Hans-Joachim Roedelius ‎– Tape Archive Essence 1973-1978

A double Roedelius week! This one's a single disc highlight collection distilled from the heavy duty 2014 boxset of early recordings, which was both very pricey and now long sold out. Harmonia/Cluster fans are going to have a field day here, what with all the trademark Roedelius flourishes on show - ebullient synth bubbles, odd melodic phrasing, near-psychedelic elliptical composition et al. Loads to feast on for Roedelius acolytes for sure, but also for those with even a passing interest in the early developments of electronic music. And in the catchily named closer, Band 073 1 Skizze 3 von ,By This River', you can hear the past and the future caught perfectly in sonic amber - if you told me this came from a recent OPN record or from the Emeralds/Mist/McGuire/Hauschildt camp no-one would doubt you. Turns out our man Roedelius was really very good right from the very start.