Roedelius - Painting with Sound

Portrait of a composer-performer whose influence has been wide-ranging and heretofore unrecognised.

An inspiration to artists as diverse as Red Hot Chili Peppers, Brian Eno, Julian Cope or others Roedelius has pursued his unique and extraordinarily beautiful vision for half a century. He has also lived a life that screams out to be told in a movie, but this will do nicely for starters.

Born in 1934, he found "early celebrity" as a child actor in some of the UFA movies, survived the Allied bombardment of Berlin, was drafted unwillingly into the Hitler youth, spent two years in prison for his rebellious stance, became a rubbish collector, farm-hand and masseur - all of this before turning German music upside down as a member of avant-garde bands like Kluster and Harmonia.

Iliffe's affectionate and detailed book overflows with great stories from a previously untold life at the heart of 20th century musical change so that Roedelius is recognised for contributions to music which have been, in their own quiet way, as revolutionary as Robert Johnson, Stockhausen or The Beatles.
Johnny Black ( published in"MOJO" UK Mai 2004 )



P.S. The review got three stars which means: "Stands out from the crowd. Well worth checking out"
  ¶ 5/15/2004 04:14:53 PM