CLUSTER II VERY RARE ORIG 1972 BRAIN EX++ LP. PIONEERING KRAUTROCK, RARELY SEEN.

	£		124
	$		164

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Postage: UK £4.75 (£1 per extra record). Europe (including Russia) £12.50 (£2 per extra record). Rest of World (including ALL parts of the USA) £16.50 (£3 per extra record). All boxes signed for in quality, safe packaging – I NEVER use mailing envelopes that offer virtually no protection at all – in fact I think these things should be banned as records WILL arrive damaged in them at some time. Here, you get what you pay for – SAFE PACKING in BOXES using 7mm DOUBLE-WALL STIFFENERS. Full details nearer the end of the listing.

Posting to Russia: Yes, I do post to Russia. But delivery can take up to 4 to 6 weeks from the UK. So please be patient. I will submit a tracking number to the winning bidder, and when the packet arrives there it can be followed online using the Russian post website.

ALSO: I now apply the Ebay ‘2-day’ rule for non-payment to keep things moving – cash-flow is important for any small business. I will always keep my P&P prices as low as possible, and even after yet another Royal Mail price hike from April this year, I have NOT raised my prices and will never compromise on solid, safe packing that is invariably heavier than most you will get. My P&P offers probably the best value-for-money for vinyl records available, and I even will pay for full insurance on any record that sells for over £100 at NO extra cost – that is UK and abroad. Also I aim to post the very same day after payment is received. You WILL see the difference when my packet arrives.

FINALLY: Late payers will now be blocked at my discretion. As will any bidder who cancels a bid. I do not like this practice as it is most often used to phish out the price to beat. Ebay does not approve and neither do I – so only bid on my items if you want them.

Artist or Band: CLUSTER

Album Title: Cluster II.

Producer(s): Cluster & Conrad Plank.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Plas; Im Süden; Für die Katz.

Side 2: Live in der Fabrik; Georgel; Nabitte.

Label/Format: Brain – original deep olive green format with matt, smooth surfaces. Later pressings had orange labels.

Label Conditions: Both very clean, fresh and attractive with only very small, equally light, fine and faint spindle marks and no wear around the hole area. This superb German original appears hardly even played.

Cat Number: Brain 1006.

Mode / Speed: Stereo / 33.3 rpm.

Warps: Assume all records I offer have no warping of any significance and all tracking is easy and effortless and should play on all turntables and even ‘budget’ decks.

Weight of this Record: 107 grams. Not untypical for this time.

Country of Manufacture: Germany.

Rarity: Rare: that using the term in it’s true context. Even by Krautrock standards, Cluster were not commercial enough to sell in any great numbers. Original Brain copies are elusive and rarely seen or offered, especially in this superb condition. So-much-so, their albums were not issued in the UK.

Original Year of Release: 1972

Matrix Nos: St-1006-A [0664.137 S1] / St-1006-B [0664.137 S2]

Mothers / Stampers: 1 / 11

Run-Out Groove Etchings: ‘PF’ (on both sides)

Musicians: Hans-Joachim Roedelius – electronics; Dieter Moebius – electric organ, guitars, effects & electronics.

So What is Krautrock and its Rarity?: ‘Krautrock’ was an affectionate term given to a new wave of young German bands in the late 60s and early 70s. Before the emergence of these pioneering experimental rock and electronic artists, the German music scene was a real mess of sugary pop music. Out of this fog of a musical mire, a very new sound emerged as radical and as daring as anything ever heard. Whereas in the UK, rock music was very much blues or psych-based, but these young long-haired, pioneering German musicians played music that was very different. They opened new musical horizons and boundaries into the use of sound as entertainment. Several were classically trained musicians (Can) – some could barely play a traditional instrument as all. Far too weird and experimental for most, many were into avant garde territory, but this German underground scene was admired by many and loved by a small number of record buyers of the time. The sounds they created were often challenging and difficult, but unique and were highly influential for the development of music. Some used conventional instruments, some delved into electronics and some used unconventional devices to form sound. A few became successful even outside Germany with the odd hit single or two (Kraftwerk and Can), but some did not compromise and never sort commercial success (Faust, Neu). Although there were others, the best-known of the early experimental Krautrock bands were: Kraftwerk, Can, Faust, Amon Duul II, Neu, Popul Vuh, Guru Guru, Kluster and Tangerine Dream. All are worth checking out – they made some of the most groundbreaking music in rock and their importance is beyond dispute. In terms of rarity, these early albums are never easy to find especially in top conditions, they sold in relatively small numbers and are seldom seen or offered.

Brief Info: Known originally as Kluster, the first line-up played very out-there ‘music’ and their only two studio albums sold in minuscule numbers. Now renamed Cluster, this was their second album, now a duo after Conrad Plank was only credited as a producer and writer. The debut was on Philips records, this was their first on Brain where stayed for some time. The music is very electronic-based, and although considerably more listener-friendly than Kluster, it is still uncommercial and challenging with avant garde elements. Like several of the better-known ‘Krautrock’ bands, Cluster’s albums were not issued in the UK making them rarely seen outside their native Germany. Although they sold only small numbers, they, like fellow electronic pioneers Kraftwerk were hugely important and influential in the development of the German progressive scene of the time. For those familiar with the early experimental and far more out-there sound of early Kraftwerk, and to a lesser extent Neu!, this is quite similar. Krautrock connoisseur Julian Copes rates Cluster highly and places three of their albums in his Top 50 best ever. This is a superb copy as well, beautifully pressed by Brain with fantastic sound quality as you would expect with Conrad Plank as producer. Unlike some other experimental German labels of the era, this plays very quietely with barely any hint of crackle at all, which is excellent news for a record of this type. For fans of this pioneering experimental music, this rare second Cluster album will prove near impossible to find better. This being the first copy I have ever seen or heard.

Cover Grade and Format: EXCELLENT(++): a gatefold format with front and back laminate, this ends inside on the top edges. The inside is matt and unprotected with smooth card. Printed and made in Germany and includes the correct original ‘metronome’ text on the back as seen in close-up. Also the plain white inner sleeve.

Lamination – Front & Back: Not one you will often: this German Brain cover has very shiny, fresh and clear laminate with minimal traces of any dulling and no peeling, lifting, scuffs or press marks. A fine surface crease on the front right edge that hardly shows with normal full-on viewing and few others worthy of special mention. Originals as per this included the ‘BRAIN metronome’ logo and text on the back. The artwork with deep intense colour, this cover will prove very difficult to find better.

Cover Inner Gatefold: Any blemishes inside are very tiny and faint, faint rub traces near the bottom edges only. This looks superb and again will prove immensely difficult to find better.

Top Edges: Both pristine and meeting together staight and flush. the laminate ultra smooth and unscuffed.

Bottom Edges: As above.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, very sharp with barely any hint of wear. Any thickening or burring minuscule, even viewed end-on. Record enters on the back edge, both guaranteed untrimmed or enhanced in any way.

Spine and Text: Solid, straight with minimal compression, just slight tilt to the left being critical. Folded square, so the edges meet up very closely together and nigh-on parallel. Just one tiny chip to the bottom corner, no text printed on this one, all the graphic flows round is all close to perfect under the solid and uncracked or peeled laminate.

Corners: Minor tip creasing with any rubbing tiny and light. Very fine, and mostly excellent shape retained.

Cover Summary: A very strong all-round example of this very rare and elusive German Brain cover, one that will prove very difficult to find better. This beautiful item should please most-all collectors.

The Inner Sleeve: EXCELLENT(+): a plain white unlined solid inner, the retailer wrote the BRAIN 1006 number on one corner. Hardly aged, clean and barely creased. All edges now unsplit after a tiny bottom split was carefully and very neatly repaired by myself to stop the risk of it widening in the future. You would barely even know but I always will mention such action.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT(++): arguably better. A superb visual copy that is very clean with equally fine shine and quite solidly pressed. A copy hardly even played on all the evidence with any surface trace marks ultra fine, light and faint as seen critically under bright angled light. Even finer than hairlines and barely even visible in normal room light conditions. I grade all under an intense desk lamp to see even the most meagre of blemishes that few records will ever escape as a bare minimum. Visually a super record that should please most-all collectors.

Album Played For Grading: Yes. [I play ALL records I offer before submitting to Ebay, also the record is played in its entirety unless clearly stated otherwise. I do NOT play snippets or joining grooves to check for sound quality and quietness – I play from the beginning to end via clinically revealing B&W speakers that include the legendary tweeter from their awesome Nautilus range that reveals every blemish or minuscule sound present on any record.]

Sound Quality and Audio Grading: This top-quality original Brain record plays even above it’s high visual grading with barely anything to fault. Strong, distortion-free sound, all frequencies are sharp and clear - sound quality is very high with a wide dynamic range and very detailed sound. Any surface sounds are minimal indeed and this is an exceptional clean pressing. Few copies will outperform this early first pressing significantly I feel sure. Both channels are clean and sharp, I am certain this record has been played very lightly and has been generally well stored and carefully handled, almost certainly in a non-smoking environment. The sporadic click near impossible to avoid on such recordings that do have passages of quietness, the grooves being fine and delicate. But it will take an extraordinary example to better this, it only takes a micro-fragment to contact the stylus for a one-off tick, this being difficult to avoid on a record over 40 minutes long of this type. Nothing of any real note spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this wonderful, and groundbreaking Krautrock record. Within the genre, another historically important record, it will prove very difficult to match, let alone find significantly better and can be strongly recommended. A rare opportunity indeed, this one is really quite special.

Now one of the most established sellers on Ebay and still offering the finest and most accurately described and graded records I can find. I pride myself on offering a variety of genres to keep my site as interesting as possible. I will rarely offer any record that falls below a true Excellent grading, unless its of a certain rarity which will justify offering a lesser grade. I try, to the best of my ability to describe as accurately and as honesty as I can all items I offer for sale with all the relevant information I can think of to help any potential bidder and collector. You may notice I only submit records sparingly on Ebay as I Play-Grade every record I offer in their entirety – also on higher-end equipment – not just bits to guess a grade - visuals alone do not always tell a true or full story. I will mention any defects or flaws no matter how small that I notice to be fair as possible to any interested collector – I am very fussy and my buyers have the right to be too. Every record I offer, whether it be a common or rare item deserves the same respect as far as I am concerned and will be treated the same - just because an item is rare does not always mean it’s good. I get just as much pleasure offering a relatively common record in stunning near mint condition as the real rare items. All the pictures I use for your guidance are taken with a digital camera or scanned - they are NOT improved, cleaned-up or made better looking than they are with camera trickery or enhancing with digital programmes. Room light factors can make things vary sometimes, that is hard to control, especially in winter. If any picture I take looks more flattering than the actual item for any reason, I will clearly state the fact in the advert and vice-versa. I hope the item below is to your liking - any questions can be emailed and I will do my very best to answer you. I am enthusiastic, and have a fair degree of knowledge about many genres and I promise quality items - bid with confidence - excellence comes as standard and so does Near Mint regularly. Please assume all records I offer have NO jumps, sticks, warps or writing on covers or labels unless clearly stated to the contrary. Thanks for your interest and Good luck – MIKE.

Deck: Linn LP12/Hercules/Cirkus with Ittok Mk II arm and Ortofon Quintet Blue moving coil cartridge (tracks at 2.2 grams). Amps: Naim Supernait 2 with Project USB phono stage and Tellerium Black interconnects. Speakers: B&W 704 Floorstanding 3-way Monitors (bi-wired with Tellurium Black terminated cable). All records I offer on Ebay are cleaned on a professional VPI-17 vacuum machine before play-grading for the cleanest and best possible sound and will include a brand new lined inner and protective cover too. Pictures taken with a Nikon D5000 SLR Digital Camera.

PACKING - THIS IS WHAT YOU GET.

What You Get: To confirm to the strict Ebay rules on shipping, I must now send ALL my packets ‘Signed-For’ with NO exceptions. Both buyers and sellers want their packets to have a safer journey and this is not a bad thing.

I now offer the fastest possible posting, often the very next day after payment is received or within two to three days maximum (unless on holiday). I only use FIRST-CLASS Mail. The record’s cover will be placed within a BRAND NEW soft protective sleeve and the actual record will be professionally cleaned on my new VPI-17 Pro vacuum system to give ultimate clean grooves and playing surfaces and the best possible looks and ultimate sound quality. You will NOT get tired, dull looking, dust infested records inside worn and foggy covers with tatty inners from this seller and that’s a promise and guarantee. All records are posted in professional boxes (NOT Mailers, these do not offer any real protection). The record(s) are REMOVED from their main cover to avoid edge splits and placed within a brand new polylined inner. The record’s original inner will be included if available. The boxes are then reinforced with at least TWO, ULTRA THICK stiffeners for maximum extra protection – these are FOUR TIMES thicker than commercial stiffeners and are custom-made for oneadayrecords. Really rare and expensive albums will even be Double Boxed if deemed necessary and possible. When larger boxes are used, the thick record and stiffener ‘sandwich’ is then thickly embedded into bubble-wrap to bulk out the record inside the box to centre the item inside to reduce the risk of damage still further. Printed address labels are used for clarity as well as a sender label. Customers requests or special needs for P&P will be respected if at all possible but ‘Signed-For’ posting is NOT an option anymore. I do not profit on posting, better quality packaging costs, I offer probably the best-value and safest shipping possible for ultimate confidence. The boxes and ultra thick double-wall stiffeners make a near impregnable fortress for safe shipping and this is used inland and overseas for ALL my records, not just the rare and expensive. I will invoice any winning bidder as soon as possible after the auction ends. My ‘loss’ or ‘damage rate’ is minuscule in over 14 years of Ebay trading and I consider that pretty exceptional. The only damage rate acceptable for this seller is ZERO and I think my packets will offer just that. It would take a vicious postman or postal service to damage these for sure. Oneadayrecords is a MAILER-FREE ZONE – they offer next-to-no-protection, and should be banned, no ‘professional’ should consider using them in my opinion. I discount of course for multiple purchases with a maximum of FIVE records per box (one double can sometimes be included subject to total weight). All postage costs are below and at the top of the listing.

NOTE: First Time Bidders: Please ask me first.

PLEASE NOTE: I now exercise my right to open a dispute after the Ebay rule of TWO days if no payment is received. I will then cancel the dispute to end the bid, again after the mandatory FOUR days and then offer the item to the runner-up or relist. The non-payer will also be blocked from my Ebay site as will any suspicious bids or bid withdrawals. Small businesses need prompt payment to trade and these strict rules WILL be applied.

SHIPPING COSTS & CONDITIONS – THESE comply with EBAY’S RULES - PLEASE READ CAREFULLY:

Posting & Packing: UK & CHANNEL ISLANDS all now sent via Recorded Delivery:

1 LP (FIRST-CLASS Recorded Delivery with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) [Signed For] = £4.75

1 LP (Special Delivery with Standard £500 Maximum Insurance) [Signed For, Next Day] = £7.50. (this includes insurance of £500). Add £1 per extra LP.

Posting & Packing: EUROPE & SCANDINAVIA. (Airmail Only):

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£50 maximum]) = £12.50 (enhanced Royal Mail insurance is an optional extra £3). Add £2 per extra LP.

Posting & Packing: ALL OVERSEAS (non-European) e.g. USA (ANY PART OF); South America; New Zealand; Australia; Canada; Japan and other Far East; (Airmail Only: I NEVER use Surface Mail):

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£50 maximum]) = £16.50 (£17.50 for double sets). Add £3 per extra LP. (enhanced Royal Mail insurance is an optional extra £3)

Payment Conditions:

I prefer PayPal or cheque from UK winning bidders. I can accept PayPal from overseas bidders or direct payment into my bank account.

Potential Bidders: I will cancel any bids I feel are time-wasters. A maximum 3 days for communication and 7 days for payment to arrive - if not I will relist the item or offer to the runner-up. Fast deals get great feedback from me. Any questions - please ask and thanks for looking.

My Guarantee: If any winning bidder is not satisfied with their purchase I will offer a complete refund. I will not refund if any defect detail is clearly stated on the advert and missed by the buyer, so read the item description carefully. If any overseas collector does not understand anything in my listing, please email and ask me to help. Thank You.

SOME GENERAL GUIDES TO WEAR AND CONDITIONS TO HELP YOU DECIDE

My Use of Description Terminology: Surface Marks = Superficial, usually light marks, hairlines or light scuffs that rarely sound. Scratch = a needle mark that goes below the record’s surface, some will sound, some will not, my play-grade will inform. Original = a record that has been pressed with the first label design which does NOT necessarily mean a very first pressed record. First Pressing = A record that I believe or know to be a genuine very first pressed record. I do not claim to always know for sure, and that’s why I state the stamper and matrix numbers if at all possible, for those who claim to know what they all mean, the information is there for the collector to decide. I prefer to use terms like ‘Early Copy’ rather than ‘First Pressing’ if I am not totally sure. Surface Sound = Mild, light sound, usually light crackle or similar. Distortion = Break up of the actual sound caused by groove wear or damage from a chipped stylus – the most undesirable form of unwanted sound, vintage mono records were the most prone to this happening but not exclusively so. The symptoms of distortion are high frequency clipping, moderate constant crackle or an echo type sound quality. Violin, piano and vocals are most prone to groove-wear distortion. Feathering = Fraying or softening of the entry edge of a cover. Covers with feathered entrance edges are more likely to have had the actual record inserted and removed more than a non-feathered, sharp-edged cover which are always far more attractive. Set Off, actually a printer’s term for dark ink leaving mild residue on pale or white ink when rested upon. e.g. when a gatefold cover has black ink closed against white, this can leave some black residue on the pale area – this is mostly unavoidable or course.

The Argument for Vinyl Original sound and mix (mono mixes are rarely available on CD), high quality sound on clean copies (played on a hi-end dedicated analogue system – breathtaking sound!), beautiful, large format covers, artwork, inserts and even full size posters etc; huge investment potential, and the pleasure of owning ‘the real thing’.