Artist: Hans-Joachim
Roedelius
Venue: Auster-Club
Location: Berlin,
Germany
Date: 27 January 2019
Hans-Joachim Roedelius
opened the show by talking about his autobiography and then playing a
recording of a classical composition by an 18th century ancestor
named Johann Christian Roedelius. He cited a contemporaneous review
of this ancestral Roedelius that described his music as light,
agreeable, and entertaining. I can't recall or convey the poetry of
the original German as effectively as I'd like, but the somewhat
condescending implication was that the music was not particularly
arty or serious. The modern Roedelius delighted in the description
and said that he hoped his own work could be described similarly.
Despite being
surrounded by a keyboard, two laptops, and assorted other
electronics, he spent most of the evening DJing CDs. I'm not even
sure that everything he spun for us was by him! Most of the tunes
were ambient or at least soothing and peaceful. However, one had a
more sprightly drum machine that reminded me of Harmonia or
Sowiesoso, and as the night
drew on, more of his picks had pop and jazz rhythms and occasionally
even vocals (from other performers). A couple tracks would've been
called chillwave if they had been made today by someone a quarter of
his age. The biggest surprise was a song with a hip-hop beat that
featured German rapping from Roedelius! It was just a recording, but
still: it was well executed and somehow not embarrassing.
When he wasn't working
his walkmen, he read excerpts from his autobiography, played a few
numbers on his keyboard, and shared some of his favorite poems
(including at least one from himself). The texts varied from the
existential and almost spiritual to a thorough run-down of every
health problem he has suffered and an extended ode to his wife in
honor of a birthday. Instead of an encore, he closed the show with a
plea to create not just for oneself but for the betterment of each
other and nature.
Over the course of the
night, I gradually started to understand what Roedelius meant about
living up the quote about his ancestor's music. Cluster
and Harmonia
were always more about mood and texture than any specific message or
medium. I was also hardly surprised to learn that Roedelius worked as
a masseur and physiotherapist before starting his musical career.
He's well trained in relaxing people and putting them at ease. If one
bit of meaning does escape from his music, it's the encouragement of
connection to fellow humans and to the natural world.
Roedelius's show was
unusual and yet a pleasure. I would've preferred a more active
performance, but I can't blame an 84-year-old for taking it easy and
telling stories. Besides, the show was cheap and the venue rather
unintimidating. I liked the warm and positive tone he set, and his
words carried depth and meaning (to the extent I could keep up with
the German). I feel like I learned something from him. He said people
often ask him if he feels old or whatever, but he said feels like
he's been around forever, and he hoped we'd get to feel that, too!
Score: B-
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