Solo II

A year after Gronland Records compiled Michael Rothers first four post-Neu!/Harmonia albums (and a selection of later soundtracks and collaborations) as the superb box set Solo, the label rounded up the remainder of his works, from 1983s Lust onward. For the most part, he made all of his later albums solo, without the help of Can drummer Jaki Liebezeit or engineer Conny Plank, who contributed to his earlier full-lengths, and these records tend to be far more electronic, gradually exploring different moods and textures than his past work. 1983s Lust (joy) was composed mainly using a Fairlight CMI synthesizer, state of the art at the time, and its simply one of his most chipper, upbeat records, sounding sparkly enough to play around the winter holidays. Sussherz und Tiefenscharfe (1985) contains similar material, especially the bubbly 13-minute spree Tiefenscharfe, while other pieces anticipate the ambient direction he would explore on subsequent releases. 1987s Traumreisen has more new age-sounding electronic textures, and sometimes gets dramatic enough to soundtrack television coverage of the Olympics, but Rothers familiar fuzzy guitar tone splashes some of the songs with shades of amber. After the album was released to near-total indifference, Rother left Polydor and started Random Records, where he reissued his back catalog and continued putting out new works. Solo II includes a disc of bonus tracks mainly recorded around the early 90s. Many were intended for an album which never materialized, but the tracks were tacked onto reissues or included on the 1993 compilation Radio. This lost album of sorts includes languid guitar explorations, sample-driven world music experiments, and a playful trance interpretation of Tiefenscharfe. Esperanza, Rothers only studio album released during the decade, experimented with trip-hop drum loops and contained some of the most twisted, hallucinatory textures hed come up with yet. 2004s Remember (The Great Adventure) was a major departure for Rother, as it incorporated vocals from Sophie Joiner and German rock superstar Herbert Gronemeyer, as well as additional beats and electronics by Mouse on Mars Andi Toma, Asmus Tietchens, Jake Mandell, and Thomas Beckmann. The result is a lush, swirling set of ambient techno-pop, switching from energetic flashes to lonely, heartstruck reflections. 2020 full-length Dreaming fleshes out sketches from the Remember era, even revisiting its standout Morning After (Loneliness) as Bitter Tang, with Joiner returning as guest vocalist. The album retains the ambient pop feel of Remember while incorporating guitar arrangements reminiscent of Rothers past works, fusing traces of his entire career into something breezy, trippy, and effervescent. ~ Paul Simpson