Cluster II

Released

Even though he is no longer considered a part of the group by the time of this album, Conny Plank is listed and credited as composer and producer. We still can’t call this a synth album because Roedelius and Moebius are using a variety of electronic tools, and they don’t often let arpeggiators and sequencers do their thing. They lay hands on keyboards and guitars and knobs and stick with the music. A masterful sense of space and silence blooms on this album. Some of this is just Moebius tapping on a guitar and sending it through echo but he is able to make the result feel like ice dripping in a harboring cave. Some of the sounds here are so doomy, like bits of Sabbath hacked up and run through a small oven. The organ! Cluster II feels simultaneously ancient and modern, even in 2022. Moebius is so crisp with his little guitar figures! A rich socket of sound.

Sasha Frere-Jones

Suggestions
Opal cover

Opal

Embryo
Steamroom 35 cover

Steamroom 35

Jim O'Rourke
Cascade cover

Cascade

William Basinski
Anyhow cover

Anyhow

Leland Whitty
A Blues cover

A Blues

Rat Heart Ensemble
async cover

async

Ryuichi Sakamoto
Gallarais cover

Gallarais

Áine O'Dwyer
Foras cover

Foras

Siavash Amini
Live 1974 cover

Live 1974

Harmonia