Moebius & Beerbohm

"Double Cut" (Album, 1984)

Sky

Ex-member of Krautrock pioneers Cluster, Dieter Moebius composes experimental electronic music. It comes as no surprise then to learn that over the years he has gone on to collaborate with the likes of Han Joachim Roedelius, Brian Eno and Kraftwerk mentor Conny Plank. Here, he teams up with Beerbohm to produce a four-track album that uses repetitive, rhythmic noises (treated guitars and keyboards) that despite being released in 1984, sounds like it could easily have appeared ten years earlier. Hydrogen is the shortest track at just three and a half minutes and utilises jumping, wave-like oscillating synths, 'ticking' percussion and what sounds like a bass guitar to briefly explore the wave structure that lies at the heart of all sound.

Narkose takes a similarly 'bouncy' approach to Hydrogen but blends different muted bass sounds and whistles. The last track, the twenty one-minute Doppelschnitt begins on a completely different tangent with a quirky pop tune riff that fights against electric percussion and digital noises. This is hardly the stuff you'd play to induce wild parties and even big fans of ambient might find this something of a challenge to listen to. However, if your a fan of minimalist, repetitive composers like Philip Glass or your tastes include the early Krautrock bands then you'll find this makes perfect background music to an ambient lifestyle. 5/10

Rob Dyer