Hans-Joachim Roedelius, the 77 year old Berlin musician and former member of Kluster, Cluster, and Harmonia, is an early champion of experimental electronic music, from Kluster's deconstructed, proto-industrial soundscapes to Cluster's spaced out, phaser Krautrock explorations and his work in Harmonia, with Brian Eno and membersof Neu!, collaborating to create soundscapes that mixed analog synth, psychedelic guitar and tape loops. Roedelius began recording solo LPs in 1978, brewing minimalist batches of looping keyboard meditations using pre-beatmaking technology. His solo recordings move from Cluster style space hooks to breezy swaths of warm ambient tones, contemporary with Brian Eno's vivification of the genre. The solo material veers into new age/soundtrack cuts of ambient mellowness; his overall discography tops 80 titles.
Roedelius' 2011 US tour starts at the All Tommorows Parties festival occurring this weekend in Asbury Park, NJ, with Roedelius joining Simeon from late 60's New York electronic/psych freak outfit Silver Apples to perform as Silver Qluster. The tour concludes, appropriately enough, at Moogfest in Asheville, NC.
The recent August 2011 passing of Kluster/Tangerine Dream founder Conrad Schnitzler emphasizes the importance of catching important musicians while they're still around. Congruously, with indie-rock tastemakers' shift in recent years to electronics/synthesizer tunes, it would be shameful to miss out on a rare Richmond appearance from an original leading light of analog synth/krautrock/ambient electronic experimentation.
Opening the Strange Matter show is Roedelius' tourmate, XAMBUCA from Asheville, NC, and Richmond's top dog of noise and manipulated electronics, Gary Stevens, performing as Head Molt. The show will also have visual projections by VJ Megan McKissack.
WHAT: Hans-Joachim Roedelius At Strange Matter!
WHO: Hans-Joachim Roedelius, XAMBUCA, Head Molt. Visuals by Megan McKissack
WHERE: Strange Matter, 929 W. Grace St
WHEN: Wednesday October 5, 9 PM
After the jump, check out a couple of videos from Roedelius's lengthy solo career: