Klaus Schulze

2007 is a milestone year for German electronic music pioneer Klaus Schulze. He celebrated his 60th birthday on August 4th and has also released an excellent solo album entitled "Kontinuum". "Kontinuum" is 76 minutes of continuous music consisting of three long tracks that form one long piece of music. Musically, the album is journey into Klaus Schulze's past, present and future as a musician. Fans of his classic 70's style will definitely feel at home listening to this disc. There are also elements that will appeal to fans today's techno and trance music as well.

Complex re-release of the most remarkable and worldwide sought after series The Dark Side Of The Moog by German electronic pioneers Klaus Schulze and Pete Namlook (aka Peter Kuhlmann) in three slip lid boxsets, each with 5 CDs, incl. bonus material and new linernotes. The third box contains Vol. 9 to Vol. 11 and two bonus CDs. The relationship between Klaus and Pete and the exchange of ideas was unorthodox from the beginning of their co-operation, in that they rarely met personally. The most remarkable contacts they had were outside of their studios, for instance their concert of April 1999 at the Jazz Festival in Hamburg , which was released as an edited version on 'Dark Side Of The Moog, Vol.8' (will be released in the second Boxset) - the interplay and chemistry between them is clearly evident, and it becomes even clearer on the un-edited version of the concert (which will be released as bonus CS on the third boxset).

Recorded in 1976 and released the next year, Body Love, Vol. 2 was intended as a soundtrack for a pornographic film. Nothing wrong with this in and of itself, but it is hard to imagine that Schulze's trance-inducing electronic improvisations would be considered an appropriate soundtrack for sex. "Nowhere - Now Here" has a basic beat and spacy synths, but after 18 minutes, when the harpsichord solo starts, the simple prog rock absurdity of it shows that Schulze isn't taking his assignment too seriously. The dubbed-out introduction to "Stardancer II" shows a different side of Schulze's muse, but as it gets interesting, the regular synths start up and things return to normal. "Moogetique" is an atmospheric closer, 12 minutes of slowly undulating synths and ambient echoes…

In September 2009, Lisa Gerrard and Klaus Schulze performed another tour in six European cities - Warsaw, Berlin, Amsterdam, Essen, Paris, and Brussels. This tour coincided with the release of Come Quietly, a joint project between Gerrard and Schulze that was released during the tour.

In 1991, Klaus Schulze performed three concerts to celebrate his 20 years as a solo recording artist. The Dome Event: Cologne Cathedral is the third concert and the third CD. Like the other two CDs, this disc has an extra track, composed to match the live material and recorded in the studio. Schulze is a prolific live performer, and his music loses nothing in the translation to the concert stage. This disc features his signature heavy sequences, some very gentle acoustics, and deep atmospheres. Strange vocal samples take the set over the top.

One of the great overlooked albums of the 1970s, Time Actor was the result of a collaboration between legendary Crazy World & Kingdom Come visionary Arthur Brown and German Synthesiser and Ambient genius Klaus Schulze, recording under the pseudonym of his alter-ego Richard Wahnfried. The resulting record was a unique fusion of Brown’s amazing vocals and eccentric musical visions and Schulze’s innovative keyboard playing. Originally released on the German Innovative Communication label, Time Actor also features special guest Vincent Crane (who recorded a collaborative album with Arthur Brown for the label during this period). This newly re-mastered reissue restores the original album artwork and includes a new essay.

Angst is a unique soundtrack for a documentary film about judicial scandal in Austria. The music came first and the film was edited to fit the soundtrack, so the score drives the film. Klaus Schulze called upon his many influences to build this project. The primary style is Berlin school, but Schulze uses his symphonic synths, his classical training, and his atmospheric sensitivity as well. For the most part, it does work as a stand-alone musical event, but loses some of its impact with the rhythmic pieces. They have drama and mystery and are, undoubtedly, important to the score - they just don't stand alone.