On their massive two date tour of Ireland and the UK, Dieter Moebius and Hans- Joachim Roedelius’ stopover in Dublin defied expectations. Of course there were no greatest hits played but they played a thrilling set that touched on the various phases of their career. Simultaneously enthralling and bemusing, they did their best to keep the audience on their toes through unpredictable alterations in the direction of the music. All this combined with the welcome addition of local synth nuts Boys of Summer made for a night to remember.
6 February, Dublin, Ireland.
Standing like three teenagers at adjacent arcade machines, the Boys of Summer launched into a phenomenal set which saw them consolidate the varying approaches exhibited in their EPs into one fulfilling and thrilling performance. Expanding their music across a broad spectrum (chasm deep bass drones covered with mid- and high-range washes and melodies), the sound they create is total in its dominance of the room. It flowed over the audience like a benevolent tsunami, causing bliss instead of destruction. The vibrations were as physically powerful as they were sonically, the wall I was leaning on shuddered under their intense improvisation. Then, in what seemed like only an instant, we were released from the Boys of Summer’s auditory embrace and dropped back in the real world in all its boring flatness.
A little while later, what looked like two granddads took up their positions behind a pile of cables and electronic devices. Cluster took a more beat-orientated approach to what I was expecting (although in retrospect, I don’t know what I actually expected to hear) but instead of using a steady beat to build on; they chopped and changed rapidly between rhythms. As soon as people started grooving to the music, Moebius and Roedelius would move on to something completely different. The eternally shifting music was in stark contrast to the imagery the duo chose to accompany their performance: a static shot of an old stone farmhouse where the only activity on screen is the action of the wind on the surrounding vegetation and the occasional appearance of a man going about his work.
Careering through the wide expanse of electronic styles that they have pursued either together or separately through their respective solo careers, Cluster covered everything from four-to-the-floor dance pulses to washes of pure electronic noise. Even the most straightforward sections of their set were deliberately set off kilter, the tempo altered to stop a solid rhythm from taking hold. At times I found the music difficult; it required work to keep on top of. However, it is work that paid off as it felt like I had solved a difficult equation when the sounds fell into place. I must admit that by the time the concert came to a close, I was happy to go off and sit down somewhere. It is a sad state of affairs when those on stage are at least twice as old as I am and are putting out more energy than I can cope with in one go. At this rate I cannot see myself staying up late enough to go to a gig at their age let alone play one!
