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1. Albums |
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1.1. Albums - Solo
1.2. Albums - Collaborations with other artists
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2. Singles |
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2.1. Singles - Solo
2.2. Singles - Collaborations with other artists
2.3. Remixes
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3. Special Works |
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3.1. Music for radioplays
3.2. Music for theatre
3.3. Music for films
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4.
A brief discography review with audiofiles included
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1. Albums |
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1.1. Albums - Solo |
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| Release:
| Nov. 1992
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| Artist:
| COSMIC BABY
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| Title:
| Stellar Supreme
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| Format:
| LP/CD
|
| Label:
| MFS
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| Re-Release:
| 1994 CD / Logic
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| Re-Release:
| Nov. 1998 CD / T.O.O.M.
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| Download-Release:
| Jun. 2007
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Info
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| Release:
| Apr. 1994
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| Artist:
| COSMIC BABY
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| Title:
| Thinking About Myself
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| Format:
| 2LP/CD
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| Label:
| Logic
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| Re-Release:
| Nov. 1998 CD / T.O.O.M.
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| Download-Release:
| Jun. 2007
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Info
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| Release:
| Feb. 1995
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| Artist:
| COSMIC INC.
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| Title:
| Futura
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| Format:
| CD
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| Label:
| Logic
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Info
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| Release:
| Okt. 1995
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| Artist:
| COSMIC BABY
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| Title:
| Stunde Null
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| Format:
| 12" EP/CD
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| Label:
| Time Out Of Mind
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| Download-Release:
| Jun. 2007
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Info
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| Release:
| Nov. 1995
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| Artist:
| COSMIC BABY
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| Title:
| 14 Pieces - Selected Works
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| Format:
| LP/CD
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| Label:
| Time Out Of Mind
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| Re-Release:
| Dec. 2000
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| "14 Pieces Plus 2"
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| CD / Time Out Of Mind
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| Download-Release:
| Jun. 2007
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Info
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| Release:
| Feb. 1997
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| Artist:
| COSMIC BABY
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| Title:
| Musik zu Andorra
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| Format:
| CD
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| Label:
| Time Out Of Mind
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Info
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| Release:
| Sep. 1998
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| Artist:
| COSMIC BABY
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| Title:
| Heaven
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| Format:
| CD
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| Label:
| Intercord
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Info
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| Release:
| Sep. 2006
|
| Artist:
| HARALD BLÜCHEL
|
| Title
| Die Toteninsel
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| Format:
| CD
|
| Label:
| Time Out Of Mind
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Info
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|
| Release:
| Dez. 2006
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| Artist:
| COSMIC BABY
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| Title:
| Industrie & Melodie
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| Format:
| CD
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| Label:
| Time Out Of Mind
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| Download-Release:
| Jun. 2007
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Info
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|
| Release:
| Apr. 2007
|
| Artist:
| HARALD BLÜCHEL
|
| Title:
| caged
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| Format:
| CD
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| Label:
| Time Out Of Mind
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Info
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| Release:
| Oct. 2007
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| Artist:
| COSMIC BABY
|
| Title:
| works 1996.1 - somnambul
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| Format:
| MP3/AAC Download Album
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| Label:
| Time Out Of Mind
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Info
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|
| Release:
| Oct. 2007
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| Artist:
| COSMIC BABY
|
| Title:
| works 1996.2 - hundeherz
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| Format:
| MP3/AAC Download Album
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| Label:
| Time Out Of Mind
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Info
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|
| Release:
| Sep. 2008
|
| Production:
| Sep.-Dez. 1991
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| Artist:
| COSMIC BABY
|
| Titel:
| Sternsprung -
Music For An Oceanic Radioplay
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| Format:
| MP3/AAC Download Mini-Album
|
| Label:
| Time Out Of Mind
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Info
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| Release:
| Apr. 2009
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| Artist:
| HARALD BLÜCHEL
|
| Titel:
| ELECTRIC CHAMBER MUSIC
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| Format:
| CD
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| Label:
| Time Out Of Mind
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Info
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back to top
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1.2. Albums - Collaborations with other artists |
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| Release:
| Jan. 2004
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| Artist:
| BLÜCHEL & VON DEYLEN
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| Title:
| bi polar
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| Format:
| CD
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| Label:
| Tru Note/Edel
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Info
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| Release:
| Sep. 2004
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| Artist:
| BLÜCHEL & VON DEYLEN
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| Title:
| Mare Stellaris
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| Format:
| CD
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| Label:
| Transglobal/Sony
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Info
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back to top
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2. Singles |
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2.1. Singles - Solo |
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| Release:
| Sep. 1991
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| Artist:
| COSMIC ENTERPRISES
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| Title:
| Tao Nonstop
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| Format:
| 12"
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| Label:
| Low Spirit / White Label Rec
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| Release:
| Feb. 1992
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| Artist:
| COSMIC BABY
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| Title:
| Transcendental Overdrive
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| Format:
| 12" EP/CD
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| Label:
| MFS
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| Release:
| May 1992
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| Artist:
| COSMIC BABY
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| Title:
| Cosmikk Trigger
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| Format:
| 12"
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| Label:
| ESP (NL)
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| Release:
| May 1992
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| Artist:
| COSMIC BABY
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| Title:
| The GTO Remixes
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| Format:
| 12"
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| Label:
| MFS
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| Release:
| Sep. 1992
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| Artist:
| COSMIC BABY
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| Title:
| 23
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| Format:
| 12" EP/CD
|
| Label:
| MFS
|
| Download-Re-Release:
| Sep. 2008 / T.O.O.M.
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|
Info
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| Release:
| Nov. 1992
|
| Artist:
| COSMIC BABY
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| Title:
| Oh Supergirl
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| Format:
| 12"
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| Label:
| ESP (NL)
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| Release:
| May 1993
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| Artist:
| COSMIC BABY
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| Title:
| Heaven's Tears
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| Format:
| 12"/CD
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| Label:
| MFS
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| Release:
| Jan. 1994
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| Artist:
| COSMIC BABY
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| Title:
| Loops Of Infinity
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| Format:
| 12"/CD
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| Label:
| Logic Records
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| Release:
| Oct. 1994
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| Artist:
| COSMIC BABY
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| Title:
| Fantasia
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| Format:
| 12"/CD
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| Label:
| Logic Records
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| Release:
| Nov. 1994
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| Artist:
| COSMIC BABY
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| Title:
| A Tribute To Blade Runner
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| Format:
| 12"/CD
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| Label:
| Eastwest
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| Release:
| Jan. 1995
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| Artist:
| COSMIC INC.
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| Title:
| Futura
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| Format:
| 12"/CD
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| Label:
| Logic Records
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| Release:
| Aug. 1995
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| Artist:
| COSMIC BABY
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| Title:
| Cosmic Greets Florida
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| Format:
| 12"/CD
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| Label:
| Logic-US
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| Release:
| Jan. 1996
|
| Artist:
| COSMIC BABY
|
| Title:
| Kinetik
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| Format:
| 12"/CD
|
| Label:
| Time Out Of Mind
|
| Download-Release:
| Jun. 2007
|
|
Info
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|
| Release:
| Aug. 1998
|
| Artist:
| COSMIC BABY
|
| Title:
| Lucifer
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| Format:
| 12"/CD
|
| Label:
| Intercord
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| Release:
| Apr. 1999
|
| Artist:
| COSMIC BABY
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| Title:
| Sketches In Spring
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| Format:
| 12"/CD
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| Label:
| Intercord
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| Release:
| Sep. 2008
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| Production:
| 1990-1992
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| Artist:
| COSMIC BABY
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| Titel:
| Cosmikk Trigger
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| Format:
| MP3/AAC Download EP
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| Label:
| Time Out Of Mind
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|
Info
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| Release:
| Sep. 2008
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| Production:
| Sep. 1994
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| Artist:
| COSMIC BABY
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| Titel:
| Hommage à Blade Runner
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| Format:
| MP3/AAC Download EP
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| Label:
| Time Out Of Mind
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|
Info
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back to top
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2.2. Singles - Collaborations with other artists |
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| Release:
| Jun. 1991
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| Artist:
| ENERGY 52
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| Title:
| State of Mind
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| Format:
| 12"
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| Label:
| WEA
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| Release:
| Sep. 1991
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| Artist:
| FUTURHYTHM
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| Title:
| Braincooler
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| Format:
| 12" EP
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| Label:
| BMWW
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| Release:
| Sep. 1991
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| Artist:
| ENERGY 52
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| Title:
| Expression
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| Format:
| 12"/CD
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| Label:
| WEA
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| Release:
| Mar. 1992
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| Artist:
| FUTURHYTHM
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| Title:
| Sonic Mind Explosion
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| Format:
| 12" EP
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| Label:
| MFS
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| Release:
| Mar. 1992
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| Artist:
| FUTURHYTHM presents
VEIN MELTER
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| Title:
| Hypnotized
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| Format:
| 12"
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| Label:
| Planet Rec.
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| Release:
| Jun. 1992
|
| Artist:
| VISIONS OF SHIVA
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| Title:
| Perfect Day
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| Format:
| 12"/CD
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| Label:
| MFS
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| Release:
| Nov. 1992
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| Artist:
| VISIONS OF SHIVA
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| Title:
| Perfect Day
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| Format:
| 12"/CD
|
| Label:
| Fase2 (UK)
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| Release:
| Dec. 1992
|
| Artist:
| FUTURHYTHM
|
| Title:
| Butoh
|
| Format:
| 12" EP
|
| Label:
| Harthouse
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| Release:
| Apr. 1993
|
| Artist:
| VISIONS OF SHIVA
|
| Title:
| How Much Can You Take?
|
| Format:
| 12"/CD
|
| Label:
| MFS
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|
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|
| Release:
| May 1993
|
| Artist:
| ENERGY 52
|
| Title:
| Café Del Mar
|
| Format:
| 12"/CD
|
| Label:
| Eye Q
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|
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|
| Release:
| Jun. 1993
|
| Artist:
| VEIN MELTER
|
| Title:
| When You Feel It
|
| Format:
| 12"
|
| Label:
| Space Teddy
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back to top
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2.3. Remixes |
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| Release:
| Apr. 1992
|
| Artist:
| VOOV, NEUTRON9000,
QUASAR, COSMIC BABY,
MICROGLOBE, MIND GEAR,
EFFECTIVE FORCE,
FUTURHYTHM, GTO
|
| Title:
| Tranceformed From Beyond
| |
|
(The worlds first
Trance-Compilation
specially sequenced
and mixed by Cosmic
Baby & Mijk van
Dijk)
|
| Format:
| LP/CD
|
| Label:
| MFS
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|
|
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|
| Release:
| Jan. 1993
|
| Artist:
| EFFECTIVE FORCE
|
| Title:
| Diamond Bullet
|
| Format:
| LP/CD
|
| Label:
| MFS
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|
| Release:
| Jul. 1993
|
| Artist:
| DANCE 2 TRANCE
|
| Title:
| Take A Free Fall
|
| Format:
| 12"/CD
|
| Label:
| Intercord
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|
| Release:
| Sep. 1993
|
| Artist:
| SVEN VÄTH
|
| Title:
| L'esperanza
(Visions Of Shiva
remix executed by
Cosmic Baby)
|
| Format:
| 12"/CD
|
| Label:
| Eye-Q
|
|
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|
| Release:
| Jan. 1994
|
| Artist:
| SOLITAIRE
|
| Title:
| Chasing Clouds
|
| Format:
| 12"/CD
|
| Label:
| PHONOGRAM
|
|
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|
| Release:
| Feb. 1995
|
| Artist:
| YELLO
|
| Title:
| Dr. Van Steiner
("Hands On Yello")
|
| Format:
| LP/CD
|
| Label:
| Motor Music
|
|
|
|
|
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|
| Release:
| 1996
|
| Artist:
| THE MOON & THE SUN
|
| Title:
| Sirius
|
| Format:
| 12"/CD
|
| Label:
| Superstition
|
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|
| Release:
| Nov. 1998
|
| Artist:
| KOMPUTER
|
| Title:
| Terminus
(Remix and Radio-Edit)
|
| Format:
| 12"/CD
|
| Label:
| MUTE (UK)
|
|
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|
|
back to top
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3. Special Works |
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|
3.1. Music for radioplays |
| |
|
| |
|
|
| Release:
| Mar. 1990
|
| Title:
| Asyl
|
| Author/Director:
| HELMUT MARKO
|
| Format:
| Radio Play
|
| Station:
| WDR
|
|
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| Release:
| Jul. 1990
|
| Title:
| Der Drache Ist Tod
|
| Author/Director:
| HELMUT MARKO
|
| Format:
| Radio Play
|
| Station:
| WDR
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| Release:
| Feb. 1991
|
| Title:
| Computerliebe
|
| Author/Director:
| HELMUT MARKO (word) /
HARALD BLÜCHEL (sound)
|
| Format:
| Radio Play
|
| Station:
| WDR
|
|
|
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|
| Release:
| Mar. 1992
|
| Title:
| Sternsprung
|
| Author/Director:
| INGO GOLEMBIEWSKY (story) /
HELMUT MARKO (word) /
HARALD BLÜCHEL (sound)
|
| Format:
| Radio Play
|
| Station:
| WDR
|
|
Info
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|
back to top
|
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3.2. Music for theatre |
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|
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|
| Date:
| Feb. 1997
|
| Title:
| ANDORRA
|
| Author:
| Max Frisch
|
| Director:
| CRESCENTIA DÜNSSER
& OTTO KUKLA
|
| Location:
| Staatstheater Stuttgart
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Date:
| Jun. 2000
|
| Title:
| Memory
|
| Author:
| DÜCKER/
DÜNSSER/
KUKLA
|
| Director:
| OTTO KUKLA
|
| Location:
| Theater Neumarkt/Zürich
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Date:
| Sep. 2003
|
| Title:
| Frau Vom Meer
|
| Author:
| Susan Sontag
|
| Director:
| OTTO KUKLA
|
| Location:
| Theater Neumarkt/Zürich
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Date:
| Mar. 2006
|
| Title:
| ANDORRA
|
| Author:
| Max Frisch
|
| Director:
| TINA LANIK
|
| Location:
| Deutsches Schauspielhaus Hamburg
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Date:
| Feb. 2007
|
| Title:
| Bernarda Albas Haus
|
| Author:
| Federico García Lorca
|
| Director:
| HANS NEUENFELS
|
| Location:
| Schauspiel Köln
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Date:
| May 2009
|
| Titel:
| Danach: Wie Robinson ?! -
Arno
Schmidt für 2 Spieler, eine Leserin und ein E-Piano
|
| Author:
| Arno Schmidt
|
| Director:
| ANTJE GÜHNE
|
| Location:
| Theater unterm Dach, Berlin
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Date:
| Oct. 2009
|
| Titel:
| Tannöd
|
| Author:
| Andrea Maria Schenkel
|
| Director:
| CRESCENTIA DÜNSSER
|
| Location:
| Deutsches Schauspielhaus Hamburg
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Date:
| Feb. 2010
|
| Titel:
| Eislaufen mit Inge Müller
|
| Author:
| Inge Müller
|
| Director:
| ANTJE GÜHNE
|
| Location:
| Theater unterm Dach, Berlin
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
back to top
|
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|
3.3. Music for films |
| |
|
| |
|
|
| Release:
| Jun. 1997
|
| Title:
| Die Letzte Sekunde
|
| Director:
| TIM TRAGESER
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Release:
| Nov. 1998
|
| Title:
| Mit Haut Und Haar
|
| Director:
| TINA DÖCKER &
CRESCENTIA DÜNSSER
|
|
|
|
|
back to top
|
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|
4. A brief discography review with audiofiles included
|
| |
Note: these audio files have been made available to provide
a brief insight into the musical development of Harald
Blüchel. The excerpts are heavily compressed so as to
also allow modem-users the chance to hear something in a
reasonable amount of time.
To hear the sound samples you will need either an MP3 player
or RealPlayer (www.real.com). To listen, click on the
"[MP3]" or the "[RA]"-link after the title (providing this
has been set up with your browser correctly).
|
| |
|
|
Audiofile 01 - Cosmic Baby: Cosmikk Trigger 1 ("Transcendental
Overdrive", 1992)
[MP3]
[RA]
March 1991: a kind of manifesto of everything that I would like to
convey in music in present and future ("VISION! VISION!") brilliantly
executed in the words and voice of the American author and singer,
Felicia Alexander; recorded in the studio of Jens Wojnar in Berlin
Tempelhof. All Cosmic Baby productions right up to the end of 1994
will be created here.
The most important aspects of a piece of music are surely the idea and
the composition followed by the interpretation and the
arrangement. Thirdly: the production. In Jens I found the perfect
partner, the person who had the technical skills to realize my musical
concepts, and with whom I could test "what was possible" and what
not. A constant productive intercourse, with suggestions being made,
tested, thrown out - With each production we honed the significant
elements of our own sound; work became more intuitive, we were
constantly able to expand on the progress already made. "Cosmic
Trigger 1" laid the foundation. Nevertheless, it would take about one
year until the first "genuine" Cosmic Baby album is released.
|
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Audiofile 02 - Futurhythm: Injection ("Brain Cooler", 1991)
[MP3]
[RA]
April 1991: I met Jonzon. Jonzon: drummer and fan of heavy Chicago
house and acid sounds. I love his magical sets in the old "Planet",
"UFO" and the "Turbine". We share our enthusiasm for this music which
was the "big bang" for "Techno" in all its later variations.
Sitting together in my 30 m² one room apartment, we jam with a 303,
808 and 909 for all its worth, philosophize about the world and play
chess.
Gabi Delgado and Saba Komossa release our first joint productions on
the "Brutal-Music-World-Wide" label. We are totally stoked when
"Injection" becomes one of the biggest club hits of the year. We never
ever saw a final statement on the number of records sold but this is
when things really took off!
|
|
|
Audiofile 03 - Cosmic Enterprise: Ratio Tao ("Tao", 1991)
[MP3]
[RA]
August 1991: in the "Low Spirit" apartment in Mommsenstrasse. Two
fractions: Pro Cosmic: Klaus Jankuhn and William Röttger, Anti
Cosmic: the brothers Westbam & DJ Dick. The compromise is: I make
a record with Klaus under "Pseudonym" but the release is only
half-hearted. Three points to consider: a) I still very much like the
music which Klaus and I produced together, b) my liking of Klaus and
William and respect of their artistic abilities still hold true today,
c) the confrontation with the DJs in the coming years occurred via the
media and at raves at which (no doubt stage-managed to some extent by
the concert promoters) Westbam and I were scheduled to appear one
after another. It was a bit like pitting the "Girondists" against the
"Jacobeans" in 1793. The audience helped me on more than once occasion
to sweet revenge, which was perhaps puerile, but was nevertheless very
funny at the time.
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Audiofile 04 - Hörspiel "Sternsprung" (WDR, 1992)
[MP3]
[RA]
September 1991: inspired by Ingo Golembiewski's text the idea of
"Cosmic Baby" is brought a step further, both in terms of content and
musical ideas. A great deal of this inspiration came to fruition in
the later work on "Stellar Supreme" my first "main work".
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Audiofile 05 - Futurhythm: Transmanic (Sonic Mind Explosion,
1992)
[MP3]
[RA]
October 1991: my 303 is broken and so Jonzon and I make a record
solely with the SH 101. The pieces are written as if in trance: two
happy kids with glowing faces sitting in front of their toys. We come
upon a totally new sound and decide to explore this direction with
"Futurhythm" and pursue our love of the Chicago sound under "Vein
Melter".
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Audiofile 06 - Vein Melter: Hypnotized ("Hypnotized", 1992)
[MP3]
[RA]
December 1991: No sooner said than done. A 303 bass line, the constant
techno beat that runs through the piece, the endless loop of
"WEWEWEWEWEWEWE", the cascades of quasi-melodic hi-hat figures, not
one single hall/echo effect on the instruments - at that time the
first piece I was ever involved in which set a new international music
standard that later developed into a trend. In America they call us
the "the only guys from Chicago who actually come from Europe" - we're
proud as punch!
A small anecdote on the side: during my first appearance in
Switzerland in March 1992 I was introduced to some "important" people
backstage as "Cosmic Baby". When this met with blank stares, my friend
said, "the guy from Futurhythm and Vein Melter" which led to a fully
unexpected emotional reaction among the bunch of seeming snobs. This
scene made a big impression on me...
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Audiofile 07 - Cosmic Baby: Cosmic Trigger 4 ("Transformed From
Beyond", 1992)
[MP3]
[RA]
January 1992: Mark Reeder offers me the chance "to do whatever you
ever wanted to do" on his label, MFS. Can a musician get any better
offer than that?
Working together with Mark, Mike van Dijk and I draw up an "aural
compendium of electronic trance music", a compilation of a new kind: a
manifestation of our musical ideas and a channel for them. The
selected pieces are not simply placed into a sequence as is customary,
or "mixed" with each other but are completely reworked so that for
some tracks the only thing which remained from the original was the
title. I continued to apply this practice in a number of remix jobs
(e.g. the "Esperanza-Hopewillmovemountains-Mix" for Sven Väth).
During the final mastering at Amiga-Mastering-Studio (located in the
Reichspräsidentenpalais !!) I get to meet Wolfgang Ragwitz and
start a new friendship. Wolfgang has cooperated in an artistic
capacity on all of my solo works ever since!
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Audiofile 08 - Cosmic Baby: Aquarius Orbit (Air) ("23", 1992)
[MP3]
[RA]
Audiofile 09 - Cosmic Baby: Sweet Dreams for Kaa ("23", "Stellar
Supreme", 1992)
[MP3]
[RA]
March 1992: Kaa was my first wife. Kaa was earth and fire. I was water
and air.
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Audiofile 10 - Cosmic Baby: The Spacetrack ("Stellar Supreme",
1992)
[MP3]
[RA]
July and August 1992: every person has their own personal moments of
glory. I had several of mine in this time. I moved into Jen's studio
and in the subsequent weeks usually only left it when I had to perform
at the weekends. The performances were unbelievably important for the
studio work as I could incorporate the things I had tried out live and
the experiences I had on stage directly into the composition and the
mix. On "Stellar" you can find the quintessence of the various
facettes of my musical expression at the time. Conceptional
archetypes: "The Spacetrack", "Heaven's Tears", "Planet Earth 1993"
and "Liebe".
"The Spacetrack" brings together the clearly defined futuristic of
Kraftwerk, the grooving elegance of disco music and the romantic
melancholy of Chopin. I developed my sound language from these
elements.
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Audiofile 11 - Cosmic Baby: Planet Earth 1993 ("Stellar Supreme",
1992)
[MP3]
[RA]
Questions / thoughts are translated into "slow", usually poppy
electronic/instrumental pieces, mostly on the piano; either minimalist
and abstract, or heavy on the atmosphere, like this one.
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Audiofile 12 - Cosmic Baby: Liebe ("Stellar Supreme", 1992)
[MP3]
[RA]
To find melodies that bring one to tears while simultaneously beaming
with joy. In other words, "acting dialectically". Familiar sounds
which start out as standalone phrases, actually a bit clichéd, are
brought into a dialectical discourse with the aim of making something
beautiful and new from their synthesis. This cut: the thesis
"Kling-Klang-Glöckchen" meets its antithesis "Acid-303"...
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Audiofile 13 - Vein Melter: Feelin' ("When You Feel It", 1993)
[MP3]
[RA]
November 1992: Jonzon contributes a second 303 to our sessions. Now we
can play around with two bass lines at the same time. That's a special
buzz!
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Audiofile 14 - Energy 52: Cafe del Mar ("Cafe del Mar", 1993 bis
2004)
[MP3]
[RA]
The background: I met Paul Schmitz-Moormann in 1989. A close
friendship developed centred around non-stop music-making. From Paul I
learned how to combine high-quality melodic material with rhythm
sections in a way that was both transparent and effective and gave the
compositions a clear structure. In return, I was a kind of
contemporary "piano teacher" for Paul. In 1990 we spent some
time together on Ibiza. We got some really good vibes in a white villa
on the beach where we spent the evenings, the "Cafe del Mar".
November 1992: Paul returns after an especially long summer holiday on
Ibiza. At "Cafe del Mar" he had heard a solo piano composition that
had made a big impression on him. I know the piece, it is from Wim
Mertens, one of my favorite composers. In the coming weeks we dedicate
ourselves as though inspired by a greater force to our own version of
this masterpiece working minutely on every little detail until it
feels right. In January we produce the two originals ("Kid Paul Mix"
and "Cosmic Baby's Impression") in the studio in cooperation with
Jens.
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Audiofile 15 - Visions of Shiva: How Much Can You Take? ("How
Much Can You Take?", 1993)
[MP3]
[RA]
It is not easy to speak of "Visions of Shiva" without touching a few
nerves. "How much can you take" was written during the same (one-week)
recording session as "Cafe del Mar" with Jens. Let me just say this:
it would be great if Paul van Dyk, now with the distance of time
between us and the fact that he himself is a recognized international
superstar, had the honesty and strength of character to explain once
and for all what he contributed to the content of this piece (apart
from being present at the Mix of the "physical" version).
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Audiofile 16 - Heaven's Tears (Jam El Mar - Remix) ("Heaven's
Tears", 1993)
[MP3]
[RA]
"Heaven's Tears" documents two archetypical Cosmic Baby styles.
Strong piano motives in combination with sequencer arpeggios a la
Tangerine Dream or Giorgio Moroder, with techno beats added, make for
emotionally laden, directly accessible music, both in the club or at
home.
Easter 1993: A tribute to the work of Jam el Mar. When he came to
Berlin to hand me his mix in person, I was disappointed because I had
secretly hoped for a kind of "Age of Love" (my club favourite at that
time in the Jam&Spoon-Version). Naturally, I was too proud to tell
him this during our little "briefing". Now, after the fact, I am glad
that I didn't, because Rolf's interpretation (perhaps alongside Ayla's
"Liebe") is for me the best yet of a Cosmic Baby piece. His reworking
give the composition a completely new aspect by adding the image of
"rain". It radiates elegance, precision, command and confident
management of style! Rolf Elmer is a master of his art. Very few
producers of electronic pop can match him, either then or today. In
the case of "Heaven's Tears" I was too small-minded at the time to
appreciate it.
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Audiofile 17 - Treptow ("Thinking About Myself", 1994)
[MP3]
[RA]
May 1993: I draw up the first sketches for my second main work. The
main focus of the piece moves from a kind of stellar "everything is
possible" sense of joy to reflection on the experiences I had. It
concerns walks, the feelings during these walks, in Berlin, at the
coast, and in a number of other cities I had visited. It reflects:
people and landscapes expressed in my own desires and doubts.
"Treptow" deals with the German Democratic Republic (GDR) as a synonym
for a disappearing world. The more it is eliminated and radically
replaced by the victorious "other" the clearer it becomes that
alternative social structures beyond capitalism will likewise
disappear.
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Audiofile 18 - Loops of Infinity (Axiomatic) ("Loops of Infinity",
1994)
[MP3]
[RA]
June 1993: one evening I had a telephone conversation with a female
friend which I ended from one minute to the next with the words: "I've
gotta hang-up. I just got an idea for my next big piece." From the
beginning, the composition was a balancing act between excessive
romantic, excessive speed, excessive piano and excessive
arpeggios. With a wink at my favorites from the 19th century, a play
on the term "virtuoso" thoughts from the book, "Gödel, Escher,
Bach" and the tongue for a hefty debate starting up between techno
fundamentalists, I found my own path.
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Audiofile 19 - Brooklyn ("Thinking About Myself",
1994)
[MP3]
[RA]
August and September 1993: another two-month-move into Jen's
studio. Ensconsed again like for "Stellar Supreme". Some pieces were
prepared at home (2/3/7/8/10). The others were all composed alone at
night, while Jens and I worked on the mastering during the
day. Reminiscing on the studio work on "Stellar", I see it as a
light-footed game in the sun. "Thinking" was more of a heavy and dark
kind of adventure. What both have in common: direct, relatively
effortless realization of an inspiration.
Note: this is no doubt thanks to the fact that the impulses for the
inspiration were more simple. The quality of an "inspiration" rises
with increasing experience. Consequently, "inspiration" is a rare
good.
As a result, the rejection of material that is "satisfying" slows
down.
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Audiofile 20 - Cosmic Baby: Fantasia ("Thinking About Myself")
[MP3]
[RA]
Audiofile 21 - Cosmic Baby: Movements in Love ("Thinking about
myself")
[MP3]
[RA]
The best piece on the album and in my eyes the most successful song
cycle on any CB album is the final stretch from "Herbst in Berlin" to
"Fantasia" to "Loops of Infinity" to "Movements in Love".
"Thinking" is an autumnal album. "14 pieces" covers all
seasons. "Stunde Null" belongs to spring and "Stella Supreme" to
summer. "Heaven" is a winter that can't make up its mind.
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Audiofile 22 - Live in Melbourne at "The Palace" (22. September
1993)
[MP3]
[RA]
Live performances. Between 1991 and 1996 I gave roughly two hundred
concerts. I could write volumes about this. In short, without these
tours the music would never become what it is. To get to know foreign
landscapes, other cultures and new people - for me it was a dream come
true: I experience the trips keeping all my senses as open to the new
impressions as I possibly can... make a point of taking time for
this. no gigs were done just out of a sense of routine like many are:
airport, hotel, soundcheck, hotel, performance, hotel, airport etc..
When making this selection I decided on short excerpts from the
concerts which I would call the "Top 15" of my career (thank God I
have recordings from a few!).
September 1993: I leave the "Thinking" for a week and experience
Australia. Jeff, Prue & Ritchie welcome me like a brother and show
me Melbourne, a fantastic city. The concert in the 4000-seater
"Palace" is sold out. INXS played this venue a few days before. The
buzz is stunning. After a week in the studio I leap into the
performance like a cliff-top diver into the sea. An awesome
experience!
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Audiofile 23 - Cosmic Baby: Fantasia (Celestial Harmonies)
("Fantasia", 1994)
[MP3]
[RA]
April 1994: I choose this piece as the second single to be released
from "Thinking" as it is easily my favourite piece. A fantasy on
dreams, desires, hopes of a period of my life. Translating the world
using the senses of a happy person.
Six months later I make a five-piece suite from the original version
which was created over two nights and produced in three
days. Actually, Fantasia deserved the same success as Loops of
Infinity because it conveys sensual affairs more completely. Lisa
Woynar's voice in Part 1 is a brilliant interpretation of the
instrumental "Archityp zwei".
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Audiofile 24 - Cosmic Inc: Futura (Ex Machina) ("Futura",
1995)
[MP3]
[RA]
August 1994: after the premiere at "Akademie der Künste" Kaa's
"Techno-Opera" titled "Futura" will go on tour. This gives us good
cause to sit down again and rework the music. Finally, a club version
of the main track is created in the studio. I still can't understand
why this piece was relatively ignored.
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Audiofile 25 - Cosmic Baby: LA 2018 I ("A Tribute to Blade Runner
I", 1995)
[MP3]
[RA]
Audiofile 26 - Cosmic Baby: LA 2018 II ("A Tribute to Blade Runner
II", 1995)
[MP3]
[RA]
September 1994: another dream comes true: with Vangelis' approval, I
can rework his piece into my own form. I decided for a dance remix of
the "End titles" incorporated into my own compositions which are
dedicated to the total soundtrack for "Blade Runner" created by the
master in 1981. Jens and I go to town on the production in a way never
seen before. Two weeks of hard work; in the meantime, you can hear
this search for perfection in the piece. To some extent, it is
overly-motivated.
I had developed my artistic goals with Cosmic Baby to such precision
that I felt I could go no further. Musically, I had the choice of
"repeating the same" or "doing something totally new" - I was still
too young for the option of "taking time out". So I decided to do
something new in the immediate future.
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Audiofile 27 - Live in Mexico City at "La Historia" (5. März
1995)
[MP3]
[RA]
Mexico City, beginning of March. After an extremely eventful and
successful tour through the USA, a final performance in Mexico City
closes the tour. It is not really possible to capture in words, but
directly after landing I felt a sensation of vibrating happiness that
I had never felt before. Luz & Sergio show me the city. They take
me to Teotihuacan. One amazing experience chases the next. It all
happens like in a trance. I feel like someone returning home, full of
energy and at an extremely high degree of being. My concert is on the
fourth night. If there is "just one concert" then this is it. The full
moon follows its trajectory behind the stage. Some people in the
audience said I grew wings when playing and hovered over the
stage. That is exactly what it felt like. It was not a concert, it was
magical realism lived to the core!!!
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Audiofile 28 - Cosmic Baby: Schwingungen ("Stunde Null", 1995)
[MP3]
[RA]
May 1995: returned to Berlin after a long stay in America. All
instruments are back in my apartment, after most of them had been more
or less permanently set up in Jens' studio over the last few years. I
wanted to go back to "just making" music again, remembered my time
when I began to record "electronic music". And: I wanted to explore a
new approach to the issue of "melody". In the cycle I concentrated on
using just a few instruments. The first piece was composed of just
three Minimoog tracks (recorded in a ping-pong method between two DAT
recorders).
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Audiofile 29 - Cosmic Baby: East Houston St. ("Fourteen Pieces",
1995)
[MP3]
[RA]
"Fourteen Pieces" is a collection of electronic pieces which I had
composed at various places and in various moods over the years since
1995. It documents my desire to experiment, leaving all the baggage of
past expectations behind and (stylistic-technical) routines and find
new avenues of personal expression.
February 1995: recorded in my New York apartment, this piece describes
the mood of a route I often took walking home from Manhattan's
Alphabet-City towards Broadway and the subway to Brooklyn.
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Audiofile 30 - Cosmic Baby: You Are Always In My Heart ("Fourteen
Pieces")
[MP3]
[RA]
August 1995: "Both sides..." and "You are always..." are related and
which I privately call "large transatlantic pieces". Atmospherically,
they are wide, melodic and have improvised passages, breathe with an
American groove, are very emotional and defy any categorization into a
set style.
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Audiofile 31 - Cosmic Baby: Träume ("Fourteen Pieces")
[MP3]
[RA]
July 1995: one of my greatest dreams as a composer: to express with
the simplest means (ideally just one track) the most complex
situations in the very moment of their inspiration. These moments are
rare and simultaneously the "moments of glory"! These are the moments
when the dichotomy between "accident" and "intention", "heart" and
"head" is transcended. "14 p" contains three examples:
Glücksspirale", "Karma" and "Träume".
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Audiofile 32 - Cosmic Baby: Melbourne, Mexico, New York
("Kinetik", 1996)
[MP3]
[RA]
October 1995: closed the 95 trilogy with a 5 part dance track
EP. "Melbourne, Mexico, NY" illustrate my weakness for "Electro" (as
in "Cosmic greets Florida"). I found the electro overkill that set in
two years later more annoying than anything else.
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Audiofile 33 - Cosmic Baby/Harald Blüchel: Musik zu "Andorra"-
Intro (1997)
[MP3]
[RA]
Audiofile 34 - Cosmic Baby/Harald Blüchel: Musik zu "Andorra"-
La Senora
[MP3]
[RA]
Audiofile 35 - Cosmic Baby/Harald Blüchel: Musik zu "Andorra"- Invasion
[MP3]
[RA]
September 1996 - January 1997: for the first time, I compose music for
theatre. A fantastic experience, really satisfying work. Reasons:
Intensive dialog with the literary material.
Integration in a team of people who create their own world during the
time of the rehearsals. Week-long intense presence of being together.
The constant flow and looping of input and output: an idea is
developed, tried out, changed, thrown out, redeveloped. Everybody has
access to and responsibility for the common work.
The evolution of the piece from the first reading to the premiere can
be compared to a canvas that is repainted a hundred times.
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Audiofile 36 - Cosmic Baby/Harald Blüchel: Die letzte Sekunde
(1997)
[MP3]
[RA]
January 1997: The director, Tim Trageser, is an extremely
self-confident, no-nonsense man of action; he has a clear idea of what
he wants to "hear" in his film and extracts music from me that would
never have come into being without the critical dialog with him.
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Audiofile 37 - Cosmic Baby: Suite Russe ("Heaven", 1998)
[MP3]
[RA]
Audiofile 38 - Cosmic Baby: Planetenmelodie ("Heaven", 1998)
[MP3]
[RA]
August - December 1997: it is easier to speak with hindsight than at
the time a work is created. "Heaven" as it stands lacks a consistent
line: it possessed neither unbearable "lightness" nor a constant
"gravity"; it was neither experimentally raw nor brilliantly kitsch;
my expectations ended up neutralizing each other. Lack of features as
a result of an over-motivated restlessness. Fear of clearly laying
down what I actually wanted to say.
I would have avoided a lot of self-doubt about my work as an artist in
the coming years if I had consistently fought for the idea of
releasing "Heaven" with two radically different sides as a double-CD
album. For at the same time I was working in parallel with much more
focus on the pieces which were strictly determined by one clear idea:
electronic (pop) music only using instruments from the 70's. By giving
these pieces the same weight on the album, I would surely have handled
the "Heaven" material much more confidently. My head was not free
enough to see that. I was truest to myself with "Suite Russe" and
"Planetenmelodie". If truth be told, it took me a long time to get
over the personal failure of "Heaven". The unusual feeling of
uncertainty and expecting too much of myself with regard to my alter
ego, "Cosmic Baby" remained.
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Audiofile 39 - Harald Blüchel: Mit Haut und Haar, Teil 4-5
("Mit Haut und Haar", 1999)
[MP3]
[RA]
November 1998: the directors gave me a videotape. Six ninety-year-old
ladies speak of their lives, childhood, first love, marriage,
children, war, reconstruction, old age. They speak of their beliefs,
their convictions, fears, anxieties, and dreams. I accompanied the
piece on the piano and developed five short "forms" from the
improvisation.
Another level: Berlin-Schlachtensee, walks in autumn, weighing up my
own personal record.
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Audiofile 40 - Cosmic Baby: "Der Flug" (live in Stuttgart/Theaterhaus,
Mai 1999)
[MP3]
[RA]
Three things came out of it:
1. The pieces from "Heaven" could have sounded much better on
the album if given more bite and verve.
2. My last solo tour at that time was a wonderful experience. I went
on tour with a fantastic crew. We were together for 3
months. Everywhere. Family. Through thick and thin. Loads of good
experiences. Joe Pomponio was the tour manager, Alex Treutzsch
co-performed, Florian Ammant was the head technician and light
engineer, Stefan Hofmann the lighting architect; Steffen Charles and
Michael Hock handled the bookings.
3. Over the years Stuttgart (besides Würzburg) was my clear
favorite among all German cities for performing in!
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Audiofile 41 - Harald Blüchel: Memory 3 ("Memory", 2000)
[MP3]
[RA]
March - June 2000: a difficult but beautiful birth. I tested a lot of
ideas and threw a lot out. Somewhere in the middle came a nervous
breakdown. Because the flow was just not coming. In the arms of
Sabina, my wife still today. Too proud to just say the truth. New
attempt, fresh courage. Suddenly things start flowing again. What
before had taken two and half months to end in failure now succeeds in
one week. "Memory" is one of my best works ever, along with the
theatre music for "Die Frau vom Meer".
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Audiofile 42 - Blüchel & von Deylen: Etoile Polaire ("bi
polar", 2004)
[MP3]
[RA]
August 2002: while Christopher is busy with "Gymnopedie No:1" as the
first step towards "bi polar", I concentrate on "etoile". In a
picturesque garden hut in Sweden. We begin our joint work in
October. Each piece gets its own history, its own experience, shared
joy is truly double the pleasure, particularly for two solo artists
now working in cooperation; we create our own unique sound; no H.B, no
CvD, no "Schiller", no "Cosmic Baby", just "B&vD". Produced
between October 2002 and June 2003.
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Audiofile 43 - Harald Blüchel: a cappella I ("Die Frau vom
Meer", 2003)
[MP3]
[RA]
Audiofile 44 - Harald Blüchel: Schlussbild ("Die Frau vom
Meer", 2003)
[MP3]
[RA]
June 2003 - September 2003: several things come together: fascinating
material dealing with the issue "what does freedom mean in a
relationship", perfect command of the new musical techniques I had
developed in recent years, an excellent production team at the Theater
Neumarkt, the summer of the century in Zurich, the idea of working
with a soprano and counter-tenor - and finding two top notch,
inspiring and experimental friends in Gerlinde Sähmann and
Florian Mayr, having the self confidence to begin with the composition
"on site", i.e. during the creation of the play itself and thus coming
up with totally new music; music that was either inspired by the
rehearsals as a spontaneous reaction to ideas, or giving the
rehearsals new impulse by spontaneous musical ideas.
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Audiofile 45 - Blüchel & von Deylen: M83 ("mare stellaris",
2004)
[MP3]
[RA]
Audiofile 46 - Blüchel & von Deylen: Ad Astra ("mare
stellaris", 2004)
[MP3]
[RA]
June - August 2004: music for the "Lange Nacht der Sterne". The stars
played a role the whole summer over. Lots of glances heavenwards. This
time we are more interested in "thematic images" than "stylistic
images": we play the soundtrack to our own film of ideas.
The title track was written in a three-day long session. The other
compositions were worked out by one or the other and then finished off
in cooperation. Speculation on "who initiated which piece" is too
interesting for those curious about it for me to reveal anything
today.
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Audiofile 47 - Harald Blüchel: Prologue 0.1 / Once I walked on water ("Andorra", 2006)
[MP3]
[RA]
Beginning of the play. Dream sequence. Andri reads out a text from Max
Frisch's diary. From a compositional aspect, there are two main points
to recognize:
a) the piece is one of the "Reihen" ("sequences") (see the journal entry on Andorra - Tuesday February 21,
2006).
b) the piece actively addresses the issue of "perception" - I have
gone into more detail about this in the journal entry "Andorra Resumé iii"
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Audiofile 48 - Harald Blüchel: Prologue 0.2 / "Cheerful people"
("Andorra", 2006)
[MP3]
[RA]
A sample of the basic music/sound concept in pure form (the
"Settings"). Entrance of the Andorreans (Innkeeper / Doctor /
Journeyman / Carpenter / Soldier): each (model) person has been
allocated a (model) tone on the scale. So this is how the Andorreans
"sound"... Extensive commentary can be found under the journal entry "Andorra, Friday February 10 /
Monday, February 13".
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Audiofile 49 - Harald Blüchel: Picture 1 / Give me a kiss ("Andorra", 2006)
[MP3]
[RA]
Excerpt from the journal, Andorra February
21, 2006:
"... we rehearse the first time with the music. Picture 1: Andri and
Barblin are introduced with the key notes (A and E) from which a
magnetic web of sound develops. It appears that the strength of this
draws the two together (the "strings" !!!). The prescient piano melody
from "Setting 1" warms up their dialog. Excellent - it works! (...)"
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Audiofile 50 - Harald Blüchel: Picture 3 / The face of the teacher ("Andorra", 2006)
[MP3]
[RA]
Entrance of the Teacher.
Excerpt from the journal, Andorra, Tuesday
and Wednesday, Feburary 14/15: "The settings I created on Monday
provide the background atmosphere. This is then the foundation for
the short piano pieces I compose on the piano and then feed into the
track. I want these to be the sensual pendants to the more abstract -
cerebral soundscapes.".
Where one of these piano fragments is packed in the "Andri-Barblin
setting" in audiofile 49, here the reverse holds true: it is a solo
piano piece accompanied by a "setting".
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Audiofile 51 - Harald Blüchel: extract from 1st Movement / „Gegenwart“ („Die Toteninsel“, 2006)
[MP3]
[RA]
Audiofile 52 - Harald Blüchel: extract from 2nd Movement / „Ultrachronos“ („Die Toteninsel“, 2006)
[MP3]
[RA]
Audiofile 53 - Harald Blüchel: extract from 3rd Movement / „Entropie“ („Die Toteninsel“, 2006)
[MP3]
[RA]
Extracts from the first solo release since 1999. Detailed
background-infos available here...
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Audiofile 54 - Cosmic Baby: experienced coincidences („Industrie & Melodie“, 2006)
[MP3]
[RA]
Audiofile 55 - Cosmic Baby: industrie & melodie („Industrie & Melodie“, 2006)
[MP3]
[RA]
Audiofile 56 - Cosmic Baby: sowjetunion („Industrie & Melodie“, 2006)
[MP3]
[RA]
More about this topic here.
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Audiofile 57 - Harald Blüchel: Scene 0, Theme With Variations
(„The House of Bernarda Alba“,2007)
[MP3]
[RA]
Composing the music for „The House of Bernarda Alba“, a
play by Federico Garcia Lorca, is easily one of the greatest musical
challenges I have had as a composer to date. There are two reasons for
this: working with the director, Hans Neuenfels, is a challenge in its
own right. Secondly, I only had one month in which to come up with the
concept and composition and have it ready for performance. I will not
comment on the piece in depth because I have decided to use the
material I have composed to create a separate „Bernarda radio
play“, so what follows is merely some background:
BERNARDA ALBAS HAUS − Working paper and thesis presented to the
sound engineers by H.B., Cologne January 2007.
BASIC IDEA:
HB: „I see Bernardas Haus as just one single music box, a
carousel in which the characters are constantly moving in circles. All
the fantasies of freedom and breaking out are only in the heads of the
characters. They are never realized.“
BASIC CONCEPT:
Two main themes with variations run through the composition,
reflecting the dramaturgical development. „Spanish
sensuality“ for the five daughters „religious
transcendence“ for Bernarda, with the theme not being either
clichéd Flamenco or heavy organ music.
SOUND SHAPES AND THEIR LEVELS:
Music pieces in stereo/ main parts
Music pieces in stereo plus ambience
Music pieces in stereo plus supporting parts spread over different
levels.
Sounds of nature, unadulterated
Sounds of nature, manipulated or played at various levels
„Sound installations“: reflecting the turning music-box
characters.
PROBLEMS TO BE SOLVED:
Finding clear structures at the sound level and their technical
feasibility, checking their effect at certain moments in the play, the
stereo effects should be used in sync with the turning movement on
stage (i.e. from left to right, being loudest in the middle)
Supporting parts should a) circle above their heads b) move upwards
(to heaven) or fall from above. Some pieces should be timed to finish
at a defined point but nevertheless be relatively variable in the
middle. Time: like every theater production I fear we are not going
to have enough time for rehearsals to get the timing right between the
play and the music or to optimize the sound effects in the
auditorium.
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Cosmic Baby / Harald Blüchel Discography / Fanpage
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