Harmonia (band)
Encyclopedia
Harmonia is a Krautrock
supergroup from Germany
. They formed as a collaboration between Michael Rother
of Neu!
and Hans-Joachim Roedelius
and Dieter Möbius
of Cluster
and later included the British musician Brian Eno
.
, leaned more towards that band's ambient
-tinged rock than Neu's Motorik
rock. The second album Deluxe
had much stronger beats and a more Motorik and arguably more commercial sound. With the addition of Brian Eno for the 1976 recording sessions the third album, Tracks and Traces
, was again more ambient in style.
, moved to the rural village of Forst
, West Germany
. Michael Rother
put his project Neu!
on hold in early 1973 to form the band Harmonia with Roedelius and Moebius. Together they built their own studio in Forst and recorded two albums under the name Harmonia: Musik Von Harmonia
in 1974 and Deluxe
in 1975, both released on Brain
.
Musician, writer, and rock historian Julian Cope
places both albums in his Krautrock Top 50. The trio also toured and a new recording drawn from this period, Live 1974 was released on the UK-based Grönland Records
label on October 22, 2007 and the San Francisco based Water Records label in the United States on December 11, 2007.
After the release of the first Harmonia album and a period on tour Michael Rother took a short break from Harmonia to record the third Neu!
album with Klaus Dinger
, Neu! '75
in order to complete his contractual obligations. In his absence Cluster recorded Zuckerzeit
. Rother did not participate on this album but his influence is greatly felt. Zuckerzeit sounds different from any other Cluster album, with clearly defined melody and beat and a very rhythmic sound, at times approaching the Motorik
style of Neu!
After the release of Deluxe Harmonia went back to touring until Roedelius, Moebius and Rother ended their collaboration in summer 1976. All three members started solo projects but rejoined as Harmonia in September 1976 when Brian Eno
visited them in Forst for 11 days, living and recording with Harmonia. The material for Tracks and Traces
was not released until 1997 because the tapes were long considered lost.
Various websites quote Eno as saying that Harmonia was "the world's most important rock band" in the mid '70s, including Sherman Wick in his review of Musik Von Harmonia. Daniel Dumych, who also cites that quote, writes in his article for hyperreal.org: "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." Clearly Eno had been very impressed with both Musik von Harmonia and Zuckerzeit and had joined Harmonia once live in 1974, jamming with the group at The Fabrik in Hamburg
.
Harmonia continued to influence Brian Eno's work long after its demise. A review of Musik Von Harmonia on the Cult Cargo website cites the track "Ahoi" as "the blueprint for a couple of the tracks on Eno's Apollo
LP, with its minimalist picked guitar and simple piano runs."
Harmonia reunited in 2007 following the release of their album „Live 1974“, a recording of their concert of 23 March 1974 at Penny Station Club in Griessem, Germany. Rother, Roedelius and Moebius performed live as Harmonia for the first time since 1976, opening the Worldtronics Festival at the Haus der Kulturen der Welt in Berlin
, Germany
on November 27, 2007.
Harmonia made their first live appearance in the UK on 18 April 2008, playing on the opening night of the Ether Festival in the Queen Elizabeth Hall
at Southbank Centre, London. In July 2008 the band also headlined the final day of the Supersonic Festival
in Birmingham.
Harmonia further appeared at the All Tomorrow's Parties
music festival in the UK in May 2008, at the Numusic festival in Stavanger, Norway, at an edition of ATP curated by My Bloody Valentine in New York in September 2008 and at the Australian series of the festival, curated by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
in January 2009.
In September 2009 an extended version of Tracks and Traces will be released by Gronland. The new album features three additional tracks from the Harmonia & Eno ´76 collaboration.
Krautrock
Krautrock is a generic name for the experimental music scenes that appeared in Germany in the late 1960s and gained popularity throughout the 1970s, especially in Britain. The term is a result of the English-speaking world's reception of the music at the time and not a reference to any one...
supergroup from Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. They formed as a collaboration between Michael Rother
Michael Rother
Michael Rother is a German experimental Krautrock musician and composer.- Early life and education :Born in 1950, Rother went to school in Munich, Wilmslow , Karachi, and Düsseldorf. He also lived in Pakistan in the early 1960s where he was exposed to Pakistani music that would influence his own...
of Neu!
Neu!
Neu! was a German band formed by Klaus Dinger and Michael Rother after their split from Kraftwerk in the early 1970s...
and Hans-Joachim Roedelius
Hans Joachim Roedelius
Hans-Joachim Roedelius is a German experimental, ambient and electronic musician. He is best known as a co-founder of the krautrock groups Cluster and Harmonia and for his work in the ambient jazz trio Aquarello.-Biography:...
and Dieter Möbius
Dieter Moebius
Dieter Moebius is a German/Swiss experimental/krautrock/ambient/electronic musician.Moebius studied art in Brussels and Berlin and met there Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Conrad Schnitzler . They founded a band Kluster in 1969. After the departure of Schnitzler, they changed their name to Cluster...
of Cluster
Cluster (band)
Cluster is a German experimental musical group who influenced the development of contemporary popular electronic and ambient music. They have recorded albums in a wide variety of styles ranging from experimental music to progressive rock, all of which had an avant-garde edge. Cluster has been...
and later included the British musician Brian Eno
Brian Eno
Brian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno , commonly known as Brian Eno or simply as Eno , is an English musician, composer, record producer, singer and visual artist, known as one of the principal innovators of ambient music.Eno studied at Colchester Institute art school in Essex,...
.
Musical style
As two-thirds of the original group were the entirety of Cluster, the first album, Musik Von HarmoniaMusik Von Harmonia
Musik Von Harmonia is the debut album from the highly influential Krautrock/Kosmische Musik group Harmonia. Harmonia, was formed by the addition of Neu! guitarist Michael Rother to Cluster, the duo of Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Dieter Moebius....
, leaned more towards that band's ambient
Ambient music
Ambient music is a musical genre that focuses largely on the timbral characteristics of sounds, often organized or performed to evoke an "atmospheric", "visual" or "unobtrusive" quality.- History :...
-tinged rock than Neu's Motorik
Motorik
Motorik is a term coined by music journalists to describe the 4/4 beat often used by "Krautrock" bands such as Neu! and Kraftwerk...
rock. The second album Deluxe
Deluxe (Harmonia album)
Deluxe is the second album from the highly influential Krautrock/Kosmische Musik group Harmonia. Harmonia was formed by the addition of Neu! guitarist Michael Rother to Cluster, the duo of Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Dieter Moebius....
had much stronger beats and a more Motorik and arguably more commercial sound. With the addition of Brian Eno for the 1976 recording sessions the third album, Tracks and Traces
Tracks and Traces
Tracks and Traces is the one and only album credited to Harmonia '76, but it is generally regarded as the third album by the highly influential Krautrock/Kosmische Musik group Harmonia. Harmonia was formed by the addition of Neu! guitarist Michael Rother to Cluster, the duo of Hans-Joachim...
, was again more ambient in style.
History
In 1971 the duo of Moebius and Roedelius, also known as ClusterCluster (band)
Cluster is a German experimental musical group who influenced the development of contemporary popular electronic and ambient music. They have recorded albums in a wide variety of styles ranging from experimental music to progressive rock, all of which had an avant-garde edge. Cluster has been...
, moved to the rural village of Forst
Forst, Lower Saxony
Forst is a district of the municipality Bevern, Lower Saxony, Germany.Forst lies in the Weserbergland.In the 1970s, the musicians Hans-Joachim Roedelius, Dieter Moebius and Michael Rother lived there.....
, West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
. Michael Rother
Michael Rother
Michael Rother is a German experimental Krautrock musician and composer.- Early life and education :Born in 1950, Rother went to school in Munich, Wilmslow , Karachi, and Düsseldorf. He also lived in Pakistan in the early 1960s where he was exposed to Pakistani music that would influence his own...
put his project Neu!
Neu!
Neu! was a German band formed by Klaus Dinger and Michael Rother after their split from Kraftwerk in the early 1970s...
on hold in early 1973 to form the band Harmonia with Roedelius and Moebius. Together they built their own studio in Forst and recorded two albums under the name Harmonia: Musik Von Harmonia
Musik Von Harmonia
Musik Von Harmonia is the debut album from the highly influential Krautrock/Kosmische Musik group Harmonia. Harmonia, was formed by the addition of Neu! guitarist Michael Rother to Cluster, the duo of Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Dieter Moebius....
in 1974 and Deluxe
Deluxe (Harmonia album)
Deluxe is the second album from the highly influential Krautrock/Kosmische Musik group Harmonia. Harmonia was formed by the addition of Neu! guitarist Michael Rother to Cluster, the duo of Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Dieter Moebius....
in 1975, both released on Brain
Brain Records
Brain was a Hamburg-based record label prominent in the 1970s releasing several important Krautrock records by bands such as Neu!, Cluster and Guru Guru...
.
Musician, writer, and rock historian Julian Cope
Julian Cope
Julian Cope is a British rock musician, author, antiquary, musicologist, poet and cultural commentator...
places both albums in his Krautrock Top 50. The trio also toured and a new recording drawn from this period, Live 1974 was released on the UK-based Grönland Records
Grönland Records
Grönland Records is an independent record label originally founded in London, England, which relocated to Berlin, Germany in 2009. "Grönland" refers both to the country and the label's founder, Herbert Grönemeyer.-Origin:...
label on October 22, 2007 and the San Francisco based Water Records label in the United States on December 11, 2007.
After the release of the first Harmonia album and a period on tour Michael Rother took a short break from Harmonia to record the third Neu!
Neu!
Neu! was a German band formed by Klaus Dinger and Michael Rother after their split from Kraftwerk in the early 1970s...
album with Klaus Dinger
Klaus Dinger
Klaus Dinger was a German musician and songwriter most famous for his contributions to the seminal krautrock outfit, Neu! He was also the guitarist and chief songwriter of new wave group La Düsseldorf and briefly the percussionist of Kraftwerk.-Pre-Neu! :Klaus Dinger was born in Scherfede,...
, Neu! '75
Neu! '75
- Personnel :Band members* Michael Rother – guitar, keyboards, vocals* Klaus Dinger – guitar , drums , vocals * Thomas Dinger – drums* Hans Lampe – drumsAdditional personnel...
in order to complete his contractual obligations. In his absence Cluster recorded Zuckerzeit
Zuckerzeit
Zuckerzeit is the third full-length album by German electronic music outfit Cluster. It was co-produced by Michael Rother, their bandmate in Harmonia...
. Rother did not participate on this album but his influence is greatly felt. Zuckerzeit sounds different from any other Cluster album, with clearly defined melody and beat and a very rhythmic sound, at times approaching the Motorik
Motorik
Motorik is a term coined by music journalists to describe the 4/4 beat often used by "Krautrock" bands such as Neu! and Kraftwerk...
style of Neu!
After the release of Deluxe Harmonia went back to touring until Roedelius, Moebius and Rother ended their collaboration in summer 1976. All three members started solo projects but rejoined as Harmonia in September 1976 when Brian Eno
Brian Eno
Brian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno , commonly known as Brian Eno or simply as Eno , is an English musician, composer, record producer, singer and visual artist, known as one of the principal innovators of ambient music.Eno studied at Colchester Institute art school in Essex,...
visited them in Forst for 11 days, living and recording with Harmonia. The material for Tracks and Traces
Tracks and Traces
Tracks and Traces is the one and only album credited to Harmonia '76, but it is generally regarded as the third album by the highly influential Krautrock/Kosmische Musik group Harmonia. Harmonia was formed by the addition of Neu! guitarist Michael Rother to Cluster, the duo of Hans-Joachim...
was not released until 1997 because the tapes were long considered lost.
Various websites quote Eno as saying that Harmonia was "the world's most important rock band" in the mid '70s, including Sherman Wick in his review of Musik Von Harmonia. Daniel Dumych, who also cites that quote, writes in his article for hyperreal.org: "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." Clearly Eno had been very impressed with both Musik von Harmonia and Zuckerzeit and had joined Harmonia once live in 1974, jamming with the group at The Fabrik in Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
.
Harmonia continued to influence Brian Eno's work long after its demise. A review of Musik Von Harmonia on the Cult Cargo website cites the track "Ahoi" as "the blueprint for a couple of the tracks on Eno's Apollo
Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks
-Credits:* Musicians: Brian Eno, Daniel Lanois, Roger Eno* Cover Art : Russel Mills* Mastered by Greg Calbi, at Sterling Sound-Versions:-Chart performance:-Uses in other media:* "An Ending ":** TV - James May on the Moon - opening sequence...
LP, with its minimalist picked guitar and simple piano runs."
Harmonia reunited in 2007 following the release of their album „Live 1974“, a recording of their concert of 23 March 1974 at Penny Station Club in Griessem, Germany. Rother, Roedelius and Moebius performed live as Harmonia for the first time since 1976, opening the Worldtronics Festival at the Haus der Kulturen der Welt in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
on November 27, 2007.
Harmonia made their first live appearance in the UK on 18 April 2008, playing on the opening night of the Ether Festival in the Queen Elizabeth Hall
Queen Elizabeth Hall
The Queen Elizabeth Hall is a music venue on the South Bank in London, United Kingdom that hosts daily classical, jazz, and avant-garde music and dance performances. The QEH forms part of Southbank Centre arts complex and stands alongside the Royal Festival Hall, which was built for the Festival...
at Southbank Centre, London. In July 2008 the band also headlined the final day of the Supersonic Festival
Supersonic Festival
Supersonic Festival is a yearly music festival in Birmingham featuring a combination of music, art, film and and other crafts. It continues to join boundaries between music and art, by inviting people to engage with both through a programme of avant garde sound and performance as well as hands-on...
in Birmingham.
Harmonia further appeared at the All Tomorrow's Parties
All Tomorrow's Parties
"All Tomorrow's Parties" is a song by The Velvet UndergroundAll Tomorrow's Parties may also refer to:* All Tomorrow's Parties , an annual festival in England...
music festival in the UK in May 2008, at the Numusic festival in Stavanger, Norway, at an edition of ATP curated by My Bloody Valentine in New York in September 2008 and at the Australian series of the festival, curated by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds are an Australian alternative rock band, formed in Melbourne in 1983. The band is fronted by Nick Cave and has featured international personnel throughout their career.-Formation and early releases :...
in January 2009.
In September 2009 an extended version of Tracks and Traces will be released by Gronland. The new album features three additional tracks from the Harmonia & Eno ´76 collaboration.
Members
- Michael RotherMichael RotherMichael Rother is a German experimental Krautrock musician and composer.- Early life and education :Born in 1950, Rother went to school in Munich, Wilmslow , Karachi, and Düsseldorf. He also lived in Pakistan in the early 1960s where he was exposed to Pakistani music that would influence his own...
(1973–1976, 2007–present) - Hans-Joachim Roedelius (1973–1976, 2007–present)
- Dieter MoebiusDieter MoebiusDieter Moebius is a German/Swiss experimental/krautrock/ambient/electronic musician.Moebius studied art in Brussels and Berlin and met there Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Conrad Schnitzler . They founded a band Kluster in 1969. After the departure of Schnitzler, they changed their name to Cluster...
(1973–1976, 2007–present) - Brian EnoBrian EnoBrian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno , commonly known as Brian Eno or simply as Eno , is an English musician, composer, record producer, singer and visual artist, known as one of the principal innovators of ambient music.Eno studied at Colchester Institute art school in Essex,...
(1976) - Mani NeumeierMani NeumeierMani Neumeier is a German rock musician, free jazz-drummer, artist, frontman of the German Krautrock-band Guru Guru....
– drums (1975)
Discography
- 1974 Musik Von HarmoniaMusik Von HarmoniaMusik Von Harmonia is the debut album from the highly influential Krautrock/Kosmische Musik group Harmonia. Harmonia, was formed by the addition of Neu! guitarist Michael Rother to Cluster, the duo of Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Dieter Moebius....
(studio album) - 1975 DeluxeDeluxe (Harmonia album)Deluxe is the second album from the highly influential Krautrock/Kosmische Musik group Harmonia. Harmonia was formed by the addition of Neu! guitarist Michael Rother to Cluster, the duo of Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Dieter Moebius....
(studio album) - 1997 Tracks and TracesTracks and TracesTracks and Traces is the one and only album credited to Harmonia '76, but it is generally regarded as the third album by the highly influential Krautrock/Kosmische Musik group Harmonia. Harmonia was formed by the addition of Neu! guitarist Michael Rother to Cluster, the duo of Hans-Joachim...
(studio album) (as Harmonia '76) - 2007 Live 1974 (live album)
See also
- German rockGerman rockAlthough German rock music didn't come into its own until the late 1960s, it spawned many innovative and influential bands spanning genres such as krautrock, New Wave, heavy metal, punk, and industrial....
- ClusterCluster (band)Cluster is a German experimental musical group who influenced the development of contemporary popular electronic and ambient music. They have recorded albums in a wide variety of styles ranging from experimental music to progressive rock, all of which had an avant-garde edge. Cluster has been...
- Brian EnoBrian EnoBrian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno , commonly known as Brian Eno or simply as Eno , is an English musician, composer, record producer, singer and visual artist, known as one of the principal innovators of ambient music.Eno studied at Colchester Institute art school in Essex,...
- KlusterKlusterKluster is a German experimental musical group whose work often resembles later industrial music.The original Kluster was short-lived, existing only from 1969 until mid-1971 when Conrad Schnitzler left and the remaining two members renamed themselves Cluster...
- KraftwerkKraftwerkKraftwerk is an influential electronic music band from Düsseldorf, Germany. The group was formed by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider in 1970, and was fronted by them until Schneider's departure in 2008...
- Dieter MoebiusDieter MoebiusDieter Moebius is a German/Swiss experimental/krautrock/ambient/electronic musician.Moebius studied art in Brussels and Berlin and met there Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Conrad Schnitzler . They founded a band Kluster in 1969. After the departure of Schnitzler, they changed their name to Cluster...
- Neu!Neu!Neu! was a German band formed by Klaus Dinger and Michael Rother after their split from Kraftwerk in the early 1970s...
- Hans-Joachim Roedelius
- Michael RotherMichael RotherMichael Rother is a German experimental Krautrock musician and composer.- Early life and education :Born in 1950, Rother went to school in Munich, Wilmslow , Karachi, and Düsseldorf. He also lived in Pakistan in the early 1960s where he was exposed to Pakistani music that would influence his own...