German composer and electronic music pioneer Dieter Moebius died today at the age of 71.
Michael Rother, who collaborated with Moebius in the group Harmonia, shared the news on his Facebook page:
Very sad news today for all friends of Dieter Moebius and his unique music. Our friend, neighbour and collaborator passed away this morning, July 20th 2015.
He will be missed dearly by all of us. Our thoughts go out to his wife, Irene. RIP,
Dieter (Möbi).
Dieter Moebius (born 1944 in Switzerland, died 20 July 2015) founded Kluster in 1969, with Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Conrad Schnitzler. After the departure of Schnitzler, the band changed their name to Cluster and released a series of influential albums of Krautrock, Kosmische and ambient music. Cluster also worked with Brian Eno on several albums.
Moebius collaborated in the ‘Krautrock supergroup’ Harmonia with Rother and Roedelius, in the mid-to-late 70’s.
In addition to his work with Cluster & Harmonia, Moebius release more than a dozen solo and collaboration albums.
So sad, but a wonderful catalog of music left for the world to enjoy till eternity. Harmonia every morning, doctor recommended.
Another legend passes, I wonder how many of today’s musicians know how much his work influences theirs? RIP
Very sad news….again.
So sad. Hugely influential and inspirational yet relatively obscure. The importance of the work he did can not be overstated and is as relevant today as it was 40 years ago, if not more so.
Sad to hear. His work in Cluster and Harmonia is both timeless and ahead of it’s time. RIP.
I’m not ‘sorry’ that he is gone as much as I am impressed by what he accomplished. I’m a big fan of this general group, especially Roedelius. They’re the godfathers of a bridge between the earliest establishment of the electronic lexicon and ambient music with balls. They took chances and it shows, with a lot of texture I think of as quality European. The experimentation was coherent and not just labeled as Art because it wasn’t carpentry. Not having the refined synths and effects we take for granted made them sweat over noisy-assed hardware. Each track of “Cluster & Eno” is a little movie of its own. It takes you somewhere far from Maroon 5 or Mostly Mozart concerts. They pushed the envelope well, in part because virtually everything had to be made by hand in real time. Even high-end mixer automation was still just a glimmer then and synth memory? Ha ha. Everyone who appreciates e-music owes a big debt to people like Moebius and Raymond Scott. Roedelius and Moebius did a short tour of northeastern U. S. colleges a few years back and were surprised at the huge show of affection. Check out a cross-section of it from early to more recent. Its a whole different take on studio craft from sitting in front of Live or Logic.
One more pioneer of that so called Krautrock vanished yesterday. But his music – especially in collaboration with Brian Eno – will stand the test of time.
RIP Dieter
Indeed, one of the most original musicians from the 70s scene and beyond, very influential. RIP
My favorite songs are Speed Display and Deluxe (Immer Wieder).
This is yet another sad death for Progressive Music and Electronic Music fans. This has been a very painful year. These people were making masterworks with half the technological advances we take for granted everyday.
Another genius lost. I’m going to twist some knobs, poke some buttons and make some funny electronic noises in his honor right away!
RIP Dieter Moebius.
So sad to hear of the passing of a truly original music pioneer. Cluster II is the best album ever made, bar none.
RIP