Offene Türen
Encyclopedia
Offene Türen is the eighth solo album by German keyboardist Hans-Joachim Roedelius, best known for his work with Cluster
, Harmonia
, and Aquarello
. The music of Offene Türen is more avant-garde than other Roedelius solo albums of the 1970s and 1980s. It can best be compared to Cluster
's Curiosum
which was released by Sky Records that same year.
, Austria
. The album was first released by Sky Records
on vinyl LP
in 1981. Two tracks, "Besucher Im Traum" and "Auf der Höhe", were included on the Sky Records compilation Auf leisen Sohlen - Das Beste Von H. J. Roedelius (1978 - 1982)
which was first released on LP in 1984 and reissued on CD
in 1994. This represented the first time any tracks from Offene Türen appeared on CD. The complete album was released on CD by Nepenthe Music in December, 2009. The reissue includes liner notes by Stephen Iliffe, the author of Roedelius' biography, Painting with Sound: The Life and Music of Hans-Joachim Roedelius and was remastered by Robert Rich
.
, writing (in Italian) on the online version of his History of Rock Music, describes Offene Türen as "austere" and rates it as "the masterpiece" of Roedelius' early works. The review for the Babyblaue Prog website, written (in German) by Jochen Rindfrey, describes the album (in part):
Cluster (band)
Cluster is a German experimental musical group who influenced the development of contemporary popular electronic and ambient music. They have recorded albums in a wide variety of styles ranging from experimental music to progressive rock, all of which had an avant-garde edge. Cluster has been...
, Harmonia
Harmonia (band)
Harmonia is a Krautrock supergroup from Germany. They formed as a collaboration between Michael Rother of Neu! and Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Dieter Möbius of Cluster and later included the British musician Brian Eno.-Musical style:...
, and Aquarello
Aquarello
Aquarello was a musical group which blended ambient music and jazz. The trio included keyboardist Hans-Joachim Roedelius, based in Austria, and two Italian musicians, multi-instrumentalist Fabio Capanni, and saxophonist Nicola Alesini...
. The music of Offene Türen is more avant-garde than other Roedelius solo albums of the 1970s and 1980s. It can best be compared to Cluster
Cluster (band)
Cluster is a German experimental musical group who influenced the development of contemporary popular electronic and ambient music. They have recorded albums in a wide variety of styles ranging from experimental music to progressive rock, all of which had an avant-garde edge. Cluster has been...
's Curiosum
Curiosum
Curiosum is the ninth album by the electronic music outfit Cluster. It was also the final collaboration between Dieter Moebius and Hans-Joachim Roedelius before an eight year hiatus....
which was released by Sky Records that same year.
Recording and release
Offene Türen was recorded at Roedelius' home studio and at Erpelstudio, ViennaVienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
. The album was first released by Sky Records
Sky Records
Sky Records was a Hamburg, Germany based independent record label specializing in Krautrock/Kosmische Musik and electronic music. Some of their releases could be classified as progressive rock or art rock, experimental music, industrial, ambient, or New Age...
on vinyl LP
LP record
The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...
in 1981. Two tracks, "Besucher Im Traum" and "Auf der Höhe", were included on the Sky Records compilation Auf leisen Sohlen - Das Beste Von H. J. Roedelius (1978 - 1982)
Auf leisen Sohlen
Auf leisen Sohlen is a compilation by Sky Records of works by German keyboardist Hans-Joachim Roedelius, best known for his work with Cluster, Harmonia, and Aquarello. It is subtitled Das Beste von H. J. Roedelius and includes tracks from seven of the eight albums he recorded for Sky Records...
which was first released on LP in 1984 and reissued on CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
in 1994. This represented the first time any tracks from Offene Türen appeared on CD. The complete album was released on CD by Nepenthe Music in December, 2009. The reissue includes liner notes by Stephen Iliffe, the author of Roedelius' biography, Painting with Sound: The Life and Music of Hans-Joachim Roedelius and was remastered by Robert Rich
Robert Rich (musician)
Robert Rich is an ambient musician and composer based in California, United States. With a discography spanning over 30 years, he is widely regarded as a figure whose sound has greatly influenced today's ambient, New Age, and even IDM music.-Early life:At an early age he thought he disliked music...
.
Reception
Piero ScaruffiPiero Scaruffi
Piero Scaruffi received a degree in Mathematics in 1982 from University of Turin, where he did work on the General Theory of Relativity. For a number of years he was the head of the Artificial Intelligence Center at Olivetti, based in Cupertino, California. He has been a visiting scholar at...
, writing (in Italian) on the online version of his History of Rock Music, describes Offene Türen as "austere" and rates it as "the masterpiece" of Roedelius' early works. The review for the Babyblaue Prog website, written (in German) by Jochen Rindfrey, describes the album (in part):
"...Offene Türen shows a more avant-garde side. The pieces in their brevity are often sketchy, acting as sound miniatures [...] The instrumentation is minimal with origins in the SelbstportraitSelbstportraitSelbstportrait is the third solo album by German keyboardist Hans-Joachim Roedelius, best known for his work with Cluster, Harmonia, and Aquarello. The title is German for "Self Portrait", a title which clearly reflects the gentle, introspective nature of this album of ambient or New Age music...
series, with sound effects backing the Farfisa organ. There are also songs like 'Allemande,' which sounds a bit like a burlesque folk dance, or 'Abenteuerliche Begegnung' and 'Besucher im Traum' which resemble in their romantic mood more typical Roedelius music."
Track listing
- "Abenteuerliche Begegnung" - 3:35
- "Besucher Im Traum" - 3:58
- "Mit offenem Visier" -3:27
- "Vom Osten her" - 4:27
- "Der Sieger" - 2:08
- "Auf der Höhe" - 3:58
- "Allemande" - 2:10
- "Spiegelung" - 2:44
- "Husche" - 2:36
- "Stufe um Stufe" - 3:05
- "Zeremoniell" - 3:25
- "Wende" - 4:08
Personnel
- Hans-Joachim Roedelius - Synthesizer, keyboards, vocals, music by, producer
- Eric Spitzer-Marlyn - Engineer
- Robert RichRobert Rich (musician)Robert Rich is an ambient musician and composer based in California, United States. With a discography spanning over 30 years, he is widely regarded as a figure whose sound has greatly influenced today's ambient, New Age, and even IDM music.-Early life:At an early age he thought he disliked music...
- CD reissue remastering - Tim Fisher - Artwork (CD reissue)