Following the astounding four-decade run of
Hans-Joachim Roedelius and
Dieter Moebius' pioneering Krautrock duo
Cluster -- whose history extends back to the late '60s as
Kluster, its initial lineup with
Conrad Schnitzler --
Roedelius swapped a letter as well as a bandmember in the early 2010s, forming
Qluster with musician and sound installation artist Onnen Bock of
Zeitkratzer, whom he had started working with in 2007. The new incarnation continued in the creative spirit of its predecessors, based on spontaneous improvisations using analog synthesizers as well as
Roedelius' signature piano melodies. Appearing on Bureau B, home to numerous
Cluster and
Roedelius albums and reissues,
Qluster's debut,
Fragen, was issued in May of 2011, and was followed later that year by the live recording
Rufen. In early 2012,
Antworten, a recording of piano improvisations performed by
Roedelius and Bock in early 2007, was released as the third
Qluster album. Recorded live at the CTM-Zodiak Festival in Berlin, early 2013's
Lauschen was the first
Qluster album to include third member Armin Metz. A split 12" single with
Schneider TM was released on Record Store Day that April.
Qluster's fifth album,
Tasten (2015), was another piano-based effort, and 2016's
Echtzeit went in a sparse yet melodic direction.
Elemente appeared in 2018, and explored
Tangerine Dream-style sequencer-driven electronics. ~ Paul Simpson