To say that Hans-Joachim Roedelius was prolific would be an understatement.
Be it with Krautrock legends Cluster, Kluster, Qluster and Harmonia, with jazz trio Aqarello, as a solo artist or as a collaborator with artists too numerous to mention, his output is quite staggering.
It is estimated that he has played on around 160 recordings in total and now, aged 77, he shows no signs of slowing down and as eager as ever to get his work into the public domain.
This recording has taken twenty-six years to see the light of day, being the first official release of a concert at the Bloomsbury Theatre, London in July 1985 where he performed following an invitation from Brian Eno.
Over the course of just under one hour, the recording comprises tracks numbered from part 1 to part 21.
The longest (part 9) is timed at 6:41, the shortest (part 20) lasts just 57 seconds. Although a live recording, the applause has been edited out (either that or the audience were very quiet!).
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Roedelius clearly relished the opportunity to play on a Steinway grand piano and the pieces have a quiet delicacy and grace that flow seamlessly into one another.
The quality is that of meditative classical music rather than the electronic ambient music he's best known for. There are also subtle hints of jazzy refrains, parts that sound like the intro to Send In The Clowns and part 16 ,if I'm not mistaken, incorporates the theme from Love Story. Then, on part 11, when he breaks into the refrain from Eno's The River to further blur the genre boundaries.
Just call it beautiful music and have done with it.
Hans-Joachim Roedelius' Official Website
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