''Zwei-Osterei'' is the second full-length album by German experimental music trio
Kluster
Kluster was a Berlin-based German experimental musical group formed in 1969 by Hans-Joachim Roedelius, Conrad Schnitzler, and Dieter Moebius. Their improvisational work presaged later industrial music. The original Kluster was short-lived, exi ...
. The album title translates to English as "Two -
Easter egg
Easter eggs, also called Paschal eggs, are eggs that are decorated for the Christian feast of Easter, which celebrates the resurrection of Jesus. As such, Easter eggs are common during the season of Eastertide (Easter season). The oldest tr ...
".
''Zwei-Osterei'' was recorded on February 23, 1970 at
Rhenus-Studio,
Gordorf,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
. ''Zwei-Osterei'' was released in 1971 on the
Schwann label, with a plastic embossed cover, including two multi fold-out inserts. 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
Hilde Domin (27 July 1912 – 22 February 2006) is the pseudonym of Hilde Palm (née Löwenstein), a German lyric poet and writer. She was among the most important German-language poets of her time.
Biography
Domin was born in 1909 in Cologne as ...
. 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 ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...
-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
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 ...
.
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 CD edition with an adaption of the original cover art and a bonus track by Schnitzler's later band
Eruption
Several types of volcanic eruptions—during which lava, tephra (ash, lapilli, volcanic bombs and volcanic blocks), and assorted gases are expelled from a volcanic vent or fissure—have been distinguished by volcanologists. These are often ...
, "Cold Winter", from their 1971 sessions.
In 2012
Bureau-B
Bureau B (sometimes quoted as ''Bureau-B'') is an independent record label
An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to ...
released another reissue on CD as well as on 180gr vinyl. The original cover art-work was adapted, new liner-notes provided by
Asmus Tietchens
Asmus Tietchens (born 3 February 1947, in Hamburg), who also records under the monikers Hematic Sunsets and Club of Rome, is a German composer of avant-garde music.
Tietchens became interested in experimental music and musique concrète as a chi ...
.
Track listing
#"Electric Music & Text" – 22:50
#"Kluster 4" – 22:09
Personnel
*
Conrad Schnitzler
*
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 ...
*
Dieter Moebius
Dieter Moebius (16 January 1944 – 20 July 2015) was a Swiss-born German electronic musician and composer, best known as a member of the influential krautrock bands Cluster and Harmonia.
Moebius was studying art at Berlin's Akademie Grafik and ...
*
Manfred Paethe – Voice, Track 1
*
Conrad Plank – Engineer
*
Oskar Gottlieb Blarr – Producer
References
*Schnitzler, Conra
Retrieved August 17, 2007.
*The Edg
Retrieved August 17, 2007.
*Curry, Russ – liner notes from Hypnotic reissue
Notes
{{Authority control
1971 albums
Kluster albums
Schwann (record label) albums