Music like Hans-Joachim Roedelius

Hans-Joachim Roedelius (born 26 October 1934) is a German electronic musician and composer, best known as a co-founder of the influential 'kosmische' groups Cluster and Harmonia. He also performed in the ambient jazz trio Aquarello, and released several solo studio albums.

Roedelius was born on 26 October 1934 in Berlin in the family of a dentist. He was an unwilling member of the German Youngsters in the Hitler Youth, membership being mandatory for all boys from the age of ten, and appeared in several propaganda films (Faded Melody by Viktor Tourjansky in 1938 ; Riding for Germany by Arthur Maria Rabenalt in 1941). Roedelius and his mother Gertrud were evacuated from Berlin to a small hamlet in East Prussia. In his book Future Days: Krautrock and the Building of Modern Germany, David Stubbs writes that "the aftermath of the war was most difficult for the Roedelius family" who didn't have "enough to live on and just a bit too much to die on". He served two years in prison after the war when he attempted to defect from East Germany. Before managing to escape over the border into West Berlin in 1961, he had worked as a physical therapist and masseur. Soon thereafter he gave up his day job to pursue a career in music.