The Adventures of Moebius -- Part III: Trading Places

As you know, Moebius and Roedelius were the dynamic duo of the glimmerlight. They protected us from the progbarian hordes, but mostly just dwelled peacefully amongst the crystal streams and blue fjords.

Each had his own style: Moebius was the skronk genius, just skronking endlessly around the block on his lightcycle. Roedelius, on the other hand, was the melodic one, creating his beautiful Farfisa melodies deep in the glimmerlight near the Ash Ra Temple. Consider them the glimmerlight's Lennon and McCartney.

In 1983, inspired by the American comedy Trading Places, they decided to do just that. Aided by the mechanical genius Klaus Schulze, they would swap subroutines. Moebius would then produce his melodic masterpices, while Roedelius would do the skronky chicken. And they did just that; Moebius invented the wonderfully melodic Tonspuren, while Roedelius skronked it up with Offene Türen. Today, I give you a slice of Moebius' (modified with Roedelius subroutines) work. This beautiful track (click on the title of this post) is called "Contramio." 

The next post will feature part II of this interesting experiment, and a skronky cut from Roedelius' (modified with Moebius subroutines) Offene Türen. So stay tuned for more adventures from these electrobolical androids.

Rauf und runter!

Six Degrees of Sauerkraut--Part XXXII: Robots of Leisure

In our continuing look at the glimmerlight's last days we move on to the saga of Ralf Tohde. Tohde was another of the later models signed to Sky Records in the mid-80s. The advent of the yellow crystals brought about a time of great relaxation. It was not uncommon to find the 'droids taking naps, or watching a football match on a Saturday afternoon, sipping on an ice cold beer.

As the yellow crystals began to be the driving force behind these later models (we called them "chicken jobs"), the music they created became less icy, more soaring, but ultimately no less beautiful. Check out Tohde's "Hour of Leisure" from his LP Silent Departure by clicking on the title of this post. The LP is another classic from the late-glimmerlight era. This tune makes me feel like I'm flying through the clouds, or driving my light cycle convertible, with the hood up, through the forest of yellow crystals back to the Ash Ra Temple.

Six Degrees of Sauerkraut--Part XXXI: Last Glimmers of the Glimmerlight

No empire ever lasts in perpetuity, and it was the same for the glimmerlight. The next couple posts will focus on the final days of the glimmerlight, and the synthesists of the time. While I remember the musik of the later years fondly, I can't help but shed a few tears for the passing of that deep blue era, when we rode on our light cycles, the wind blowing in our hair, and jogged between the jagged crystals beneath Düsseldorf, near the Ash Ra Temple.

As the glimmerlight drew to a close, new androids were still being constructed. One such, was the musical group Intence. Like many of our young synthesists of the time, they were insantly signed to Hamburg's Sky Records: The Official Label of the glimmerlight.

Intence was comprised of brothers Rüdiger and Clemens Glaser, and Helmut Brunner. Little did we know at the time that these three, along with synthesists who came after them, portended the end of the glimmerlight. Why, you ask? Because they were powered by the yellow crystals, rather than the blue, like Harald, Klaus, Flammende Herzen, and the rest of us.

Click of the title of this post to hear Intence's ode to the yellow crystals, "Yellow Below." It's from their album Triade. To my ears, it is reminiscent of Kraftwerk's "Computer Liebe," but you be the judge.

Also, to my knowledge, neither this song nor any other song by Intence has EVER been posted to the internets in Mp3 form. If there is enough demand, I may post the whole album (my bröselmaschine is working again). I'm curious as to why these three fellows don't get mentioned in the same breath as such heavyweights as Deutsche Wertarbeit and Wolfgang Riechmann! Their music is just as cold and robotic. Maybe it's because they heralded the end of an era, or the beginning of a new one.

This has all happened before, will it happen again?

Six Degrees of Sauerkraut--Part XXX: The First Synth Duo

While the true origin of the Moon Birds is unknown, everyone in the glimmerlight considered them to be the original, first synth duo; the progenitors of such acts as Yaz, OMD, and Soft Cell. 

As a matter of fact, there was a time in the early-80s when young synthesists could not even become a synth duo unless they passed the Moon Bird "test." The test involved walking under the stern gaze of the Moon Birds. If you were zapped by their Five Mega-Watt laser eyes, you were incinerated and failed the test. However, if you made it through without feeling the lasers' scorching glare, you passed the test and received your Official Synth Duo Certificate, signed by each of the Moon Birds.

Just ask Erasure or The Pet Shop Boys and they'll tell you about their harrowing journey deep into the glimmerlight to face the Moon Birds' test. They all hail the Moon Birds as the Godfathers of Synth-Duoism, and hang their certificates on their bedroom walls with pride. 

Check out some of that Moon Bird five mega-watt magic by clicking on the title of this post. 

 

Six Degrees of Sauerkraut--Part XXIX: Klaus Dinger und Richard Simmons

At the end of the '70s, Klaus Dinger tired of making music in groups. He longed to go solo, and try new things. He decided to take a trip out of the glimmerlight and see the world beyond our pale blue borders.

Klaus travelled the world for 6 months, from Finland to Hollywood and back again. Upon his return he was all amped up. Inspired by a television program he had seen, The Richard Simmons Show, Klaus wanted to bring personal fitness to all the androids in the glimmerlight. He took himself into his workroom, modified many of his subroutines and personal apparatus, and emerged as Néondian, the glimmerlight's own fitness guru. Néondian led us in all sorts of movements and exercises that we all found quite foreign. We would rather have been drinking the blue liquid from our frisbees, taking a resurrection bath, or riding around in our light cycles.

However, the music he made for his exercise sessions was quite profound, and many of us showed up to do the crunches just so we could hear his new tunes. Click on the title of this post to hear "Mon Amour" -- one of my favorite Dinger tracks, it played during the opening credits of The Néondian Exercise Hour. 

Remember to do your stretches before listening to this track, because it will make you move.

Six Degrees of Sauerkraut--Part XXVIII: Ralf und Florian's Secret Sister

Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider were constructed in a factory deep within La Düsseldorf's glimmerlight one frigid February evening. They went on to form one of the most well known musical organizations in android history: Kraftwerk.

The secret that many do not know is that the same fateful evening, another synthesist was constructed. She was manufactured to roam the glimmerlight with her brothers Ralf und Florian. But, before she could actualize her destiny, she was kidnapped by Klaus Schulze who had his own designs for her. 

Her name was Ami Marie, and had she remained with Ralf und Florian, her name would be well known to all of you. However, that was not in her cards. Luckily for us, she did utilize her musical subroutines, creating one of the classic LPs of the glimmerlight era: Verrückt Nach Glück. On this LP, you can hear her common heritage with Ralf und Florian, and one can only imagine what sort of magic all three would have created together. Check out one of the LP's highlights by clicking on the title of this post.

Ami, if you're out there, Ralf und Florian are still looking for you, and we all hope you reunite one day as the crystals intended.

Rauf und runter!

Six Degrees of Sauerkraut--Part XXVII: Frédéric Mercier is Coming!

As we have noted in the past, there were not too many "real" droids living beyond the pale of the glimmerlight, just wannabes who painted their skin in metallic shade and moved like old men of yore (i.e. Gary Numan). However, there were a few synthesists beyond the German borders who had achieved true synthesis with their mechanized parts; one such was Frédéric Mercier. 

For the first couple of weeks we actually thought this Frenchman was German, manufactured deep within the glimmerlight's crystals, close to Bernd Scholl's mechanical womb at the Ash Ra Temple. But no, he was basically our Alsatian cousin. and we loved him. Just listen to any of his LPs to find out why. No non-German got us moving like Mercier. 

As some of you may know, there will be a reunion in the glimmerlight soon, and Mercier will be there. He penned an anthem for the festivities (to get everyone in the "Spirit") which you can hear by clicking on the title of this post.

Immer wieder!