I’m always skeptical of aggressively well-planned events, and something about the Cluster West Coast Extravaganza had me worried.  It was the first time I’d seen such modern promotion with such a presence for a band that I actually really cared about.  Somehow these shows would last six hours, there’d be two supporting bands, a long list of DJs and a fashion show.  There would be poster sales, juices, donuts and projections. But why do ambient music pioneers need such incredible hype and promotion?  Obviously anyone with interest in Cluster wouldn’t need to be tempted with vegan donuts to go to the show.  And I’m pretty sure that anyone who blindly came for some crazy party would have been confused to end the night there with dreamy audio vibrations from a band they’d never heard before. The Donuts crew picked some of the best DJs in L.A. and they also picked one of our best venues, Farmlab, to hold the whole production. The projections were completely exquisite and maybe the best I’d seen in a while.  And the Cluster performance itself was beautifully warming, composed of most of their droney, minimal work.  Dieter Moebius and Hans-Joachim Roedelius, Cluster’s founding members, seemed delighted to be there. And seeing the band in a good mood instantly rectified any of my previous skepticism and set the night straight.

— Katie Byron