A cosmic renaissance: the musical journey of Klaus Hoffmann-Hoock

by Perry Moree

Origins

A renaissance in the true sense is not just a rediscovery and a copy of the past, but it adds things of its own, thereby creating a new synthesis. This is the story of the German bands named Mind over Matter and Cosmic Hoffmann and its creator, Klaus Hoffmann-Hoock.

Klaus Hoffmann-Hoock was born in 1951 in the German town of Duisburg. In the sixties he was trained as a guitarist and a drummer. In 1969 he founded his first band, Archaeopteryx, followed in 1971 by Impuls. Impuls toured extensively, amongst others as support-act for Nektar, UFO and the Dutch progrock band Earth & Fire, the latter producing Mellotron and guitar-based epics with lovely female vocals. No official recordings remain of both bands, although one surviving live-tape from 1971 of Impuls reveals much of the musical ideas of Klaus that would emerge in the 1980s and 1990s. The tape features a lengthy instrumental called "Azrael", which clearly shows the influence of the early Pink Floyd. Other lasting influences were Nektar and Hawkwind.

In 1972 Klaus visited a concert by British progrockers Genesis, who were by then playing the magnificent track "Watcher of the skies", which has one of the greatest Mellotron-intros of all time. This event turned Klaus into a true Mellotron-aficionado. In 1973 Klaus bought a Mini-Moog, the instrument made famous by Keith Emerson. He would acquire a large collection of (now) vintage keyboards and synthesizers during the next years, even including a extremely rare Mark V Mellotron, previously owned by Klaus Schulze.

During the years 1976-1978 Klaus joined the German band Alma Ata as keyboard-player, guitarist and lyricist. The band released three singles and two albums, "..." (Eulenspiegel Records) in 1976 and "Dreams" (CL 4793) in 1977. The rather conventional rock sound of the Alma Ata albums does have few reminiscences of Klaus' later works. Although some fragments of live-tracks by Impuls and Alma Ata became the basis of long tracks by Mind over Matter like "Children of the Midnight" and "Shangri-La". Klaus was also involved in music for films and commercials in this period.

In the early 1980s Klaus was joined by keyboard-player Georg Mahr and lyricist Andreas Hub and established a band called Cosmic Hoffmann. The only release of this combination was a 7"-single called "Weltraumboogie" (EMI 1C 006-46 620) in 1982. The single (with "Space-Disco" on its b-side) was not a commercial succes, but is nowadays is true collectors item.

The period 1983-1985 was one of preparations for something completely new. Klaus was working on a long track called "Paradise". In 1986 world-traveller Klaus founded Mind over Matter. A group that would produce a mix of sounds from the Far East and western music, resulting in magical music for imagination. Klaus would prominently play electric guitar, but also keyboards, flute and a selection of Asiatic instriments, like Nepalese handchimes, Balinese bamboophone and sitar. He would invite guest musicians to record in his Quasar Studio. One thing was to be clear: Mind over Matter would produce music that could not be compared to anything. The samples from Sri Lanka, Thailand, India, Indonesia, Birma and Tibet would accompany quiet electronic music, but also outbursts of psychedelic electric guitar and keyboards. A group that would get high listings in German polls such as the "Schwingungen Wahl".


Mind over Matter: the first ten years

The debut album of Mind over Matter was released on vinyl in 1987 under the title "Music for Paradise" (IC 80.059). The basic concept of a MoM-album was born here. It contained one long track and a few shorter tracks and Klaus played a wide variety of keyboards, guitars and flutes, accompanied by a few fellow musicians, like Peter Jörgens (tablas) and Heinz Weidenbrück (bass guitar and electric piano). The album starts off with the 22 minute-epic "Paradise", a four part instrumental track about the elements air, water, fire and earth. It is followed by "The End of Time" (with the voice of Frenchman Yves Greder) and the Sri Lankan tongue-in-cheek "Kandy Sweets". The final track "The Silence", co-written with Michael Grüterich, is space-rock in the truest sense. Grüterich played Mellotron & Mini-Moog on this track.

The debut album was followed in 1988 by "The Colours of Life", which was released on vinyl (IC 80.076) and compact disc (IC 710.076) simultaneously. The cd-version of the album contains the bonus track "Paradise" from the previous album. Jörgens, Greder, Weidenbrück and Grüterich are again featured on the album and are joined by Freddy Fredstein-Platzek on piano and Jürgen Scholl on recorder. Basically the album is one long track of 38 minutes, divided into four parts that describe the circle of life. The first part, "La Vie (The Dance of Life)" features the voice of Klaus' newborn son Timi. Of the other parts, "Ganga (The River of Life)" would become a concert favorite. It is an astounding track, with great bass lines and impressive progrock keyboards. "The Colours of Life" was to be Klaus' last album on vinyl.

In September 1989 a short tour by Mind over Matter followed. The first concert took place on the "Wending Festival" in Mortsel, Antwerp (Belgium) on 16 September. The line-up featured Peter Jörgens (percussion), Michael Grüterich (keyboards) & Holger Guyens (percussion). Klaus' wife Dagmar was present as performance artist under the name Dagi Daydream-Hoffmann. Mind over Matter was headliner on this festival, where also Purfoze and Patrick Kosmos performed. Eight days later the performance was repeated in Bremen, where the band joined Peter Seiler and Software. The set consisted of tracks from the two MoM-albums, including a full version of "Paradise" and "Ganga", but also a few new tracks. One of these was the magnificent "Children of the Midnight". This 22-minute piece in four parts ("Night of Oblivion", "The March of the Seduced Children", "In search of the Sunlight"and "The Dawning of Bliss") was inspired by the album "Song of the marching children" (1973) by Earth & Fire. Today "Children of the Midnight" stands as one of the great tracks of Mind over Matter. It starts gently, builds up to an eruption of violent electric guitar and keyboards in the middle and ends with mild percussives. It also was a showcase for Dagi Daydream, as her performance during this track would become a regular part of the show.

The track was officially released in 1990 on MoM's third album "Trance 'n' Dance" (IC 710.090). Jörgens & Guyens played percussion and Dagi was featured on vocals. The album also included a joint venture with Peter Mergener ("Spacelab"), a track featuring the recorded voice of the great Indian leader and spiritualist Mahatma Gandhi ("Mahatma"), another bonus track from the first album ("The silence") and a track that would become the ultimate encore during MoM-concerts, "Jack the Bear". Aggi Fiegler sang this Floydian track that featured voices from two freaked-out Canadians that Klaus met on a trip to Thailand in the mid-1980s. During live performances the song would be sung by Dagi. There were no concerts in 1990, but Klaus delivered some of the synthesized sounds on the Software album "Fragrance" (IC 710.092). The album was recorded and mixed by Klaus Schulze at Moldau Musikstudio.

In 1991 "Music for Paradise" was finally released on cd in a remixed version (IC 710.059). The third part of "Paradise" appeared in a 2,5 minute longer version. The cd also contained two interesting bonus tracks: the 1980-studio track "North Star" and a live-version of "Ganga (The River of Life)", recorded at the debut gig in Mortsel in 1989.

In March, April and May 1991 Mind over Matter toured in Germany and the Netherlands promoting "Trance 'n' Dance", including five shows at the Stellarium in Erkrath. The set list of this "Tour de Trance" contained by now old favorites as "Paradise", "Ganga", "Kandy Sweets" and "The end of time", but also featured strong versions of "Children of the Midnight" and other tracks of the new album. Three tracks from the performance on March 16 at the Musikhochschule in Köln were broadcasted on German radio ("Nachtmusik im WDR"). Apart from Jörgens, Guyens and Dagi keyboard players Cherif Khalil and Michael Hubrach were added to the group. The Nachtmuzik-show also featured dancers Luciano Chandra and Elke Dirx. In November 1991 the group (now without Hubrach) played at the "Synthesizer Multi Media Festival" in Köln with a shorter and slightly different set, introducing the new track "Sentimental Russia". This track, originally composed in 1980, only appeared on the sampler cd "Obsessions" (IC 720.147) in 1992, which also included a remix ("The dance version") of "Jack the Bear".

During 1991 Klaus performed twice with the Dutch electronic musician Ron Boots. The first occasion was on the KLEM Day in Breda on 21 September during a spontaneous concert by Ron with Bas Broekhuis and the famous drummer Harald Grosskopf. This succesful experiment was repeated (without Grosskopf but with Eric van der Heijden and John Kerr) on the 2nd of November in Köln during the "Synthesizer Multi Media Festival". This Dutch-Anglo-German group was by now called M.O.R.E., an abbreviation of Music of Ron and Eric. Klaus was featured on the encore "Desert Clouds", a lengthy track from Ron Boots' album "Ghost of a mist" (CUE 105), on which he had played guitar earlier that year.

In 1992 the album "In Search of Eternity" (IC 720.166) was released. The concept of the album was similar to the previous one: one long track and three shorter pieces, this time without any bonus tracks. Klaus was joined by his old friends Georg Mahr and Michael Grüterich on keyboards. The album also featured Cheriff Khalil (drum overdubs), Andreas Besler (bass guitar) and the Belgian electronic musician Patrick Kosmos. The 22-minute "Journey to Eternity" is very impressive. Divided into five parts ("Behind the Gates of Samsara", "At the Seam of Forever", "The Lotus is Opening", "Whispers from Beyond" and "In Touch with Eternity") the piece is filled with electric guitar, flute and Hammond organ (by Georg Mahr). It is a fusion of progrock and electronic music, just like the shorter track "Pilgrims of Eternity". This track with its powerful bass-line and pumping keyboards is the ideal concert-opener. The track "Monolith" was co-written and performed with Patrick Kosmos. It had been played by Kosmos on the KLEM Day in Best on September 3, 1989, where Klaus made a surprise appearance on guitar (shortly before the first M.O.M. tour). Kosmos would later include his own version of "Monolith" on his 1993-live album "Virtual Reality". The last track was "Dawn", a beautiful compostion by Michael Grüterich.

On October 31, 1992, Mind over Matter gave a landmark performance on the KLEM Day in Breda. Some of the audience was shocked by the use of electric guitar on what they considered to be a synthesizer-festival, but for most of the visitors it was clear that this was Klaus and his group in great shape. The set started off with an excellent version of "Pilgrims of Eternity" and was followed by the epics "Children of the Midnight" and "Journey to Eternity". After the shorter tracks "Monolith" and "Jack the Bear" (sung by Dagi) there was a great encore, a mighty version of "Ganga". Klaus, who played guitar, flute and Tibetan Mediationtube (!), was accompanied by percussionists Holger Guyens and Peter Jörgens (the latter also on guitar) and keyboard-players Cherif Khalil and Georg Mahr. Mahr did excellent work on stage on his original Hammond organ. Dagi took care of all performances during the show. This was the only M.O.M.-performance of the year. Klaus made a guest appearance with M.O.R.E. in September 1992 in Eindhoven. One of the three tracks on which Klaus played guitar ("Unitas Special") was released in 1992 on the M.O.R.E. album "Live - by popular demand" (CUE 1103; re GR-021).

In 1993, after four succesful studio-albums, the time was right for a live-album. This "Live in Concert" (IC 2194-2) featured three tracks from the KLEM-concert and two from the "Tour de Trance" from 1991. The quality of the recording is state of the art and the cd-booklet includes some excellent live pictures. For people unaware of Mind over Matter's music this album is a good introduction.

There was a lot of M.O.R.E.-activity for Klaus in 1993. In February Klaus joined them for a concert in Eindhoven and he played guitar on one track of "Different Stories and Twisted Tales" (CUE 1104) by Ron Boots. In September Klaus was featured on three more concerts by M.O.R.E. in Köln, Eindhoven and Nijmegen, the latter being the KLEM Day 1993. From the Eindhoven-gig the track "Aftermath" was released in 1999 on the album "Joie de Vivre - Live Again" (GR-026) by Ron Boots and Friends.

At the time of the KLEM Day 1993 Mind over Matter had just started touring again. The new line-up, which lasted until the summer of 1996, consisted of Klaus, Dagi, Peter Jörgens, Michael Grüterich & dancer Sally Sales. On September 18 and 19 and October 9, 1993 Mind over Matter played six concerts (two on each day) at the Stellarium in Erkrath. The set included most of the music of the KLEM-concert, but without "Monolith" and with three new amazing tracks, all of them with very Asian roots: "In a Mogul's Garden", "Rainy Kathmandu" and "Sri Ram" (initially called "Sri Ram Chant"). The concert in Lünen during the "KLEM NRW Festival" on March 26, 1994 was released on video ("Mind over Matter in Concert"). During a concert in Köln in December another new track was introduced to the audience, an 18-minute piece called "Shangri-La". This track, a true Mind over Matter-classic named after the famous utopian land in Asia (from the acclaimed novel "Lost Horizon"), featured Dagi's wonderful vocals and a wide variety of instruments. Klaus recorded the four new tracks in his Quasar studio with Peter Kluge (flutes) and Udo Winkler (tablas). He also remixed a track from 1982 (the Cosmic Hoffmann b-side "Space-Disco") which he renamed "Air India". In between he did a session on Peter Mergener's album "Let there be more light" (CUE 110).

The four new tracks and the remixed "Air India" were finally released in 1995 on what is considered to be one of the greatest albums of Mind over Matter, "Palace of the Winds" (IC 2243-2). The album has a beautiful cover of a Tibetan ritual and even features three bonus tracks: an edited version of "Shangri-La", a live-track by M.O.R.E. recorded in Nijmegen in November 1993 ("Himalaya") and a surprising electronic piece from 1976 named after Tibet ("Roof of the World"). Most of the new album was featured during five concerts in Sonsbeck-Hamb and Erkrath in September and November 1995. Klaus also found the time to play sitar on the album "The House of S. Phrenia" by the great German band Solar Project and to release another older track, the high-speed electronic masterpiece "Rohan Rider" from 1980. This highly recommended short track, based on the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, can be found on the sampler "Schwingungen-Club presents New Instrumental Music" (LC 4547). As artist is mentioned Klaus Hoffmann-Hoock, not Mind over Matter.

The year 1996 was an important one, as it was the tenth year of the band. The discography was impressive, with five outstanding studio-albums and one live-album. After an open-air concert in Duisburg on June 30 Mind over Mater celebrated this with its 10th Anniversary Concert in Sonsbeck-Hamb on August 23. Dancer Amira replaced Sally Sales. The set list was every fan's dream, as it included all five epics, "Paradise", "The colours of life" (except the fourth part), "Children of the Midnight", "Journey to Eternity" and "Shangri-La". Old favorites like "The End of Time", "Mahatma" and "Jack the Bear" were also played, as well as the beautiful "Rainy Kathmandu" and a new piece called "Avatar" (which later became "Beyond"). Klaus had originally planned to release a video of this succesful performance, but this plan never came through. It is to be hoped that it will be released in the future.


New directions

The year 1997 brought changes in the line-up of Mind over Matter. Due to health reasons Michael Grüterich was replaced by Robert Valet, keyboard player of Solar Project. Because of popular demand Klaus decided to remix three familiar Mind over Matter-tracks and to add two new ones ("The World of Koto" and "Distant Echoes") and to release them on what is known as "the quiet album". A lot of fans had requested Klaus for more extended pieces of relaxing and peaceful music for meditation purposes. The album was released on the Brain-Food label (BFM 87 4023-2) and was called "Shambala", named after the Buddhist inner path to spiritual enlightenment. Volker Kuinke supported Klaus on recorder. "Dreamy Kathmandu", "Brahmaputra" ∧ "Shambhala" are remixed versions of "Rainy Kathmandu", "Ganga" & "Paradise".

The first opportunity for fans to hear live music of this album was on the Dutch "Alpha Centauri Festival" in Huizen on March 1, 1997. Günther Lemmen was added as dancer and Mind over Matter (as headliner) played "Dreamy Kathmandu" and "Brahmaputra" next to a selection of older tracks. The complete concert was released on video ("Live in Concert"). On May 31 Mind over Matter played its first concert in the United Kingdom on the "EMMA Festival" in Derby and in June the group performed an open-air festival in Duisburg. With Volker Kuinke added to the line-up two more German concerts were played in August and October in Sonsbeck-Hamb and Versmold. During these concerts a number of new tracks ("Freak Street", "Thunderchild" and "Magic Garden") were played. They would appear on the album "Avatar" (IC 2328-2), released in 1998. The Versmold-gig was released on video in 1998. It is a great video, which is of particular interest because it includes a live version of "Spacelab" (from "Trance 'n' dance").

The year 1998 was an extremely busy year for Klaus and was in fact also a year of big changes. First of all, the album "Avatar" lived up to its promise. The album had two bonus tracks, an edited version of "Thunderchild" and a live track from the 10th anniversary concert from 1996 ("Beyond"). It starts off with "Thunderchild", a great song with Dagi on vocals on Volker Kuinke on recorders that has reminiscences of "Shangri-La". After the meditative "Magic Garden" and the peculiar "Freak Street" (filled with Georg Mahr's Mini-Moog and strange voices recorded by Klaus in Asia) comes "Avatar's dream" (with Dieter Kühlsdom on vocals and Armin Köppen on synths and bass). This track is a prequel to the great epic of the album, the lengthy sequencer-track "Avatar". The title is taken from the images of avatars, of human beings sent by God in order to protect creation from injustice and deception, often seen by Klaus on his voyages through Asia. "Avatar" was written and performed by Klaus and a young and talented electronic musician by the name of Stephen Parsick (born 1972 in Moers), a member of RAMP. Both men shared a love of vintage synthesizers, the instruments that made the Berlin School (Berliner Schule) of Klaus Schulze and Tangerine Dream to the masters of electronic music in the 1970s. Klaus had been working with Stephen as early as September 1996, writing and recording four tracks for the latter's upcoming solo-album. These tracks ("Submerging", "Close beneath the Surface", "Cosmic Jellyfish" & "Quicksilver Sea"), along with Stephen's "Green Depth" (remixed by Klaus in June-July 1997) and two tracks from 1994 (solo pieces from Stephen's home studio) appeared on Stephen's outstanding album "Traces of the past" (SPCD 4010). Klaus played space guitar and Mellotron, whereas Stephen can be heard on a wide variety of synthesizers, organs and sequencers. It is very interesting to compare Stephen's 15-minute track "Close beneath the surface" with Mind over Matter's 20 minute piece "Avatar", as both tracks were written and performed by Klaus and Stephen, probably around the same time. Both tracks seem to have emerged from the same basic musical idea and in a way seem to return to the roots and instruments of the Berlin School.

Allowing Mind over Matter some rest, Klaus decided to perform with Stephen under the name Cosmic Hoffmann, a name he had not used since 1982. On March 14, 1998 the duo played (accompanied by Dagi) at the Hansesaal in Lünen on a stage filled with vintage synthesizers, sequenzers and a genuine mellotron M400. The set of the evening was truly amazing: a couple of Mind over Matter tracks ("The World of Koto", "Magic Garden" and "North Star"), an old compostion from 1978 ("Howling Wolves") and three electronic masterpieces: "The Gate of Lahore part 1", "Beyond the Galaxy" (then called "Desert Thunder") and "Wanderers of Time" (with Ron Boots as guest). This live threesome appeared on the first album by Cosmic Hoffmann, "Beyond the Galaxy" (HaM 1), released in 1999. In the history of electronic music "Beyond the Galaxy" is truly a landmark album, as it combines traditional synthesizers with original compositions. It sounds very much like a reaction against the pre-fabricated digital e-music of the 1980s and 1990s. The album also included two studio-tracks that were previously released on samplers from 1996 and 1997, "Howling Wolves" (with Horst Theis on synthesizers) and "The Gate of Lahore part 2".

But there were more changes in 1998. Klaus had remixed the cd "Silence the River" (eSCe 980701) by artist and musician Hans-Werner Faßbender. On November 20, 1998, both men played an improvised concert at the "Gebäude der FAA Gesellschaft für berufliche Bildung" in Mönchengladbach. The occasion was the opening of an exhibition of Faßbender's paintings. An innovative 53-minute piece called "Heartbeat" (in two parts) was played by Klaus (on Megatron, a digital Mellotron) and Faßbender (keyboards and guitar). It consists of very quiet, dreamy electronic music whichs opens and ends with the sound of a beating heart. The complete piece, which includes some very alien and spooky sounds, was released in 2000 on the album "Heartbeat" (HaM 3) by Klaus Hoffmann-Hoock (the first time under his own name) and Hans-Werner Faßbender. This was the first release in the "Encounter Series" of Klaus' new "Heart and Mind"-label.

In 1998 Klaus also played Mellotron on two tracks on the album "Rot" (EMI 9543027 72434) by Menschenfischer and he remixed the album "Nodular" (MRCD 7032) by RAMP. In August 1998 Klaus gave pyrotechnical support to Solar Music during a concert in Küdinghausen (where Dagi took care of the performances).

Despite the new musical direction of Klaus, which was accompanied by very positive reviews in e-music magazines, Mind over Matter was not forgotten. On February 20, 1999 the group gave three (!) concerts at the Stellarium in Erkrath. Accompanied by Dagi, Robert Valet, Volker Kuinke, Peter Jörgens and drummer Josef Götz. Next to "Mahatma", "Ganga" and "Thunderchild" most tracks were taken from the "Palace of the Winds"-album ("Shangri-La", "In a Mogul's Garden", "Rainy Kathmandu" and "Sri Ram"). The big surprise of the day was a wonderful version of Pink Floyd's "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun" (from their 1968-album "A saucerful of secrets"), sung by Dagi, which sounded like a Mind over Matter original. This live-version appeared on the Pink Floyd tribute album "Signs of Life" (SKAN 8224 AR) in 2000. Curiously the group name on this compilation was Mindala and not Mind over Matter.

The performances of February 1999 were so excellent, that it would have been a shame not to release anything from these concerts. Thankfully Klaus decided to release a second live album by Mind over Matter in 2000. "Under the Stars" (IC 87 2345-2) included four of the tracks of the stunning Erkrath-shows, albeit under slightly different titles (like "A Night in Mogul's Garden" and "Mellow Kathmandu"). Two other tracks from other concerts (featuring Michael Grüterich and Stephen Parsick) were added to the album: "La Vie (The Dance of Life)" and "The world of Koto".

After this release Klaus mainly concentrated on Cosmic Hoffmann. On May 29, 1999 he and Stephen played the "Schallwende Sommerfest" in Essen-Steele. During this performance three spectacular new atmospherical pieces were introduced. In December the performance was repeated. And then in early 2000 the album "Shiva Connection" was released (HaM 2).

"Shiva Connection" is even better than "Beyond the Galaxy". The bombastic sequencers and howling space guitar were never more present. Just like its predecessor the new album is a mix of old and new live-and studio work. The studio tracks "Lightstar Rising" and "A few miles beyond Infinity" date from 1977 respectively 1994. The latter track was probably recorded during the "Palace of the Winds"-sessions. "Interstellar Rollercoaster", "Space Arbour" and "Hi-flyin' Shiva" originate from live-concerts with Stephen from May and December 1999. And the Gothic "Shiva Connection" is a spectacular new studio-track with a very menacing opening. The fans of Richard Wright will be delighted to listen to the magical "Interstellar Rollercoaster" as lots of early Floydian organs swell during this 20-minute track. The album is a true masterpiece.

On September 10, 2000 Cosmic Hoffmann headlined the E-Live Day (that replaced the KLEM Day) in Veldhoven. This was a performance by Klaus, Stephen and Dagi that will not easily be forgotten by those who attended. The concert featured strong versions of "Hi-flyin' Shiva" and "Interstellar Rollercoaster", along with three pieces from the first album and the Mind over Matter-track "The World of Koto". The audience was very impressed. On June 23, 2001 Klaus and Stephen again performed in the United Kingdom, at the Jodrell Bank Planetarium in Knutsford. The set resembled the one of previous Cosmic Hoffmann-concerts, although one new track ("May I see your passport, please?") was added.

The last guest appearance of Klaus on stage up till now was during a concert by Pyramid Peak on March 25, 2000 (on the E-Live Festival in Huizen), where he joined the band for a version of "Fish 'n Love". He had played space guitar on this track on the Pyramid Peak-album "Fish 'n Love" (ISCDO 40112).

Apart from his session-work and his Mind over Matter- and Cosmic Hoffmann-albums Klaus has also released some of his samples from Asian sounds on the Masterbits-label (titles like "Miditation", "World Zone - The Far East volume 1" and "Vokales aus aller Welt"). He also has been cooperating with other Mellotron-fans in putting out samples, including the above-mentioned "Watcher of the Skies"- string (on "M-Tron Tape Banks volume 2").


The future

Klaus Hoffmann-Hoock is one of the most important electronic musicians and producers of our time. Klaus once stated that he "felt more at home with what came blown accross from Asia than what I've found here". This may be true, but nevertheless he is nowadays one of the few true heroes - along with the likes of Stephen Parsick and Bernd Kistenmacher - of the revived Berlin School of electronic music. Both his Cosmic Hoffmann-albums became instant classics on their dates of release. For a large part Klaus is responsible for the Berlin School Renaissance of the later 1990s, a period in which the traditional providers of classic electronic music - Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze and others - had long forgotten to release anything decent. But it has to be said that Klaus is not copying old music; heavily influenced by the 1970s he produces something completely new, a synthesis of Berlin School sequencers, new cosmic ideas and excellent production standards. Just as he made a synthesis of Asian sounds and western music with Mind over Matter.

When does he release his new Mind over Matter-album? What else is hidden in the archives of Klaus in Sonsbeck? And would he be willing to release more of these Cosmic Files? We can only hope so.


DISCOGRAPHY

Excluded from this discography (and videography) are recordings before 1982 and tracks on samplers that were released on regular albums


MIND OVER MATTER



COSMIC HOFFMANN



COLLABORATIONS by Klaus Hoffmann-Hoock