The latest project from
Hans-Joachim Roedelius
of
Cluster
/
Kluster
and
Harmonia
fame is
Qluster
, a duo with
Onnen Bock
Zeitkratzer
. And even though
Bock
is roughly half
Roedelius
' age, the two men communicate very well on the seven analog synth improvisations that make up the disc. Many of them fit into the darkened kosmische music territory
explored so ably in the 1970s, before moving into neo-classical composition, but others represent entirely new areas of investigation for him.
"Wurzelwelt"
sounds like an early-'80s instrumental by
the Residents
, with its dripping-water percussion sounds, haunted-house music-box sounds, and off-kilter melody.
"Haste Toene,"
on the other hand, is a slowly blossoming piece not far from early-'90s ambient work by
Aphex Twin
or
the Orb
. And
are masters of the recording studio; there are sub-bass rumbles here that would make
Bill Laswell
swallow his tongue with envy. Like many classic analog synth discs from the '70s by
,
Klaus Schulze
Tangerine Dream
, et al.,
Fragen
sounds like an entirely different album when heard through headphones rather than speakers, and vice versa. But no matter how you listen to it, it's a very strong addition to the
discography, and the history of synthesizer music in general. ~ Phil Freeman