Klaus Schulze
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Klaus Schulze | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Background information | ||
| Born | August 4, 1947 (age 59) | |
| Origin | Berlin, Germany | |
| Genre(s) | Electronic music Space music Trance music Berlin School |
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| Occupation(s) | Musician, Producer | |
| Years active | 1969–present | |
| Label(s) | Ohr Records Brain Records Virgin Records Metronome Manikin Records Island Records IC Inteam ZYX Records WEA Rainhorse Synthetic Symphony |
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| Associated acts |
Tangerine Dream Ash Ra Tempel |
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| Website | Official Site | |
Klaus Schulze is a German electronic music composer and musician. He also used the alias Richard Wahnfried. He was briefly a member of the electronic bands Tangerine Dream and Ash Ra Tempel before a pioneering and prolific solo career of 40+ albums (totalling 110+ CDs) in 30+ years.
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[edit] History
In 1969, Klaus Schulze was the drummer of one of the early incarnations of Tangerine Dream for their debut album Electronic Meditation. In 1970 he left this group to form Ash Ra Tempel with Manuel Göttsching. In 1971, he chose again to leave a newly-formed group after only one album, this time to mount a solo career. In 1972, Schulze released his debut album Irrlicht with organ and a recording of an orchestra filtered almost beyond recognition. Despite the lack of synthesizers, this proto-ambient work is regarded as a milestone in electronic music. The follow up, Cyborg, was similar but added the EMS Synthi A synthesizer.
He has had a prolific career, with more than 40 original albums to his name since Irrlicht, some highlights being 1976's Moondawn, 1979's Dune, and 1995's double-album In Blue (featuring one long track with electric guitar by his pal Manuel Göttsching of Ash Ra Tempel). He often takes German events as a starting point in his compositions, particularly on his album "X" (the title signifying it was his tenth album) in 1978 which was subtitled "Six Musical Biographies", including such notables as Ludwig II of Bavaria, Friedrich Nietzsche, and Wilhelm Friedemann Bach. His use of the pseudonym Richard Wahnfried indicates his interest in Richard Wagner, which also informs other albums of his music, notably Timewind.
Throughout the 1970's he worked mostly in the musical vein of the above-mentioned Tangerine Dream, albeit with far lighter sequencer lines and a more reflective, dreamy edge, not unlike the ambient music of contemporary Brian Eno. Some of his lighter albums are appreciated by new age music fans, but Schulze has always denied connections to this genre.
Klaus Schulze had a more organic sound than other electronic artists of the time. Often he would throw in decidedly non-electronic sounds such as acoustic guitar and a male operatic voice in Blackdance, or a cello in Dune and Trancefer. Schulze developed a Minimoog technique that sounds uncannily like an electric guitar, which is quite impressive in concert.
In the 1980's Schulze moved from analog to digital instruments, and his work accordingly became less experimental and more accessible. Although the switch to purely digital recording and instruments is evident in the style of Dig It (1980) It was not until the release of Trancefer (1981) that the shift in style became evident. Trancefer was far more obviously reliant on sequencers than previous recordings, and the resultant affect transformed Schulze's style from gentle melodic journeys to and ever growing crescendo of music consisting of multi layered rhythmical passages. This is particularly evident in the Trancefer's first track "A few moments after Trancefer", although the second track "Silent Running" is more reminiscent of Schulze's earlier works.
This newer style can also be found in Schulze's next release Audentity. Both "Cellistica" and "Spielglocken" are composed in a similar, sequencer based, style as Trancefer, but this is certainly not the case of all of Audentity's tracks, indeed "Sebastian in Traum" hints towards the Operatic style to be found in some of Schulze's much later work. The predominance of sequencing can also be found in the follow up live album Dziekuje Poland Live '83, although it should be noted that many of its tracks are re-workings of those to be found on Audentity. Schulze's next sudio based album Angst moved away from the harshness of sharp, heavily sequenced style of the 3 previous albums and, once again, had the more "organic feel" of earlier recorndings. Another highlight of this era was En=Trance with the dreamy cut "FM Delight". The album Miditerranean Pads marked the beginning of very complex percussion arrangements that continued into the next two decades.
Starting with Beyond Recall, the first half of the 1990's was the notorious "sample" period, when Schulze used a variety of pre-recorded sounds of screeching birds and sensuous female moans in his studio albums and live performances. Sampling was such an unpopular diversion that when In Blue was released in 1995 without samples it was hailed as a return to form. The decade also saw the release of copious amounts of previously unreleased material, of varying quality, in several limited-edition boxed sets. Some live recordings were discovered on pristine but forgotten reels of tape which had been used to provide echo in concerts.
Recently Schulze began incorporating elements of jazz and classical music, working with more contemporary techno dance music such as trance, and creating two opera, the second still awaiting release. Also, in 2005 he began re-releasing his classic solo and Wahnfried albums with bonus tracks of unreleased material recorded at roughly the same time as the original works.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Studio and live albums
Schulze's concert performances are original compositions recorded live and thus listed as albums:
- 1972 Irrlicht - Re-released 2006
- 1973 Cyborg - Re-released 2006
- 1974 Blackdance - Upcoming re-release March 2007
- 1975 Picture Music - Re-released 2005
- 1975 Timewind - Re-released 2006
- 1976 Moondawn - Re-released 2005
- 1977 Body Love (soundtrack) - Re-released 2005
- 1977 Mirage - Re-released 2005
- 1977 Body Love Vol. 2
- 1978 "X" - Re-released 2005
- 1979 Dune - Re-released 2005
- 1980 ...Live... (live) - Upcoming re-release March 2007
- 1980 Dig It - Re-released 2005
- 1981 Trancefer - Re-released 2006
- 1983 Audentity - Re-released 2005
- 1983 Dziekuje Poland Live '83 (live) - Re-released 2006
- 1984 Angst (soundtrack) - Re-released 2005
- 1985 Inter*Face - Re-released 2006
- 1986 Dreams - Re-released 2005
- 1988 En=Trance - Re-released 2005
- 1990 Miditerranean Pads - Re-released 2005
- 1990 The Dresden Performance (live)
- 1991 Beyond Recall
- 1992 Royal Festival Hall Vol. 1 (live)
- 1992 Royal Festival Hall Vol. 2 (live)
- 1993 The Dome Event (live)
- 1994 Le Moulin de Daudet (soundtrack) - Re-released 2005
- 1994 Goes Classic
- 1994 Totentag
- 1994 Das Wagner Desaster - Live - (live) - Re-released 2005
- 1995 In Blue - Re-released 2005
- 1996 Are You Sequenced? - Re-released 2006
- 1997 Dosburg Online - Re-released 2006
- 2001 Live @ KlangArt 1 (live)
- 2001 Live @ KlangArt 2 (live)
- 2005 Moonlake
- 2005 Vanity of Sounds - Re-released 2005 from Contemporary Works I box set
- 2006 The Crime of Suspense - Re-released 2006 from Contemporary Works I box set
- 2006 Ballett 1 - Re-released 2006 from Contemporary Works I box set
- 2006 Ballett 2 - Re-released 2006 from Contemporary Works I box set
- 2007 Ballett 3 - Upcoming re-release March 2007 from Contemporary Works I box set
- 2007 Kontinuum - Announced upcoming new album May 2007
In 2005 an intensive re-release program of Schulze CDs started, mostly with extended or bonus tracks, sometimes a whole additional CD. They are published by the label Revisited Records (a division of German company InsideOut Music 1), and distributed by SPV.
[edit] Richard Wahnfried albums
Composed by Schulze and performed with guest artists under alias Richard Wahnfried:
- 1979 Time Actor
- 1981 Tonwelle
- 1984 Megatone
- 1986 Miditation
- 1994 Trancelation
- 1996 Trance Appeal - Upcoming re-release March 2007
- 1997 Drums 'n' Balls (The Gancha Dub) - Re-released 2006
See also the Richard Wahnfried project and its personnel.
[edit] CD Box Sets
- 1993 Silver Edition - Limited edition 10 disc box set of 2000 sets. Sold out.
- 1995 Historic Edition - Limited edition 10 disc box set of 2000 sets. Sold out.
- 1997 Jubilee Edition - Limited edition of 25 disc box set 1000 sets. Sold out.
- 2000 The Ultimate Edition - Re-released Silver, Historic and Jubilee Edition box sets expanded with bonus material.
- 2000 Contemporary Works I - 10 disc box set with guest performers.
- 2002 Contemporary Works II - 5 disc box set with guest performers.
[edit] The Dark Side of the Moog series
In collaboration with the extremely prolific ambient techno guru Pete Namlook (joined also by Bill Laswell on volumes 4 to 7). Each title is a humorous distortion of a Pink Floyd title:
- 1994 The Dark Side of the Moog I - "Wish You Were There"
- 1994 The Dark Side of the Moog II - "A Saucerful of Ambience"
- 1995 The Dark Side of the Moog III - "Phantom Heart Brother"
- 1996 The Dark Side of the Moog IV - "Three Pipers at the Gates of Dawn"
- 1996 The Dark Side of the Moog V - "Psychedelic Brunch"
- 1997 The Dark Side of the Moog VI - "The Final DAT"
- 1998 The Dark Side of the Moog VII - "Obscured by Klaus"
- 1999 The Dark Side of the Moog VIII - "Careful With the AKS, Peter" (live)
- 2002 The Dark Side of the Moog IX - "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Mother"
- 2005 The Dark Side of the Moog X - "Astro Know Me Domina"
The series was officially concluded with volume 10. On 21 March 2005 at 14:52 CET, Pete Namlook sold the Big Moog synthesizer that was the symbol of the series.
[edit] Other collaborations
- 1970 Electronic Meditation (with Tangerine Dream)
- 1971 Ash Ra Tempel (with Ash Ra Tempel)
- 1973 Join Inn (with Ash Ra Tempel)
- 1973 Tarot (with Walter Wegmuller)
- 1973 Lord Krishna von Goloka (with Sergius Golowin)
- 1974 The Cosmic Jokers (with The Cosmic Jokers)
- 1974 Planeten Sit In (with The Cosmic Jokers)
- 1974 Galactic Supermarket (with The Cosmic Jokers)
- 1974 Sci Fi Party (with The Cosmic Jokers)
- 1974 Gilles Zeitschiff (with The Cosmic Jokers)
- 1976 Go (with Stomu Yamash'ta)
- 1976 Go Live From Paris (with Stomu Yamash'ta)
- 1977 Go Too (with Stomu Yamash'ta)
- 1984 Aphrica (with Rainer Bloss and Ernst Fuchs)
- 1984 Drive Inn (with Rainer Bloss)
- 1984 Transfer Station Blue (with Michael Shrieve and Kevin Shrieve)
- 1987 Babel (with Andreas Grosser)
- 2000 Friendship (with Ash Ra Tempel)
- 2000 Gin Rosé at the Royal Festival Hall (with Ash Ra Tempel)
[edit] Lone tracks
- 1985 "Macksy" - Vinyl single made for the discos on company's request.
- 1994 "Conquest Of Paradise" - Single, Schulze commissioned to replay a track of 1492 by Vangelis.
- 2002 "Manikin Jubilee" - On a Manikin Records 2-CD sampler limited to 777 copies.
- 2004 "Schrittmacher" - On a Manikin Records CD sampler.
[edit] Samplers and promos
- 1991 2001
- 1994 The Essential 72-93
- 1999 Trailer
- 2003 Andromeda (Promo CD)
- 2004 Ion (Promo CD)
[edit] See also
- Electronic art music
- Electronic music
- Progressive music
- New Age music
- Berlin School
- Kosmische Musik
- Tangerine Dream
- Ash Ra Tempel
[edit] External links
- Klaus Schulze.com - The official Klaus Schulze website
- Klaus Music.pl - The "ultimate online encyclopedia" about Klaus Schulze.
- Synthtopia's Klaus Schulze page - Short bio, key dates, quotes. (W/ads)
- The Unofficial Klaus Schulze Discography - Discography, FAQ.
- SDIYcut - Cardboard kits of some Klaus Schulze instruments, including the Big Moog !
- Klaus Schulze, Qwartz d'Honneur[1]
- Emforum.li - A nice forum with discussions about Klaus Schulze.
