to start a long-running solo career and Moebius and Roedelius anglicised the band's name to ''Cluster''. They signed first to

Philips Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), commonly shortened to Philips, is a Dutch multinational conglomerate corporation that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, it has been mostly headquartered in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarters is ...

then to

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 ...

. In 1973 Roedelius and Moebius worked with

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 ...

guitarist

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, ...

under the name of ''Harmonia''. '' Musik Von Harmonia'' was released on the back of a huge publicity campaign by Brain. Harmonia released one further album, 1975's ''

Deluxe Deluxe may refer to: Corporations * Deluxe Corporation, check printers * De Luxe Motor Car Company, an American automobile manufacturer Media and entertainment * DeLuxe Color, a brand of color photography used in motion pictures, especially t ...

''. Rother also co-produced the 1974 Cluster 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 ...

''. British musician

Brian Eno Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno (; born Brian Peter George Eno, 15 May 1948) is a British musician, composer, record producer and visual artist best known for his contributions to ambient music and work in rock, pop an ...

, a fan of both Cluster and Harmonia, joined them for several jams, the result of which was released in 1997 as ''

Tracks and Traces ''Tracks and Traces'' is a collaborative album by German kosmische supergroup Harmonia (featuring Neu! guitarist Michael Rother and Cluster members Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Dieter Moebius) and British musician Brian Eno, initially credited to Har ...

''. Rother left Harmonia to pursue his solo career and Cluster returned to the studio to record ''

Sowiesoso ''Sowiesoso'' (from german: sowieso, translation=anyway) is the fourth studio album by German electronic music band Cluster, released in 1976. It was Cluster's first release for Sky Records. ''Sowiesoso'' was recorded in just two days in Fors ...

'' which was released on

Sky Records Sky Records was a Hamburg, Germany-based independent record label specializing in krautrock/Kosmische Musik and electronic music. Some of their releases could be classified as progressive rock or art rock, experimental music, industrial, ambient, ...

. Brian Eno later worked on two albums with Cluster: 1977's '' Cluster & Eno'' and 1978's '' After the Heat'', the latter of which gained the band much attention in the British music press. A further Cluster album produced by former Tangerine Dream member Peter Baumann '' Großes Wasser'' extended Cluster's music into long form.

Solo career

Roedelius' solo career began with '' Durch die Wüste'' in 1978 and then ''

Jardin Au Fou ''Jardin Au Fou'' is the second solo album by German keyboardist Hans-Joachim Roedelius, best known for his work with Cluster. The title is French for "Madman's Garden". ''Jardin Au Fou'' was recorded from April through July, 1978 at Paragon S ...

'' in 1979. The first of the lengthy ''Selbstportrait'' series was released in 1979, being material done beside his work with Cluster and Harmonia, without the input of his collaborators. Mostly recorded on simple two-track equipment, the Selbstportraits make up the backbone of Roedelius' early solo recordings. Leaving Sky in 1982, his work took a more

new-age New Age is a range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs which rapidly grew in Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise definition difficult. Although many scholars consid ...

style as he signed to

Virgin Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...

's ''Venture'' sub-label. During this period, his best selling solo album '' Geschenk des Augenblicks – Gift of the Moment'' was released. He was dropped by Venture in 1989 and began releasing on a variety of small labels. ''Sinfonia Contempora No. 2: La Nordica (Salz Des Nordens)'' was released in 1996. Also released in this period was ''Selbstportrait VI: The Diary of the Unforgotten'', the first of the modern ''Selbstportraits''. Now, rather than merely remastering the seventies tapes, Roedelius also played over them, the sound montage ''Homage á Forst'' samples many Harmonia and Cluster tracks into the mix.

21st century

The turn of the century was Roedelius' most productive year, with no fewer than eight albums being released between 2000 and 2001. Reprising the ''Selbstportrait'' series for the seventh time in 2000, Roedelius composed entirely new tracks for the first time on ''Selfportrait VII: dem Wind voran – ahead of the wind''. The new millennium also saw Roedelius begin to work with other, usually younger, musicians than he had done since the late eighties. In the meantime, Cluster had reformed. 1990's ''

Apropos Cluster ''Apropos Cluster'' is a full-length studio album by Dieter Moebius and Hans-Joachim Roedelius also known as German electronic music outfit Cluster. It was also their first album after an eight-year-long hiatus. In 1989 Dieter Moebius and H ...

'' was an update for the band, being a work of avant-techno not dissimilar in style to ''Großes Wasser''. In 1996 Cluster embarked on two international tours, one of Japan and one of America. Cluster reunited again in 2007. In November 2010 it was announced that Cluster had split up for the third time. In the official announcement, the split up was described as Moebius leaving the group. In the wake of this news, Roedelius announced that he was beginning a new project called Qluster, to follow on from Cluster and

. The band is made up of Roedelius and accomplished electronic musician Onnen Bock with third member Armin Metz and released a trilogy consisting of "''Rufen''", "''Fragen''" and "''Antworten''" (''Calling'', ''Asking'' and ''Answering'') in 2011. His autobiography, ''The Book – The Autobiography of Hans-Joachim Roedelius'', was published in 2018. In March 2021 Roedelius launched his official website and in April he performed his first free surprise live stream concert on YouTube.

Discography

''In bands'' ;In Human Being *2008 : ''Live at the Zodiak – Berlin 1968'' (live album) ;In

*1970 : '' Klopfzeichen'' (studio album) *1970 : '' Zwei-Osterei'' (studio album) *1971 : ''

Eruption Several types of volcanic eruptions—during which lava, tephra (ash, lapilli, volcanic bombs and volcanic blocks), and assorted gases are expelled from a volcanic vent or fissure—have been distinguished by volcanologists. These are of ...

'' (live album, originally released as ''Kluster und Eruption'') ;In

*1971 : '' Cluster '71'' (studio album) *1972 : '' Cluster II'' (studio album) *1974 : ''

'' (studio album) *1976 : ''

'' (studio album) *1979 : '' Großes Wasser'' (studio album) *1980 : '' Live in Vienna'' (live album) *1981 : '' Curiosum'' (studio album) *1984 : '' Stimmungen'' (compilation album) *1990 : ''

'' (studio album, credited to ''Moebius + Roedelius'') *1994 : '' One Hour'' (live album) *1997 : '' Japan 1996 Live'' (live album, credited to ''Roedelius Moebius'' on some editions) *1997 : '' First Encounter Tour 1996'' (live album) *2008 : '' Berlin 07'' (live album) *2009 : '' Qua'' (studio album) ;In

*1974 : '' Musik Von Harmonia'' (studio album) *1975 : ''

'' (studio album) *1976 : ''

'' (studio album, recorded in 1976 and released in 1997) *2007 : '' Live 1974'' (live album) ;In

*1991 : ''Friendly Game'' (studio album, credited to ''Roedelius, Capanni, Alesini'') *1993 : ''To Cover The Dark'' (studio album) *1998 : ''Aquarello'' (live album, credited as Roedelius solo album) ;In Global Trotters (Kenji Konishi,

Susumu Hirasawa is a Japanese musician and composer. In the fifth year of elementary school, Hirasawa took up the electric guitar, inspired by the surf and instrumental rock bands he heard on the radio and on TV, later joining his junior high school's band. ...

, Alquimia, David Bickley, Felix Jay,

Alex Paterson Alex Paterson (also known as Dr Alex Paterson, born Duncan Alexander Robert Paterson; 15 October 1959 in Battersea, London) is an English musician and co-founder of ambient house group The Orb, in which he has worked since its inception. Lif ...

) *1999 : ''Drive'' (studio album) *1999 : ''Global Trotters Project volume I – DRIVE'' (remix album) ;In Qluster *2011 : ''Fragen (album)'' (studio album) *2011 : ''Rufen'' (live album) *2011 : ''Antworten'' (studio album) *2013 : ''Lauschen'' (live album) *2015 : ''Tasten'' (studio album – three pianos project) *2016 : '' Echtzeit'' (studio album) *2018 : ''Elemente'' (studio album) ''Solo work'' *1978 : '' Durch die Wüste'' (studio album) *1979 : ''

'' (studio album) *1979 : ''

Selbstportrait ''Selbstportrait'' is the third solo album by German keyboardist Hans-Joachim Roedelius, best known for his work with Cluster, Harmonia, and Aquarello. The title is German for "Self Portrait", a title meant to reflect the gentle, introspective na ...

'' (studio album) *1980 : '' Selbstportrait – Vol. II'' (studio album) *1980 : '' Selbstportrait Vol. III "Reise durch Arcadien"'' (studio album) *1981 : '' Lustwandel'' (studio album) *1981 : '' Wenn Der Südwind Weht'' (studio album) *1982 : ''

Offene Türen ''Offene Türen'' (German for "Opening Doors") is the eighth solo album by German keyboardist Hans-Joachim Roedelius, best known for his work with Cluster, Harmonia, and Aquarello. The music of ''Offene Türen'' is more avant-garde than other Ro ...

'' (studio album) *1982 : '' Flieg' Vogel fliege'' (studio album) *1982 : '' Wasser im Wind'' (studio album) *1984 : ''

Auf leisen Sohlen ''Auf leisen Sohlen'' (German for "Silent Footsteps") is a compilation by Sky Records of works by German keyboardist Hans-Joachim Roedelius, best known for his work with Cluster, Harmonia, and Aquarello. It is subtitled ''Das Beste von H. J. R ...

'' (compilation album) *1984 : '' Geschenk des Augenblicks – Gift of the Moment'' (studio album) *1984 : '' Begegnungen'' (compilation album) *1985 : '' Begegnungen II'' (compilation album) *1986 : '' Wie das Wispern des Windes'' (studio album) *1987 : ''Momenti Felici'' (studio album) *1989 : ''Bastionen der Liebe – Fortress of Love'' (studio album) *1990 : ''Variety of Moods'' (studio album) *1991 : ''Der Ohrenspiegel'' (studio album) *1991 : ''Piano Piano'' (studio album) *1992 : ''Cuando... Adonde'' (studio album) *1992 : ''Frühling'' (studio album) later re-released as ''Romance in the Wilderness'' *1993 : ''Tace!'' (studio album) *1994 : ''Sinfonia Contempora No. 1: Von Zeit zu Zeit'' (studio album) *1994 : ''Theatre Works'' (studio album) *1995 : ''Selbstportrait VI: The Diary of the Unforgotten'' (studio album) *1995 : ''Vom Nutzen der Stunden – Lieder vom Steinfeld Vol. I'' (studio album) *1995 : ''61sechzigjahr'' (compilation album, released privately) *1996 : ''Sinfonia Contempora No. 2: La Nordica (Salz Des Nordens)'' (studio album) *1996 : ''Pink, Blue And Amber'' (studio album) *1999 : ''Selfportrait VII: dem Wind voran – ahead of the wind'' (studio album) *1999 : ''Amerika Recycled by America Inc'' (studio album) *1999 : ''Vom Nutzen der Stunden – Lieder Vom Steinfeld Vol.II'' (studio album) *2000 : ''Roedeliusweg'' (studio album) *2001 : ''Roedelius 2001 – Orgel Solo'' (studio album) *2001 : ''Das Verwirrte Schaf – Wort-Klang Collage zum Aschermittwoch'' (studio album) *2002 : ''Selbstportrait VIII – Introspection'' (studio album) *2003 : ''American Steamboat'' (studio album) *2003 : ''Counterfeit'' (studio album) *2003 : ''Lieder vom Steinfeld Vol.III'' (studio album) *2003 : ''Roedelius 1969–2002'' (compilation album) *2006 : ''Works 1968–2005'' (compilation album) *2007 : ''Snapshots/Sidesteps'' (studio album) *2008 : ''Back Soon'' (compilation album) *2010 : ''Ex Animo'' (studio album) *2016: ''Manchmal'' (1 track on 4 tracks compilation EP "past forward", vinyl release only) *2017 Release of Roedelius' autobiography "Roedelius – Das Buch" *2017 Music for the soundtrack of Nick Cave for the film "War Machine" *2018 Music for the film "Symphony of Now" to be released 14 February *2018 Music for the film "Die Rueden" from director Connie Walther (not yet released) *2020 : ''Selbstportrait IX – Wahre Liebe'' (studio album) *2020 : Drauf und Dran (studio album) ''Collaborations'' ;With

and

*1997 : ''

'' (credited to either ''Harmonia '76'' or ''Harmonia and Eno '76'') *2009 : ''Harmonia & Eno '76 Remixes'' (remix album) ;With

and

*1977 : '' Cluster & Eno'' (credited to ''Cluster & Eno'') *1978 : '' After the Heat'' (studio album) *1985 : ''

Old Land ''Old Land'' is a Relativity Records 1985 compilation album by Cluster and Brian Eno. All of the tracks had been previously released on two prior albums: '' Cluster & Eno'' and '' After the Heat'', which were released on LP by Sky Records in 1 ...

'' (compilation album) (credited to ''Cluster and Brian Eno'') ;With

and

on Eno's solo album *1977 : ''

Before and after Science ''Before and After Science'' is the fifth studio album by British musician Brian Eno. Produced by Eno and Rhett Davies, it was originally released by Polydor Records in December 1977 in the United Kingdom and by Island U.S. soon after. Musicia ...

'' (studio album) **Track: "By This River" ;With Alexander Czjzek *1987 : ''Weites Land'' (studio album) ;With Aqueous *1994 : ''Grace Notes'' (studio album) *1997 : ''Meeting The Magus'' (studio album) ;With

Richard Barbieri Richard Barbieri (born 30 November 1957) is an English musician, composer and sound designer. Originally a member of new wave band Japan (and their brief 1989–1991 reincarnation as Rain Tree Crow), more recently he is known as the keyboar ...

and Chianura *1998 : ''T'ai'' (studio album) ;With Alquimia *2000 : ''Move and Resonate'' ;With Tim Story (sometimes collectively referred to as ''Lunz'') *2000 : ''The Persistence of Memory'' (studio album) *2002 : ''Lunz'' (studio album) *2005 : ''Lunz-Reinterpretations'' (remix album) *2008 : ''Inlandish'' (studio album) *2014 : ''Lazy Arc'' (studio album) *2018 : ''The Roedelius Cells'' (studio album) *2019 : ''Lunz 3'' (studio album) *2022 : ''4 Hands'' (studio album) ;With

*2001 : ''Acon 2000/1'' (studio album) ;With Fabio Capanni, Felix Dorner, Hirishi Nagashima and

Robin Storey Rapoon is a musical project of Robin Storey, a former member of Zoviet France, who has released material on notable independent labels such as Staalplaat, Soleilmoon, Manifold, Beta-Lactam Ring, and Lens Records. Selected discography * '' ...

*2001 : ''Evermore'' ;With Lynn *2001 : ''Act of Love'' (studio album) ;With Nikos Arvanitis *2002 : ''Digital Love'' (studio album) ;With Noh 1 *2003 : ''Imagine Imagine'' (soundtrack album, released as ''Roedelius and Fratellis'') *2009 : ''Fibre'' (studio album) ;With

Morgan Fisher Stephen Morgan Fisher (born 1 January 1950) is an English keyboard player and composer, and is most known as a member of Mott the Hoople in the early 1970s. However, his career has covered a wide range of musical activities, and he is still ac ...

*2005 : ''

Neverless ''Neverless'' is a collaboration between ambient composers and musicians Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Morgan Fisher. Basic tracks were recorded at Roedelius Studio in Austria and The Handmade Studio in Tokyo. Tracks were overdubbed and mixed by Mo ...

'' (studio album) ;With David Bickley *2008 : ''Bonaventura'' (studio album) ;With Kava *2008 : ''The Gugging Album'' (studio album) ;With Tim Story and Dwight Ashley *2008 : ''Errata'' (studio album) ;With Alessandra Celletti *2009 : ''Sustanza di cose sperata'' (studio album) ;With Christopher Chaplin *2012 : ''King of Hearts'' (studio album) With Andrew Heath and Christopher Chaplin * 2017 :''Triptych in Blue'' (live album) ;With

Lloyd Cole Lloyd Cole (born 31 January 1961) is an English singer and songwriter. He was lead singer of Lloyd Cole and the Commotions from 1984 to 1989 and subsequently worked solo. Early life Cole was born in Buxton, Derbyshire, England. He grew up in ...

*2013 : ''Selected Studies Vol. 1'' (studio album) ;With Leon Muraglia *2015 : ''Ubi Bene'' (studio album) ;With Mateo Latosa and Cesar Gallegos (aka TKU Tecamachalco Underground) *2016 : ''

Latitudes In geography, latitude is a coordinate that specifies the north–south position of a point on the surface of the Earth or another celestial body. Latitude is given as an angle that ranges from –90° at the south pole to 90° at the north pole ...

'' (music installation for photography exhibition, 2014/studio album release, 2016) ;With Arnold Kasar *2017 : ''Einfluss'' ;With Thorsten Quaeschning, Hoshiko Yamane, and Paul Frick *2020 : ''Klangtraube''

References

External links

Biography @ official websiteHans-Joachim Roedelius Official HomepageHANS JOACHIM ROEDELIUS – Contemporary Electronic, Piano and …
*
Hans-Joachim Roedelius, Interview – Human Sound
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roedelius, Hans-Joachim 1934 births Living people Musicians from Berlin German male musicians Ambient musicians German electronic musicians New-age musicians German keyboardists All Saints Records artists E.G. Records artists Grönland Records artists Rykodisc artists PolyGram artists Barclay Records artists Caroline Records artists German Catholics Hitler Youth members East German defectors