KLAUS SCHULZE Schallplatten & CDs

Review: Capturing the towering electronic composer at peak performance, Klaus Schulze's latest live album hears the electronica idiom-settler deliver put on an immersive show, on one leg of an infamous cross-European tour from France to Switzerland. Recorded in 1977, this live set showcases Schulze's modular synthesis mastery, weaving intricate soundscapes around pulsing sequencers, ethereal pads, and expansive improvisations. The concert reflects Schulze's signature blend of cosmic ambience and rhythmic intensity, bridging Berlin School minimalism with a palpable mood of orchestral grandeur.

Review: Renowned German electronic music pioneer Klaus Schulze enjoyed a lengthy touring spate after the release of his 1977 album opener 'Velvet Voyage'. Made up of synth chimes in sequence - icicling cycles - the Mirage frontispiece served to irreversibly weld the idea of the "voyage", and connotations of "journeying" to Schulze's music as popularly imagined. Later in 1981, Bon Voyage would take form: this was a closing tour performance at the Hamburg Audimax concert hall, concluding a two-week tour through Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland and France. One of many bonnie voyages undertaken by Schulze in his lifetime, it would nonetheless prove unforgettable and salient among them; from 'The Journey Begins' through to the templar titillations of the three-part 'Bon Temple' and the ex-sanguine 'Moulin Bleu', this is a live synthetic forget-me-not.

Review: Klaus Schulze's side project, Richard Wahnfried, gave rise to its third album Megatone in 1984. It finds the German synth legend work with Michael Garvens, Axel-Glenn Muller, Ulli Schober, Michael Shrieve and Harald Katzsch across a suite of expressive and retro-future kraut rock epics. His kosmische musik sounds are embellished with big guitars and synth strings, driving drum machine sounds and intoxicating percussive that makes it a powerfully propulsive record with a richly evocative sound. The texture, arrangement and synthetics quality of it all make it a stone-cold 80s classic that is well worth revisiting whether you're new to the artist or a die-hard fan.