Search - Harmonia :: Live 1974

Historic Live HARMONIA!!!

Louie Bourland | Garden Grove CA | 01/06/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Despite their short existence, Harmonia was a supergroup of the German Krautrock era whose influence is still felt over 30 years later. The band consisted of former Kraftwerk and NEU! member Michael Rother alongside the members of Cluster (Dieter Moebius and Hans-Joachim Roedelius). Together, these three musicians set out to create hypnotic rhythmic minimalist improvisations that would become the blueprint for techno and rave music decades later.

With interest in Harmonia's music rising to the surface once again as well as a recent reunion concert held in their homeland, the band has dusted off an excellent unreleased live recording from March 1974. Despite it being close to 34 years old, the sound quality of this hour long performance is stellar and shows just what the band was capable of doing before a live audience.

The emphasis throughout this concert is primarily on rhythm and improvisation with a primitive drum machine up front and center . For the uninitiated, the majority of this CD may sound like a record continuously skipping but for those who are fans of Harmonia and the members respective bands (Neu! and Cluster), this is an absolute treasure and a must. Rother's guitar work throughout this CD is amazing as is the quirky keyboard and synth lines coming from the fingers of Moebius and Roedelius. Also, there isn't one bit of applause to be heard between each piece performed (although there is some chatter heard in the background on some tracks) - a testament of an attentive and focused audience.

With this said, Harmonia's "Live 1974" disc is an historic new classic from this legendary band. This disc combined with their two studio discs (as well as their short-lived collaboration with Brian Eno) makes for an excellent open-minded listening experience. While the music itself is from 1974, it is still full of freshness and newness as if it were played yesterday.

So, without any further delay, I highly recommend this CD. It's a classic piece of German Krautrock and electronic music from the height of the era."

Neither Here Nor There

Robert Carlberg | Seattle | 03/18/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Harmonia was a band in the middle, straddling the wide divide between pure electronic noise (viz. Kluster, Cluster '71, Conrad Schnitzler, Musik von Harmonia) and more tune-oriented melodic/rhythmic stuff (Deluxe, Zuckerzeit, Rother solo). Nowhere is this more evident than on this archival concert release from March 23, 1974 (just after Musik von, just before Deluxe). Rother (g) and Roedelius (s) improvise modal figures over a drumbox (the same one heard in "Watussi" from MVH) while Moebius spins abstract goo in the background. It's not really "tune-oriented" but the driving rhythms aren't soporific either.



As a live recording it's surprisingly "present" (soundboard?) with zero audience noise. Noise and distortion levels are well within limits for current recordings, and the frequency range is remarkably good too. At just under an hour of previously-unknown material, this is like finding lost rehearsal tapes for MVH. For fans of that era it is a wonderful discovery."

Harmonia - 'Live 1974' (Groenland Records)

Mike Reed | USA | 05/05/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Here's one archive live performance I never thought I'd see get, at least a legit release. I do remember reading in Alternative Press around the time the just-discovered 'Tracks & Traces' (see my review) was released that Harmonia did, in fact play a handful of live shows and that someone in their camp was attempting to locate a copy of one of those gigs. Looks like someone HAD struck pay dirt. However, turns out that all five cuts on 'Live 1974' are previously unreleased Harmonia material. Show took place on March 23, 1974 at the Penny Station Club (a former railway station) in Griessem, Germany. It's been noted that Michael Rother recalls a crowd of about fifty patrons in attendance. Must have been mighty out-of-it because I believe this is the quietest crowd I've ever heard on a live recording. Rest assure, the sound quality here is top notch. Fans of such krautrock oddities like Golem, Galactic Explorers, and better known bands like Ash Ra Temple, early Tangerine Dream and Cosmic Jokers will simply love this CD. So extremely highly recommended, it almost makes my head hurt."