KLUSTER with “K” was the brainchild of CONRAD SCHNITZLER, who, with the help of the later much more successful MÖBIUS & RÖDELIUS, practised his exciting but occasionally quite alienating principle of “random music” hic et nunc & completely without electronics. SCHNITZLER, born in ’34, released Klopfzeichen in 1971 the first, and shortly afterwards Kluster Zwei-Osterei the second of more than 50 albums that are difficult to digest for consumers of conventional rock music. His two colleagues had less musical stamina and after the second KLUSTER LP traded as CLUSTER with “C” to produce similarly wacky sound explorations with more zest, lots of knobs to turn and finally some electric guitar.
Their masterpiece became the 1974 LP Zuckerzeit, a congenial conglomeration of monotonous electronics and ostensibly harmless pop (or the other way around). Parallel to CLUSTER, they formed the fabulous band HARMONIA together with MICHAEL ROTHER. After that they went their separate ways. Each pursued their respective solo projects more or less successfully.
