JARDIN AU FOU

First a Thank You to Jukka Mikkola and his Avaruusromua radio programme for reminding me of ROEDELIUS' solo output. This legendary German musician started in the late sixties in the experimental Krautrock band KLUSTER that later became CLUSTER. Roedelius and Cluster's other half Dieter Moebius joined NEU!'s Michael Rother to form HARMONIA, and collaborated a lot with BRIAN ENO. Roedelius is just about as notable figure of Ambient as Eno is; both influenced each other.

This second solo album ("Fool's Garden") is a serene and innocently naive but profound Ambient album balancing elegantly between acoustic and electronic instrumentation. It was produced by Peter Baumann (ex-Tangerine Dream, solo). A couple of citations from the extended 2009 re-release: "... a thoroughly romantic album, bursting with joie de vivre and unadulterated joy. In the very best sense of the word, this is 'foolish' music (...) incredibly personal, not only due to the fact that Roedelius as worked the voices of his wife and newly born daughter Rosa into the album, but also because he confronts the listener with his unfiltered, open perspective on how he sees things."

The opener 'Fou Fou' featuring soft electronic sounds is a happy little etude-like piece (the melody sounds familiar). 'Toujours' pairs together classical piano and Electronic Music in a simple but emotionally deep composition. Then comes a carousel-like piece I rather skip. The 4th track is a beautiful, melancholic acoustic piano solo with some electronic colourings. Electronic 'Cafe Central' is a waltz, and in 'Le Jardin' delicate piano is backed with birdsong. This is peaceful, introspective music that a Zen Buddhist would enjoy too! The next equally serene piece features guest appearances for flute and cello. JADE WARRIOR at their calmest feels quite similar but here the soothing harmony is deeper. 'Etoiles' has female voice albeit in a very briefly.

With an exception of a couple of Carousel tunes I enjoy this 33½-minute album a lot, but in a wrong mood its minimalistic serenity probably wouldn't make an impression. There's bonuses for a half an hour's worth. Every other is a remix of album tracks; I'm not interested to spot the differences. But the three other, slightly longer bonus tracks are excellent additions, especially the romantic 'Tempera'.

Warmly recommended if you enjoy peaceful, electro-acoustic Ambient.