Tarwater, a German duo comprising Bernd Jestram and Ronald Lippok, have recorded several albums of distinctive, sometimes instrumental music which fuses live instrumentation with loops and samples, veering from detached indie rock songwriting to subdued textural experiments. They are frequently tagged as post-rock or indie electronic, partially because of Lippok's involvement in To Rococo Rot, a trio that has recorded for experimental independents such as Soul Static Sound and City Slang. First appearing in 1996 with 11|6 12|10, Tarwater earned international acclaim with 1998's Silur, which edged toward trip-hop. They continued mixing abstract indie rock with more cinematic electronic elements on further albums like Animals, Suns & Atoms (2000) and The Needle Was Travelling (2005), then issued their first soundtrack, Donne-moi la main, in 2009. Tarwater collaborated with Iggy Pop and Alva Noto for the 2016 EP Leaves of Grass, and the duo's first full-length in a decade, Nuts of Ay, appeared in 2024. Guitarist/bassist/programmer Jestram and drummer/vocalist/programmer Lippok met in an East German punk band, and began recording together even while Lippok recorded with To Rococo Rot and Jestram worked in his Bleibeil studio. A bit more organic and much more tied to pop than To Rococo Rot, Tarwater debuted with 1996's 11|6 12|10, released by Kitty-Yo around the same time that Lippok's other concern issued their first material. Rabbit Moon Revisited and Rabbit Moon Remixed both reworked material from the debut, and Tarwater's second LP, Silur, followed in 1998. The critical praise attendant on the latter earned Tarwater American distribution through a deal with Mute, with Animals, Suns & Atoms appearing in 2000 and Dwellers on the Threshold two years later. A limited album of pieces for soundtracks and compilations, Not the Wheel, was issued by Gusstaff Records in early 2001. Tarwater moved to indie electronic label Morr Music with 2005's The Needle Was Travelling and 2007's Spider Smile. Musique Originale du Film Donne-moi la main appeared on Gusstaff in 2009. The Polish label also released Tarwater's limited 5-CD box set 1996-2002. Krautrock-heavy imprint Bureau B then issued 2011's Inside the Ships and its 2014 follow-up Adrift, as well as Record Store Day split EPs with Kreidler and Sølyst. Returning to Morr, Tarwater collaborated with Iggy Pop (reciting Walt Whitman poems) and Alva Noto on the 2016 EP Leaves of Grass. Tarwater worked with Immersion (Colin Newman and Malka Spigel), appearing on the first three tracks of 2021's Nanocluster Vol. 1. In 2024, Tarwater released their first album in ten years, the Morr-issued Nuts of Ay. The album incorporated lyrics by Derek Jarman, Shane MacGowan, John Lennon, and others. ~ John Bush & Paul Simpson, Rovi