Roedelius

LP version, on 180 gram vinyl. This is the tenth solo album by German keyboardist Hans-Joachim Roedelius, originally released in 1984 on Editions EG. On Geschenk Des Augenblicks - Gift Of The Moment, Roedelius broke away unequivocally from purely electronic music. If Lustwandel (BB 055CD/LP) and Jardin Au Fou (BB 023CD/LP) had seen the process set in motion, this was the album that completed the transition. Following the Selbstportraits, which had at least been created through the use of electric organ and synthesizers, Roedelius focused on the grand piano, sometimes accompanied by a cello, violin and guitar. Distant echoes of a not-so-distant musical past could only be detected in the occasional appearance of sparse chords played on a polyphonic synthesizer. Significantly, his arrival in Austria (having moved there a few years earlier) was much more than a geographical relocation. Roedelius responded to the musical culture of romanticism and the Biedermeier tradition, their influences seeping into his essentially modern understanding of composition in bewildering fashion on Geschenk Des Augenblicks - Gift Of The Moment. It was all too much for his listeners, reared on the more familiar sounds of Cluster and Harmonia. Moreover, the album wore a veil of delicate melancholy: no vibrant folk dances, no colorful carousels, no cheerful melodies. Instead, Roedelius offered a calm, almost detached form of music, openly acknowledging romantic heritage. Geschenk Des Augenblicks - Gift Of The Moment eluded contemporary definitions of the "experimental" concept, as Roedelius was now experimenting in new, eclectic areas, too weighty, too grainy to be labeled "proto New Age." Roedelius was not striving for perfection, but for authenticity -- a music stripped of disguise; and to this end he left little playing errors in the mix, fading out tracks rigorously to eliminate any bigger blunders. Such artistic honesty bears no relation to reality-free New Age music. Printed inner sleeve with notes by Asmus Tietchens.