Zwei-Osterei
Encyclopedia
Zwei-Osterei is the second full-length album by German experimental music trio Kluster
. The album title translates to English as "Two - Easter egg
".
Zwei-Osterei was recorded on February 23, 1970 at Rhenus-Studio, Gordorf, Germany
. Zwei-Osterei was released in 1971 on the Schwann label. Only 300 copies of the original LP were pressed and sold.
The trio played piano, guitar, cello, flute, percussion, and organ, all of which were electronically treated by engineer Konrad (Conny) Plank
. According to Conrad Schnitzler in a 1980 interview he gave to David Elliott an advertisement by an organist interested in new music
led to the recording session being sponsored by a church. Kluster was required to add religious text to the first side of the album to obtain this sponsorship. The text was read by Manfred Paethe. The text was written by Rudolf Bohren, Kurt Marti
, Dorothee Solle
, Rudolf Otto Weimer, Lisolette Rauner and Hilde Domin
. Schnitzler describes the text: "If you don't understand the German words, it sounds better. [...] If you know what it means, you'll find it terrible."
CD copies of Zwei-Osterei first appeared in record stores in 1994. These early copies were issued by the dubious reportedly Luxembourg
-based Germanofon label, who produced numerous unauthorized and illegal (bootleg) Krautrock
reissues and managed to get them into mainstream distribution. The Germanofon CDs were transcribed from well worn vinyl and have inferior sound quality. These bootlegs also incorrectly named the band Cluster
.
The album was first legally reissued on the U.S. based Hypnotic label in 1996 with new cover art and a sticker touting Cluster and Conrad Schnitzler's previous membership in Tangerine Dream. This CD reissue also contains a 15 minute long bonus track from the 1980 Cluster & Farnbauer release Live In Vienna
. The album was also reissued on the Japanese Captain Trip label on April 20, 2007 as a 450 copy limited edition with the original cover art and a bonus track by Schnitzler's later band Eruption
, Cold Winter, from their 1971 sessions.
Kluster
Kluster 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...
. The album title translates to English as "Two - Easter egg
Easter egg
Easter eggs are special eggs that are often given to celebrate Easter or springtime.The oldest tradition is to use dyed or painted chicken eggs, but a modern custom is to substitute chocolate eggs, or plastic eggs filled with confectionery such as jelly beans...
".
Zwei-Osterei was recorded on February 23, 1970 at Rhenus-Studio, Gordorf, 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...
. Zwei-Osterei was released in 1971 on the Schwann label. Only 300 copies of the original LP were pressed and sold.
The trio played piano, guitar, cello, flute, percussion, and organ, all of which were electronically treated by engineer Konrad (Conny) Plank
Conny Plank
Konrad "Conny" Plank was a German record producer and musician. He was born in Hütschenhausen. His creativity as a sound engineer and producer helped to shape some of the most important and innovative recordings of postwar European popular music, covering a wide range of genres including...
. According to Conrad Schnitzler in a 1980 interview he gave to David Elliott an advertisement by an organist interested in new music
Contemporary classical music
Contemporary classical music can be understood as belonging to the period that started in the mid-1970s with the retreat of modernism. However, the term may also be employed in a broader sense to refer to all post-1945 modern musical forms.-Categorization:...
led to the recording session being sponsored by a church. Kluster was required to add religious text to the first side of the album to obtain this sponsorship. The text was read by Manfred Paethe. The text was written by Rudolf Bohren, Kurt Marti
Kurt Marti
Kurt Marti is a Swiss theologian and poet. His poetry often has theological and religious aspects to it. He is also known for "dialect literature" said to have intellectual quality.- References :...
, Dorothee Solle
Dorothee Sölle
Dorothee Steffensky-Sölle was a German liberation theologian and writer who coined the term Christofascism...
, Rudolf Otto Weimer, Lisolette Rauner and Hilde Domin
Hilde Domin
Hilde Domin , whose real name was Hilde Palm , was a German lyric poet and writer. She was amongst the most important German-language poets of her time.-Biography:...
. Schnitzler describes the text: "If you don't understand the German words, it sounds better. [...] If you know what it means, you'll find it terrible."
CD copies of Zwei-Osterei first appeared in record stores in 1994. These early copies were issued by the dubious reportedly Luxembourg
Luxembourg
Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...
-based Germanofon label, who produced numerous unauthorized and illegal (bootleg) Krautrock
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...
reissues and managed to get them into mainstream distribution. The Germanofon CDs were transcribed from well worn vinyl and have inferior sound quality. These bootlegs also incorrectly named the band 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...
.
The album was first legally reissued on the U.S. based Hypnotic label in 1996 with new cover art and a sticker touting Cluster and Conrad Schnitzler's previous membership in Tangerine Dream. This CD reissue also contains a 15 minute long bonus track from the 1980 Cluster & Farnbauer release Live In Vienna
Live in Vienna
Live in Vienna is the first live album of the German rock band Böhse Onkelz. It was recorded on December 13, 1991 at the Vienna Messepalast.-Track listing:# Intro# Wir ham' noch lange nicht genug ...
. The album was also reissued on the Japanese Captain Trip label on April 20, 2007 as a 450 copy limited edition with the original cover art and a bonus track by Schnitzler's later band Eruption
Eruption (German band)
Eruption was a short-lived German krautrock or experimental music super group founded by former Tangerine Dream member and then current Kluster member Conrad Schnitzler.- Core Members :* Conrad Schnitzler * Wolfgang Seidel...
, Cold Winter, from their 1971 sessions.
Personnel
- Conrad SchnitzlerConrad SchnitzlerConrad Schnitzler was a prolific German experimental musician.Schnitzler was born in Düsseldorf. He was an early member of Tangerine Dream and a founder of the band Kluster. He left Kluster in 1971, first working with his group Eruption and then focusing on solo works...
- Hans-Joachim Roedelius
- 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...
- Manfred Paethe – Voice, Track 1
- Conrad PlankConny PlankKonrad "Conny" Plank was a German record producer and musician. He was born in Hütschenhausen. His creativity as a sound engineer and producer helped to shape some of the most important and innovative recordings of postwar European popular music, covering a wide range of genres including...
– Engineer - Oskar Gottlieb Blarr – Producer