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Just out is the new Cluster CD "Qua" that I was honored to produce. The legendary duo's first studio album in over a decade, I've had a few requests to make the new Cluster "Qua" cd available on my website, so we did! I was able to get some copies from Nepenthe, so while they last, I am putting them up for a pretty sweet price of $11.99, at http://www.timstory.com/disc/qua.html
This order page does not link from anywhere else on my site, so it's for my Facebook and MySpace pals only through this link!
From the Press Release:
After a 14-year stretch of releasing only live albums, the duo of Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Dieter Mobius — more succinctly known as Cluster — has emerged from Tim Story’s Ohio studio with another Cluster classic, Qua.
“It’s like having a cup of coffee and a donut in the middle of a Martian shoe factory,” says Story of his first experience producing a Cluster session. “Moebi and Achim always have the incredible knack of carving a bit of warmth and humanity out of the most unlikely elements. On Qua, there's a surprisingly melodic solo that Moe performed on our squeaky bathroom door, and a virtuoso performance ‘playing’ the feedback from the unplugged end of a guitar cable. Meanwhile, Ach plays a bass line on our old orange Farfisa organ — and naturally centers his riff around the one note that's broken.”
The squeaky-door solo is one of many mysterious sounds on the 17-track Qua that Cluster and Story have sewn together to make seamless, artful music out of what others hear as noise.
Story muses: “It’s what makes Cluster absolutely unique — taking the debris of life, and the sounds most other people would ‘tune out’, and turning them into supremely odd, but engagingly human poetry. A happy marriage of Dada and romance.”
That happy marriage (albeit with its on-again, off-again moments) has continued for nearly 40 years — so it would be a natural to assume that the music resulting from Cluster’s return to the studio would have been something of a nostalgia trip. But at an age when other musicians are making bank on old ideas, Cluster is making music that is in every way new.
“When we first starting talking about making this record, I imagined a 20th-century version of Sowiesoso or Zuckerzeit,” recalls Story, “abandoning for now the long, freeform improvisations that had been a staple of Cluster’s recent live performances, and revisiting the short idiosyncratic miniatures that we would be able to achieve in a studio setting. But even I wouldn’t have guessed that a total of 17 great pieces would result — each with it’s own inner logic and personality, and all working within the framework of the whole.”
Even more remarkably, Qua’s 17 tracks aren’t just audio novelties — they have a richness of texture, tone and character unexpected in the electronic music genre. Perhaps the most surprising thing about Cluster’s sound-as-sandbox approach to music — and why they’ve inspired so many other influential musicians — is that they explore inventive and expressive potentials in electronic music seldom realized by others.
Story concludes: “With the humbling honor of being the first Cluster ‘producer’ in several decades, I felt my main duty was to give Ach and Moebi as many good options as possible, then get out of the way, and record their process as transparently as I could. Hopefully, Qua captures the richness and humor and the warmth that made the recording sessions so much fun for all of us.”
errata by Ashley/Roedelius/Story - Release on 11/13/2008!
When recording artists Hans Joachim Roedelius, Tim Story and Dwight Ashley came together at Tim’s Ohio studio to make recordings, both the technique of composing and the finished product echoed the character of this emblematic phrase – at once, both comical and mystical.
The 10 aural collages that resulted from their recording session reflect what Surrealist Nicolas Calas characterized as “the unconscious reality in the personality of the group,” derived from a state Max Ernst wryly dubbed “mental contagion.”
Commenting on the effects of this, Ashley remarks: “It’s not uncommon for people to hear an element in the recordings and think ‘oh, that’s a classic Story riff,’ when in fact, Ach or I actually contributed that bit.”
So, what do you get when you combine the melodious musings of Hans Joachim Roedelius, the nuanced phrasings of Tim Story and the sonic colorations of Dwight Ashley? You get the sonic colorations of Roedelius, the melodious musings of Story, and the nuanced phrasing of Ashley. In short, you get a distinctly different fourth entity that emerges from the group, rather than the individual. From the rhythm-fueled, epic “squiggle” to the brief, wonderfully abstract title track, Errata echoes the Surrealist credo that “poetry must be made by all, and not by one.”
Produced by Tim Story, it's alternately abstract, funny, mysterious, rhythmic, and surrealistic. Not as contemplative and melodic as Tim's solo works, it's more along the lines of "Buzzle", the quirkier side of "Lunz" and "Inlandish", and my collaborations with Dwight Ashley.
Tim Story - biography
Tim Story, hailed as "a true artist in the electronic medium" (Victory Review, USA) and "a master of electronic chamber music" (CD Review, USA) has received worldwide acclaim for his haunting compositions which blend orchestral acoustic instruments and elegant electronics.
Tim's intensely personal style as a pianist, synthesist and composer developed from years of experimentation in his home studio, and a love of composition. Along with his self-taught, idiosyncratic approach to the piano, Story saw the great potential of the new breed of electronic music instruments that were evolving in the early 70's. This affinity for synthesizers, as well as electric guitars, tape loops and kitchen utensils, is evident in the early recordings. The careful juxtaposition of acoustic instruments with electronic textures, and an inventive approach to composition are common threads running through most of Story's work.
"I like to work with a finite palette of sounds and keep paring things down to a pure, though often ambiguous, expression. Simplicity shouldn't imply simplemindedness. I think of the deceptively simple, ironic pieces of Erik Satie, or the lovely yet challenging piano music of Debussy. The very best of these pieces appear so effortless and perfect that they seem as if they've existed forever..." Story also cites a diverse range of musical preferences including Bartok, Arvo Part, Miles Davis, Coltrane, Dwight Ashley, Can, Cluster and Robert Wyatt.
Tim's work has garnered an international reputation for its haunting elegance and meticulous compositional detail. When writing and recording, he often spends months carefully working and refining the shape of each composition until he achieves the desired emotional and intellectual effect. His seemingly simple pieces distill harmonic and melodic ideas that are often quite complex.
" ...a goal of mine is to get the listeners to put something of themselves into the music. I want to prod the listener to find his or her own feelings about a piece, even if those feelings are sometimes uncomfortable. As Charles Ives said, 'Beauty in music is too often confused with something that lets the ears lie back in an easy chair.' I like to think of good music as a sculpture or a Japanese garden, where you can never experience the whole from any one point. Music that insinuates, you must move through it, live with it for a while, before it yields its secrets." As Philadelphia's City Paper described it, "Story’s unsentimental blend of still-life piano and eerie synthetics conjures without explaining. His instrumental music comes at the listener subtly yet subversively...."
DISCOGRAPHY
1981
Threads
Originally recorded for Atem Records
Re-issued 1992 by Eurock Records (USA) - ECD 2008/CD
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1982
In Another Country
Dubious Recordings (USA) - DC001/Cass
Uniton Records (Norway) - U009/LP
Re-issued in 1995 by Eurock Records (USA) - ECD 2012/CD
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This album from iTunes
1984
Untitled
Uniton Records (Norway) - U024/LP Cassette
Polydor (Japan) - 3112-56/CD LP
Re-issued 1988, Windham Hill/Lost Lake Arts (USA) - WD 0094/CD LP Cass
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This album from iTunes
1985
Three Feet From The Moon
Uniton Records - U027/LP Cass
Teichiku (Japan) - 30CP-148/CD
Re-issued in 1997 by Eurock Records (USA) - ECD 2014/CD
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This album from iTunes
1987
Wheat and Rust
Cicada Records (Norway) - C008/LP Cass CACD 03/CD
This album from iTunes
Glass Green
Windham Hill (USA) - WD 1061, 11124/CD LP Cass
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1988
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
Read by Glenn Close, Music composed, arranged and performed by TS
Windham Hill/Rabbit Ears – WD 0711/CD LP Cass
1990
Of The Father’s Love Begotten, from A Winter's Solstice III
Traditional, arranged and performed by TS
Windham Hill - WH 1098/CD LP Cass
1991
Beguiled (Released 1992)
Hearts Of Space (USA) - HS11027/CD Cass
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A Desperate Serenity (Ashley/Story)
Multimood Records (Sweden)/CD
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1992
The Seed, from The Seed
Composed by John Kerr, arranged and performed by TS
Cue Records (Germany) - CUE 100/CD
Gymnopedie 1, from The Impressionists
Composed by Erik Satie, arranged and performed by TS
Windham Hill - 11116/CD Cass
This track from iTunes
1993
Asleep the Snow Came Flying, from A Winter's Solstice IV
Composed, arranged and performed by TS
Windham Hill – 11134/CD Cass
This track from iTunes
1994
In Search of Angels
Windham Hill (USA) - 01934 11153-2/CD Cass
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The Perfect Flaw
Hearts of Space (USA) - HS11045/CD Cass
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Siciliano, from The Bach Variations
Composed by J.S. Bach, arranged and performed by TS
Windham Hill (USA) - 01934 11150/CD Cass
1995
The Death of Ase, from The Romantics
Composed by Edvard Grieg, arranged and performed by TS
Windham Hill (USA) - 01934-11171/CD Cass
This track from iTunes
1996
Abridged (includes Drawn By Hand, previously unreleased)
Hearts of Space (USA) - HS11066/CD
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Adagio from Serenade 10 in B-flat, from A Different Mozart
Composed by W. A. Mozart, arranged and performed by TS
Imaginary Road (Polygram) (USA) - 314 534 065-2/CD Cass
1997
Drop (Ashley/Story)
Lektronic Soundscapes/CD
Re-issued 2005, Nepenthe Music (USA) - AMC05003/CD
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The Earth Lay White, from On A Winter’s Night
Composed, arranged and performed by TS
Imaginary Road (Polygram) (USA) - 314 536 143-2/CD Cass
In The Winter’s Pale, from A Winter’s Solstice VI
Composed, arranged and performed by TS
Windham Hill (USA) - 01934-11220/ CD Cass
This track from iTunes
1998
The Silver Swan, from A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Composed by Orlando Gibbons, arranged and performed by TS
Windham Hill (USA) - 01934-11216/CD Cass
This track from iTunes
Caranna, From Thanksgiving – A Windham Hill Collection
Composed, arranged and produced by TS
Windham Hill - 01934-11381/CD Cass
This track from iTunes
2000
Persistence of Memory (Story/Roedelius)
Seventh Chance, 2000
Limited edition, signed CD
Please check with me for availability
Prelude of the Heroic Gate of Heaven, from A Different Prelude
Composed by Erik Satie, arranged and performed by TS
Decca Records (USA) - 289 465 819/CD
2001
Shadowplay
Hearts of Space (USA) – 11403-2/CD
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When Comes December, from A Winter’s Solstice Silver Anniversary Edition
Composed, arranged and performed by TS
Windham Hill (USA) - 01934-11604-2/CD
2002
Lunz (Story/Roedelius)
Groenland (UK)/CD
Re-released in 2003 by Narada (USA)/CD
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It Came Upon the Midnight Clear, from A Windham Hill Christmas
Traditional, arranged and performed by TS
Windham Hill (USA)
This track from iTunes
2003
Largo, from Adagio
Composed by A. Vivaldi, arranged and performed by TS
Windham Hill (USA) /CD
Sanctus, from Prayer
Composed by Faure, arranged and performed by TS
Windham Hill (USA)/CD
This track from iTunes
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, from A Windham Hill Christmas II
Traditional, arranged and performed by TS
Windham Hill (USA)/CD
2004
Lunz Reinterpretations (Story/Roedelius/various artists)
Groenland (UK)/CD
2-cd set featuring original Lunz cd, and another full disc of remixes
Please check with me for availability
The Holly and the Ivy, from I’ll Be Home For Christmas
Traditional, arranged and performed by TS
Windham Hill (USA)/CD
This track from iTunes
2005
Caravan - Original Soundtrack
Nepenthe Music (USA) - AMC05004/CD
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Standing and Falling (Ashley/Story)
Nepenthe Music (USA) - AMC05007/CD
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The First Noel/What Is This Fragrance?, from Christmas Eve
Traditional, arranged and performed by TS
Windham Hill (USA)/CD
This track from iTunes
2006
buzzle
Barking Green (UK)/Nepenthe (US) - BGM00041/CD
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Otherize, from Chasing The Dawn - Ultima Thule Ambient
Composed, arranged and performed by TS
Ultima Thule (Australia)/CD
2008
Inlandish (Story/Roedelius)
Groenland (UK)/CD
High Wire (US)/CD
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This album from iTunes
errata (Ashley/Story/Roedelius)
Nepenthe/CD
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This album from iTunes
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