''Selbstportrait – Vol. II'' is the fourth solo album by German keyboardist

Hans-Joachim Roedelius Hans-Joachim Roedelius (born 26 October 1934) is a German electronic music, electronic musician and composer, known as a co-founder of the influential 'kosmische musik, kosmische' groups Cluster (band), Cluster and Harmonia (band), Harmonia. He ...

, best known for his work with

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

Harmonia In Greek mythology, Harmonia (; /Ancient Greek phonology, harmoˈnia/, "harmony", "agreement") is the goddess of harmony and concord. Her Greek opposite is Eris (mythology), Eris and her Roman mythology, Roman counterpart is Concordia (mythol ...

and

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 ...

. The title is German for "Self Portrait - Vol. II", a title which clearly reflects the gentle, introspective nature of this album of

ambient Ambient or ambiance or ambience may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Ambiancé'', an unreleased experimental film * ''Ambient'' (novel), a novel by Jack Womack Music and sound * Ambience (sound recording), also known as atmospheres or backgr ...

new-age music New-age is a genre of music intended to create artistic inspiration, relaxation, and optimism. It is used by listeners for yoga, massage, meditation, and reading as a method of stress management to bring about a state of ecstasy rather tha ...

. It is the second of seven albums in Roedelius' ''Selbsportrait'' series of recordings. The album is subtitled "Freundliche Musik", German for "Friendly Music".

Recording and Release

Like ''

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 ...

'' before it, ''Selbstportrait – Vol. II'' was recorded by Roedelius at his home in Forst, in the

Weser The Weser () is a river of Lower Saxony in north-west Germany. It begins at Hannoversch Münden through the confluence of the Werra and Fulda. It passes through the Hanseatic city of Bremen. Its mouth is further north against the ports o ...

Uplands of

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

and in

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

between various

sessions from 1973 until 1979, so much of the music actually predates Roedelius' first two solo albums: ''

Durch Die Wüste The following is a glossary of terms used in card games. Besides the terms listed here, there are thousands of common and uncommon slang terms. Terms in this glossary should not be game-specific (e.g. specific to bridge, hearts, poker or rummy), ...

'' and ''

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 ...

''. ''Selbstportrait – Vol. II'' was released by

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

in 1980. Seven of the 11 tracks on ''Selbstportrait – Vol. II'' and the entire previous album, ''Selbstportrait'' were released as a single CD titled ''Selbstportrait I & II'' by Sky Records in 1996. The tracks omitted from the combined reissue are "Signal", "Schönheitsflecken", "Grundlsee", and "Regunwurm". The entire album was reissued separately on both 180 gram vinyl LP and CD by the

Bureau-B Bureau B (sometimes quoted as ''Bureau-B'') is an independent record label, Music publisher (popular music), music publisher and Booking agent#Music agents, booking agency from Hamburg, Germany, founded in 2005 in music, 2005 by Gunther Buskies (B ...

label on December 3, 2010.

Track listing

#"Signal" – 0:10 #"Gewiß" – 4:46 #"Aufbruch" – 3:45 #"Schönheitsflecken" – 3:14 #"Alle Jahre wieder" – 4:43Unrelated to the

Christmas carol A Christmas carol is a Carol (music), carol on the theme of Christmas, traditionally sung at Christmas itself or during the surrounding Christmas and holiday season. The term noel has sometimes been used, especially for carols of French or ...

Alle Jahre wieder Alle Jahre wieder (English: "Every year again") is a well-known German Christmas carol. The text was written in 1837 by .Wilhelm Hey: ''Noch funfzig Fabeln für Kinder.'' In Bildern gezeichnet von Otto Speckter. Nebst einem ernsthaften Anhange. Neue ...

" #"Übern Fluß" – 3:45 #"Tee für die Geisha" – 5:25 #"Kichererbsen" – 2:30 #"Grundlsee" – 4:27 #"Regenwurm" – 4:04 #"Thronfloge" – 3:44 #"Signal" – 0:10

Personnel

– Piano, keyboards, producer

Notes

References

* Album liner Notes * Rate Your Musi
Selbstrportrait II by Hans-Joachim Roedelius
Retrieved September 29, 2007. {{DEFAULTSORT:Selbstportrait - Vol. Ii 1980 albums Hans-Joachim Roedelius albums