''Selbstportrait – Vol. II'' is the fourth solo album by German keyboardist

Hans-Joachim Roedelius Hans-Joachim Roedelius (born 26 October 1934) is a German electronic musician and composer, best known as a co-founder of the influential 'kosmische' groups Cluster and Harmonia. He also performed in the ambient jazz trio Aquarello, and relea ...

, best known for his work with

Cluster may refer to: Science and technology Astronomy * Cluster (spacecraft), constellation of four European Space Agency spacecraft * Asteroid cluster, a small asteroid family * Cluster II (spacecraft), a European Space Agency mission to study t ...

Harmonia In Greek mythology, Harmonia (; grc, Ἁρμονία / harmoˈnia/, "harmony", "agreement") is the immortal goddess of harmony and concord. Her Roman counterpart is Concordia. Her Greek opposite is Eris, whose Roman counterpart is Discord ...

and

Aquarello Aquarello was a musical group which blended ambient music and jazz. The trio included keyboardist Hans-Joachim Roedelius, based in Austria, and two Italian musicians, multi-instrumentalist Fabio Capanni, and saxophonist Nicola Alesini. They w ...

. The title is German for "Self Portrait - Vol. II", a title which clearly reflects the gentle, introspective nature of this album of

ambient Ambient or Ambiance or Ambience may refer to: Music and sound * Ambience (sound recording), also known as atmospheres or backgrounds * Ambient music, a genre of music that puts an emphasis on tone and atmosphere * ''Ambient'' (album), by Moby * ...

new-age music New-age is a genre of music intended to create artistic inspiration, relaxation technique, relaxation, and optimism. It is used by listeners for yoga, massage, meditation, and reading as a method of stress management to bring about a state of ecs ...

. It is the second of seven albums in Roedelius' ''Selbsportrait'' series of recordings. The album is subtitled "Freundliche Musik", German for "Friendly Music".

Recording and Release

Like '' Selbstportrait'' before it, ''Selbstportrait – Vol. II'' was recorded by Roedelius at his home in Forst, in the

Weser The Weser () is a river of Lower Saxony in north-west Germany. It begins at Hannoversch Münden through the confluence of the Werra and Fulda. It passes through the Hanseatic city of Bremen. Its mouth is further north against the ports of Bre ...

Uplands of

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

and in

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

between various

sessions from 1973 until 1979, so much of the music actually predates Roedelius' first two solo albums: ''

Durch Die Wüste ''Durch die Wüste'' is the first full-length solo album by German keyboardist Hans-Joachim Roedelius, best known for his work with Cluster, Harmonia, and Aquarello. The title is German for "Through the Desert." The music on ''Durch Die Wüste ...

'' and '' Jardin Au Fou''. ''Selbstportrait – Vol. II'' was released by

Sky Records Sky Records was a Hamburg, Germany-based independent record label specializing in krautrock/Kosmische Musik and electronic music. Some of their releases could be classified as progressive rock or art rock, experimental music, industrial, ambient, ...

in 1980. Seven of the 11 tracks on ''Selbstportrait – Vol. II'' and the entire previous album, ''Selbstportrait'' were released as a single CD titled ''Selbstportrait I & II'' by Sky Records in 1996. The tracks omitted from the combined reissue are "Signal", "Schönheitsflecken", "Grundlsee", and "Regunwurm". The entire album was reissued separately on both 180 gram vinyl LP and CD by the

Bureau-B Bureau B (sometimes quoted as ''Bureau-B'') is an independent record label, music publisher and booking agency from Hamburg, Germany, founded in 2005 by Gunther Buskies (B for Buskies) as a sister label to Tapete Records. The label releases variet ...

label on December 3, 2010.

Track listing

#"Signal" – 0:10 #"Gewiß" – 4:46 #"Aufbruch" – 3:45 #"Schönheitsflecken" – 3:14 #"Alle Jahre wieder" – 4:43Unrelated to the

Christmas carol A Christmas carol is a carol (a song or hymn) on the theme of Christmas, traditionally sung at Christmas itself or during the surrounding Christmas holiday season. The term noel has sometimes been used, especially for carols of French ori ...

Alle Jahre wieder Alle Jahre wieder (English: "Every year again") is a well-known German Christmas carol. The text was written in 1837 by .Wilhelm Hey: ''Noch funfzig Fabeln für Kinder.'' In Bildern gezeichnet von Otto Speckter. Nebst einem ernsthaften Anhange. Neue ...

" #"Übern Fluß" – 3:45 #"Tee für die Geisha" – 5:25 #"Kichererbsen" – 2:30 #"Grundlsee" – 4:27 #"Regenwurm" – 4:04 #"Thronfloge" – 3:44 #"Signal" – 0:10

Personnel

– Piano, keyboards, producer

Notes

References

* Album liner Notes * Rate Your Musi
Selbstrportrait II by Hans-Joachim Roedelius
Retrieved September 29, 2007. {{DEFAULTSORT:Selbstportrait - Vol. Ii 1980 albums Hans-Joachim Roedelius albums