Dieter Moebius dead at 71

Krautrock pioneer Dieter Moebius has died aged 71.

The Cluster co-founder’s death was confirmed by his former Harmonia partner Michael Rother.

Moebius was born in Switzerland in 1944 and studied art in Brussels and Berlin in the 60s. There, he met Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Tangerine Dream’s Conrad Schnitzler and together they formed Kluster in 1969.

When Schnitzler left the band they changed the name to Cluster and released 15 albums, including two collaborations with Brian Eno: 1977’s Cluster & Eno and After The Heat the following year.

Moebius and Roedelius also teamed up with Neu! guitarist Rother to form Harmonia in 1974, while Moebius would go on to release 17 solo albums, including last year’s Nidemonex.

Rother says: “Very sad news today for all friends of Dieter Moebius and his unique music. Our friend, neighbour and collaborator passed away on July 20th 2015. He will be missed dearly by all of us. Our thoughts go out to his wife, Irene.”

No cause of death has been announced.

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