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Cluster, "Berlin 07"
Historically speaking most musical reunions are, to be polite, lacking. More often than not the group's are well past there prime, and appear to be doing little more than either seeking a paycheck or reclaiming their past glories as pop culture icons. That Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Dieter Moebius' recent Cluster reunion exudes none of these qualities is not so much surprising as it is encouraging. The duo's artistic integrity can hardly be called into question after their near 40-year career, even as they are in a position to exploit their earned roles as godfathers of experimental synth music. Yet Berlin 07, a document of their first show in the city since 1969, displays the duo in fine form as they broaden their legacy by continuing to create vital and challenging music.
The album is broken into two sets, each clocking in at nearly a half hour. The first few seconds are a seeming call to arms for the duo, as a thick drone is topped by a near sountrack-worthy big band phrase before it slinks back in favor of the taught electronic improvsations that the duo has become known for since their classic Cluster 71 was released over 30 years ago. As huge swathes of air wipe across a frozen drone line, it is immediately clear that the duo has lost none of their patience. Bell like chimes soon loop in as a rhythmic bongo-like pulse urges the work forward.
Cluster have always had a knack for working around rhythmic motifs without allowing them too strong a hold on the progression of a piece. As the pulse slinks away it is replaced by hollow, water-logged vaults of sound that glisten atop one another. Clouds of fertile gestures emerge and present themselves before slinking back, creating an unnerving environment that never becomes creepy for creepy's sake. Rather, their sound is more reminiscent of a night swim with blue whales as giant bodies of tone lazily drift by in the dark while glowing crustaceons sway in the tides. It is a beautiful space, in line with Cluster's previous work without being a mere rehash of previous material. Sampled, near dancey beats enter and exit as the sound moves toward that of saws and metallic echoes ceaselessly evolving.
The second half of the performance explores similarly paced material as Cluster continue to display their adept musicality, beginning in an eighties style electrobeat that creeps along as synth moves swirl about on top. Again, Moebius and Roedelius are able to move from area to area without ever losing momentum. Gestures are looped over one another only to be replaced by others. That loops will disintegrate with ease and leave nothing lacking in the overall effect reveals the capabilities of these master improvisers. Never is one area sanctioned off from its neighboring parts by any definitive marker--rather, the different areas bend through one another, morphing with organic ease.
As bells harken the demise of the beat, the second part enters into the same snaking and aimless waters that have influenced so many over the years. Yet despite the ample achievements of disciples whose work has helped shape as stylistically broad genres as noise, industrial, techno and rock, Cluster again show their work to be unique in its successful fusing of aesthetics that only later would be explored individually. Berlin 07 is an album that not only strengthens this assertion; it continues in shaping its legacy.
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