Cluster (album)

Cluster
Studio album by Cluster
Released	1971
Recorded	1971
Genre	Krautrock Experimental Music Electronic music Ambient Music
Length	44:28
Label	Philips
Producer	Conrad Plank
Cluster chronology
Cluster (1971) Cluster II (1972)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]

Cluster is the eponymous first full-length album by German electronic music outfit Cluster. It is also the only album on which Conrad Plank is credited as a member. Cluster was recorded at Star-Studio in Hamburg, Germany in January, 1971. It was Cluster's only release for the Philips label.

Cluster began a transition away from the discordant, proto-industrial sound of Kluster towards a more electronic sound. Russ Curry of Curious Music credited Conny Plank with the change of direction, describing it as having "...continued the commitment to improvisation but developed a focus on sound structure..."^[2] Instrumentation included a pair of organs, Hawaiian guitar, cello, and audio generators, all played by Moebius and Rodelius, all of which were electronically treated by Conny Plank.

Thom Jurek, writing Allmusic review, describes Cluster, in part as: "...a dislocating, disorienting meld of random space music, industrial noise, proto-ambient atmospherics, feedback, and soundwash..."^[3] The editorial review on the Amazon.com website states, in part:

"The three untitled tracks composed and performed by Moebius and Roedelius are exploratory, ever-changing pieces with focuses on guitar distortion and synthesizer wails, though each goes far beyond. This album deserves the many accolades it's been given, and holds up as an early landmark in the history of beatless ambience."^[4]

"The Wire" places Cluster's self-titled debut album in their "One Hundred Records That Set The World On Fire".^[5]

The album was reissued with new artwork and a new title, Cluster '71, by Sky Records in 1980. Cluster '71 was digitally remastered (from a vinyl source, not a tape) and reissued on CD in 1996^[6] by Sky with new artwork: a total of three different cover designs for the album to date. It received its first U.S release in 2006 on the San Francisco based Water label. The Water reissue restored the original Philips cover art but retains the Cluster '71 name. A 1,000 copy limited remastered edition of Cluster '71 with the original Sky LP cover art was reissued by the Japanese Captain Trip label on September 20, 2007.^[7]

It was re-released once again in 2010 by bureau b with the original cover leaving out the "71".^[8]

Track listing

1. [untitled] – 15:33
2. [untitled] – 7:38
3. [untitled] – 21:17

Personnel

• Hans-Joachim Roedelius – organ, electronically treated cello, audio-generator, amplifier
• Dieter Moebius – organ, Hawaiian guitar, audio-generator, amplifier, helias
• Conrad Plank – electronics, effects, producer

Notes

External links

• Cluster - Cluster at Discogs Retrieved February 20, 2008.
• Ground and Sky progreviews.com Cluster '71 Review Retrieved August 18, 2007.

• Mosurak, Doug Duster Magazine review Retrieved October 7, 2007.
• Prog Archives Cluster '71 Retrieved October 7, 2007.