HARMONIA - MUSIK VON HARMONIA (LP-LTD 2015 180GM VINYL)

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Remastered in 2015 for the Gronland label, this, the 70’s trio’s 2nd album - originally released on the legendary Brain label - sounds better than ever!

‘Musik Von Harmonia’ comes from 1974, the same year as CLUSTER’s ‘Zuckerzeit’ album, marking the debut recording of the super-trio consisting of ex-NEU!/KRAFTWERK guitarist Michael Rother, working with the duo that was CLUSTER, and the results definitely reflect Rother’s presence. His influence on the group is instantly obvious, as the, largely still rhythmic, compositions are altogether a lot more consistent and musically satisfying than those on the CLUSTER album – being more varied and with a more solid rhythmic base.

HARMONIA recorded and mixed the album themselves on three Revox [tape] machines and what would now be considered to be a very primitive mixer. The striking pop art cover of a detergent bottle - designed by MOEBIUS - gave the album an instantly iconic and modern look.
Opening with a sprightly yet cohesive ‘Watussi’, electronic drum rhythms and synths and other electronic textures swirl and drive, then the music moves into spacier realms for the near eleven-minute: ‘Sehr Kosmisch’, with a sea of space drones more akin to the more cosmic moments of the ‘Cluster II’ album, as drifting textures and layers all come and go over a seriously slow drum rhythm, which eventually fades as the mood changes halfway through. The emergence of a much stronger, driving rhythm under the swirling electronics, then takes us slap bang into the heart of NEU! and LA DUSSELDORF territory, and overall a track that, particularly in its newly remastered state, sounds simply phenomenal.
After this there is a sextet of tracks that are between three and a half, and five minutes in length. Most follow the same musical trail as the opener, if anything, coming across as more powerful, with guitars, electronics and drum machines entwining to form a glorious sea of sound that is pure Teutonic Electronic Krautrock incarnate!
Just witness the fabulous ‘Sonnenschein’ for proof of this, then follow that with the pure NEU!/LA DUSSELDORF styled ‘Dino’, as you travel through the first two albums-era KRAFTWERK-styled drones that make up ‘Ohrwurm’. Then immerse yourself in the slowly flowing warmth that is the early Rother-meets-Roedelius styled ‘Ahoil’, drive into the ‘Zuckerzeit’-with-Rother delights of ‘Veterano’ and end the album with the distant cosmic melodic foggy explorations of ‘Hausmusik’.

‘Musik Von Harmonia’ is also available as a CD Digi-Pak – Stock # 1816197

Also available by HARMONIA in this series…

DELUXE CD Digi-Pak - Stock # 1816211
DELUXE LP - Stock # 1817201
COMPLETE WORKS 6LP - Stock # 1812633

‘Harmonia-Musik Von Harmonia’ is released on 18th December 2015.

HARMONIA: MUSIK VON HARMONIA LP Track List:

Side A:
01. Watussi (5:55)
02. Sehr Kosmisch (10:50)
03. Sonnenschein (3:50)

Side B:
01. Dino (3:30)
02. Ohrwurm (5:05)
03. Ahoi! (5:00)
04. Veterano (3:55)
05. Hausmusik (4:30)

TPT: 42:05