R.I.P. - Klaus Schulze

in Electronic Music2 years ago (edited)

Wie ich erst gestern erfahren habe, ist das Urgestein der deutschen elektronischen Musik, Klaus Schulze, schon am 26.4.2022 im Alter von 74 Jahren verstorben.

Ich möchte mir ersparen, hier den Werdegang des Mannes aufzuzählen, der einer der Mitbegründer der deutschen (und vor allem auch Berliner) Elektro Musikszene war. Und das schon seit 1970 zusammen mit anderen in Beands wie Tangerine Dream und Ash Ra Temple.
Besonders aber seine frühen Solo Alben haben mich stark geprägt und mein Leben lang begleitet. Unvergesslich wird mir sein Auftritt beim Rockpalast Konzert 1977 in Essen bleiben.
Hier mal ein paar Beispiele seines Schaffens aus dieser Zeit, als noch niemand je das Wort "Techno" gehört hatte:
(Bitte etwas Geduld beim Anhören, das sind keine 3:48 Radio Hits)

Ich weis nicht wie oft ich versucht habe solche Sequencer Riffs hinzukriegen.... ich habs nie so richtig geschafft. Aber deshalb ist wohl auch Schulze berühmt geworden, nicht ich. :)

Natürlich ist Schulzes Werdegang und Diskographie aus fast 50 Jahren kreativen Schaffens ellenlang, ebenso wie die Liste der Künstler, mit denen er zusammengearbeitet hat. Wer dazu mehr erfahren will, mag sich den Wikipedia Artikel ansehen, oder andere Biographien über ihn.
Tja, 2022 ist weis Gott kein gutes Jahr - auch nicht für die Elektronische Musik. Vangelis tot, Schulze tot, und das Jahr ist nichtmal vorüber.

Aber das Positive ist: auch wenn der Mensch Schulze gestorben ist, seine Musik lebt weiter. Ob Ambient Music oder Techno, EDM oder experimentelle Elektronik, alle haben ein paar Gene von Klaus Schulze abbekommen. Vieleicht manche sogar ohne es zu wissen. Was könnte ein schöneres Vermächtnis sein, für einen Künstler?
Just vor ein paar Tagen bin ich auf einen neuen Track von Klartraum (Lind/Ebritsch) gestoßen, der mich gleich an Schulze erinnert hat:

Somit trotzdem allen ein schönes Wochenende,
Euer


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Obviously, a legend!
Unfortunately, legends are not exempt, they have finite lives as well.
True, as you wrote, his music will be there forever.
Positively surprised to see a recording of Klartraum/Lucidflow in the post as well! I do like their music a lot!

Thanks! Yes, I have been listening to Nadja Lind / Klartraum for some years now. I found her on Samurai.fm - do you still remember that web site? Must be like 15 years ago or so. It was always a struggle to stream music from this japanese web site, because the internet was not fast enough back then! Unbelievable today...
I was quite surprised by this new sound from Klartraum. Nadja is usually more a House/Techno DJane, while Helmut is usually the one with the drone sounds. But I like it. Just today a few more new tracks were released:


Its also really cool that they put all their tracks on YT for free. Too bad not many people listen to it there.

Weehoo, you know your stuff! 🥳
For some reason that I don't know, Klartraum wasn't and isn't picked up by more than a niche.
These days house, deep house and even melodic techno are in trouble since everybody seems to 'love' the more raw sides of Techno whilst most of those everybody's did shit on Techno years and years ago. The strange world of music fans.... well fans.... peeps paying to experience festivals 😉
In the meantime, we can enjoy some great music 🎶
Using YT, or Soundcloud is indeed great when artists do that. Not that so many earn some interesting income from releases anyways, it's mainly a marketing instrument than anything else. Therefore offering music for free, is not that big a deal for many artists. Or should not be.
Never heard of Samurai.fm... Back in the days I was using Soulseek, in times when vinyl releases were still the norm. Soulseek was used by quite a few releasing artists to test their newest ideas and tracks. Soulseek was the place to be for me to discover all sorts of new music, maybe I discovered Klaus Schulz also through that p2p service back then, not sure anymore.

Well, Nadja Lind is fairly well know, I think. She has performed for many years now, and played in clubs in New York, at the Burning Man festival and so on. So she is not a amateur any more. And Also on her label Lucidflow the has some real good stuff, for example from Helly Larson (who died much too young some years ago).


But as you say, electronic music (of the various kinds) is a niche genre. There are people who love it, but most others dont know it.
And there are a lot of people who make electronic music (and some are really good) who remain widely unknown. Its also, I assume, because its a music that is made mostly at home. There are not so many concerts where much of that music would fit into, especially when it comes to the more experimental, ambient and drone stuff.
For example, have you heard of Altus? A Canadian guy who makes excellent sounds, and that since many years.

Or have you heard this before?

Or that? The soundtrack by Starward Projections, for the best video ever.

Altus and Nor Elle I’ll give a listen when back home where my headphones are.

Klartraum (and Lucidflow) are well known to me, but that doesnt say a lot. A good friend managed their bookings, sometime in the past. Thats how I know them. Their music fits festivals like Burning Man a lot, like Fusion in Germany, Landjuweel in Netherlands and more of this type of, more hippy-ish, festivals. Such festivals give more room for none ‘main stream’ electronic music, have way more chill out areas and areas where peeps dont want to go nuts dancing :)

I was so pleased for them when Burning Man was on their schedule. Never been, but still on my bucket list. The real deal preferably, but Nevada dessert is mighty warm. Maybe instead Burn Africa. Since a few years we also have a tiny version in my own country, but wasnt able to get there yet.

Owww the last music share, I do know. Nice one 💯