Roedelius

Following a stellar string of reissues from Krautrock hero/electronic music pioneer Hans-Joachim Roedelius, Bureau B has again dusted off another long-forgotten gem with Lustwandel. Originally released in 1981, the album was the second solo effort from the Cluster/Harmonia player to be recorded at Berlin's Paragon Studios with Peter Baumann (of Tangerine Dream) — the first being 1979's Jardin au Fou. And like its predecessor, Lustwandel finds Roedelius in a classical frame of mind, with the German composer's usual synth workouts traded for piano-led chamber music pieces of a very baroque, romantic nature. Still, even without all the sequencers, rhythm machines and abstract sounds, this is very much a Roedelius record, meaning it's one seriously introspective and meditative listen, complete with just the right amount of weird. Only now, with the leftfield synth and percussive elements off to the sidelines, it comes via grand piano meditations. Don't let the classical leanings scare you off: Lustwandel is Roedelius at the top of his kosmische game; he just waltzes here more than ever.