Harmonia Vs Fujiya and Miyagi

Michael Rother is co-founder of Neu!, a component of Harmonia (alongside Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Dieter Möbius of Cluster, plus Brian Eno at one point), and has been a member of Kraftwerk. He is one of the most influential artists in modern day music. In September, Harmonia re-release their classic album ‘Tracks And Traces’, complete with three previously unreleased tracks from the 1976 creation.

David Best is one half of the original line-up of Krautrock influenced Brighton based band Fujiya And Miyagi. They finish their touring for this year at Bestival and are working on a fourth album of deeply layered rhythmic dance.

Clash played host to a conversation that connected two generations of electronic idols.

David: Pleasure to speak to you again Michael. ‘Tracks And Traces’ is one of the most influential albums to our band. Why was it released in 1997 when it was made in 1976?

Michael: When Brian Eno left us in ’76, he took the tapes with him. The plan was that he should return so we could continue working with them later.

David: But he never came back?

Michael: Not with the tapes. A few years later I heard that Brian said the tapes were lost and I was a bit sad about that.

David: Did Brian find the tapes under his bed?

Michael: Well, there are different versions of the story. The story I know is that Joachim Roedilius had visited Brian and asked whether he could look for the tapes and he found one. At that time there was some, what’s the English word? Bad blood. There was trouble between Moebius and Roedilius. They weren’t talking much.

David: Not trouble between Eno and Roedilius?

Michael: No. Roedillius presented us with his version. He said, ‘I’ve found the tape and this is what I did with it. How do you like it?’

David: Did you like it?

Michael: Of course. Moebius and I were surprised and both a bit sad that he hadn’t contacted us and done it the right way, because we would have gladly participated. But we couldn’t argue with the quality of the music. He did a good job. That was the release in 1997.

David: You did the two Harmonia records before you worked with Eno on that one. How did working with someone else differ the dynamic?

Michael: Brian only came for seven days so it was very spontaneous. The idea in the first place was not to record an album, it was just a meeting, an exchanging of ideas. We played ping pong and went for walks. It was relaxed.

David: Who was the best at ping pong?

Michael: That was interesting. Each one of us was better than one and as good as the third. So it went around in a circle. Like the ideas.

David: Steve in our group is a big ping pong fan; maybe if we get together again maybe we could set up a game?

Michael: I haven’t played ping pong for ages, but back in those days I could. It’s strange the way things have become busier in recent years. Busier and busier and busier. But I’m not complaining.

David: Do you think life’s got busier because of the development of the Internet? Everything bombards you?

Michael: Of course. It has good and bad sides. But the good side is I can keep in touch with the world and find out what is happening. If I think back to the ’70s and ’80s, we had no idea who was listening to our music and what was happening in the world. I’ve been thinking about the way the public is paying attention to what we did in the ’70s now more than they did then.

David: Yeah. When I first heard of Neu! and Harmonia, I saw the record covers before I’d even heard the music. Because you couldn’t find the records, you’d just see them in magazines, so that built up the mystique of it.

Michael: When did you find the album?

David: Funnily enough, probably when I first got on the Internet.

Michael: In the late ’90s?

David: Yeah. But I’d heard of them a long time before that. I remember I first saw the first Neu! record in a shop in London for a hundred pounds, and I don't think I had five pounds back then. So, in that sense of accessibility for records both old and new it’s a great thing. I wanted to ask you, you were saying you were quite isolated in the ’70s, so you didn’t know if you were popular. I read somewhere that you said that everyone always clumps you in with the German groups from that era, like Can and Faust. But there are lots of differences between them - how aware were you of all the other groups that were around?

Michael: I knew what was happening in the bands I worked in, like Kraftwerk, Neu!, and I knew Can. I had heard of bands like Tangerine Dream, but I wasn’t interested. Whenever I heard something I knew that I didn’t want to listen to it anymore. It sounds a bit big-headed, but it was just important to concentrate on your own stuff. The idea was to develop your own style of music. To be different.

David: I think a lot of people shut themselves off now because they don’t want to be influenced by things around them. I don’t really listen to new stuff, but I’m obviously influenced by older records. I think it’s because I don’t want to be in any gang. If you listen to anything of all the stuff going on at one time you get labeled as in that movement

Michael: I know, I have the same difficulties. In nearly every interview journalists ask me about the term ‘Krautrock’. ‘What do you think of that term?’ I don’t want to be in a box with other bands.

David: I know what it’s like to be asked the same questions. What questions would you like to be asked?

Michael: It’s perfectly okay to be asked the same questions. Just if I start snoring they get the idea.

David: I wanted to ask a silly question. There’s some great photos of Harmonia playing underneath a parasol on stage. Whose parasol and idea was that?

Michael: I think Moebius came up with the idea.

David: Was that purely aesthetic? Or to keep the keyboards from overheating?

Michael: Oh no! It was just to create a nice atmosphere for us onstage, to shed some colourful lights on us. I remember when we started playing with that. At the time people didn’t know what we were trying to do. In Germany, Harmonia was such a big disaster. Financially and because of the feedback. Most of the concerts were disastrous.

David: Really? Because nobody turned up?

Michael: At some of the concerts nobody turned up, and at others people didn’t know what we were trying to do. It was difficult for people to follow what we were trying to create because at the beginning we went on stage with no idea. We had a basic idea of a rhythm or a harmony and just started playing and listening and reacting and trying to develop something on stage. There’s a track called ‘Orhwurm’ on the first Harmonia record that’s five minutes of a concert that lasted one and a half hours. It’s a perfect example because I think these five minutes are wonderful, but there was one hour and forty minutes that were impossible.

David: But without that you wouldn’t have got where you needed to be.

Michael: That’s exactly the problem. I was very enthusiastic about Harmonia. That’s why I stopped the Neu! project at the time. But on stage you had to accept a lot of fumbling before you got the beauty.

David: You’ve worked with three of the greatest drummers haven’t you? Klaus Dinger, Mani Neumaier and Jaki Liebezeit.

Michael: They’re all great, but Jaki is the drummer. He’s a magician. I owe him a lot. But we’re talking about my music all the time; I should be asking you some questions.

David: No, my music isn’t as interesting as yours.

Michael: Oh dear. You shouldn’t say that, and I hope you don’t mean it. You know, I quite like some of your tracks, and I enjoyed your concert in Hamburg very much.

David: What was that place called we played?

Michael: It’s called Gruner Jager. I was astonished you played in such a small place. I had a good view; I was next to the stage, if you can call it a stage.

David: It was hard to get on there. And then my guitar packed up.

Michael: Yes! I felt so sorry for you.

David: It was during our song that was most indebted to Neu! and Harmonia, so I think it was karma for borrowing your ideas. We’re just trying to write a new record at the moment, so all our time not touring is taken up with that.

Michael: Good. I thought of doing new music this year, but my past keeps jumping up at me, and when I’m finished with all the preparation for Harmonia I will go back. I already started a project about Neu!. We’ll be doing a vinyl box-set. The idea is to put all of the available Neu! recordings, at least the ones that I think are right, on five vinyls.

David: Will that include stuff that’s not been available before?

Michael: Yes. Of course, we won’t touch the three originals, ‘Neu! 1’, ‘2’ and ‘75’, and you probably know about ‘Neu! 4’ that Klaus Dinger released in Japan.

David: I know that one.

Michael: We hadn’t finished the production on that actually and Klaus was in a very bad state at the time. He needed money and recognition or whatever. But I’ve listened to that material and some of it is better than many critics say. And other material hasn’t been released yet.

David: You just said a lot of your time’s taken up with music you’ve done in the past, it must be nice to have recognition for that. You said Harmonia was a disaster, but it must be nice that people enjoy those records now.

Michael: Definitely, especially for Harmonia. Neu! was a model of success in the ’70s, but it was forgotten in the ’80s when the labels didn’t press any more copies - they vanished from the shops and started popping up as bootleg CDs in the ’90s. But the new recognition we’ve been getting for Harmonia since the release of ‘Live 1974’ is really heartwarming. People now are much closer to the ideas we had in the ’70s.

David: It’s a combination of electronics and guitars as well. There are so many bands that use that now in England; I find that interesting.

Michael: With what your band is doing, I like the clearness of the ideas. It’s very reduced to the important elements.

David: That’s what hip-hop does as well, it takes a loop and just limits itself to the best bits.

Michael: And it works. Definitely. Especially tracks like ‘Ankle Injuries’. I like that track on your MySpace called ‘Rot’.

David: Oh, that’s a really early one. It’s nearly ten years old now. I like it when people like our old stuff. As I didn’t think many people know about it.

Michael: Doesn’t matter that it’s old. It’s good.

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Words by Henry Greaves