Cyklus

Cyklus was a German jazz-rock band that released the 1979 album Planet of Two Suns on Erlkönig Schallplatten.

Members: Jens Fischer (guitar), Achim Gieseler (keyboards, computer), Matz Steinke (bass), Micky Stickdorn (drums)

Background

Cyklus emerged in 1979 around guitarist Jens Fischer, keyboardist Achim Gieseler, bassist Matz Steinke, and drummer Michael “Mickie” Stickdorn.

Fischer studied classical guitar in Hannover and joined Tri Atma, a German-Indian group based in the city with tabla player Asim Saha and sitarist Manfred Flathe. Gieseler studied classical music at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hannover, where his subjects included minimal music, musique concrète, and electronic music. 

Steinke joined Aera under saxophonist Klaus Kreuzeder and played bass in the lineup that won the jazz category at the November 1978 Deutsche Phono-Akademie Nachwuchswettbewerb in Munich. He remained for their 1979 Erlkönig release Türkis, which features Gieseler on three tracks.

Stickdorn came from the Bielefeld group Virus and continued with keyboardist Jürgen Kochbeck in the successor band Skyline, which made the 1975 private album Louise for One Night and played the 1976/77 Umsonst und draußen festivals.

In July 1979, Erlkönig booked Cyklus at Tonstudio Hiltpoltstein for an album.

Discography:

• Planet of Two Suns (1979)

Research notes

• The Attic — Interview with Tri Atma — 2014 interview with Jens Fischer. Fischer discusses his classical-guitar studies in Hannover, the early Tri Atma lineup and Hannover base, and directly identifies Achim Gieseler as a fellow student and Cyklus bandmate. (The Attic)
• Achim Gieseler — official site — confirms Gieseler studied classical music at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hannover with concentrations that included minimal music, musique concrète, and electronics. (Gieseler Music)
• Bear Family Records — Aera — identifies the November 1978 Aera lineup with Matz Steinke on bass and documents the group winning first prize in the jazz category at the Deutsche Phono-Akademie competition in Munich. (Bear Family Records)
• Garden of Delights — Skyline: Louise for One Night — identifies Skyline as a Bielefeld-area successor to Virus, lists Michael Stickdorn on drums, dates the album recording to autumn 1975, and documents Vlotho appearances in 1976 and 1977. (Diregarden) Werner Vogt separately recalled Kochbeck forming Skyline with “Micki” from Virus following the early-1975 breakup. (It’s Psychedelic Baby Magazine)
• ProgArchives — Aera: Türkis — useful here only for the album personnel: Matz Steinke plays bass and percussion; Achim Gieseler plays keyboards on tracks three, five, and six. (ProgArchives)
• RecordSale — Cyklus: Planet of Two Suns — reproduces the record data and credits for Fischer, Gieseler, Steinke, and Stickdorn and gives the session note: July 1979 at Tonstudio Hiltpoltstein. (recordsale.de)