BUREAU B - Forced Exposure

$35.00 PREORDER RELEASE DATE: 8/15/2025

Double LP version. On their last trip to Silberland, hurtled along the chrome highways and glass skyways of the kosmische landscape, powered ever onwards in perpetual motorik motion. This time, however, the Hamburg imprint opt for an unhurried itinerary, coasting far beyond the familiar rhythmic terrain to immerse listeners in the ambient side of this alternative Allemagne. Building on the tape loops, tone poems, and minimalist compositions of the '60s avant-garde, these musicians utilized the sweeping scope of the synthesizer to create expansive meditations. This compilation offers a survey of this singular era, blending pioneering voices with lesser-known artists for an immersive sonic experience. Taken from Cluster & Eno's self-titled 1977 album, "Ho Renomo" opens the set with a profound minimalism. Roedelius' "Veilchenwurzeln" follows, evoking pastoral scenes in a multi-layered and undulating composition, where synths flow gently, conjuring images of open fields and embodying an organic warmth. Der Plan's "Die Wüste" delves into darker territories, translating the visual world of Rainer Kirberg's cult film into a stark soundscape, while Rolf Trostel's "Hope Is The Answer" sees a steady sequence rise and fall beneath the filter. The koto-like plucks and piercing drones of Vono's "Hitze" create a mysterious and hypnotic experience which draws on both ancient and futuristic tones before giving way to "E-Night", a recording from the sessions of You's 1980 LP Electric Days. As the album progresses, Serge Blenner's "Phrase IV" beguiles with minimalist yet celestial synth lines, while Moebius' "Falsche Ruhe" offers a quiet, haunting meditation on solitude. From there, Harald Grosskopf's "Oceanheart," envelops listeners in aquatic ambient textures that suggest serene, moonlit waters -- a perfect surface to reflect the starry sky portrayed by Lapre's acoustic guitar and wistful synths. The glimmering, crystalline, landscape of Riechmann's "Abendlicht" finds a heartbeat amongst the tranquility, leading seamlessly into the unhurried progression of shimmering chords and chiming synths which make up Adalbert von Deyen's "Per Aspera Ad Astra". Unreleased until Bureau B's recent retrospective set, Faust's "Lampe An, Tür Zu, Leute Rein!" channels a darker, introspective, energy, marked by drones and field recordings while Conrad Schnitzler's "Electric Garden" creates an electronic biosphere buzzing with synthetic life. Moebius & Plank's "Nordöstliches Gefühl" pairs calm percussion and rhythm guitar with pastoral, swirling electronics, resulting in a lush, stately piece that captures the spirit of a vast, open landscape. Deutsche Wertabeit delivers hypnotic minimalism, before Asmus Tietchens' "Räuschlinge" pulls the listener into an eerie atmosphere of deep disquiet. Pyrolator's "Minimal Tape 1/8" offers an immersive wall of sound. The wintry "Southland" by Rüdiger Lorenz evokes the isolation of frozen landscapes, a fitting prologue for "Alleewalzer" by Thomas Dinger.

$16.50 PREORDER RELEASE DATE: 8/15/2025

On their last trip to Silberland, hurtled along the chrome highways and glass skyways of the kosmische landscape, powered ever onwards in perpetual motorik motion. This time, however, the Hamburg imprint opt for an unhurried itinerary, coasting far beyond the familiar rhythmic terrain to immerse listeners in the ambient side of this alternative Allemagne. Building on the tape loops, tone poems, and minimalist compositions of the '60s avant-garde, these musicians utilized the sweeping scope of the synthesizer to create expansive meditations. This compilation offers a survey of this singular era, blending pioneering voices with lesser-known artists for an immersive sonic experience. Taken from Cluster & Eno's self-titled 1977 album, "Ho Renomo" opens the set with a profound minimalism. Roedelius' "Veilchenwurzeln" follows, evoking pastoral scenes in a multi-layered and undulating composition, where synths flow gently, conjuring images of open fields and embodying an organic warmth. Der Plan's "Die Wüste" delves into darker territories, translating the visual world of Rainer Kirberg's cult film into a stark soundscape, while Rolf Trostel's "Hope Is The Answer" sees a steady sequence rise and fall beneath the filter. The koto-like plucks and piercing drones of Vono's "Hitze" create a mysterious and hypnotic experience which draws on both ancient and futuristic tones before giving way to "E-Night", a recording from the sessions of You's 1980 LP Electric Days. As the album progresses, Serge Blenner's "Phrase IV" beguiles with minimalist yet celestial synth lines, while Moebius' "Falsche Ruhe" offers a quiet, haunting meditation on solitude. From there, Harald Grosskopf's "Oceanheart," envelops listeners in aquatic ambient textures that suggest serene, moonlit waters -- a perfect surface to reflect the starry sky portrayed by Lapre's acoustic guitar and wistful synths. The glimmering, crystalline, landscape of Riechmann's "Abendlicht" finds a heartbeat amongst the tranquility, leading seamlessly into the unhurried progression of shimmering chords and chiming synths which make up Adalbert von Deyen's "Per Aspera Ad Astra". Unreleased until Bureau B's recent retrospective set, Faust's "Lampe An, Tür Zu, Leute Rein!" channels a darker, introspective, energy, marked by drones and field recordings while Conrad Schnitzler's "Electric Garden" creates an electronic biosphere buzzing with synthetic life. Moebius & Plank's "Nordöstliches Gefühl" pairs calm percussion and rhythm guitar with pastoral, swirling electronics, resulting in a lush, stately piece that captures the spirit of a vast, open landscape. Deutsche Wertabeit delivers hypnotic minimalism, before Asmus Tietchens' "Räuschlinge" pulls the listener into an eerie atmosphere of deep disquiet. Pyrolator's "Minimal Tape 1/8" offers an immersive wall of sound. The wintry "Southland" by Rüdiger Lorenz evokes the isolation of frozen landscapes, a fitting prologue for "Alleewalzer" by Thomas Dinger.

$16.50 PREORDER RELEASE DATE: 8/8/2025

In the shadow of the nuclear accident in Fukushima in 2011, Japanese musician Phew, artist Erika Kobayashi, and German electronic music pioneer Dieter Moebius (Cluster, Harmonia) came together for an extraordinary project. Together, they developed the concept album Radium Girls 2011, which they released in 2012 under the project name Project UNDARK -- 114 years after the discovery of radium by Marie and Pierre Curie. The album is dedicated to the so-called Radium Girls, female factory workers in the United States during the 1920s who painted watch dials with radioactive luminous paint and suffered severe health consequences from radium poisoning. On the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the label Bureau B is reissuing Radium Girls -- for the first time also on vinyl. The Radium Girls were female factory workers who unknowingly suffered radiation poisoning while painting watch dials with glow-in-the-dark paint at the United States Radium Factory in Orange, New Jersey, around 1917. A group of five affected women later took their employer to court, setting a legal precedent that granted workers the right to sue companies for illnesses caused by hazardous working conditions. Between 1917 and 1926, the U.S. Radium Corporation -- previously named the Radium Luminous Material Corporation -- specialized in extracting and refining radium from carnotite ore to manufacture glow-in-the-dark paint, marketed as "Undark." As a supplier for the military, the company produced radioluminescent watches and other instruments. The New Jersey factory employed over a hundred workers, primarily women, to apply the radium-based paint, unaware of the serious health dangers associated with it. In total, around 4,000 workers across the United States and Canada were hired to paint watch dials with radium. Many later suffered from severe health problems due to radiation exposure, though the exact number of fatalities remains uncertain.

$26.00 PREORDER RELEASE DATE: 8/8/2025

LP version. In the shadow of the nuclear accident in Fukushima in 2011, Japanese musician Phew, artist Erika Kobayashi, and German electronic music pioneer Dieter Moebius (Cluster, Harmonia) came together for an extraordinary project. Together, they developed the concept album Radium Girls 2011, which they released in 2012 under the project name Project UNDARK -- 114 years after the discovery of radium by Marie and Pierre Curie. The album is dedicated to the so-called Radium Girls, female factory workers in the United States during the 1920s who painted watch dials with radioactive luminous paint and suffered severe health consequences from radium poisoning. On the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the label Bureau B is reissuing Radium Girls -- for the first time also on vinyl. The Radium Girls were female factory workers who unknowingly suffered radiation poisoning while painting watch dials with glow-in-the-dark paint at the United States Radium Factory in Orange, New Jersey, around 1917. A group of five affected women later took their employer to court, setting a legal precedent that granted workers the right to sue companies for illnesses caused by hazardous working conditions. Between 1917 and 1926, the U.S. Radium Corporation -- previously named the Radium Luminous Material Corporation -- specialized in extracting and refining radium from carnotite ore to manufacture glow-in-the-dark paint, marketed as "Undark." As a supplier for the military, the company produced radioluminescent watches and other instruments. The New Jersey factory employed over a hundred workers, primarily women, to apply the radium-based paint, unaware of the serious health dangers associated with it. In total, around 4,000 workers across the United States and Canada were hired to paint watch dials with radium. Many later suffered from severe health problems due to radiation exposure, though the exact number of fatalities remains uncertain.

$29.50 PREORDER RELEASE DATE: 8/1/2025

Limited anniversary edition: hand numbered, limited edition white vinyl, 500 copies available! Sophomore album from the French space rock electro combo Heldon. Here, mastermind Richard Pinhas has formed a duo with Georges Grunblatt. The music: an interplay of feather-light acoustic guitars, Mellotron textures, fuzzy sounds and heavy, spherical synthesizers. Before making his own music in the early '70s, Richard Pinhas was a King Crimson fan. By now the British group has buzzed in Pinhas' mind for decades, but their greatest impact came early, from something he couldn't even identify immediately. When he first saw them play, Pinhas was struck by music played during intermission. That influence is clear on the second Heldon album, Allez-Teia, originally released in 1975 on Pinhas's own Disjuncta label. The opening song, a soaring mix of string-like electronics and smeared guitar, is called "In the Wake of King Fripp," a reference both to the guitarist and King Crimson's second album In the Wake of Poseidon. The meditative "Omar Diop Blondin," in which free tones float above a repetitive guitar figure, is dedicated to Fripp and Eno. Allez-Teia -- whose title is a nod to "aletheia," the ancient Greek term for philosophical truth -- is hardly a tribute album. The pieces Pinhas crafts with partner Georges Grunblatt -- both playing guitar, Mellotron, and ARP synths -- are beatific on the surface but infused with undercurrents of tension. Over four decades after he made Allez-Teia, Pinhas's admiration for King Crimson remains profound. He actually met Fripp in 1974, and the two still stay in touch.

$38.50 PREORDER RELEASE DATE: 8/1/2025

Limited anniversary edition: hand numbered, limited edition light blue double vinyl, 500 copies available! Third album from the French spacerock electro combo masterminded by Richard Pinhas. Heldon's darkest work lays another stone in their sonic mosaic: synths, drones, fuzz and trippy improvisations. There's something wicked happening on Heldon's third album It's Always Rock and Roll. Richard Pinhas' essential attack of searing guitar and space-bound synthesizer didn't change radically after the first two Heldon albums, 1974's Electronique Guerilla and 1975's Allez-Teia. But there's dark energy coursing through this double album, a chilly aura that makes even the quietest pieces shiver with tension. The darkness of It's Always Rock and Roll is more about exploring what's hidden and overturning convention -- about diving beneath bright surfaces to find something more mysterious. If It's Always Rock and Roll stands up in Heldon's catalog, perhaps it's due to expansion -- both in the sense of big ideas and lengthy durations. Most tracks last over seven minutes, and two are side-covering epics. "I think the length of a track is part of the creation of the track," says Pinhas. "There are imperatives. You can do something very complex with a lot of events in four minutes, and then some other things need to be done very slowly. You have to do the length that it demands." Like the Heldon albums that precede it, It's Always Rock and Roll is undoubtedly Pinhas' baby. But its depth-probing sounds earned it a godfather, too.

$26.00 PREORDER RELEASE DATE: 7/18/2025

LP version. Thumbing through the back pages of German electronic music, Bureau B uncovers another hidden gem from the Sky Records archive: Inventions, the 1983 collaboration between Adelbert von Deyen and Dieter Schütz. Fusing expansive kosmische textures with biting rock guitars, motorik rhythms, and the growl of '80s synth-pop, the duo conjures a sonic singularity which still sounds like the future today. Compact yet cosmic, Inventions distils ambient drift and experimental edge into taut, three-minute pop miniatures, with the occasional longer track extending the energy without losing any of the impact. Adelbert von Deyen, a painter, graphic artist and composer, was born in 1953 in northern Germany. Inspired by Pink Floyd and the Berlin School, he began creating electronic music in the late '70s, ultimately releasing a string of solo albums on Sky Records. Dieter Schütz, born in nearby Flensburg in 1955, was a multi-instrumentalist equally at home with pastoral acoustic tones and kosmische synthesis. After stints in local rock bands and electronic experimentation in his home studio, Schütz debuted in 1981 with TransVision, followed by solo albums that further explored his unique blend of organic and synthetic elements. Their musical paths converged on the track "Earth" from von Deyen's 1982 LP Planetary, a hypnotic collision of space-bound electronics and driving rhythm. The chemistry was instant and by the following year the pair had completed a full album as a duo, Inventions, marking Schütz's first appearance on the Sky roster. With Inventions, von Deyen and Schütz found a rare middle ground between introspective electronics and wide-eyed pop, creating something strange, beautiful and beguiling which inhabits a space all of its own. Reissued here for the first time in decades, it's a thrilling rediscovery from the adventurous outer edges of early '80s German music.

$26.00 PREORDER RELEASE DATE: 7/18/2025

LP version. Bureau B once again dive into the Sky archive, unearthing another overlooked masterpiece long due for rediscovery. Originally released in 1985, Voyage finds Dieter Schütz venturing beyond his Berlin School roots into a realm of lo-fi immediacy and New Age naivety. Every instrument is played by Schütz himself, except for the drums on 'Above,' which are performed with syncopated zeal by Michael Fecker. While its textured synthscapes and wistful melodies may echo the aesthetics of 2010s Vaporwave, Voyage captured a longing for another world, not through borrowed nostalgia, but through a contemporary vision of escape. Here, Schütz's music is lush yet unpretentious, full of warmth, curiosity, and the gentle imperfections of handmade sound, his combination of organic and synthetic instruments marrying to summon faraway landscapes -- Amazonian forests, sunlit coasts, and cosmic night skies.

"Born in Flensburg in 1955, Schütz was a natural multi-instrumentalist, beginning with accordion, recorder, and acoustic guitar before moving into rock and contemporary pop. He played lead guitar in regional bands before co-founding Zest, all the while composing electronic music in his home studio. By 1981, his debut album TransVision had found a home on the pioneering Innovative Communication label, paving the way for a series of solo works on Sky Records?. The title track, 'Voyage,' perfectly encapsulates the album's essence, its drum-box bossa rhythm supporting warm, rhythmic synths and a wistful melody that balances the thrill of adventure with the quiet ache of homesickness?. Even decades later, Voyage still resonates as a unique sonic expedition, both deeply personal yet universally evocative. Schütz's gentle yet adventurous spirit permeates the album, making it a perfect soundtrack for those drawn to the horizon -- whether real, remembered, or dreamt." --Patrick Ryder

$16.50 PREORDER RELEASE DATE: 7/18/2025

Thumbing through the back pages of German electronic music, Bureau B uncovers another hidden gem from the Sky Records archive: Inventions, the 1983 collaboration between Adelbert von Deyen and Dieter Schütz. Fusing expansive kosmische textures with biting rock guitars, motorik rhythms, and the growl of '80s synth-pop, the duo conjures a sonic singularity which still sounds like the future today. Compact yet cosmic, Inventions distils ambient drift and experimental edge into taut, three-minute pop miniatures, with the occasional longer track extending the energy without losing any of the impact. Adelbert von Deyen, a painter, graphic artist and composer, was born in 1953 in northern Germany. Inspired by Pink Floyd and the Berlin School, he began creating electronic music in the late '70s, ultimately releasing a string of solo albums on Sky Records. Dieter Schütz, born in nearby Flensburg in 1955, was a multi-instrumentalist equally at home with pastoral acoustic tones and kosmische synthesis. After stints in local rock bands and electronic experimentation in his home studio, Schütz debuted in 1981 with TransVision, followed by solo albums that further explored his unique blend of organic and synthetic elements. Their musical paths converged on the track "Earth" from von Deyen's 1982 LP Planetary, a hypnotic collision of space-bound electronics and driving rhythm. The chemistry was instant and by the following year the pair had completed a full album as a duo, Inventions, marking Schütz's first appearance on the Sky roster. With Inventions, von Deyen and Schütz found a rare middle ground between introspective electronics and wide-eyed pop, creating something strange, beautiful and beguiling which inhabits a space all of its own. Reissued here for the first time in decades, it's a thrilling rediscovery from the adventurous outer edges of early '80s German music.

$16.50 PREORDER RELEASE DATE: 7/18/2025

Bureau B once again dive into the Sky archive, unearthing another overlooked masterpiece long due for rediscovery. Originally released in 1985, Voyage finds Dieter Schütz venturing beyond his Berlin School roots into a realm of lo-fi immediacy and New Age naivety. Every instrument is played by Schütz himself, except for the drums on 'Above,' which are performed with syncopated zeal by Michael Fecker. While its textured synthscapes and wistful melodies may echo the aesthetics of 2010s Vaporwave, Voyage captured a longing for another world, not through borrowed nostalgia, but through a contemporary vision of escape. Here, Schütz's music is lush yet unpretentious, full of warmth, curiosity, and the gentle imperfections of handmade sound, his combination of organic and synthetic instruments marrying to summon faraway landscapes -- Amazonian forests, sunlit coasts, and cosmic night skies.

"Born in Flensburg in 1955, Schütz was a natural multi-instrumentalist, beginning with accordion, recorder, and acoustic guitar before moving into rock and contemporary pop. He played lead guitar in regional bands before co-founding Zest, all the while composing electronic music in his home studio. By 1981, his debut album TransVision had found a home on the pioneering Innovative Communication label, paving the way for a series of solo works on Sky Records?. The title track, 'Voyage,' perfectly encapsulates the album's essence, its drum-box bossa rhythm supporting warm, rhythmic synths and a wistful melody that balances the thrill of adventure with the quiet ache of homesickness?. Even decades later, Voyage still resonates as a unique sonic expedition, both deeply personal yet universally evocative. Schütz's gentle yet adventurous spirit permeates the album, making it a perfect soundtrack for those drawn to the horizon -- whether real, remembered, or dreamt." --Patrick Ryder

$16.50 IN STOCK

After more than 40 years, Silberstreif's EP Ich suche dein Gesicht, first released on Sky Records in 1983, is available again. Rather unusual for Sky's catalogue, the duo played flawless synth-pop with German-language lyrics. This EP sank into obscurity in the 1980s flood of hyper-commercial German New Wave releases. The band later became an insider tip and the EP a sought-after collector's item. The re-issue is accompanied by four previously unreleased bonus tracks.

"Overdue, a re-issue of this great, rare EP from 1983. While that year, the major labels were finally exploiting everything commercially that even rudimentarily fitted the NDW (Neue Deutsche Welle -- German New Wave) buzzword, we can now look back and realize that there were still countless creative bands, projects and artists in the musical underground. The release by Silberstreif shows like no other that the focus of the German 1980s underground was not only on odd and experimental sounds, but also on poppy and melodic ones. Listening to these hopeful, almost innocent synth melodies paired with dark lyrics circling around obsessive male protagonists, one can't help but imagine how this band re-asserted its artistic freedom by leaning into the musical tropes of sell-out and commercialization -- with a subtle subversive middle finger. The duo play fantastic and timeless synth-pop which is still relevant today and still gets crowds dancing in trendy clubs between songs by Human League and Grauzone. Like I said, this re-issue is long overdue!" --Marco Floess

$26.00 IN STOCK

LP version. After more than 40 years, Silberstreif's EP Ich suche dein Gesicht, first released on Sky Records in 1983, is available again. Rather unusual for Sky's catalogue, the duo played flawless synth-pop with German-language lyrics. This EP sank into obscurity in the 1980s flood of hyper-commercial German New Wave releases. The band later became an insider tip and the EP a sought-after collector's item. The re-issue is accompanied by four previously unreleased bonus tracks.

"Overdue, a re-issue of this great, rare EP from 1983. While that year, the major labels were finally exploiting everything commercially that even rudimentarily fitted the NDW (Neue Deutsche Welle -- German New Wave) buzzword, we can now look back and realize that there were still countless creative bands, projects and artists in the musical underground. The release by Silberstreif shows like no other that the focus of the German 1980s underground was not only on odd and experimental sounds, but also on poppy and melodic ones. Listening to these hopeful, almost innocent synth melodies paired with dark lyrics circling around obsessive male protagonists, one can't help but imagine how this band re-asserted its artistic freedom by leaning into the musical tropes of sell-out and commercialization -- with a subtle subversive middle finger. The duo play fantastic and timeless synth-pop which is still relevant today and still gets crowds dancing in trendy clubs between songs by Human League and Grauzone. Like I said, this re-issue is long overdue!" --Marco Floess

$16.50 IN STOCK

Genre-resistant Berlin duo Neuzeitliche Bodenbeläge return to Bureau B with Neue Kreise, a sharp sophomore LP that shakes a cocktail of musical influences into an irresistible blend of smooth, synthetic pop. If their 2020 debut Der Große Preis saw the N(ewer)DW angst of their early releases give way to bubbling boogie and kosmische funk, this 11-track outing dives headfirst into the deep blues and sunset hues of yacht rock and groove-laden jazz fusion, all while retaining their signature lyrical bite. Finding its final form in nocturnal sessions in fall and winter 2024 -- with off-seasons spent, as always, experimenting in a secluded hotel at Lake Constance -- Neue Kreise ("New Circles") sees Niklas Wandt and Joshua Gottmanns tracing fault lines from childhood torment to contemporary crisis, ultimately offering a cautious hope for healing. Themes of male bonding and bullying, suburban claustrophobia, and family tension manifest in tracks like "Bittere Gifte" and "Jahr Um Jahr," as the duo exorcise their demons over infectious electro-funk and space-age samba respectively. Sonically, this diverse disc showcases a broad spectrum of musical influences, drawing from the obscure German/Austrian records curated by their ever-present producer Ali Europa, alongside John Martyn's late '70s/early '80s era, the skyscraping synth-pop of New Musik, and the tropical jazz of Azymuth. Wandt and Gottmanns wear their influences proudly while retaining all the invention and irreverence which has been a mainstay of their work, packing their personality into every track. The tension peaks in "Bittere Gifte," where stomping '80s machine-funk and psychedelic fusion breakdowns soundtrack a lyrical descent into suburban despair. Elsewhere, "Korsett Der Form" sparks infectious synth-pop joy, while "Nachlass Zu Lebzeiten" harnesses pure jazz-fusion power, complete with shuffling percussion and soaring guitar solos. "Blei" sweeps in with MTV-era widescreen pop, all windblown new-wave grandeur, while "Kalte Asche Und Orchideen" rides a fizzing punk-funk groove. The dreamlike "Puma" sways in a lullaby-like waltz, its jazzy cymbals and hypnotic bass drifting effortlessly, before cinematic closer "Landung" brings listeners back to earth. Fretless bass, chime-like synths, and tropical-tinged drum machines find a magical middle ground between Jamaican John Martyn and an impossibly happy version of The Cure. Across its 11 tracks, Neue Kreise expands and refines Neuzeitliche Bodenbeläge's sound, propelling them into new circles, new spheres, and new sonic territory.

$26.00 IN STOCK

LP version. Cluster can be counted among the most important international protagonists of the electronic avant-garde. Some credit them with having invented ambient music, others as pioneers of synthesizer pop, whilst to some they are firmly embedded in the krautrock universe. There is some truth in all of these notions. Cluster (or Kluster as they were in the beginning) were founded in 1970 in Berlin by Conrad Schnitzler, Hans-Joachim Roedelius, and Dieter Moebius. A change in direction and musical differences moved Moebius and Roedelius to split from Schnitzler after which the duo recorded ten regular studio albums between 1971 and 2009. Their debut album (Cluster 71) was in Wire Magazine's "One Hundred Records That Set The World On Fire" list. Cluster II is influenced by Berlin and Hamburg; situated somewhere in the middle of artistic happenings, musical outrageousness and drug abuse: an urban mixture.

"The question as to whether Cluster II has to be considered part of serious music or rather of popular music seems as obsolete today as it was back in 1972. Interestingly enough, however, the album was among the first ones to leave people in confusion when trying to tell what musical category it belonged to. As opposed to now where there is a large transitional area situated somewhere in between the two poles and made up by all sorts of electro-acoustic music, serious and popular music were still categories strictly set apart at the beginning of the seventies. Moebius and Roedelius, however, simply did not care about categorizing their music, thus contributing to the trend towards abandoning the categories altogether. When listening to Cluster II today, fifty years after it was recorded, the album's historic significance becomes as clear as never before. A lot has already been written about Cluster's historic impact. Let me just underline in this context that it was not least this album that opened up doors through which generations of electro-acoustic musicians were yet to step." --Asmus Tietchens

$26.00 IN STOCK

LP version. With his first full-length album Ruinenkampf, released via Hamburg based label Bureau B, Das Kinn embarks on a musical tour de force through the ruins of time. An electronic armada and kickbox phonetics lead listeners through haunting soundscapes somewhere between DAF, Kosmische Kuriere, and Frankfurt Bahnhofsviertel. Beats on full blast. Bones rattle. Warm synthlines played by cold hands. A saxophone ponders the after. Hymns for the demolition. Sonic meditations on decay. Music for the solemn decline.

"Toben Piel likes to visit cemeteries. In those places of peace and idyll he finds the distance to contemplate transience and consider the hereafter as a concrete location. His debut album Ruinenkampf comes from the same mindset -- distancing himself just enough to get straight to the point with a running start. It certainly doesn't sound anything like peace and idyll. It has more to do with the cassette scene, the 1980s, with staccato vocals, and synths somewhere between DAF and Kosmische Kuriere. Underground aesthetics. Torrents of melody, sophistication, constantly oscillating between anthem and demolition. And the crass power of that voice! These are eight pieces of intensive listening, always right on the mark. So how does it work? How can anybody create something like that? Well, this man in his forties from Frankfurt, still young at heart and ever hungry, has substantial experience: first with Antitainment (2005-2010), then together with the magnificent Charlotte Simon in Les Trucs, through his cassette label MMODEMM, and also as a musician on various theatre stages. Yet with Das Kinn he feels that he has now finally created music with a true sense of self-liberation." --Hendrik Otremba

$26.00 IN STOCK

LP version. Genre-resistant Berlin duo Neuzeitliche Bodenbeläge return to Bureau B with Neue Kreise, a sharp sophomore LP that shakes a cocktail of musical influences into an irresistible blend of smooth, synthetic pop. If their 2020 debut Der Große Preis saw the N(ewer)DW angst of their early releases give way to bubbling boogie and kosmische funk, this 11-track outing dives headfirst into the deep blues and sunset hues of yacht rock and groove-laden jazz fusion, all while retaining their signature lyrical bite. Finding its final form in nocturnal sessions in fall and winter 2024 -- with off-seasons spent, as always, experimenting in a secluded hotel at Lake Constance -- Neue Kreise ("New Circles") sees Niklas Wandt and Joshua Gottmanns tracing fault lines from childhood torment to contemporary crisis, ultimately offering a cautious hope for healing. Themes of male bonding and bullying, suburban claustrophobia, and family tension manifest in tracks like "Bittere Gifte" and "Jahr Um Jahr," as the duo exorcise their demons over infectious electro-funk and space-age samba respectively. Sonically, this diverse disc showcases a broad spectrum of musical influences, drawing from the obscure German/Austrian records curated by their ever-present producer Ali Europa, alongside John Martyn's late '70s/early '80s era, the skyscraping synth-pop of New Musik, and the tropical jazz of Azymuth. Wandt and Gottmanns wear their influences proudly while retaining all the invention and irreverence which has been a mainstay of their work, packing their personality into every track. The tension peaks in "Bittere Gifte," where stomping '80s machine-funk and psychedelic fusion breakdowns soundtrack a lyrical descent into suburban despair. Elsewhere, "Korsett Der Form" sparks infectious synth-pop joy, while "Nachlass Zu Lebzeiten" harnesses pure jazz-fusion power, complete with shuffling percussion and soaring guitar solos. "Blei" sweeps in with MTV-era widescreen pop, all windblown new-wave grandeur, while "Kalte Asche Und Orchideen" rides a fizzing punk-funk groove. The dreamlike "Puma" sways in a lullaby-like waltz, its jazzy cymbals and hypnotic bass drifting effortlessly, before cinematic closer "Landung" brings listeners back to earth. Fretless bass, chime-like synths, and tropical-tinged drum machines find a magical middle ground between Jamaican John Martyn and an impossibly happy version of The Cure. Across its 11 tracks, Neue Kreise expands and refines Neuzeitliche Bodenbeläge's sound, propelling them into new circles, new spheres, and new sonic territory.

$26.00 IN STOCK

LP version. Hamburg's kosmische custodians at Bureau B welcome legendary synth maestro Peter Baumann back into the studio for his first solo album since Machines Of Desire (BB 234CD, 2016). A defining force in the Berlin School of electronic music, both as a member of Tangerine Dream in their most essential era, and as a solo artist, Baumann has always bridged the cerebral and the cinematic. With Nightfall, he embarks on another sonic odyssey, crafting an atmospheric album steeped in mystery and evocative storytelling. "Baumann's artistic vision has long been shaped by his exploration of the human condition. From his pioneering work with Tangerine Dream to his influential New Age imprint, Private Music, and his philosophical pursuits through the Baumann Foundation, his creativity and curiosity remain undiminished. Nightfall is the latest chapter in his five-decade journey -- an deeply emotional album that embraces impermanence to transport the listener into a series of shapeshifting soundscapes? The misty melancholia of opener 'No One Knows' pairs hypnotic woodblock rhythms with desert guitars, while 'Lost In A Pale Blue Sky' floats through celestial choirs and rolling timpani, evoking dreamlike introspection. Elsewhere, 'On The Long Road' pulses with insect-like percussion and serrated synth tones, exuding a ritualistic energy. Tracks like 'A World Apart' and 'From A Far Land' build tension through cascading melodies and rhythmic precision, evoking distant horizons and uncharted territories. 'Sailing Past Midnight' melds bass mallets with feedback-laden synths, conjuring a sense of movement and urgency, while 'I'm Sitting Here, Just For A While' layers snaking saxophones and hand percussion into a mystical, arcane soundscape. The album closes with the title track, 'Nightfall,' a deeply atmospheric piece wrapped in choral textures and shadowy undertones? From the very beginnings of his career, Peter Baumann has infused his work with a sense of the beyond and Nightfall is no exception. Each track invites the listener to interpret, to feel, and to immerse themselves in its crepuscular beauty? With Nightfall, the composer has created a shimmering doorway, just waiting for you to step through." --Patrick Ryder

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Cluster can be counted among the most important international protagonists of the electronic avant-garde. Some credit them with having invented ambient music, others as pioneers of synthesizer pop, whilst to some they are firmly embedded in the krautrock universe. There is some truth in all of these notions. Cluster (or Kluster as they were in the beginning) were founded in 1970 in Berlin by Conrad Schnitzler, Hans-Joachim Roedelius, and Dieter Moebius. A change in direction and musical differences moved Moebius and Roedelius to split from Schnitzler after which the duo recorded ten regular studio albums between 1971 and 2009. Their debut album (Cluster 71) was in Wire Magazine's "One Hundred Records That Set The World On Fire" list. Cluster II is influenced by Berlin and Hamburg; situated somewhere in the middle of artistic happenings, musical outrageousness and drug abuse: an urban mixture.

"The question as to whether Cluster II has to be considered part of serious music or rather of popular music seems as obsolete today as it was back in 1972. Interestingly enough, however, the album was among the first ones to leave people in confusion when trying to tell what musical category it belonged to. As opposed to now where there is a large transitional area situated somewhere in between the two poles and made up by all sorts of electro-acoustic music, serious and popular music were still categories strictly set apart at the beginning of the seventies. Moebius and Roedelius, however, simply did not care about categorizing their music, thus contributing to the trend towards abandoning the categories altogether. When listening to Cluster II today, fifty years after it was recorded, the album's historic significance becomes as clear as never before. A lot has already been written about Cluster's historic impact. Let me just underline in this context that it was not least this album that opened up doors through which generations of electro-acoustic musicians were yet to step." --Asmus Tietchens

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Hamburg's kosmische custodians at Bureau B welcome legendary synth maestro Peter Baumann back into the studio for his first solo album since Machines Of Desire (BB 234CD, 2016). A defining force in the Berlin School of electronic music, both as a member of Tangerine Dream in their most essential era, and as a solo artist, Baumann has always bridged the cerebral and the cinematic. With Nightfall, he embarks on another sonic odyssey, crafting an atmospheric album steeped in mystery and evocative storytelling. "Baumann's artistic vision has long been shaped by his exploration of the human condition. From his pioneering work with Tangerine Dream to his influential New Age imprint, Private Music, and his philosophical pursuits through the Baumann Foundation, his creativity and curiosity remain undiminished. Nightfall is the latest chapter in his five-decade journey -- an deeply emotional album that embraces impermanence to transport the listener into a series of shapeshifting soundscapes? The misty melancholia of opener 'No One Knows' pairs hypnotic woodblock rhythms with desert guitars, while 'Lost In A Pale Blue Sky' floats through celestial choirs and rolling timpani, evoking dreamlike introspection. Elsewhere, 'On The Long Road' pulses with insect-like percussion and serrated synth tones, exuding a ritualistic energy. Tracks like 'A World Apart' and 'From A Far Land' build tension through cascading melodies and rhythmic precision, evoking distant horizons and uncharted territories. 'Sailing Past Midnight' melds bass mallets with feedback-laden synths, conjuring a sense of movement and urgency, while 'I'm Sitting Here, Just For A While' layers snaking saxophones and hand percussion into a mystical, arcane soundscape. The album closes with the title track, 'Nightfall,' a deeply atmospheric piece wrapped in choral textures and shadowy undertones? From the very beginnings of his career, Peter Baumann has infused his work with a sense of the beyond and Nightfall is no exception. Each track invites the listener to interpret, to feel, and to immerse themselves in its crepuscular beauty? With Nightfall, the composer has created a shimmering doorway, just waiting for you to step through." --Patrick Ryder

$16.50 IN STOCK

With his first full-length album Ruinenkampf, released via Hamburg based label Bureau B, Das Kinn embarks on a musical tour de force through the ruins of time. An electronic armada and kickbox phonetics lead listeners through haunting soundscapes somewhere between DAF, Kosmische Kuriere, and Frankfurt Bahnhofsviertel. Beats on full blast. Bones rattle. Warm synthlines played by cold hands. A saxophone ponders the after. Hymns for the demolition. Sonic meditations on decay. Music for the solemn decline.

"Toben Piel likes to visit cemeteries. In those places of peace and idyll he finds the distance to contemplate transience and consider the hereafter as a concrete location. His debut album Ruinenkampf comes from the same mindset -- distancing himself just enough to get straight to the point with a running start. It certainly doesn't sound anything like peace and idyll. It has more to do with the cassette scene, the 1980s, with staccato vocals, and synths somewhere between DAF and Kosmische Kuriere. Underground aesthetics. Torrents of melody, sophistication, constantly oscillating between anthem and demolition. And the crass power of that voice! These are eight pieces of intensive listening, always right on the mark. So how does it work? How can anybody create something like that? Well, this man in his forties from Frankfurt, still young at heart and ever hungry, has substantial experience: first with Antitainment (2005-2010), then together with the magnificent Charlotte Simon in Les Trucs, through his cassette label MMODEMM, and also as a musician on various theatre stages. Yet with Das Kinn he feels that he has now finally created music with a true sense of self-liberation." --Hendrik Otremba

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Fluoreszent is the new solo album by Cologne based artist Hans Nieswandt and his third for Hamburg's Bureau B label. Hans Nieswandt is a long standing and highly respected key figure in the music scene of Cologne, of Germany and beyond. As a pioneering DJ since the mid-eighties, as writer and editor for the mighty Spex magazine in the early nineties, and as a music producer, solo and with his group Whirlpool Productions, he helped shape the Sound Of Cologne from the mid-nineties onward. A lot of his musical work at that time took place in the studio owned by legendary band CAN. With his 12-year-running, weekly radio mix show 'Elektronische Melodien' on WDR (the Cologne radio station that built the first studio for electronic music in the 1950s) he suffused generations of listeners with cutting edge electronic music both old and new. Having left Germany to live in Seoul in late 2019, Hans Nieswandt suddenly found a lot of time to check back and immerse himself in all the forms of music that shaped him ever since he was a little glam rock kid in the early seventies -- before becoming a hippie boy, then a punk, then a house head. Now he is all these things rolled into one and the time has come for a proper, new solo album having released mainly collections of remixes, edits and cover versions over the last 20 years. Recorded in 2024 in Seoul, you will find on Fluoreszent ten shiny, fresh, joyous songs taking you to many wonderful places; from Kraut to goth, synth wave to art pop, cosmic to comic -- and all the way to the end of the rainbow. Important contributions came from unexpected sides: legendary German krautrock drummer Wolfgang Seidel gave him permission to use a lot of his beat recordings, a connection was made by Seoul-based German free music pioneer Alfred Harth, (who also took the album cover photo), more drums came from Philipp Janzen of the band Von Spar (who also did the final mix of the album) and the mastering is by Jörg Burger, another living legend of the Cologne electronic music scene. Housed in a cover designed by top illustrator Felix Reidenbach, Fluoreszent marks the happy return of one of Cologne's finest to the international stage.

$26.00 IN STOCK

LP version. Fluoreszent is the new solo album by Cologne based artist Hans Nieswandt and his third for Hamburg's Bureau B label. Hans Nieswandt is a long standing and highly respected key figure in the music scene of Cologne, of Germany and beyond. As a pioneering DJ since the mid-eighties, as writer and editor for the mighty Spex magazine in the early nineties, and as a music producer, solo and with his group Whirlpool Productions, he helped shape the Sound Of Cologne from the mid-nineties onward. A lot of his musical work at that time took place in the studio owned by legendary band CAN. With his 12-year-running, weekly radio mix show 'Elektronische Melodien' on WDR (the Cologne radio station that built the first studio for electronic music in the 1950s) he suffused generations of listeners with cutting edge electronic music both old and new. Having left Germany to live in Seoul in late 2019, Hans Nieswandt suddenly found a lot of time to check back and immerse himself in all the forms of music that shaped him ever since he was a little glam rock kid in the early seventies -- before becoming a hippie boy, then a punk, then a house head. Now he is all these things rolled into one and the time has come for a proper, new solo album having released mainly collections of remixes, edits and cover versions over the last 20 years. Recorded in 2024 in Seoul, you will find on Fluoreszent ten shiny, fresh, joyous songs taking you to many wonderful places; from Kraut to goth, synth wave to art pop, cosmic to comic -- and all the way to the end of the rainbow. Important contributions came from unexpected sides: legendary German krautrock drummer Wolfgang Seidel gave him permission to use a lot of his beat recordings, a connection was made by Seoul-based German free music pioneer Alfred Harth, (who also took the album cover photo), more drums came from Philipp Janzen of the band Von Spar (who also did the final mix of the album) and the mastering is by Jörg Burger, another living legend of the Cologne electronic music scene. Housed in a cover designed by top illustrator Felix Reidenbach, Fluoreszent marks the happy return of one of Cologne's finest to the international stage.

$26.00 IN STOCK

LP version. Die Wilde Jagd collaborates with Grammy Award-winning Metropole Orkest, conducted by Simon Dobson, for majestic new album Lux Tenera: A Rite To Joy, commissioned by Roadburn Festival. In an extraordinary convergence of sonic innovation and orchestral mastery, Sebastian Lee Philipp, the visionary behind Die Wilde Jagd, presents his most ambitious project to date. This work emerges from a rare collaboration with the three-time Grammy Award-winning Metropole Orkest. Lux Tenera invites listeners into a meditative exploration of life, joy, and the beauty of existence. The composition premiered on April 21, 2024, in Tilburg, Netherlands, following an intense three-day rehearsal and recording period at Metropole Orkest's studio in Hilversum. This performance -- now captured in the album -- also marks a unique collaboration with British arranger and conductor Simon Dobson, whose sensitive transcription and arrangement of Philipp's music for orchestra elevates the work to an auditory spectacle. Lux Tenera -- translated from Latin as "tender light" -- is an odyssey of sound and thought. Philipp's poetic lyrics -- delivered in both English and German -- weave a tapestry of vivid imagery and allusion, guiding the listener through a world where life, memory, and transcendence coalesce. This intellectual and emotional alchemy is heightened by the orchestral elements at play: a 50-piece ensemble, the primal resonance of two large-scale Taiko drums, and the ancient, raw timbre of the Carnyx, performed by Patrick Kenny. The result is a sonic structure that marries the primal with the avant-garde, the physical with the metaphysical. At its heart, Lux Tenera presents a bold reimagining of Die Wilde Jagd's distinctive sound. Known for hypnotic, slow-building compositions that evoke a sense of ritual and timelessness, Philipp, in this latest work, is granted new sonic breadth by the orchestral textures of the Metropole Orkest. The symphonic scope enhances and magnifies his compositions, creating what can only be described as a sonic architecture that is both monumental and intimate, where each crescendo, each subtle melodic turn, guided by Simon Dobson's conducting skills, speaks to Philipp's understanding of music as an emotional language.

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2025 repress; LP version. Agree to disagree: A selected Krautrock discography. Krautrock, what is it anyway? A genre, a derogative term, a song by Faust, or: a welcome (and recurring) opportunity to talk about all of this. The music associated with the term in question has eagerly been canonized. From the enthusiastic and idiosyncratic ramblings of Julian Cope's "Krautrocksampler" to encyclopedic approaches like Alan and Stephen Freeman's "Crack in the Cosmic Egg", there are plenty of books to read and lists to discuss: Who's in, who isn't? The quarrels and disputes surrounding the terms "Krautrock" and "Kosmische Musik" are a testament to their enduring relevance and fascination. The book Krautrock Eruption by Wolfgang Seidel addresses some of those questions. In this book, you will find an annotated discography of fifty albums. Out of these fifty, Bureau B are presenting an even narrower selection of tracks from twelve albums on this compilation. Lists and compilation track listings inevitably see tracks missing and being left out. The list is meant to inspire repeated or further listening, to spark discussions and -- potentially -- to provoke new lists, perhaps your own! It's all part of the fun. Music is made for enjoyment in the first and for friendly debate in the second place, after all. Featuring Conrad Schnitzler, Eno Moebius Roedelius, Harald Grosskopf, Cluster, Moebius & Plank, Roedelius, Pyrolator, Riechmann, Kluster, Günter Schickert, and Asmus Tietchens.

$16.50 IN STOCK

Agree to disagree: A selected Krautrock discography. Krautrock, what is it anyway? A genre, a derogative term, a song by Faust, or: a welcome (and recurring) opportunity to talk about all of this. The music associated with the term in question has eagerly been canonized. From the enthusiastic and idiosyncratic ramblings of Julian Cope's "Krautrocksampler" to encyclopedic approaches like Alan and Stephen Freeman's "Crack in the Cosmic Egg", there are plenty of books to read and lists to discuss: Who's in, who isn't? The quarrels and disputes surrounding the terms "Krautrock" and "Kosmische Musik" are a testament to their enduring relevance and fascination. The book Krautrock Eruption by Wolfgang Seidel addresses some of those questions. In this book, you will find an annotated discography of fifty albums. Out of these fifty, Bureau B are presenting an even narrower selection of tracks from twelve albums on this compilation. Lists and compilation track listings inevitably see tracks missing and being left out. The list is meant to inspire repeated or further listening, to spark discussions and -- potentially -- to provoke new lists, perhaps your own! It's all part of the fun. Music is made for enjoyment in the first and for friendly debate in the second place, after all. Featuring Conrad Schnitzler, Eno Moebius Roedelius, Harald Grosskopf, Cluster, Moebius & Plank, Roedelius, Pyrolator, Riechmann, Kluster, Günter Schickert, and Asmus Tietchens.