In 1973, Cluster were living in the rural West German village of Forst when Neu! guitarist Michael Rother visited, hoping the duo would serve as a backing band for Neu! live performances.[2] Upon jamming with Moebius and Roedelius, Rother claimed that "it was sort of a musical love at first sight, really [...] it was just something I hadn’t experienced before."[2] He dropped his plans and remained in Forst to record with the duo as Harmonia.[2] Rother would also bring some of his equipment, including Farfisa organs, a stereo mixer, and an Elka Drummer One rhythm machine.[3]
The LP's pop art-styled sleeve artwork was designed by Moebius and resembles an advertisement for a cleaning fluid.[4]
Releases
It was first released on the Brain Records label in 1974. In 1979 the album was reissued by Brain under the name Dino with different artwork. There was an official CD release from German Polygram in 1992, which was deleted fairly quickly. 1994 saw the appearance of CDs on the Germanofon label. This dubious company, supposedly based in Luxembourg, released numerous Krautrock albums without proper authorization or paying royalties, in effect producing bootlegs that somehow found their way into mainstream distribution. The Germanofon CDs were transfers from vinyl LPs and generally were of inferior sound quality.
There were official Japanese releases (again from Polygram) in the late 1990s and early 2000s, but the next official Western CD release was not until 23 February 2004 on the Motor Music label, a subsidiary of the Universal Music Group (which had taken over from Polygram in the meanwhile). It was also reissued in 2005 by the Russian label Lilith, and by the Revisited Records label in 2007.
Ned Raggett's review for AllMusic opens: "The debut Harmonia album is at once a product of their source bands and a fine new twist on them, resulting in music that captures what for many is the Krautrock ideal..." He adds, "...it's at once playful and murky, steady and mechanical, a supergroup of sorts who easily achieves and maintains such a seemingly overstated status by embracing a variety of approaches that work wonders."[5]Uncut named the album and its 1975 successor Deluxe as "among the best Krautrock had to offer, gentler than Can or Faust, but with their shimmering keyboards and mechanical rhythms, every bit as compelling.[8]Artforum described the album as "a series of sonic vignettes in which the anarchic impulses of Kluster/Cluster were refined and channeled into controlled, Apollonian mechanics and repetitive electronic melodies with soft, synthetic textures."[4]
Pitchfork stated that the group's debut "was a precise meeting of their constituent parts—Roedelius’ eerie beauty, Möbius’ sense of tension, Rother’s cool exploration—with each member contributing to the sound equally."[7] It was Musik von Harmonia that reportedly had Brian Eno proclaiming that Harmonia was "the world's most important rock band" at the time. Daniel Dumych writes: "Perhaps Eno's reason for praising Harmonia so highly was that their music fit the requirements of ambient rock. Its music was equally suitable for active or passive listening. The careful listener found his/her attentions rewarded by the musical activities and sounds, but Harmonia's music was also capable of setting a sonic environment."
Musician, writer, and rock historian Julian Cope includes Musik von Harmonia in his Top 50 Krautrock albums.
Track listing
All tracks written by Dieter Moebius, Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Michael Rother
Raggett, Ned Allmusic review. Retrieved September 2, 2007.
Rother, Michael Harmonia web page. Retrieved September 2, 2007.
Dumych, Daniel Harmonia article. Retrieved September 2, 2007.
Wick, Sherman . Retrieved September 2, 2007.
Cope, Julian . Retrieved September 4, 2007.
January 06, 2023
musik, harmonia, debut, album, from, influential, german, krautrock, group, harmonia, released, january, 1974, brain, records, formed, addition, guitarist, michael, rother, cluster, hans, joachim, roedelius, dieter, moebius, they, recorded, album, from, june, . Musik von Harmonia is the debut album from the influential German krautrock group Harmonia released in January 1974 by Brain Records Formed by the addition of Neu guitarist Michael Rother to Cluster the duo of Hans Joachim Roedelius and Dieter Moebius they recorded the album from June to November 1973 in Cluster s Forst recording studio It was self produced by the group using a primitive mixer and three tape recorders 1 Musik von HarmoniaStudio album by HarmoniaReleasedJanuary 1974RecordedJune November 1973GenreKrautrockkosmischeelectronicLength42 05LabelBrainProducerHarmoniaHarmonia chronologyMusik von Harmonia 1974 Deluxe 1975 Contents 1 Background 2 Releases 3 Critical reception 4 Track listing 5 Personnel 6 ReferencesBackground EditIn 1973 Cluster were living in the rural West German village of Forst when Neu guitarist Michael Rother visited hoping the duo would serve as a backing band for Neu live performances 2 Upon jamming with Moebius and Roedelius Rother claimed that it was sort of a musical love at first sight really it was just something I hadn t experienced before 2 He dropped his plans and remained in Forst to record with the duo as Harmonia 2 Rother would also bring some of his equipment including Farfisa organs a stereo mixer and an Elka Drummer One rhythm machine 3 The LP s pop art styled sleeve artwork was designed by Moebius and resembles an advertisement for a cleaning fluid 4 Releases EditIt was first released on the Brain Records label in 1974 In 1979 the album was reissued by Brain under the name Dino with different artwork There was an official CD release from German Polygram in 1992 which was deleted fairly quickly 1994 saw the appearance of CDs on the Germanofon label This dubious company supposedly based in Luxembourg released numerous Krautrock albums without proper authorization or paying royalties in effect producing bootlegs that somehow found their way into mainstream distribution The Germanofon CDs were transfers from vinyl LPs and generally were of inferior sound quality There were official Japanese releases again from Polygram in the late 1990s and early 2000s but the next official Western CD release was not until 23 February 2004 on the Motor Music label a subsidiary of the Universal Music Group which had taken over from Polygram in the meanwhile It was also reissued in 2005 by the Russian label Lilith and by the Revisited Records label in 2007 Critical reception EditProfessional ratingsReview scoresSourceRatingAllMusic 5 Head Heritagevery favourable 6 Pitchfork Media8 5 10 7 Uncutvery favourable 8 Ned Raggett s review for AllMusic opens The debut Harmonia album is at once a product of their source bands and a fine new twist on them resulting in music that captures what for many is the Krautrock ideal He adds it s at once playful and murky steady and mechanical a supergroup of sorts who easily achieves and maintains such a seemingly overstated status by embracing a variety of approaches that work wonders 5 Uncut named the album and its 1975 successor Deluxe as among the best Krautrock had to offer gentler than Can or Faust but with their shimmering keyboards and mechanical rhythms every bit as compelling 8 Artforum described the album as a series of sonic vignettes in which the anarchic impulses of Kluster Cluster were refined and channeled into controlled Apollonian mechanics and repetitive electronic melodies with soft synthetic textures 4 Pitchfork stated that the group s debut was a precise meeting of their constituent parts Roedelius eerie beauty Mobius sense of tension Rother s cool exploration with each member contributing to the sound equally 7 It was Musik von Harmonia that reportedly had Brian Eno proclaiming that Harmonia was the world s most important rock band at the time Daniel Dumych writes Perhaps Eno s reason for praising Harmonia so highly was that their music fit the requirements of ambient rock Its music was equally suitable for active or passive listening The careful listener found his her attentions rewarded by the musical activities and sounds but Harmonia s music was also capable of setting a sonic environment Musician writer and rock historian Julian Cope includes Musik von Harmonia in his Top 50 Krautrock albums Track listing EditAll tracks written by Dieter Moebius Hans Joachim Roedelius and Michael Rother Watussi Watusi 6 00 Sehr Kosmisch Very Cosmic 10 50 Sonnenschein Sunshine 3 50 Dino 3 30 Ohrwurm Earworm 5 05 Ahoi Ahoy 5 00 Veterano 3 55 Hausmusik House Music 4 30Personnel EditHarmoniaHans Joachim Roedelius organ piano guitar electric percussion Michael Rother guitar piano organ electric percussion Dieter Moebius synthesizer guitar electric percussionReferences Edit Story Gronland Retrieved 6 July 2019 a b c Woodbury Jason P 40 Years of Krautrock Supergroup Harmonia Pitchfork Retrieved 5 July 2019 Stubbs David 2015 Future Days Krautrock and the Birth of a Revolutionary New Music Melville ISBN 9781612194745 Retrieved 3 May 2019 a b Young Rob Dieter Moebius 1944 2015 Artforum Retrieved 25 January 2020 a b Raggett Ned Harmonia Musik von Harmonia Retrieved 1 March 2019 Julian Cope presents Head Heritage Unsung Reviews Harmonia Musik von Harmonia a b Harmonia Harmonia amp Eno 76 Complete Works Pitchfork a b Uncut Album Reviews Harmonia Raggett Ned Allmusic review Retrieved September 2 2007 Rother Michael Harmonia web page Retrieved September 2 2007 Dumych Daniel Harmonia article Retrieved September 2 2007 Wick Sherman Musik Von Harmonia review Retrieved September 2 2007 Cope Julian A Krautrock Top 50 Retrieved September 4 2007 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Musik von Harmonia amp oldid 1118405303, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
