Cluster - Zuckerzeit

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Zuckerzeit is the third full-length album by German band Cluster, released in 1974 on Brain Records. It was co-produced by Michael Rother, their bandmate in side-project Harmonia. The music on Zuckerzeit marks a shift from Cluster's abrasive early work toward a more rhythmic, pop-oriented sound. Zuckerzeit was recorded following Cluster's move from Berlin to the countryside of Forst, and came after their collaboration with Neu! guitarist Michael Rother on the 1973 Harmonia album Musik von Harmonia. Each track is a solo composition, with the two members recording separately on different days; The Quietus noted that "it is in reality two solo EPs masquerading as a joint release."

The album's short instrumental tracks marked the group's shift toward a pop-oriented style which utilized cheap drum machines and synthesizers. Rother is credited as co-producer, but his primary role was to leave the group some of his equipment, including Farfisa instruments, a four-track recorder, a stereo mixer, and an Elka Drummer One drum machine. With the latter, the group experimented with mixing up multiple preset rhythms at once, as well as running the drum machine through echo, vibrato, and wah pedals, and cutting parts of the rhythm entirely