Klaus Schulze
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Klaus Schulze (born August 4, 1947 in Berlin) is a German electronic art music composer and musician. He also used the alias Richard Wahnfried. He was a cofounding member of electronic bands Tangerine Dream and Ash Ra Tempel before a pioneering and prolific solo career of 40+ albums (totalling 110+ CDs) in 30+ years.
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 1970s 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 1980s Schulze moved from analog to digital instruments, and his work accordingly became less experimental and more accessible. A 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 1990s 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 an opera. Also, he began re-releasing his classic solo albums with bonus tracks of unreleased material recorded at roughly the same time as the original works.
Klaus Schulze is in a convalescent home at the moment, dealing with a long term illness.
Discography
Studio and concert albums
Schulze's concert performances are original compositions recorded live and thus listed as albums:
- (1972) Irrlicht
- (1973) Cyborg (2-CD)
- (1974) Blackdance
- (1975) Picture Music - rereleased 2005 w/33' bonus track.
- (1975) Timewind
- (1976) Moondawn - rereleased 2005 w/21' bonus track.
- (1977) Body Love (soundtrack) - rereleased 2005 w/22' bonus track.
- (1977) Mirage - rereleased 2005 w/19' bonus track.
- (1977) Body Love Vol. 2
- (1978) "X" (2-CD) - rereleased 2005 w/21' bonus track.
- (1979) Dune - rereleased 2005 w/23' bonus track.
- (1980) ...Live... (concert) (2-CD)
- (1980) Dig it - rereleased 2005 w/28' bonus track & live DVD.
- (1981) Trancefer
- (1983) Audentity (2-CD) - rereleased 2005 w/58' bonus tracks.
- (1984) Angst (soundtrack) - rereleased 2005 w/31' bonus track.
- (1985) Inter*Face
- (1986) Dreams - rereleased 2005 w/24' bonus track.
- (1988) En=Trance - rereleased 2005 w/8' bonus track.
- (1990) Miditerranean Pads - rereleased 2005 w/2' extended track.
- (1990) The Dresden Performance (concert) (2-CD)
- (1991) Beyond Recall
- (1992) Royal Festival Hall Vol. 1 (concert)
- (1992) Royal Festival Hall Vol. 2 (concert)
- (1993) The Dome Event (concert)
- (1994) Le Moulin de Daudet (soundtrack) - rereleased 2005 w/16' bonus track.
- (1994) Goes Classic
- (1994) Totentag (opera) (2-CD)
- (1994) Das Wagner Desaster - Live (concert) (2-CD) - rereleased 2005 w/19' bonus track.
- (1995) In Blue (2-CD) - rereleased 2005 w/53' bonus tracks (3-CD)
- (1996) Are You Sequenced? (2-CD)
- (1997) Dosburg Online
- (2000) Ultimate Edition ▼ (50-CD) Silver+Historic+Jubilee expanded.
- * (1993) Silver Edition ▼ (10-CD) limited, reprinted in Ultimate.
- * (1995) Historic Edition ▼ (10-CD) limited, reprinted in Ultimate.
- * (1997) Jubilee Edition ▼ (25-CD) limited, reprinted in Ultimate.
- (2000) Contemporary Works I (10-CD) with guest performers.
- # Vanity of Sounds - rereleased 2005 individually
- # The Crime Of Suspense
- # Wahnfried: Trance 4 Motion
- # U.S.O.: Privée
- # Klaus Schulze vs. Solar Moon: Docking
- # Ballett 1
- # Ballett 2
- # Ballett 3
- # Ballett 4
- # (Sampler: Adds & Edits)
- (2001) Live @ KlangArt 1 (concert)
- (2001) Live @ KlangArt 2 (concert)
- (2002) Contemporary Works II (5-CD) with guest performers.
- (2003) Andromeda (promo CD, currently uncollected) - sold-out limited edition of 300 copies
- (2004) Ion (promo CD, currently uncollected) - sold-out limited edition of 300 copies
- (2005) Moonlake
Albums notes:
▲ The Ultimate Edition (2000) collects remastered or expanded versions of the whole three limited Silver/Historic/Jubilee sets, plus 7.5 hours of additional music: 4 hours of 1978-1999 studio compositions (1.5 hours of 1970s, 2.5 hours of 1990s) and 3.5 hours of 1975-1976, 1998 concert compositions. (Of those 7.5 hours, 6 hours are unreleased music, and 1.5 hours cull most of his previously uncollected 'lone tracks' from singles, compilations, etc.)
▲ The Silver Edition (1993) was 10 hours of new 1992-1993 studio compositions, and 2 hours of unreleased 1972-1976 studio or concert compositions – this sold-out limited edition of 2000 sets is collected, remastered and expanded in the Ultimate Edition.
▲ The Historic Edition (1995) was 5 hours of unreleased 1970-1985 studio compositions, and 7 hours of unreleased 1975-1981 concert compositions – this sold-out limited edition of 2000 sets is collected, remastered and expanded in the Ultimate Edition.
▲ The Jubilee Edition (1997) was 21 hours of unreleased 1970-1997 studio compositions (9 hours of 1970s, 5 hours of 1980s, 7 hours of 1990) and 11 hours of unreleased 1975-1991 concert compositions (plus twenty minutes of four 1979-1984 German interviews with Schulze) – this sold-out limited edition of 1000 sets is collected, remastered and expanded in the Ultimate Edition.
Wahnfried albums
→ See also the Richard Wahnfried project and its personnel.
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
- (1997) Drums 'n' Balls (The Gancha Dub)
Uncollected tracks
Most lone tracks have eventually been collected in the Ultimate Edition, however there currently remains:
- (1985) "Macksy" - vinyl single "made for the discos on company's request".
- (1994) "Conquest Of Paradise" - single, Schulze commissioned to replay a track of by Vangelis.
- (2002) "Manikin Jubilee" - on a Manikin Records 2-CD sampler limited to 777 copies.
- (2004) "Schrittmacher" - on a Manikin Records CD sampler.
'Dark Side of the Moog' collaborations
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 humourous 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 concert; AKS is a reference to the [EMS Synthi AKS] synthesizer)
- (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
- (2002) The Evolution of the Dark Side of the Moog - sampler of 12 abridged excerpts from volumes 1 to 8.
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 (2-LP) (with Walter Wegmüller)
- (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 (live) (2-LP) (with Stomu Yamash'ta)
- (1977) Go Too (with Stomu Yamash'ta)
- (1983) Dziekuje Poland (live) (2-CD) (with Rainer Bloss)
- (1984) Aphrica (LP) (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)
- (1996) The Private Tapes Vol. 2 (1971 live) (drums with Ash Ra Tempel) - track "Soirée Académique"
- (1996) The Private Tapes Vol. 3 (1971 live) (drums with Ash Ra Tempel) - track "Les Bruits des Origines"
- (1996) The Private Tapes Vol. 4 (1973 live) (drums with Ash Ra Tempel) - track "Dédié à Hartmut"
- (1996) The Private Tapes Vol. 5 (1973 live) (drums with Ash Ra Tempel) - track "Ooze Away"
- (1996) The Private Tapes Vol. 6 (1971 live) (drums with Ash Ra Tempel) - track "Ein würdiger Abschluß"
- (1996) "Der vierte Kuss" (1970 demo) (drums with Ash Ra Tempel) - on 5-CD sampler Supernatural Fairy Tales
- (2000) Friendship (with Ash Ra Tempel)
- (2000) Gin Rosé at the Royal Festival Hall (live) (with Ash Ra Tempel)
Compilations, promos, samplers
Due to the length of his compositions, there aren't actual Schulze compilations, but only samplers of (mostly) abridged tracks excerpted from the real albums:
- (1981) Mindphaser - 1 abridged 1976 track, and 3 intact early Schulze tracks.
- (1991) 2001 (sampler) - 15 abridged 1972-1990 tracks
- (1994) The Essential 72-93 (2-CD) - 14 abridged 1972-1993 tracks
- (1999) Trailer (sampler) - 6 abridged tracks from Ultimate Edition and 3 outtakes
See also
- Electronic art music
- Electronic music
- Kosmische Musik
- Tangerine Dream
- Ash Ra Tempel
- New Age music
- Progressive music
- List of songs over fifteen minutes in length
External links
- [Klaus-Schulze.com] - The official Klaus Schulze website.
- [Klaus Schulze discography]: up-to-date hypertext Klaus Schulze discog.
- [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.
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