Wiki: Klaus Schulze - upcScavenger

Klaus Schulze (4 August 1947 – 26 April 2022) was a German electronic music pioneer, composer and musician. He also used the alias Richard Wahnfried and was a member of the Krautrock bands Tangerine Dream, Ash Ra Tempel, and the Cosmic Jokers before launching a solo career consisting of more than 60 albums released across six decades.

Early life

Schulze was born in Berlin in 1947. His father was a writer, and his mother a ballet dancer. After graduating from high school, he delivered telegrams and studied German at Technische Universität Berlin. He and his wife Elfie had two sons Maximilian and Richard.

Career

1970s

In 1969, Schulze was the drummer of one of the early incarnations of Tangerine Dream – one of the most famous bands that got the nickname "Krautrock" in English speaking countries (others included Kraftwerk and Popol Vuh) – for their debut album Electronic Meditation. Before 1969 he was a drummer in a band called Psy Free. He met Edgar Froese from Tangerine Dream in the Zodiac Club in what was then West Berlin. In 1970 he left this group to form Ash Ra Tempel with Manuel Göttsching and Hartmut Enke, with whom he was also in the band Eruption. 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. His follow-up album, Cyborg, was similar but added the EMS VCS 3 synthesizer.

Since this point, Schulze's career was the most prolific, such that he could claim more than 40 original albums to his name since Irrlicht. Highlights of these include 1975's Timewind, 1976's Moondawn (his first album to feature the Moog synthesizer), 1979's Dune, and 1995's double-album In Blue (which featured one long track called "Return to the Tempel" with electric guitar contributions from his friend Manuel Göttsching of Ash Ra Tempel). In 1976, he was drafted by Japanese percussionist and composer Stomu Yamashta to join his short-lived "supergroup" Go, also featuring Steve Winwood, Michael Shrieve, and Al Di Meola. They released two studio albums ( Go in 1976 and Go Too in 1977) and one live album ( Go Live from Paris, 1976).

Throughout the 1970s he followed closely in the footsteps of Tangerine Dream, albeit with far lighter sequencer lines and a more reflective, dreamy sheen, not unlike the ambient music of his contemporary Brian Eno. On occasions he would also compose film scores, including horror and thriller movies such as Barracuda (1977) and Next of Kin (1982). Some of his lighter albums are appreciated by new-age music fans, despite the fact that Schulze has always denied connections to this genre. By mid-decade, with the release of Timewind and Moondawn, his style transformed from Krautrock to Berlin School.

M. Brzezinski (2026). 9780316419697, Running Press. . ISBN 9780316419697

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 (1979) and Trancefer. Schulze developed a Minimoog patch that sounds uncannily like an electric guitar. Schulze often takes German events as a starting point for his compositions, a notable example being on his 1978 album "X" (the title signifying it was his tenth album), subtitled "Six Musical Biographies", a reference to such notables as Ludwig II of Bavaria, Friedrich Nietzsche, Georg Trakl, and Wilhelm Friedemann Bach. His use of the pseudonym Richard Wahnfried is indicative of his interest in Richard Wagner, a clear influence on some albums like the aforementioned Timewind.

Schulze built a record studio in Hambühren, Germany.

1980s

In the 1980s Schulze started using digital instruments besides the usual analog synthesizers, and his work accordingly became less experimental and more accessible. Although the switch to using digital equipment is audible in the style of Dig It (1980), it was not until the release of Trancefer (1981) that the shift in style became evident.

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 on Trancefer, but this is certainly not the case of all of Audentitys tracks; indeed, "Sebastian im Traum" hints towards the operatic style to be found in some of Schulze's much later works. The predominance of sequencing can also be found in the follow-up live album Dziękuję Poland Live '83, although many of its tracks are re-workings of those to be found on Audentity. Schulze's next studio-based album was Angst (soundtrack to the namesake 1983 film). The cold yet haunting electronic rhythms generate an alienated atmosphere.

M. Edwards (2026). 9781476676470, McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers. . ISBN 9781476676470

Typical are the Fairlight synth and Linn electronic drums sounds.

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 through the next two decades.

In 1989, German band Alphaville released their album The Breathtaking Blue, on which Klaus Schulze was both a contributing musician and the album's producer.

1990s

Starting with Beyond Recall, the first half of the 1990s was his "sample" period, when Schulze used a wide variety of prerecorded sounds such as screeching birds and sensuous female moans in his studio albums and live performances. Sampling heavily died down with his 1995 album In Blue. The decade also saw the release of copious amounts of previously unreleased material, of varying quality, in several limited-edition boxed sets.

2000s

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. In the latter part of the decade, Schulze produced albums and staged numerous live appearances with Lisa Gerrard.

2010s

was Schulze's fortieth album, and its release in September 2010 marked the beginning of his fifth decade as a solo musician. The Japan concerts were to be his last live performances.

His next album, Shadowlands, was released in February 2013, quickly to be followed by the release of The Schulze–Schickert Session 1975, a rare long-unreleased collaboration, in March 2013. After a hiatus of several years, he returned to the studio in 2018 for another album, Silhouettes. Much of the album was recorded in a single take.

Death

Schulze died on 26 April 2022 following years of kidney disease and kidney dialysis. His final album, Deus Arrakis, was released on 1 July 2022.

Richard Wahnfried

Richard Wahnfried, then simply Wahnfried after 1993, is the longtime and only real alias for Klaus Schulze – originally a pseudonym, later an official side project name. Seven albums were released under this name between 1979 and 1997.

The main characteristics of the Wahnfried albums (as opposed to Schulze's regular works) are:

Often being oriented towards more mainstream genres (some would say "more commercial"), such as rock, dance, techno music, and trance music.
Always allowing for collaborative and less electronic albums, with known or unknown guest musicians performing along with Schulze's synths.

The pseudonym's etymology stems from Schulze's love for Richard Wagner:

Richard, evidently from Wagner's first name. Richard is also the name of Schulze's first son.
Wahnfried ("Peace from delusion and/or madness", in German), from the name Wagner gave to Wahnfried in Bayreuth (and where he was later buried).

In his 1975 album Timewind (four years before the first alias use), Schulze had already named a track "Wahnfried 1883" (in reference to Wagner's death and burial in his Wahnfried's garden in 1883). The other track on Timewind is called "Bayreuth Return". After 1993, the albums are simply credited to "Wahnfried", and namedrop Schulze ("featuring Klaus Schulze", "Produced by Klaus Schulze").

"Wahnfried" is the only known alias of Schulze (although on the 1998 Tribute to Klaus Schulze album, among 10 other artists, Schulze contributed one track barely hidden behind the "Schulzendorfer Groove Orchester" pseudonym).

Discography

Albums

Schulze's concert performances are original compositions recorded live and thus listed as albums. An intensive reissue program of Schulze CDs began in 2005, with most releases having bonus tracks, and sometimes additional discs. They are published by the label Revisited Records (a division of German company InsideOut Music), and distributed by SPV GmbH.

Source:

1972	Irrlicht	2006
1973	Cyborg	2006
1974	Blackdance	2007
1975	Picture Music	2005
1975	Timewind	2006
1976	Moondawn	2005
1977	Body Love	2005
1977	Mirage	2005
1977	Body Love Vol. 2	2007
1978	X	2005
1979	Dune	2005
1980	...Live...	2007
1980	Dig It	2005
1981	Trancefer	2006
1983	Audentity	2005
1983	Dziękuję Poland Live '83	2006
1984	Angst	2005
1985	Inter*Face	2006
1986	Dreams	2005
1988	En=Trance	2005
1990	Miditerranean Pads	2005
1990	The Dresden Performance
1991	Beyond Recall
1992	Royal Festival Hall Vol. 1
1992	Royal Festival Hall Vol. 2
1993	The Dome Event
1994	Le Moulin de Daudet	2005
1994	Goes Classic
1994	Totentag
1994	Das Wagner Desaster Live	2005
1995	In Blue	2005
1996	Are You Sequenced?	2006
1997	Dosburg Online	2006
2001	Live @ KlangArt	2008
2005	Moonlake
2007	Kontinuum
2008	Farscape
2008	Rheingold
2009	Dziękuję Bardzo
2010
2013	Shadowlands
2013–14	Big in Europe
2014	Stars Are Burning
2017
2018	Silhouettes
2019	Next of Kin
2022	Deus Arrakis
2024	101, Milky Way
2025	Bon Voyage (Live Audimax Hamburg 1981)

Singles

1985	"Macksy"	The Ultimate Edition (CD38); extended version on Inter*Face reissue
1994	"Conquest of Paradise"	Partially reissued on La Vie Electronique 14

(Richard) Wahnfried albums

Composed by Schulze and performed with guest artists under alias Richard Wahnfried or later just Wahnfried:

1979	Time Actor	2011
1981	Tonwelle	2012
1984	Megatone	2021
1986	Miditation	2012
1994	Trancelation	2019
1996	Trance Appeal	2007
1997	Drums 'n' Balls (The Gancha Dub)	2006
2000	Trance 4 Motion	2018

Notes: This album was originally issued as the third disc of Contemporary Works I.

Boxed sets

Between 1993 and 2002 Klaus Schulze released several limited edition boxed sets, all composed of non-album material.

2000

1000

2002

Notes: Collecting Silver, Historic, and Jubilee sets, with additional 5 discs.; A bonus sixth disc included with the first 333 copies.

Reissues from sets

Sources:

2005	Vanity of Sounds	Contemporary Works I (2000)
2006	The Crime of Suspense	Contemporary Works I (2000)
2006	Ballett 1	Contemporary Works I (2000)
2006	Ballett 2	Contemporary Works I (2000)
2007	Ballett 3	Contemporary Works I (2000)
2007	Ballett 4	Contemporary Works I (2000)
2008	Virtual Outback	Contemporary Works II (2002)
2009	La Vie Electronique 1	The Ultimate Edition (2000)
2009	La Vie Electronique 2	The Ultimate Edition (2000)
2009	La Vie Electronique 3	The Ultimate Edition (2000)
2009	La Vie Electronique 4	The Ultimate Edition (2000)
2010	La Vie Electronique 5	The Ultimate Edition (2000)
2010	La Vie Electronique 6	The Ultimate Edition (2000)
2010	La Vie Electronique 7	The Ultimate Edition (2000)
2010	La Vie Electronique 8	The Ultimate Edition (2000)
2011	La Vie Electronique 9	The Ultimate Edition (2000)
2011	La Vie Electronique 10	The Ultimate Edition (2000)
2012	La Vie Electronique 11	The Ultimate Edition (2000)
2012	La Vie Electronique 12	The Ultimate Edition (2000)
2013	La Vie Electronique 13	The Ultimate Edition (2000)
2014	La Vie Electronique 14	The Ultimate Edition (2000)
2014	La Vie Electronique 15	The Ultimate Edition (2000)
2015	La Vie Electronique 16	The Ultimate Edition (2000)
2016	Privée	Contemporary Works I (2000)
2016	Another Green Mile	Contemporary Works II (2002)
2017	Androgyn	Contemporary Works II (2002)
2017	Ultimate Docking	Contemporary Works I (2000)
2018	Trance 4 Motion	Contemporary Works I (2000)
2018	Cocooning	Contemporary Works II (2002)
2019	Timbres of Ice	Contemporary Works II (2002)

"The Dark Side of the Moog"

"The Dark Side of the Moog" is a Klaus Schulze collaboration with Pete Namlook (joined also by Bill Laswell on volumes four to seven). Each title is a distortion of Pink Floyd song and album titles.

Source:

"Wish You Were Here"

"A Saucerful of Secrets"

"Atom Heart Mother"

The Piper at the Gates of Dawn

"Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast"

"The Final Cut"

"Obscured by Clouds"

"Careful with That Axe, Eugene"

"Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun"
"Atom Heart Mother"

"Astronomy Domine"

"Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun"

The Evolution of the Dark Side of the Moog is a compilation album, containing excerpts from the first eight volumes. The series was announced as officially concluded with volume ten when on 21 March 2005 at 14:52 CET, Pete Namlook sold the Big Moog synthesizer that was the symbol of the series. Volume eleven appeared on Namlook's website on 15 April 2008 (and was included in a complete box set).

Collaborations

Source:

Tangerine Dream

Ash Ra Tempel

Walter Wegmüller

Ash Ra Tempel

Sergius Golowin

The Cosmic Jokers

Code III

Go

Earthstar

Rainer Bloss and Ernst Fuchs