Pitchfork

Hans-Joachim Roedelius' career in ambient music has been a long one. In the late 1960s, he formed the German electronic band Cluster with ambient pioneers Dieter Moebius and Konrad Schnitzler. The band recorded a few albums on their own and one with ambient forefather Brian Eno. Roedelius also collaborated with Eno and Moebius on other records, and eventually formed Harmonia with Michael Rother of Neu! and Kraftwerk fame, and that band also recorded with Eno. Sound confusing? Er... yeah. But suffice to say, Roedelius was an important figure in shaping ambient music as we know it.

Three and a half decades later, Roedelius is still going strong. He's returned with Aquarello, an album whose sound isn't all that different from the stuff he was recording in the 1970s, despite the incredible advances we've had in technology since then. Of course, his tape looping days are over; instead, he's brought in more traditional instruments such as saxophone, e-bow and piano to create a more mundane sound.

Like most records in the genre, Aquarello's extreme length is a bit difficult to wade through; a few songs in, the minimalist, other- worldly atmosphere becomes somewhat tiring. Luckily, the record also makes for excellent sleep music.