Hallogallo 2010 / Michael Rother and Friends perform the music of NEU!
Michael Rother will start performing selected concerts around the world in summer 2010 with his project "Hallogallo 2010". Steve Shelley (Sonic Youth) and Aaron Mullan (Tall Firs) will join him. Together they will play music by NEU! as well as some tracks by Harmonia and from Michael Rother´s solo albums.
Michael Rother and Friends Perform the Music of NEU!
with Steve Shelley and Aaron Mullan
The legendary German group NEU! released only 3 albums between 1972 and 1975, but these albums had an influence wildly disproportionate to their modest commercial success; praised by and influential to David Bowie, Hawkwind, Iggy Pop, DEVO, Sonic Youth, Stereolab, Autechre, Radiohead, U2, Wilco, Primal Scream, and beyond. In May 2010 Gronland Records will release a box including these three LP’s and an incredible batch of bonus material. Also this year will be the first live presentation of this music in more than 35 years.
Michael Rother and Klaus Dinger first came to the public’s attention shredding Hendrix-toned riffs and pounding monotonous, tom-heavy beats in a particularly psychedelic 1971 version of Kraftwerk. The pair left after 6 months to form NEU! and took with them their tandem musical language that would go on to have a far-reaching influence. Dinger’s propulsive beat is often cited as the quintessential motorik drumming, while Rother’s guitar playing made something new from a variety of influences: The timbres were of rock music, but the melodic sense was something else- the scales were bittersweet and very European, accompanied by a Middle-Eastern style open-string drone. The trio of Rother, Dinger, and producer Conny Plank created a cohesive universe where straightforward tones and melodies intermarried with heavily processed elements, where reality could turn itself inside-out or stretch out seemingly forever.
Rother and Dinger parted ways after the third NEU! album. Rother concentrated on his collaboration with Cluster (Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Dieter Moebius) as Harmonia, and starting in 1977, released a series of solo records. Dinger began a new project called La Dusseldorf. The pair regrouped in 1985/86 but were never able to complete another album to their mutual satisfaction. In 2008 Klaus Dinger passed away. Regarding the NEU! box set, Rother says: It was my aim to present Klaus Dinger´s musical strengths and visions just as much as my own ideas. All during the emotional process of reworking our album Klaus was on my mind and I contemplated what he would think about my decisions. I was very relieved and moved to hear from his heir Miki Yui that she was pleased with the result presented with the album NEU!´86."
Inspired by revisiting these recordings, Rother has invited two musicians to visit the NEU! universe with him for a series of live performances: Steve Shelley and Aaron Mullan will perform a limited number of concerts this year as ‘Hallogallo 2010’. This group will perform NEU! music and selections from Rother’s work with Harmonia and his solo albums.
Steve Shelley is best known for drumming in Sonic Youth since 1985. He has also recorded or performed with The Fugs, Allen Ginsberg, Arto Lindsay, Loren Mazacane Connors, The High Confessions, Christina Rosenvinge, Richard Hell, Giant Sand, the Matt Zivich Trio, Ron Asheton, Townes Van Zandt, Cat Power, The Raincoats, Brigitte Fontaine, Robert Quine, Enrique Morente and many others.
Aaron Mullan is ½ the guitars of Tall Firs. He has collaborated with Chris Corsano and The Matt Zivich Trio, amongst others.
4 LP NEU! Box Set Released May 2010 / neu2010.com / michaelrother.de (created:
17/07/2010 )
Loud And Quiet, UK, interview by Edgar Smith with Michael Rother. Online version published July 05 2010, printed issue May 2010.
WFMU, "Primavera Sound Recap": Review of the concert by "Hallogallo 2010" (Rother/Shelley/Mullan) at Primavera Sound in Barcelona. Posted on June 29, 2010.
Dazed&Confused, issue June 2010, "Michael Rother", Text by Tim Burrows.
SPIEGEL Online International: "I Wanted to Be Carried on a Wave Like a Surfer", Interview by Christoph Dallach with Michael Rother, published 08 June 2010
UNCUT Magazine (UK, June): review by John Mulvey of the NEU! vinyl box set
MOJO (UK, June): review of the NEU! vinyl box set
Q Magazine (UK, June): review of the NEU! vinyl box set
FUZZ (Sweden, May): artcile by Michael Dee about the NEU! vinyl box set, including an interview by the author with Michael Rother.
Rolling Stone Online
(Germany, 29 April 2010): "Der Beat darf nicht verloren gehen" - Feature by Joachim Hentschel and video interview with Michael Rother
VISIONS (Germany, Mai): Feature by Sascha Krueger on the history of NEU! with excerpts from an interview with Michael Rother
Rolling Stone (Germany, Mai): Feature on NEU! review of the NEU! vinyl box set
MOJO (UK, Mai): "I Hear A NEU! WORLD", Article on NEU! and Michael Rother´s live project "Hallogallo 2010"
DJ Magazine (UK, Mai): "Krautrock", feature by Claire Hughes with excerpts from an interview with Michael Rother
GROOVE (Germany, Mai/Juni): "Endlose Gerade" - on the NEU! vinyl box set
The Quietus, "From Neu! To Kraftwerk: Football, Motorik And The Pulse Of Modernity" by John Duran, published January 6th, 2010.
TAZ. "Grönland schreibt noch keine schwarzen Zahlen". Feature (in German) by Benjamin Weber on Grönland, Herbert Grönemeyer´s small record label that has released albums of Michael Rother´s group projects NEU!, Harmonia and Harmonia & Eno ´76. Published on 17 Dec 2009.
Style And The Family Tunes, issue 4/4 2009: "Krautrock - Kraftwerk, NEU!, Harmonia - Die Vorgeschichte eines aktuellen Nachlebens". Feature in German and English by Sami Khatib on Michael Rother´s projects und collaborations of the 70s including an interview by the author with Michael Rother und photos from his studio in Forst.
Ink19, "Michael Rother - Harmonia Convergence". Feature on the album "Tracks and Traces" by Harmonia & Eno ´76 plus a long interview by Matthew Moyer with Michael Rother. Published in December 2009.
MOJO Magazine (UK). "Tracks and Traces" by Harmonia & Brian Eno ´76 was selected by Andrew Male for MOJO´s list of "Reissues Of The Year" 2009.
SOUNDS (Germany), "Der Pionier im Spielzeugland", feature on Michael Rother´s music and his projects NEU! and Harmonia (in German) by Chris Wiesner with quotes from an interview. Published on 06 November 2009 in edition No. VII of the magazine "Sounds by Rolling Stone".
The Quietus, "Kosmische Polymath Michael Rother: Neu! Harmonia, Eno, Bowie & Making Peace With Dinger", long interview by Dr. Rock with Michael Rother. Published on 03rd November 2009.
BLURT Online. An exclusive interview (in 2 parts) with Michael Rother by Wilson Neate, published on 17 September 2009.
CLASH Music, "Personality Clash", Harmonia Vs Fujiya and Miyagi. Michael Rother and David Best talk about music and their projects Harmonia and Fujiya and Miyagi.
BLURT Online by Fred Mills about an interview with Michael Rother about NEU!.
Exclaim, long interview by Brock Thiessen with Michael Rother on his current projects and coming releases.
UNCUT Magazine, UK, Oct. 2009: "My Life in Music" with Michael Rother and a review of the album Tracks and Traces by Harmonia & Eno ´76.
MOJO Magazine, The Wire, Record Collector (all UK, Sep. 2009): reviews of the album Tracks and Traces by Harmonia & Eno ´76
RAVE Magazine (Australia), 10th August 2009, interview by Matt Thrower with Michael Rother on his current projects and the compilation "Brand NEU!".
Pioniere aus Duesseldorf, article in German written by Tim Caspar Boehme and published in TAZ on 28th July 2009.
dB Magazine (Australien). Written by Patrick Lang. Article about Michael Rother and the compilation "Brand NEU!" and featuring excerpts from an interview by the author with Michael Rother. Published in dB Magazine, Australia, # 471 of 14th July 2009.
The Quietus. Ben Hewitt writes about the new album "Three Fact Fader" by the Engineers. For their track "Clean Coloured Wire" the British band used a sample of Harmonia´s track "Watussi" from the album "Musik von Harmonia".
Exclaim.ca. Brock Thiessen writes about the rerelease of the album "Tracks and Traces" from the 1976 collaboration of Harmonia with Brian Eno which will be out in September 2009 on Groenland Records.
1LIVE. Article (in German) by Frank Karch about the compilation "Brand NEU!" with excerpts from his interview with Michael Rother.
The Dwarf.com.au. Review of the compilation "Brand NEU!" by Nat Salvo, 26 June 2009.
"The In Kraut", an article on NEU!, written by Nathaniel Cramp with excerpts taken from an interview by the author with Michael Rother and published in NME (New Musical Express U.K., issue of 29 May 2009).
"Auch Oasis ehren NEU! - die Paten aus Deutschland". The article written by Markus Wesselmann (in German) on the compilation "Brand NEU! was published in Der Tagesspiegel on 24 May 2009 and features quotes from an recent interview by the author with Michael Rother.
The Guardian - Music Weekly of 15 May 2009 by Paul MacInnes and Rosie Swash. The podcast features interviews by Rosie Swash with Jarvis Cocker and Michael Rother.
"Hofknicks vor den Krautrock-Königen", an article (in German) on NEU! and the compilation "Brand NEU!", written by Christoph Dallach and published on 15 May 2009 in SPIEGEL Online.
Q Magazine (UK), issue June 2009: "How To Buy: Krautrock". Article and recommendations by Richard Harris.
"Musical tribute to krautrock band NEU!"
, an article by Richard Clayton published on 10 May 2009 in Times Online on behalf of the release of the compilation "Brand NEU!" and featuring excerpts from an interview with Michael Rother. Some of the musicians who feel inspired by NEU! and who have contributed tracks to the album explain their views on NEU!.
The Independent, review on the compilation "Brand NEU!" of 02 May 2009 by Andy Gill.
"Kraut Of This World", published in AU Magazine, Northern Ireland, (issue #56, June 2009) and written by Chris Jones. The article on Krautrock features excerpts from a new interview with Michael Rother. Musicians and bands who feel influenced by NEU! (i.e. Faris Badwan/The Horrors, David Holmes, Benjamin Power/Fuck Buttons and David Best/Fujiya & Miyagi) give comments on the question why the experimental music from Germany of the early 70s still inspires them today.
Michael Rother talks about his projects NEU! and Harmonia in an interview conducted by Michael Kucyk for the first issue of
Mountain Fold Music Magazine, Australia, published in April 2009 and featuring new photos of Michael Rother by Stefan Marx. More information at TwoThousand.
"Krautrock". An eight page long feature on NEU!, Harmonia and other experimental German bands of the early 70s. Written by John Doran and published in Record Collector in February 2009. The article also features parts of an interview by the author with Michael Rother.
Selected reviews on ATP Australia and on Harmonia´s concerts of January 2009 in down under: DiS (Drowned in Sound), by Rebecca Pellman on ATP Australia Rave Magazine, by Andrew Tuttle on Harmonia´s concert in Brisbane Rhythms, by Brian Wise on ATP Mt Buller Gee muses, by Mike Gee on ATP Australia.
For links to more articles and interviews in German on the Michael Rother website please see here. (created:
05/07/2010 )
First live appearances of Rother/Shelley/Mullan
Michael Rother, Steve Shelley (Sonic Youth) and Aaron Mullan (Tall Firs) will be performing together for the first time at the festivals in
Bad Bonn Kilbi, Switzerland, on May 28 2010, and at Primavera Sound 10, Barcelona, Spain, on May 29 2010.
Some comments (in German) on the festival and the particpation of Rother/Shelley/Mullan:
INTRO (Germany), 78s (Switzerland).
Press info:
Michael Rother/Steve Shelley/Aaron Mullan trio debut in Europe
Michael Rother first came to the public’s attention shredding Hendrix-toned riffs in a particularly psychedelic 1971 version of Kraftwerk. He and drummer Klaus Dinger left after 6 months to form NEU! and took with them their tandem musical language that would go on to have a far-reaching influence. Dinger’s propulsive beat is often cited as the quintissential motorik drumming, while Rother’s guitar playing made something new from a variety of influences: The timbres were of rock music, but the melodic sense was something else- the scales were bittersweet and very European, accompanied by a Middle-Eastern style open-string drone. NEU! released 3 proper albums between 1972 and 1975, and these albums had an influence disproportionate to their commercial success; easily heard in Low-era Bowie, Hawkwind, Stereolab, Radiohead, and beyond.
In 1973 Rother began a collaboration with Cluster (Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Dieter Moebius.) The trio became known as Harmonia, and was referred to by Brian Eno as ‘The world’s most important rock band.” Their influence can be heard from Pere Ubu to Portishead. Starting in 1977, Rother released a series of solo records (many with Jaki Liebezeit of Can on drums) which further explored the ideas of ambience, repitition, and harmony and further blurred the distinction between Electronics and Electric Guitar. In 1998 he and Moebius re-started their collaboration, and Harmonia reunited for concerts from 2007-2009. In 2008 Klaus Dinger passed away. Rother is currently finishing work on a NEU! box set for release in May of 2010.
Steve Shelley is best known for having played drums in Sonic Youth since 1985. The tom-tom trance of ‘Schizophrenia’, the ‘Bull in the Heather’ shuffle, the pounding backbeat of ‘100%’, and the driving near-motorik of ‘Teenage Riot’ and ‘Skip Tracer’: all Shelley. In his 25 years in the band Sonic Youth has made 13 “proper” albums and countless EP’s, side projects, instrumental double LP’s, singles, compilation tracks, live film scores, etc. Steve has also recorded or performed with The Fugs, Allen Ginsberg, Arto Lindsay, Loren Mazacane Connors, The High Confessions, Christina Rosenvinge, Richard Hell, Giant Sand, The Matt Zivich Trio, Ron Asheton, Townes Van Zandt, Cat Power, The Raincoats, Brigitte Fontaine, Robert Quine, Enrique Morente and many others.
Since 1990, Aaron Mullan’s playing driven by drone, timbre, and bittersweet melody has been ½ the guitars of Tall Firs. He has also collaborated with Chris Corsano and the Matt Zivich trio, amongst others. He has engineered several albums and hundreds of live shows for Sonic Youth since 2002, and many other records at that band’s studio.
The three musicians gathered for some (so far unreleased) recording sessions in late 2008 which channeled some early 70’s energy. With Rother currently in the NEU! mindset, it seems likely this trio will present some strait-ahead, rush-forward-into-the-sun style jams. As the NEU! song title suggests, this music is Für Immer.
More information coming soon. (created:
12/03/2010 )
German/French tv station Arte features Krautrock
On October 30th, 2009, at 11.15 pm (CET) the Arte tv magazine Tracks will broadcast a feature on the growing interest in German bands of the 70s like i.e. Michael Rother´s projects NEU! and Harmonia. The feature includes interviews with Michael Rother and the Krautrock fans Fujiya & Miyagi, Tortoise and DJ Riton.
Information (in German) by Arte tv on their feature: Krautrock.
(French page). (created:
31/10/2009 )
BBC documentary film "Krautrock - The Rebirth Of Germany"
On 23 October 2009 the BBC will broadcast a documentary film on German music of the early 70s: "Krautrock - The Rebirth Of Germany". For the documentary Ben Whalley and his BBC team filmed and interviewed Michael Rother in his studio in Forst by the river Weser. More information coming soon.
See a clip on NEU! with Michael Rother (due to copyright restrictions the clip is only available in the UK, sorry):
Krautrock – The Rebirth Of Germany
New series
Friday 23 October
9.00-10.00pm BBC FOUR
This documentary film examines how a radical generation of Krautrockers rebuilt a new German musical identity out of the cultural ruins of war.
Overlooked in their own country, these bands were grouped under the unsympathetic heading of Krautrock by an inquisitive British music press, when Dad's Army and war jokes were the lingua franca of the times. Nearly all of the bands objected to the term, apart from when it helped to shift records.
Today, Krautrock is one of the coolest influences any band aiming at credibility can drop.
Devotees include The Fall, Franz Ferdinand, Radiohead and Kasabian.
In 1968, the world was in the grip of a youthful revolution, and nowhere were the stakes higher than in Germany. Despite a post-war economic boom, the youth of the country felt that nothing had changed for a generation growing up in the aftermath of war. Power was still in the hands of an older generation and Germany's once magnificent artistic culture lay trashed and looted, much of it sullied by Nazi associations. For young people in cities like Berlin, Dusseldorf, Cologne and Munich, it was time for something new.
Between 1968 and 1977, bands including Neu!, Faust, Can and Kraftwerk looked beyond Anglo-American pop to create some of the most radical and original sounds ever heard in the country. The experiments of Tangerine Dream, Kraftwerk and Cluster would give the world its first taste of electronica.
By the late Seventies, some famous English and American ears took notice as David Bowie, Brian Eno and Iggy Pop decamped to Germany in an attempt to tap into the Zeitgeist. Meanwhile, in a studio overlooking the Berlin Wall, Iggy and Bowie would record Low, Heroes and Lust For Life, taking the sound and feel of Krautrock to the bank and to the world at large. (created:
05/10/2009 )
Harmonia and Brian Eno collaboration "Tracks and Traces"
18th September 2009 will see the rerelease of the album "Tracks and Traces" by Harmonia and Brian Eno. The new version of "Tracks and Traces" features three previously unreleased tracks dating from their 1976 collaboration.
The cd booklet contains liner notes written by Stephen Iliffe and photos showing Brian Eno together with Michael Rother, Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Dieter Moebius in Harmonia..s studio in Forst. The album will be available in Europe, USA, Japan and Australia on Gronland Records .
More information on Michael Rother´s MySpace page here.
Front cover (promo version)
Read the official Groenland Records press info on "Tracks and Traces" by Harmonia & Eno ’76:
Magical moments cannot be fabricated at the push of a button, they simply come to be. In the late summer of 1976 such a moment of revelation befell the musicians of Harmonia as if by chance. The band had made two albums up to then, Musik von Harmonia (1974), and Deluxe (1975). Both works are now considered classics of krautrock and electronic music; nonetheless, afterwards the creative core went its separate ways. All three musicians were tireless and set to work on solo projects. Michael Rother would later release Flammende Herzen, Hans-Joachim Roedelius Durch die Wüste and Dieter Moebius Lilienthal. But then Brian Eno waltzed onto the scene. He had long been aware of Harmonia, and had even spontaneously joined in on a session with the band at a concert in the Fabrik in Hamburg in 1974. The musicians were not shy about expressing their interest in further collaboration and exchanged numbers. Two years later Eno called the members of Harmonia and asked, “Is now a good time?” The answer, “Well, not exactly – we kind of broke up – but sure, as good a time as any.”.
At that time Eno was on his way to Montreux to work with David Bowie on the album „Low“. A man well-traveled in the beau monde of rock music, he entered the studio in the rural hamlet of Forst in Germany’s Weserbergland region with no pretenses. To quote Rother, “Eno didn’t come across like an aloof pop star at all; on the contrary, he was very pleasant and inquisitive. We worked as equal partners and were a collective that simply wanted to make music, with no thoughts of commercial success and without the pressure of having to record an album. To me those are the best working conditions you can have.” “Eno brought a great intellect, boundless pleasure in making music and a font of experience in the realm of popular music, and that clearly opened a door that was already closed,” adds Roedelius. Despite this, the general public heard nothing from these recordings for a long time; in part because they were not made for commercial purposes, but also because Eno’s original tapes were long considered lost. Luckily, Roedelius and Rother had both made copies of the four-track tapes.
Out of the blue in 1997 Harmonia released the album Tracks & Traces, which included clips from the legendary 1976 recording sessions. Roedelius probed the material in his possession and had it remixed using an elaborate technical process. “I did nothing more than technically remaster the original material (one of the three four-track tapes that we had recorded) with Austrian sound engineers and enhance it so it would be digestible for other listeners besides ourselves,” recalls Roedelius. Rother explains more precisely, “Due to discord within the band, Achim put the music together on his own. The new tracks recorded in 1997 are therefore an expression of his personality in their atmospheric emphasis. Möbi and I weren’t happy that Achim went it alone, but we had to admit that he had done a hell of a job. All the same, we came to a consensus on the title and the artwork, so Möbi and I were in a sense involved (laughing). But you really can’t say a bad word about the music, it’s wonderful.” One can do nothing but agree with that assessment. In “Vamos Compañeros” a brazen groove hisses to the fore in the form of a looped steam engine sound. The idyllic detour provided in “By the Riverside” abruptly gives way to an abstract experimental phase with a gloomy undertone. A cautionary finger is raised admonishing, “Don’t get lost on Lüneburg Heath.” After a “Weird Dream” the mood again brightens and the listener is treated to warmer, pop-like harmonies and the slide guitar familiar from Eno’s later works, although, in this case, it is Rother playing it. But, of course, it does not end there.
Rother himself had a copy he had had stashed away in his studio since 1976 as well. One day he decided to digitize the 27 fragments contained on it. Although the material could have filled an entire album, they agreed to add three of the songs to the reissue of the 1997 album. “Initially I asked myself what made sense musically; which of the many tracks I particularly liked and which reflected the broad musical scope of our collaboration with Brian Eno the best. The next step was about how best to integrate the selected tracks into the existing album. Instead of the normal practice of tacking them on to the end of the album as bonus tracks, I proposed changing the structure of the album and the order of the tracks. Luckily everyone involved agreed on that.” The album now builds up gradually with the intro “Welcome” and the second track “Atmosphere” before proceeding to “Vamos Compañeros”, from whence it gains the trusted momentum of the original release. It is rounded out with “Aubade”, a track that reinforces the impression of a reconciliatory conclusion.
As they say, good things take time. And now, 33 years after these recordings were created, we finally have an all-around satisfying version of a long believed lost treasure of the krautrock era. In all likelihood this project signals the end of the Harmonia era. Although the band reformed two years ago and performed some highly acclaimed concerts in Berlin, Great Britain, the USA and Australia in the wake of the release of the celebrated concert recording Live 1974, Rother and Roedelius both jointly declared that there would be no continuation of the live performances – even if doing so would be lucrative for them in many ways. But the 1970s German avant-garde never let itself be a slave to commercial interests. Its credo remains as it was then: Good music is what is born of the unadulterated soul of the artist, not something fabricated with strategies and intellectual games, whatever their nature. And, as one can tell from Harmonia & Eno 1976 – Tracks and Traces, quality does not lose its luster in such conditions – not even with the passing of decades. So, please, seek out the traces!
Harmonia & Eno ’76 / Tracks and Traces: Cat. No. CDGRON102 (created:
09/09/2009 )
Harmonia´s track Watussi sampled by Engineers for new album
Harmonia´s track Watussi from the album "Musik von Harmonia" inspired the British band Engineers to their track "Clean Coloured Wire". The great song features a sample taken from Harmonia´s track and will be the first single from the forthcoming album "Three Fact Fader" out on 6th July 2009 on kscope. More information on the band
here. Listen to an edit of Clean Coloured Wire on the MySpace page of the Engineers.
NEU! and Harmonia albums in Australia
The three classic NEU! albums and Harmonia´s latest release "Live 1974" will be available in Australia in January 2009 through Inertia. (created:
24/11/2008 )
Harmonia album "Live 1974"
The Harmonia album "Live 1974" is now available in Europe on cd and vinyl. The five tracks recorded live in 1974 of the band of Michael Rother, Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Dieter Moebius have never before been released. Please visit Gronland Records. Some reviews: UNCUT Magazine (UK) by John Mulvey, No Ripcord.com, new-noise.net (by Nadeem Ali), Subba-Cultcha.com (by Holly Barnes) and in the print issues of The Wire (Oct.), MOJO (Nov.), Plan B (Nov.) , UNCUT (Nov.), Rolling Stone (Germany / Nov.) and MOJO (Dec. 2007 and Feb. 2008), Aural Innovations (May 2008, by Mike Reed).
2008 - Interviews and features on Michael Rother and his projects „Discovering Krautrock – in Germany“. An article on German music from the late 60s and early 70s written by Dave Graham for Reuters. The article features statements by Michael Rother from an interview in Berlin on 21st August 2008. /// Wonderland Magazine, UK, August 2008: "Unsung Hero" by Ben Cobb. An eight-page feature on NEU! paying tribute to Klaus Dinger and featuring an interview with Michael Rother as well as a previously unpublished photo of NEU! from 2000. ///
Read reviews on the Supersonic festival and Harmonia´s concert at 4Talent (by Stuart Fowkes) and DiS / Drowned in Sound (by Mike Diver).
/// A review on the Pitchfork ATP festival, UK, 11th May 2008 (incl. Harmonia´s concert) Echoes and Dust. /// A review of Harmonia´s concert at Ether 08, London, UK, 18th April 2008:
Kitten Painting. /// "Listening in: Michael Rother of Harmonia, NEU! and Kraftwerk podcast": Interview by John Doran, May 15th 2008, for The Quietus. /// „I always wanted to be different“: (Michael Rother), by Matt Bolton, May 9th, 2008, for The Guardian. /// Stop Smiling Magazine: "Michael Rother Redux", by Andy Beta, April 28th, 2008. /// Popboks: "Michael Rother - Kraftwerk, NEU!, Harmonia". Serbian translation of the interview by Christoph Braun for Groove Magazin, April 05th, 2008. /// The Wire
(UK), April 2008. An interview with Michael Rother by Mike Barnes in the series "Invisible Jukebox". The track "Aroma Club B3" from Michael Rother´s album "Remember [The Great Adventure]" can be downloaded at The Wire - Web Exclusive /// Groove (D), March/April 2008: "Der Blues musste gelöscht werden". Interview with Michael Rother by Christoph Braun. /// Plan B
(UK), February 2008: "Kosmische outriders". Feature by Mark Pilkington on Cluster and Harmonia. /// Mojo (UK), February 2008: "Rock die haus". Review by Andrew Perry of the Harmonia concert at the
Worldtronics festival in Berlin. (created:
01/09/2008 )
Harmonia concerts in autumn 2008
Michael Rother, Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Dieter Moebius will do four live appearances as Harmonia in autumn 2008 in Norway and the USA:
04th September 2008 at Betong in Oslo, Norway. For information please see
Studentersamfundet.no, for tickets Billettservice.no. ***
06th September 2008 at Numusic Festival in Stavanger, Norway. For information on the 9th edition of this "West Coast Festival of Numusic" running from 03rd until 07th September 2008 please see the website. ***
20th September: ATP New York 2008. Harmonia will come to the USA for the first time ever to perform at the festival curated by ATP and My Bloody Valentine and taking place from 19th to 21st September at Kutshers Country Club in Monticello, NY. ***
22nd September at LPR - (Le) Poisson Rouge in New York City. Support: White Williams. Tickets.
(created:
05/08/2008 )
Harmonia concerts in 2008
Michael Rother, Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Dieter Moebius will do several live appearances as Harmonia in 2008. The following countries are scheduled so far: UK, Russia, Norway and the USA. With their very first live appearance as Harmonia in the UK ever they will play in London on 18th April 2008 on the opening night of the Ether Festival in the Queen Elizabeth Hall at Southbank Centre. For further information on Harmonia´s concert at
Ether 08 please go to Southbank Centre. *** On 25 April Harmonia will perform at the SKIF Festival in St.Petersburg, Russia. Information on this event and the participating artists and bands are to found on the official SKIF website and
SKIF (MySpace). *** On 11th May 2008 Harmonia will perform at the ATP festival (All Tomorrow´s Parties Festival) in Camber Sands, UK. This edition of the festival series is called Pitchfork ATP and will take place from 09th - 11th May 2008. For information on the line-up, tickets etc. please visit the ATP website and ATP/MySpace. *** On 11 July 2008 Harmonia will come to Glasgow for the first time ever to perform at the
ABC. For more information please visit synergy concerts. /// Read a review by Emma Smith of the concert in Glasgow at The Skinny *** Harmonia will play on 13 July 2008 at the Supersonic festival in Birmingham, UK. For more information on the festival running from 11th to 13th July 2008 please visit Capsule. /// Read reviews on the festival and Harmonia´s concert at Supersonic at 4Talent (by Stuart Fowkes) and
DiS / Drowned in Sound (by Mike Diver).
*** Now confirmed: Harmonia will come to the USA for the first time ever to perform at ATP New York 2008 on September 20th, 2008. More information on the festival running from the 19th until 21st September at Kutshers Country Resort, Monticello NY and Harmonia live appearances in the USA will follow soon. (created:
17/05/2008 )
Harmonia concert at Worldtronics festival in Berlin
Berlin will see the first Harmonia concert since 1976 on 27th November 2007 when Michael Rother, Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Dieter Moebius will perform as Harmonia on the opening night of the Worldtronics festival at "The House of World Cultures" ("Haus der Kulturen der Welt"). See information (in German) on the Worldtronics festival at Intro.de (in German) and HWK: Opening night / Harmonia. ***
Read some reviews on Harmonia´s concert at the Worldtronics festival:
SPIEGEL Online "Das ist ja so geil" (by Stefan Krulle).
TAZ "Im tiefsten deutschen Forst" (by Christoph Wagner).
WELT Online "Die Väter des Krautrock kehren zurück" (by Michael Pilz).
FR Online "Altes Rezept für Spacekekse" (by Elke Buhr).
INTRO "Harmonia live - Das Rauschen ist weg" (by Arno Raffeiner).
DE:BUG "Harmonia beim Worldtronics in Berlin" (by Benjamin) and in print issues of MOJO Magazine (February 2008), Plan B (February 2008). (created:
27/11/2007 )
Rother & Moebius concerts in November 2007
Michael Rother and Dieter Moebius will do a couple of live shows in UK and Germany in November:
10 Nov 2007 Oxford UK - Audioscope 07 (Audioscope MySpace profile) / 12 Nov 2007 Bristol UK - The Croft / 14 Nov 2007 Frankfurt a.M. - Sinkkasten / 15 Nov 2007 Jena - Rosenkeller / 22 Nov 2007 Oberhausen - Zentrum Altenberg / 23 Nov 2007 Bonn - Harmonie / 24 Nov 2007 Twist (near Meppen/Emsland) - Heimathaus. Tickets for concerts in Germany: www.Kartenhaus.de. Ticket hotline: +49-1805 9690000 (14CT/Min).
Tour informationen for German dates:
JTC, +49-221-91390860. See the latest news on the Audioscope festival on BBC Online and Oxford Mail. (created:
29/10/2007 )
Forum closed due to spam
Unfortunately we had to close the Michael Rother forum on this page due to countless spam posts that kept on coming in. For messages and questions concerning Michael Rother´s music , NEU! and Harmonia please visit www.myspace.com/michaelrother. (created:
22/08/2007 )
tv documentary on the origins of German rock music now shown on 3SAT
Those of you who have missed the tv documentary "Kraut und Rueben" when it was first shown in February/March 2006 can now see the rerun on 3SAT. Starting on January 01 2007 3SAT will show all six sequels. In the night of 05/06 January at 02:25am CET 3SAT will broadcast Part 6
"Elektrische Impulse" of "Kraut und Rueben - Ueber die Anfaenge deutscher Rockmusik" featuring an interview with Michael Rother and Dieter Moebius filmed at the festival "Nuits Sonores" in Lyon in May 2005. (created:
01/01/2007 )
More Rother & Moebius live dates for summer/autumn 2006
Live appearances by Michael Rother and Dieter Moebius in Italy in August 2006: 05.08., Urbino, Frequenze Disturbate Festival. Other participants: Afterhours, Arab Strap, Cat Power and many more / 09.08., Catanzaro / 11.08., Castelbuono (Palermo) Ypsigrock Festival. *** On 27 August they are performing at the Kultursommerfest in Schloss Bevern in support of the Kulturstiftung des Landkreises Holzminden. *** On 01 September Rother & Moebius will participate at the Avantgarde Festival Schiphorst. Other participants: Legendary Pink Dots, Asmus Tietchens, Faust and others. See also Faust Pages). *** More information on all events will follow shortly. (created:
31/07/2006 )
Rother & Moebius concert in Dortmund
On 11 June 2006 Michael Rother & Dieter Moebius will appear in concert at the FZW in Dortmund. Special guests will open up for them at 9pm. Rother & Moebius will be on stage at 11pm. For more information please visit FZW. (created:
19/04/2006 )
Televison documentary on German music of the 70s
WDR will broadcast a tv documentary in six parts starting on 02 February 2006 at 00.00am CET covering German rock music of the 70s. Part 6 "Elektrische Impulse" of "Kraut und Rueben - Über die Anfaenge deutscher Rockmusik" will be shown on 16 March at 00.00am CET (i.e. the night of 16 to 17 March) and features an interview with Michael Rother and Dieter Moebius. (created:
26/01/2006 )
Conny Plank feature on German radio
On 11 February 2006 at 23.05pm the German radio station NDR Info will air the feature "Conny Plank - eine Produzentenlegende" by Ecki Stieg. With music from some of the legendary albums produced and co-produced by Conny Plank in the 70s and 80s as well as with interviews (i.e. with Michael Rother) Ecki Stieg pays respect to the sound engineer and producer who passed away in 1987. The feature will also be available live on the internet. More infos on the portrait will follow shortly. (created:
26/01/2006 )
Preview summer/autumn 2005
23 September 2005, Lille/France, Rother & Moebius in concert at the festival "Les Chants Mécaniques/Audioframes" in Tri Postal. Also appearing: Ars Nova, Tiere Der Nacht and more. *** 24 September 2005, Brussels/Belgium, Rother & Moebius in concert at VK Club. *** 29 October 2005, Barcelona/Spain, Rother & Moebius in concert at the LEM-Festival (website in English), LEM-Festival (website in Catalan). More infos soon. (created:
30/09/2005 )
Rother & Moebius at Numusic festival
26 August 2005, Stavanger/Norway, NuMusic Festival: Michael Rother and Dieter Moebius in concert (read the articles in Stavanger Aftenblad: "Krautrockpioner til Numusic" and in Rogalands Avis: "Elektronika-legende til Numusic", both published on 31 March 2005 / in Norwegian). Also appearing at Numusic: Karlheinz Stockhausen, James Lidell, Chicks On Speed, Carl Craig, Casiokids and many more. *** (created:
26/08/2005 )
Rother & Moebius at Supersonic festival in Birmingham
09 July 2005, Birmingham/UK, SuperSonic Festival: Michael Rother and Dieter Moebius in concert. Other particpants: Psychic TV, Daelek, Battles, Jesu, Merzbow vs Stephen O´Malley, Barbara Morgenstern/Robert Lippok (To Rococo Rot) and many more. Read reviews of the Supersonic festival which unfortunately was terminated during the Rother & Moebius concert because of a bomb alarm and the evacuation of Birmingham´s city center at: Times Online and Independant Online Edition. (created:
11/07/2005 )
Rother & Moebius concert in Lyon
On May 04th 2005 Michael Rother and Dieter Moebius will perform at the "Nuits Sonores Festival". The festival of electronic music which will in this year feature i.e. Mouse on Mars, The Fall, Damo Suzuki´s Network and James Chance and the Contortions takes place in Lyon, France, from 04 until 08 May. For details on the concert of Rother & Moebius and the program of 04 May see here (in French). (Summary / English version) (created:
07/04/2005 )
Harmonia "Deluxe" re-released
Harmonia´s second album "Deluxe" (originally released on Metronome/Brain in 1975) has been re-released on Universal Music on 24 October 2004-. Just like Harmonia´s first album "Musik von Harmonia" which was re-released in February 2004 the new cd version of "Deluxe" also features the original music and artwork plus previously unpublished photos of the band (Michael Rother, Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Dieter Moebius) as well as lines notes by Asmus Tietchens. Harmonia "Deluxe", Universal Music, cat. # CD 07314 5275662. Read reviews at MUSICoutlook (in German), dj peanuts, rateyourmusic.com, Neue-Szene 11/2004 (in German), MOJO Magazine (UK, February 2005, Der Tagesspiegel, 06 April 2005, "Wer Schmetterlinge lachen hoert" (in German), WOM Magazine (April 2005 / in German). (created:
06/04/2005 )
Rother & Moebius perform at the Ether Festival 2005
On March 14th 2005 Michael Rother and Dieter Moebius will perform at the Ether Festival in the Royal Festival Hall at the South Bank Centre in London. Also appearing: Githead (Colin Newman/Scanner/Malka Spigel) and They Came from the Stars I saw Them. For more details please visit: Royal Festival Hall, Hayward Org Uk, The Wire. *** Read a review of the Rother & Moebius concert at the Ether Festival in London of 14 March 2005 at DSO Audio (by Rob Dyer) "Steam-powered electronica: pure nirvana". *** (created:
14/02/2005 )
Rother & Moebius concerts in Italy
Michael Rother and Dieter Moebius will be in Italy for six live shows starting on 18 February 2005:
18.02. BRESCIA - Freemuzik / 19.02. TORINO - Hiroshima Mon Amour / 21.02. ROMA - Circolo degli artisti / 22.02. BOLOGNA - Covo / 23.02. FORLI´ - Diagonal Loft Club / 25.02. MARINA DI MASSA (MS) - Tagomago. For more information please visit Mescal International / News (created:
28/01/2005 )
Harmonia news
"Musik von Harmonia" is now available to order in the UK (via Universal Import Music Service, cat. # 981 298-3).
Just like Harmonia´s first album "Musik von Harmonia", which was re-released in February 2004, the band´s second album "Deluxe" will be re-released on Brain/Universal on cd and vinyl in September 2004. "Deluxe" will also feature some previously unpublished photos of the band from the 70s and liner notes by Asmus Tietchens.
Read interviews, articles and reviews in the international press on the re-release of
Harmonia´s album "Musik von Harmonia":
- MOJO Magazine (UK) 07/2004
- Stereoplay 06/2004
- Audio 06/2004
- WOM Magazin 05/2004
- SPEX 04/2004
- KulturSPIEGEL 29.03.2004
- Frankfurter Rundschau 11.03.2004
- Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger 06./07.03.2004
- SZENE Hamburg 03/2004
- Neue Zürcher Zeitung 26.02.2004
- Pure.de (created:
20/06/2004 )
Seats´n Beats #14
Michael Rother & Dieter Moebius to perform at the "Seats ´n Beats #14" on April 17, 2004 in Antwerpes. Futher participants at theTheatre of the Centre Culture Luchtbal are Nu Dub Players (Bernd Friedmann, Joseph Suchy, Jaki Liebezeit) and Hans-Joachim Roedelius. (created:
09/03/2004 )
)toon) Festival
Michael Rother & Dieter Moebius to perform at the ")toon) festival on electronic arts and music" in Haarlem, Holland, on April 16, 2004. Futher participants at the Lichtfabriek/Oliehuis are Nu Dub Players (Bernd Friedmann, Joseph Suchy, Jaki Liebezeit) and Hans-Joachim Roedelius. (created:
09/03/2004 )
Re-Release of "Musik von Harmonia"
Harmonia´s first album "Musik von Harmonia" of 1974 has been re-released on February 23, 2004 on cd and vinyl. The booklet features liner notes on Harmonia by Asmus Tietchens and previously unpublished historic photos of the band. (Cat.no.. Brain 06024 981298-3. Shop and info: Motor Music / Universal Music). Find information on and links to new articles and reviews on "Musik von Harmonia" and the other Brain re-issues in the Harmonia section on this website. (created:
15/02/2004 )
Genua Benefiz Festival
Rother&Moebius to perform at the Genua-Benefiz Festival in Oberhausen on October 11, 2001. Other bands to participate are i.e. Die Sterne and Mouse on Mars. (created:
06/09/2001 )
„Pfingsten in Forst“-Festival 2001
Rother&Moebius, joined by Thomas Beckmann, perform at the festival "Pfingsten in Forst" on June 03, 2001 (created:
28/03/2001 )
Message from Michael Rother
Please note that all the articles mentioned on this website reflect the opinions of their respective authors. The inclusion of these articles here should not be seen as an indication that Michael Rother neccessarily shares the authors´ views or confirms the correctness of the informations published in these articles. (created:
01/02/2001 )
Read some reviews on Harmonia´s concert at the Worldtronics festival: