Editorial Reviews Music Review:
Music Review
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Amazon.com
The first collaboration between the prolific avant-garde German duo and the synthesist and future U2 producer bore tasty musical fruit. Meshing Cluster's affinity for loops and repetition and Eno's penchant for processing sounds, the trio proves that ambient music does not merely consist of drawn-out drones and insipid keyboard tapestries. Certainly many of these nine tracks play off of sustained sounds and atmospheres, but their shorter running times make them more digestible, as does their variety of moods and textures. Highlights include the angelic atmosphere of "Für Luise," the classically inspired piano interlude "Mit Samaen," and the Indian-influenced "One," a trippy progenitor of ethnoambient music, ripe with sitar drones, guitar noises, and exotic percussion that features contributions from Okko Becker and Asmus Tietchens. The group also usurps their spaced-out predilections with the off-kilter "Selange"--a cyclical piece for keyboards and drum machine with a tricky rhythm change to discombobulate its otherwise smooth flow--and the upbeat Western gallop of "Die Bunge." Cluster & Eno is a worthy model for the eclectic possibilities of electronic music. --Bryan Reesman