Review of Klaus Schulze’s album SILHOUETTES (2018)
Klaus Schulze is one of the most prolific composers of electronic music in the world. His evolution marked the evolution of electronic music around the world, and even created a "pattern", a distinct rhythmic-melodic and timbral direction that came to influence many other composers in this genre. Klaus Schulze is a pioneer and a tireless researcher of the possibilities of expression offered by synthesizers, opening many paths of great subtlety of musical expression obtained through unexpected timbral overlays – the result of long hard work in the studio – and which led to the production of over 60 albums in 50 for years.
Personally, I became acquainted with the music of Klaus Schulze in 1980, one year after the release of his album DUNE. It was like a "phenomenon" that opened a path to an exceptional sound space, suffused with a permanent and organic movement of musical motifs and phrases. It seemed to give new meaning to the very notions of "timbre palette" and even "musical form", that one knew and studied at the music Conservatory. That is when I realized that a combination between our training as symphonic music students and the new possibilities offered by synthesizers could be a "game changer," so to speak, in the evolution of electronic music. Personally, I owe that essential early insight, at the start of my career, to Klaus Schulze.
There are many themes to analyze in the work of this great artist, but at the moment I will only refer to SILHOUETTES (2018). I listened to it many times, and, each time, for any given piece, yet another harmonic movement *inside* the main harmony would appear to become relevant. You may not notice this at the first audition, and not even at the second, as the harmonic movement is subtle and resolved technically in a very artistic way.
In this album we meet with an “organic” sound world in a continuous cinematic transformation, with tracks lasting from 15 to 22 minutes. One may classify SILHOUETTES as belonging to the ambient category of electronic music, but in truth it is like observing a master painting: if you change the light in the room, or your angle of view, yet more details could be revealed.
There are four songs on the album (Silhouettes, Der Lange Blick Zuruck, Quae Simplex, Chateaux Faits De Vent) that are like an invitation to meditation and the discovery of new spiritual dimensions. The impeccable technical realization and the highly professional mixes – of a great artistic sensitivity – define once again Klaus’s creation, and demonstrate the fact that the "technical part" can itself become an instrument of great artistic force.
SILHOUETTES on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/6WL5CbmiIVoGPbdpdp8st7
Stefan Elefteriu