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Movies

Holger Czukay

1979

Buy At Rough Trade
Movies
Album Summary

Movies is the second album by Holger Czukay, released in 1979 through Electrola. Holger Schüring (24 March 1938 – 5 September 2017), known professionally as Holger Czukay (/ˈʃʊkaɪ/),[3] was a German musician best known as a co-founder of the krautrock group Can. Described as "successfully bridg[ing] the gap between pop and the avant-garde", Czukay was also notable for having created early important examples of ambient music, for having explored "world music" well before the term was coined, and for having been a pioneer of sampling.

Wikipedia

Rating

2.68

Votes

9110
Genres
Rock

Reviews

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Thu Apr 20 2023
5

Oh, thank god! Finally something weird. This 1001 album experiment works best for me when there's something I've never heard, or even better, never heard *of*. The layers, the sampling, the clear influences of people like Zappa, this is fantastic stuff. Instant add to my library.

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Wed Apr 26 2023
4

In the (technically) solo debut of the leader of the krautrock giant CAN, he follows many of the artsy electronic principles that CAN was so renowned in its innovation, but incorporates that with more accessible genres, including Bowie-esque disco in "Cool in the Pool" or world music in "Persian Love." I like how distinct each of the 4 songs is in style, but I never felt bored or tired of any of them. The jammy space rock "Oh Lord Give Us Money" was both soothing and intriguing to see which direction they'll go. "Holly Symphony", the most intense of the songs, reminded me heavily of afrobeat and disco. The most remarkable aspect is the innovation in sampling, which was still very new in 1979, and yet he spams it all over this record in a way that seems to work from my perspective, likely influencing old school hip hop like Malcolm McLaren.

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Tue Mar 28 2023
3

This album must have JUST been added because as I'm writing this there is only one other person who has left a review here. How lucky for me <3 I liked Future Days a ton, and most of Tago Mago. I can see some slight similarity between Can and this guy's solo work, but of course it's not on the same level, as is usual with solo albums from members of awesome bands. I liked the two long tracks well enough. I didn't care for the two shorter ones much. Probably won't return to this one. I'm gonna go listen to some more classic krautrock now

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Tue Mar 28 2023
1

I'm often a fan of experimental music but this was terrible. Experimental albums usually have their high points and their low points, this was just the latter. Just seems to be rambling, directionless, no emotion/soul behind it.

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Sat Jul 22 2023
5

I love Holger, he was the secret sauce in Can; the engineer, the editor, the true experimenter. Here he's using samples in a way that was way ahead of its time. Before even Eno and Byrne made their acclaimed "My Life in the Bush of Ghosts" (81). You know Eno listened to this and took notes.

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Thu Apr 06 2023
3

Krautrock tends to cross paths with progressive rock a lot, since they take inspiration from each other at different points in time. So I’m pretty familiar with this kind of music. And Holger Czukay’s previous group Can has ventured into prog territory before, so I went into this album keeping an ear open for it. But I didn’t find much that really “popped” from the album. A lot of meandering, like uninspired jazz, permeated about the record. And while it didn’t sound bad, it didn’t really do much to sound good either. A shame, I guess. Back to “Future Days” for my kraut-prog fix then.

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Sun Apr 16 2023
5

10/10 super funky, super weird, based af

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Sun Jul 23 2023
5

I liked basically everything about this recording, from the careening vibe to the great sample work. Let's get cooooool... in the pool

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Fri Sep 15 2023
5

Track 2 is insane. This album is a trip in itself.

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Sun Dec 10 2023
5

A release that sounds like what Can would have sounded like in 1979 at there best taking in more disco and fusion elements. I loved it.

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Wed Jun 28 2023
3

I didn't hate that nearly as much as I thought I was going to. Eclectic and musical enough to be intriguing throughout and not get boring.

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Wed Apr 26 2023
2

Dat slechte accent! ‘Koelllll in ze poelllll’.

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Sat Jul 22 2023
5

Really enjoyed this - lighthearted and innovative at the same time. I love the idea that he was improvising scores for his amusement as he watched movies. I think "Cool in the Pool" is my new favorite song.

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Tue Aug 29 2023
5

I was prepared to not like this album because I don't usually listen to this genre. I had heard some tracks from his former band Can and I was not impressed. Was I wrong. Every track on this album is amazing. It is the perfect marriage of experimentation and pop music.

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Tue Sep 05 2023
5

Wow! I really liked this. It's refreshingly strange and vintage-y. This dude Holger was kinda ahead of his time. This stuff evolved further in the 80's but built up that indelible 80's stank that you can't get rid of.

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Mon Dec 11 2023
5

like the first 3 songs, last one was hard to get through

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Sun Jan 07 2024
5

I like CAN, I like german „Krautrock“ - 5 stars from me for Holger

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Wed Jan 10 2024
5

Cool in the Pool pour moi c'est du génie débile a la Phillipe Katerine avec une compo contemporaine super réussie a la fois groovy et super pérchée et la combinaison est explosivo-débilo. Le reste de l'album j'ai pas reussi a me concentrer dessus. Jsuis conscient que ça raconte surement quelque chose de beau et de profond mais c'est pas la musique que j'ecouterai de maniere passive. (sauf persian love qui me fait actuellement bouger mon gros boulard)

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Tue Jan 30 2024
5

This is why I’m doing this. Very interesting music from an interesting guy. Recommend reading the wiki about him

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Mon Feb 19 2024
5

YAYAYAYAYYA I LOVED IT 5/5 Fave Tracks: all of them

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Wed Mar 13 2024
5

What an incredibly cool and fun album! Its so charming and has some gorgeous moments that really are just awe inspiring. Most of it is just background music, but its really chill background music that I can easily sink my teeth into, and Holger Czukay's voice is a little silly, but overall really nice, making for a really great little jam thing with bits of greatness sprinkled in; enough so that I don't have anything but praise for this record. Really surprising, but a welcome surprise nonetheless.

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Fri Mar 15 2024
5

This was a really fun listen. Pallete cleansing. Loaded with surprises and overflowing with ideas but in a digestible way. Loved this.

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Fri Apr 07 2023
4

Quirky and idiosyncratic, I really liked this.

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Wed Apr 12 2023
4

Surprisingly, it's much more enjoyable than I thought. The songs were interesting with various sections on the longer songs and although a little avant garde, it's one that was fun to listen to with nice guitars and other idiosyncratic sounds.

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Thu May 11 2023
4

Plus one for a wild playlist

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Fri May 12 2023
4

I know Can but I have never heard a solo album from Holger Czukay yet. This is the type of music I like to discover during my 1001 albums challenge so it was a nice surprise. It is something different, strange, interesting, experimental. It's not amongst the very best albums I've listened so far but it is definitely those albums that it deserves higher ratings. 7.0-7.5/10.

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Mon May 15 2023
4

Whoa, this was a cool album! Very early, proto-electronica type stuff. Never heard of this guy, but I'm impressed. The opening track reminded me of that silly Autobahn song by Kraftwerk, aside from that I found myself digging all the other (three) tracks on the album. I appreciate an album with a few, long tracks like this. A lot of strange instrumental sounds and textures, just like a mad scientist goofing around in his lab. There's cool stuff all over this. Shout out to Holger man, this was a pleasant surprise. Favorite tracks: Persian Love, Oh Lord Give Us More Money, Hollywood Symphony. Album art: I take it that's Holger himself, and he seems to be looking at a tv screen from inches away. It's really weird, but I really like it. His handlebar mustache and slicked back hair is giving me comfort, reminding me that this space-age stuff is coming from the '70s. 4/5

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Thu Jun 01 2023
4

Gets off to quite the light-hearted start for being so Teutonic, no? But the larky, novelty-act effect is gone after a few songs -- "Persian Love" continues is deeper and more interesting fare in a slightly exotic vein and "Hollywood Symphony" sprawling and cool. Overall, this is weird and wonderful-ish particularly if one hears in the right mood/context.

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Fri Jun 02 2023
4

A very mixed bag but 'Hollywood Symphony' is an absolute gem.

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Fri Jun 02 2023
4

I thought this was going to suck. I kinda dug it. A little out there, but not too far out there. I probably would've liked this in my early 20's when I was into anything remotely "weird". I'll give it a 4. It's about a 3 for personal enjoyment but the overall score so far is too harsh.

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Sat Jun 10 2023
4

What a great album. Not an aficionado of Can, maybe I should dig deeper. Can hear elements of Zappa in this.

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Mon Jul 03 2023
4

In some ways, I liked this more than Future Days. The variety of music really showed off where the music could be taken, this is definitely my favorite experimental album so far (it's also the most pop-y). Each track has at least one interesting part. Persian Love is beautiful, the middle to end of Hollywood symphony is great, Oh Lord Give Us More Money is insane and Cool in the Pool is generally fun. Someday, I may get this kind of music.

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Wed Jul 05 2023
4

I was prepared to shoot this album down. But as I listened to each track, I found "Movies" to be light and inventive. You can write the whole thing off as an experimental prog-rock cut-and-paste job, I suppose; instead, try to get in a playful mood and have fun with it.

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Mon Jul 10 2023
4

Mukava nähdä hauskojakin levyjä tällä listalla taas, ja varsinkin kun on musikaalisesti mielenkiintoinen myös! Varsinainen kollaasi. 4/5

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Mon Jul 10 2023
4

Täähän oli upea! Ihan Canin veroista. Pihtaan vielä vitosta, mutta saattaisi joskus noustakin.

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Thu Jul 27 2023
4

Great Experimental avant type stuff, but may be lacking a special something to drag me back.

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Thu Jul 27 2023
4

First of all - terrible vocal, really off-putting. But otherwise, it's a nice combination of songs on this album. We're starting with a nice and short funky track, then we move into some psychedelic territories (best song in "Movies" by far). Later on we have more experimental electronic stuff, which is not my favourite, but thanks to solid start sounded quite nicely. Good album, a positive surprise.

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Sat Jul 29 2023
4

Huh. I don't know what to make of it, but I like it. Four tracks of bizarre samples and jazz, but pleasant listening. Oh it's from a Can man. Makes sense.

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Sun Jul 30 2023
4

I remember one time I was doing so much cocaine with Holger Czukay, that I forgot that I was fucking his daughter and showed him a bunch of dirty pictures of her on my phone. He punched me in the mouth.

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Sun Jul 30 2023
4

wonderfully batshit. like captain beefheart refined by some berlin bowie.

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Fri Aug 04 2023
4

Whatever the hell this is, I love it. This is what I love about this album. Here I was, not expecting to hear 70's funk cowboy porn music but this is how I round out my week. 4/5.

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Fri Aug 11 2023
4

Except for being way too long, I got a strange enjoy from this record. Never heard it before, never heard of Holger Czukay before, but I’ve already listed through the record twice. My very first reaction was “what IS this weirdness?” That continues to be my reaction. But I guess I kind of like that weirdness.

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Wed Aug 16 2023
4

Bewildering and funny. Great musicianship and some nice melodies amongst the chaos.

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Sat Aug 26 2023
4

I've nver heard of Holger Czukay before and nothing on the album Movies was familiar to me. There is a chance I might come back to this album because I don't quite know what to do with it. The opening track "Cool in the Pool" was a little silly, but did not completely distract from the overall listening experience. I don't know how to classify what I've heard. With the various clips of dialog laced throughout the album, I was reminded a little of Friends of Mr. Cairo (Jon and Vangelis), but not entirely in that category either. I do like longer tracks in general, because of the opportunities for the musicians to experiment and explore. I liked the longer tracks here. I'm rounding up to 4 stars.

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Thu Aug 31 2023
4

El segundo álbum del cofundador de la banda de Krautrock, Can, es una recopilación sorprendente de sampleos y extractos teatrales que construyen paisajes exóticos y envolventes, adelantándose al género del ambient y el de la “música global”. Sin duda, un indispensable del catálogo de los 1001 álbumes.

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Thu Sep 21 2023
4

Not what I expected at all! Great experimental album.

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Thu Sep 28 2023
4

I was very worried about this album when I read the wiki description but I ended up enjoying it quite a bit. I'd put in the same category as oxygene (but not quite that good) of late 70s proto electronica/ambient music. I think it comes down to the fact that this avant grade experimental album actually turned out to be good.

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Sun Oct 01 2023
4

I don't get the hate. It was nice and different.

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Thu Oct 05 2023
4

Whacky kraut pop, very NTS daytime show

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Mon Oct 23 2023
4

This is bizarre in excellent ways...! Never heard this name before but read that he was a co-founder of Can which makes sense why I loveeeee it. I also read that he was talking about world music before that was really a term and I love hearing that in this solo album. Persian Love is such a nice appreciation for a different style of music. I'm confused and impressed about how the sitar/banjo sounds were made without the instruments themselves and I guess that's synthesisers and electronic sounds but I find that so baffling and impressive... Unless there's some info missing from Wikipedia haha! Cool in the Pool is a really fun track and I love that they include the organ. The last track is super chaotic and I don't like it as much.

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Thu Oct 26 2023
4

This was pretty great. Looking forward to the Can albums after this one and will def check out more Czukay solo albums.

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Wed Nov 08 2023
4

It's albums like this that made me want to do thus. What a strange album. A massive collage of sounds and styles. Very cool. Weird listenable. Moments reminded me of "my life in a bush of ghosts". Honestly wish it was longer.

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Wed Nov 22 2023
4

When I noticed that it's 4 songs in 44 mins I was scaptical and thought I won't enjoy it. Cool in the pool was cool and surprised me. And oh lord, give us money was even cooler. Overall I rate this album COOL!

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Mon Nov 27 2023
4

Sick. Weird. Long and strange. I’m down.

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Wed Nov 29 2023
4

The songs is a bit goofy some times but overall good

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Sat Dec 02 2023
4

Neat and unexpected little historical artifact. Fun listen. But nothing beyond that.

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Mon Dec 11 2023
4

4 tracks and hardly sany information about the album on wikipedia. Ok! Cool In The Pool is an extended funk vamp with various instruments coming in and out. Oh Lord, Give Us More Money is a journey, though I am not sure where to. Persian Love is super cool, but Hollywood Symphony is super out there to start. And stays out there. W/e I had a fun time with this one.

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Wed Dec 13 2023
4

What an interesting & weird album. I'm a fan of Can, so this is pretty close to what I was expecting. 3.5 stars.

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Sun Dec 17 2023
4

I’m like the last frame of that Vince McMahon meme when they’re doing Peter Lorre voices on that last track

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Mon Dec 25 2023
4

i do enjoy going into an unknown artist and album because i can never anticipate how the album will turn out. happily, this is a situation where the album is not a dud! i mean, it's certainly off the beaten path. it's full of experimental music, but it isn't quite as electronic and outer space-y as other artists exploring this area were around 1979. if i had to describe this album in a word, i'd use the word cinematic. this is partly due to the album name, but also i felt such highs and lows in listening to this album. holgar czukay's movies is strongest when the songs are instrumentals. i can't say the vocals did much for me, except when they were samples (or what i suspect were samples). regardless, the album was more interesting when focusing on the instruments. 3.5

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Tue Dec 26 2023
4

Interesting stuff. Clearly influential

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Fri Jan 05 2024
4

cool in the pool 100% sommernummer! fedt og underligt album!!

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Sat Jan 06 2024
4

I quite like Can, but I wasn’t sure what to expect from a Czukay solo album. I ended up liking it quite a bit. It’s a bit kosmische, a bit spacey, and even a bit post-punk. Not bad at all.

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Fri Jan 19 2024
4

fave track: cool in the pool final thoughts: love it, so good, funky asf

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Mon Jan 22 2024
4

Enjoyably weird multi genre space funk with great bass

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Thu Jan 25 2024
4

It's a bit repetitive, but it's pretty cool to know this new stuff on the list.

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Sun Jan 28 2024
4

I was not expecting to like this but it was really cool. Fun and interesting and listenable. 4 stars.

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Thu Feb 08 2024
4

Alltaf soft spot fyrir Holger þessi samt alltaf besthttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exqdGJuJpI4

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Thu Feb 08 2024
4

So this is the lowest rated album I have received so far, and you know what? I fucking love it. I had never heard of this guy until today, and I love how much he just doesn't care and makes the music he wants, because he's damn good at it. The opening track is a great way in, it's fun, it's goofy, there's honestly everything to love about it. I think the song "Persian Love" drags on a bit more than it needs to, it does feel very repetitive at times. But everything else is to love. This is a lot like Pink Floyd but just weirder, and I'm definitely here for it.

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Fri Feb 09 2024
4

Never heard of this artist but it's pretty good!

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Wed Feb 14 2024
4

Weird for the sake of weird, which I can get behind. Kind of sounds like Beck if he came about in the age of Yes.

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Fri Feb 16 2024
4

1979, Member of the Band CAN. Genre: Experimental rock, art rock, electronic rock Standouts: Cool in the Pool When I first heard the album I thought it was *weird*, but after several listens I am really starting to like its weirdness. 3.75

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Mon Feb 19 2024
4

4 - I found this super interesting and fun. Really chaotic and it sounds like a moment of creative madness. Parts reminded me of Destroyer but also just very eclectic. 2018 as well which was a surprise.

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Fri Feb 23 2024
4

Genial genial Gracias de nuevo 1001albumgenerator

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Mon Feb 26 2024
4

Never heard about this artist but the music is rather interresting. Other albums added to favorites to explore more in the future.

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Fri Mar 01 2024
4

Let’s get cool in the pool! I love weird stuff like this. Very Zappa-esque. Had me cracking up at times. Ultimately was glad it was only 36 minutes, but the current eating criminally underrates this. 4/5

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Sat Mar 09 2024
4

Always let Holger Czukay cook 🔥Liebezeit’s drum groove on the last track is crazy too. Great work!

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Sun Mar 10 2024
4

I enjoyed this a lot. Greatest album ever? Don't think so, but it's pretty special. I'm a fan of anything that uses unconventional instruments to build its sonic landscape in a unique way. Bass playing is top notch too.

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Thu Mar 14 2024
4

8/10. It did feel like I was listening to a piece of art. Very cool. And I got a good laugh from “Oh Lord, Give Us More Money”. There were some goofy vibes to it that I enjoyed but maybe held me back from giving it a 9 or 10. But very fun listen.

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Thu Mar 14 2024
4

Would never have listened to this album without this project. But I actually really enjoyed this. Loved some of the random sampling throughout the tracks, especially considering this is from 1979. Each track was quite different from the other and I didn't get bored, ended up listening to a few tracks twice. Favourite track: Persian Love.

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Fri Mar 15 2024
4

An interesting (especially given its release date) collection of sonically diverse jazz/sound collages. I am surprised I had not heard of it before and I also thought it was a contemporary 2010’s work. Much more playful than Eno oddly beautiful.

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Tue Mar 19 2024
4

I'll admit to being sceptical going in, but this album won me over pretty quickly. If the last song was first I might not have gotten into it, but the last song was last and by then I was in his groove.

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Wed Mar 20 2024
4

I love this album! Definitely experimental, but has enough familiar elements to keep it from going off the rails. It's not perfect, but definitely worth a listen.

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Wed Mar 20 2024
4

Weird, wild and oddly beautiful… I like it!

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Fri Mar 22 2024
4

What a trip. I absolutely loved this. It's not gonna go into regular rotation for me, but albums like this is exactly why I started listening to 1001 albums. This was far away from anything I'd normally listen to, and made by someone I didn't know. Great album.

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Mon Mar 25 2024
4

Probably 3/5 but I’m bumping it up strictly for the ‘stache.

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Thu Mar 28 2024
4

This shit is weird, but it kind of works. You somewhat get lost in the strangeness and forget your listening to an album and becomes something different. I also like the European guy shouting random things throughout. 7/10

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Tue Mar 28 2023
3

Sounds like an overly complex ambient-electronica album. Like most experimental music, it's quite interesting and it has ups and downs. A notable up is of course the surprisingly charming oriental inspired "Persian Love".

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Fri Mar 31 2023
3

Didn’t like it, didn’t hate it, and I appreciate the presence of original ideas here even if they don’t all land. 5/10

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