Qluster – Lauschen

The latest release from Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Onnen Bock – aka Cluster, and now Qluster – is a live collaboration with improv multi-instrumentalist Armin Metz. Despite the additional performer, however, Lauschen is an austere listen, even by Roedelius and Bock’s forbidding standards. For the most part, the LP is comprised of sparse electronic soundscapes, loosely scattered with pulsing chords and bleeps, which swim in and out of the mix.

That minimalism means that, when the pieces acquire more structure and rhythm – as on the stuttering sub-bass beats of Erato – the music feels imbued with a disproportionate sense of weight and impact. Such aberrations, however, go against the grain of what is essentially a wilfully understated, ambient improv record. As such, Lauschen is likely to leave those without an interest in this particular niche feeling cold, while it will be a valuable addition to the Cluster/Qluster canon for others.