Dieter Moebius (16 January 1944 – 20 July 2015) was a pivotal figure in Germany’s avant-garde electronic music scene. He gained prominence as a member of the seminal krautrock bands Kluster/Cluster (alongside Hans-Joachim Roedelius) and Harmonia (with Roedelius and Michael Rother from NEU!). Throughout his career, he collaborated with notable artists like Brian Eno, Conny Plank, and Mani Neumeier of Guru Guru. On October 6th, Curious Music is set to debut his posthumous album “Aspirin”, which was finalized in 2005 but is being released for the first time.

Tim Story, a close friend and fellow composer, recounts the origins of “Aspirin”: “In December 2005, Dieter Moebius visited the US to perform with Guru Guru’s drummer, Mani Neumeier, at the Detroit Institute of Arts. After the performance, he extended his stay to spend time with my family and me in Ohio. These were memorable days filled with friend visits, laughter, and delightful meals. On our last evening, over some Scotch, Moebius introduced me to new tracks he’d been crafting. I was instantly captivated and got his permission to copy them.”

Story continues, “Moebius had just wrapped up his ‘Nurton’ album earlier in 2005. Like ‘Nurton’, these tracks were produced in his Berlin and Mallorca home studios. Some might have been ‘Nurton’ out-takes, but I feel most were created post-‘Nurton’. Regardless of when they were made, Moebius chose to set these aside to focus on his next solo venture, ‘Kram’ (2009).”

Years later, during a trip to Berlin, Story played a CDr of these tracks for Moebius, who was thrilled to revisit them. Story believes, “Even though we never discussed this music again, I sense Moebius would be delighted to know that this previously overlooked chapter from an enjoyable, productive phase of his life is finally seeing the light of day.”

Following “Moebius Strips”, which Curious Music released in 2021, “Aspirin” is the next project. Tim Story closely collaborated with Moebius’s widow, Irene, and the audio installation featured contributions from various artists, including Mark Mothersbaugh of Devo, Michael Rother from Harmonia and NEU!, and many others.

Notably, the album cover for “Aspirin” was designed by Mark Mothersbaugh, known as DEVO’s lead vocalist.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

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(Photo by Alice d25) “Moebius Strips” is a brand new tribute to sound pioneer Dieter Moebius, put together by longtime friend and collaborator Tim Story.

The project includes contributions from Geoff Barrow (Portishead, Beak), Sarah Davachi, Jean-Benoît Dunckel (Air), Eve Maret, Mark Mothersbaugh (Devo), Phew, Hans-Joachim Roedelius (Cluster, Harmonia), Michael Rother (Harmonia, NEU!) and Yuri Suzuki. The project includes a limited edition CD/digital release on October 1st with a limited edition vinyl to come in spring 2022.

For the recordings, Story has been using Moebius’ sounds and loops and he has been working closely with Moebius’ widow Irene. The result is a combination of hundreds of sounds, motifs and riffs from the artist’s archive with raw material from the many Moebius collaborations that Story himself had been a part of over the years.

About Dieter Moebius

Dieter Moebius (16 January 1944 – 20 July 2015) was a Swiss-born German electronic musician and composer, best known as a member of the influential krautrock bands Cluster and Harmonia.

Moebius was studying art at Berlin’s Akademie Grafik and working as a restaurant cook when he met Conrad Schnitzler, founder of the Zodiak Free Arts Lab with Hans-Joachim Roedelius. The trio founded the improvisation group Kluster in 1969. After the departure of Schnitzler, the duo changed their name to Cluster and relocated to the countryside village of Forst, releasing influential albums such as “Zuckerzeit” (1974) and “Sowiesoso” (1976). Moebius would also draw on his graphic design training create the cover artwork for various Cluster albums and related collaborations.

Meanwhile, Moebius and Roedelius founded the band Harmonia with Michael Rother of Neu!, releasing the albums “Musik von Harmonia” (1974) and “Deluxe” (1975). Admirer Brian Eno would subsequently collaborate with both groups. Moebius began recording solo works in the 1970s and was later involved in numerous side-projects with such musicians as Conny Plank and Mani Neumeier (Guru Guru), including the influential 1983 album “Zero Set”.

Moebius died of cancer on 20 July 2015.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

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(Photo by Irene Moebius – Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Dieter Moebius in 2008) Moebius Strips is an audio installation by Tim Story from the sounds and music of electronic music and krautrock pioneer Dieter Moebius. Included are contributions from Geoff Barrow (Portishead, Beak), Sarah Davachi, Jean-Benoît Dunckel (Air), Eve Maret, Mark Mothersbaugh (Devo), Phew, Hans-Joachim Roedelius (Cluster, Harmonia), Michael Rother (Harmonia, Kraftwerk, NEU!) and Yuri Suzuki.

The project includes a limited edition CD and digital release which will be available on October 1st. A limited edition audiophile vinyl release will follow in spring 2022.

The Swiss German electronic music pioneer Dieter “Moebi” Moebius passed away in 2015 leaving behind work with Brian Eno, Conny Plank, as a member of the krautrock act Harmonia and perhaps most memorably with Hans-Joachim Roedelius in the duo Cluster.

Longtime friends and colleagues, Moebius and Story collaborated on many musical projects, including “Snowghost Pieces” (2014) and Cluster’s final album “Qua” (2009).

Here’s a teaser for “Moebius Strips”.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

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Out this summer is a vinyl reissue of Dieter Moebius’ 2011 album “Ding”. It’s the first time that “Ding” (together with “Kram” which can be ordered here) has been made available on vinyl. The liner notes were again penned by Moebius’ friend, the U.S. composer, producer and musician Tim Story. Orders are being taken now.

Dieter Moebius passed away in the summer of 2015 after battling cancer and since then his final 4 solo albums have been reissued. He was a German/Swiss experimental/krautrock/ambient/electronic musician who studied art in Brussels and Berlin. It was in Berlin that he met Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Conrad Schnitzler (Tangerine Dream). They founded Kluster in 1969. After the departure of Schnitzler, they changed their name to Cluster. Later Moebius and Roedelius founded the band Harmonia with Michael Rother (Neu!), a fellow Brian Eno collaborator. Dieter Moebius was involved in numerous projects with such musicians as Conny Plank and Mandani Neumeier (Guru Guru).

Needless to say that this is a must have release from a very influential electronic artist.

Below is a track from “Ding”.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

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Out on September 4th is the new electronic album from Lloyd Cole. Again based on his work with modular synths it continues to where he left of with “Selective Studies Vol. 1” which was released in early 2013. The new album consists of the unused submissions (both Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Lloyd Cole had submitted maybe 400% more than was ultimately used) which weren’t really finished. Some pieces were originally created with overdubs by another in mind. Some were simply experiments.

Says Lloyd Cole: “None of the pieces involves the use of a piano keyboard or a computer, except to record it. Some modulations were executed by hand. Most were generated by programmed sequencers and logic. Each piece is a self contained electronic circuit. When it came to selecting the pieces it became clear that certain pieces would need to be shortened if this was to become an LP or CD. I made rudimentary edits, the difficult stuff was done by Jonas Foerster in Berlin.”

To give you an idea of what sound you can expect, here is a track from “Selected Studies Vol. 1”.

English singer and songwriter Lloyd Cole is mostly known for his role as lead singer of Lloyd Cole and the Commotions from 1984 to 1989. After the band disbanded Cole relocated to New York and recorded with various artists, including Fred Maher, Robert Quine and Matthew Sweet. He also recorded several solo albums.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

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