Search - Harmonia :: De Luxe

Harmonia - 'Deluxe' (Universal) import CD

Mike Reed | USA | 04/11/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I just had to go back and listen to this release and previously I may have given it a three star rating,but now I have discovered that it's nearly AS GOOD as the band's 1st lp 'Music Von'.As 'Deluxe' was originally put out in 1975,it most certainly displays some of Michael Rother's somewhat dominating guitar work,on a few of the tracks anyway.Starts off with the title cut,which reminds me of the 'Neu! 75' lp but also lets me know what might've very well influenced the music on the first two Gary Numan albums."Walky Talky" is pretty decent with Guru Guru drummer Mani Neumeier as guest."Monza" has the synth work over floating it's boundries.Chalk up yet another genius effort for the Rother,Moebius and Roedelius team.'Deluxe' would be best described as experimental mind music.Will appeal to fans of Faust,Cluster,Can,Neu! and early Guru Guru."

More Zuckerzeit than Neu!

Brian J. Greene | Durham, NC | 06/09/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The major difference between the two Harmonia albums is that, in this marriage of Krautrock giants Neu! (in the person of Michael Rother) and Cluster (Roedelius/Moebious), on Musik von Harmonia, the influence of Neu! seems to hold sway, while Deluxe is much more a Cluster-sounding record. On tracks like Dino, the first album showcased some of the pulsating, motorik guitar grooves you recognize from Neu!'s three records. Those grooves that make for great driving music, and which Stereolab so shamelessly borrowed from on the song "Jenny Ondioline" and their whole sound at the time of that song. Cluster records, like Zuckerzeit and Sowiesoso, are more things you want to play with the headphones strapped on, and you sprawled out on the floor, letting the music take your mind wandering to places unknown. With the exception of the one uptempo track, "Monza (Rauf Und Runter)," which could have come straight off of Neu!75, the whole here feels like Cluster with Michael Rother as a guest musician. If anyone of this sounds like a complaint, it's not meant to be. If you twisted my arm and made me choose between Neu! and Cluster, I WOULD take Neu!, but I love them both. And I love the look of the three guys on the back cover, an image which, I think, says it all: three cool dudes hanging out by the water, lawn chairs, beach umbrellas, bikes, a dog and musical instruments in their midst. How great it must have been to record music like this in your own studio, in a little village, and you are making the music just the way you want to make it. Shimmering beauty."

As Good As NEU!

Eric A. Hurley | 04/21/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"As a big NEU! fan, I picked this up hoping that Michael Rother could deliver the goods with another band, and I was pleasantly surprised with what I got.The opening track, 'Deluxe (Immer Wieder)', actually sounds an awful lot like Kraftwerk's classic, 'Autobahn' - complete with the sing-song chanting and a bobbing synth beat. 'Monza (Rauf und Runter)' is a sort-of-reprise of the first track that winds up sounding almost exactly like 'After Eight' from the 'NEU! 75' album. The rest of the tracks are just good ambient synth-pop that at times reminds me of Mouse On Mars and even Herbie Hancock.Overall, it's a very groovy album. If you like 'NEU! 75', I can't imagine why you wouldn't like this one, too. NEU! fans should also check out Klaus Dinger's spinoff band, La Dusseldorf."