Tracks and Traces

Tracks and Traces is the one and only album credited to Harmonia '76, but it is generally regarded as the third album by the highly influential Krautrock/Kosmische Musik group Harmonia. Harmonia was formed by the addition of Neu! guitarist Michael Rother to Cluster, the duo of Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Dieter Moebius. British ambient musician Brian Eno joined the group at Harmonia's studio in Forst, Germany for the September 1976 recording sessions which resulted in this album.

Although Tracks and Traces was recorded in 1976, it was not released until 4 November 1997 by the American Rykodisc label (originally in Germany by the label S3, remastered by Eric Spitzer-Marlyn and Othmar Eichinger), at which time the labels appended "'76" to the group's name.

Background and recording

Various websites quote Eno as saying that Harmonia was "the world's most important rock band" in the mid '70s, including Sherman Wick in his review of Musik Von Harmonia, the first Harmonia album. Daniel Dumych, who also cites that quote, writes in his article for hyperreal.org: "Perhaps Eno's reason for praising Harmonia so highly was that their music fit the requirements of ambient rock. Its music was equally suitable for active or passive listening. The careful listener found his/her attentions rewarded by the musical activities and sounds, but Harmonia's music was also capable of setting a sonic environment." Clearly Eno had been very impressed with both Musik Von Harmonia and Cluster's fourth album Zuckerzeit and had joined Harmonia on tour, first playing with the group at The Fabrik in Hamburg.