Dieter Moebius, Electronic Music Pioneer, Dead at 71

New submitter Lawrence Bottorff writes: Dieter Moebius, who is credited as a founder of the late-sixties Berlin 'Krautrock' scene, has died at age 71. Krautrock, of course, was hardly rock music, but the protoplasm of a uniquely German avant-garde industrial ambient electronica. Probably his best-known work was with Brian Eno on their famous Cluster collaboration albums. Many believe Cluster (Moebius, Hans-Joachim Roedelius, Conny Plank) cemented Eno's path on his laconic, melancholic, New-Age-free ambient sound back in the mid- to late-seventies.

Comments

Correction

[Anonymous Coward]

Cluster (and Dieter) are Krautrock and Dusseldorf School, not Berlin. Dusseldorf is Can, Cluster, Kraftwerk, et al. Berlin School is a more ambient/spacey scene that included Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze and that crowd.

Re:Correction

[borgauf]

The Der Spiegel article has details of his times in Berlin and all the things he did there. I think he was around Conny Plank in Duesseldorf as well. But again, Krautrock was never any sort of rock as we knew it. I remember hearing about Kraftwerk's first American tour (after the "hit" "Autobahn") and how audiences were frustrated with them not playing anything to "boogie" to.

Re:Correction

[Anonymous Coward]

Berlin School and Dusseldorf School aren't about where you're from, it's about the kind of music you do. They're genres of music. Yes, they got their names based on the general area of origin but just because someone comes from Berlin doesn't mean they do Berlin School. That's like saying everyone from Nashville performs country music.

Dieter?

[Elder Entropist]

I was wondering why his weight loss strategy was relevant...

Re:Who?!??

[Anonymous Coward]

Maybe if you'd stop listening to Nickleback...
 
Meanwhile I know plenty of Americans who listen to Krautrock. So go jam it, skippy.

Dieter

[operagost]

Your life has become tiresome. Now touch my monkey.

So

[mattack2]

I guess he's now going to be laying in a strip.

Re:Who?!??

[rgriff59]

Such a sad comment on both statistics and music history awareness.

I am a person, and in the US, and this story means quite a lot to me.

If Dieter Moebus' only accomplishment was to have influenced Eno, he still earned a place in modern music history. He did much more.

I would encourage those who cannot appreciate this loss to use it as a cause to stop and explore what they have missed. First step would be following those links, but queue up some #DieterMoebius for ambience while you read.

Re:Never heard of him

[Gibgezr]

Moebius made lots of music, which folks who were into 70's electronica loved. Eno helped bring the German electronic music scene into focus for people outside of Germany, working with Moebius and Roedelius on two very important albums, "Cluster & Eno" and "After the Heat", and then hooking up with a fourth musician, Plank, to make some more albums together.

Anyone who was listening to Tangerine Dream and Klaus Schulze was familiar with Moebius/Roedelius/Plank. "After the Heat" was in Sam the Record Man etc. in Canada, you could pick it up anywhere.

It really is a shame

[Pathwalker]

I saw him a couple of years ago at the 2012 Sen Francisco Electronic Music Festival; it was an amazing performance.

I had hoped he would make another US tour at some point; that had been his first solo tour in the US.

Re:Roland Piquepaille: LET US NEVER FORGET!

[HornWumpus]

Can we put up a kickstarter to have Bennet killed?

If that makes /.ers uncomfortable, I suggest framing him for a 20 year federal crime. /. has enough feds posting (and hopefully willing to help) it should be easy.