Date: Wed, 23 Nov 1994 14:48:07 -0500 (CDT) Subject: KS News (part 1) Really-From: BEUTHET@wl.aecl.ca The following is a KS News item I received from kdm recently. Warning! It's relatively long. - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- :KLAUS SCHULZE NEWS On the 21st of October Klaus finished the recording and mixing, and three days later, on the 24th, it was released, and ten thousand copies were immediately sold: I speak of a MAXI SINGLE that contains two versions of the title CONQUEST OF PARADISE. The whole was an idea of the record company ZYX, and a tribute to the German boxing star Henry Maske (25 fights, won all, 11 with K.O. - Normally I'm not interested in this cruel scene, but in this crazy music business one has to be prepared for everything). If the title sounds familiar to you: It is a VANGELIS composition (and he "borrowed" it from a Russian folk song), and Herr Maske uses it for his entrance overture. It's on ZYX 7481-8 --------------------------------------------------- During our short TOURNE'E at the end of May '94, with concert in Lille, Paris, and Rome, Klaus was invited by the Belgian KING ALBERT, and spent an enjoyable evening at King Albert's palais, with a few other guests of honour. Two days after in Paris, Klaus was invited by the French president FRANCOIS MITTERAND to be his guest at the Palais de l'Eysee. Of the just mentioned three concerts, the one in Paris at the one hundred years old & famous LA CIGALE, and the Roman concert in a two hundred years old baroque theatre were just wonderful, musically. The sound was also great, and the French audience welcomed Klaus with a standing ovation. These two concerts were among the best concerts of Klaus that I remember. We recorded the events on digital multitrack equipment. Neither Klaus nor I could decide which parts to choose for a release, because the whole music is so beautiful, so we did a double CD. The LIVE-DOUBLE-CD release is scheduled for November, also on the German ZYX label, called: DAS WAGNER DESASTER - LIVE - It's on ZYX 90000-2 For the near future there are no further concerts planned... yet. Any suggestions, which town or country could be next? (forget about Iceland and America). --------------------------------------------------- A NEW WAHNFRIED was completed in October 1993 and released in July '94. For no special reason Klaus dropped the "Richard" of his former "RIchard Wahnfried" project. This recent CD is called TRANCELATION and has modern dance sounds and rhythm, far from any old-fashioned "Berlin School of Electronics" or what some people believe that a "typical" KS should sound. "Wahnfried" is "Wahnfried", and no genuine "Schulze". WAHNFRIED is different. It's on ZYX 20296-2 LE MOULIN DE DAUDET: Although this soundtrack is a strict French release, it is also available elsewhere, if the dealers would care. I can recommend the Scottish CD SERVICES in Dundee; ULTIMA THULE in Leicester/England; the American EUROCK in Portland; and the huge German JPC. All those mail-orders are glad to sell you LE MOULIN DE DAUDET (JPC only inside Germany). Those mail-orders offer also the double CD sampler THE ESSENTIAL 72-93, and all other Klaus Schulze CDs that are available. Dealers can contact: Virgin Export, Thierry Jacquet, fax: +33 - 1 - 44 54 64 23 Klaus Schulze's soundtrack for the French movie LE MOULIN DE DAUDET contains 21 shorter pieces, TYPICAL soundtrack music, and slightly different from what is normally expected from Klaus Schulze's more epic style. These short cuts are NOT parts of longer recordings by Klaus, but are the original & complete recordings that were made for and used in the movie. --------------------------------------------- The sensational Ten-CD-Set SILVER EDITION was sold out in May '94. It was THE release of the decade, if I look at the reviews and all the letters and faxes. There are no plans to reprint this >>limited edition<< set. From now on it belongs to musical history and each set is a collectors item. Just a few remaining sets are available for late-comers. Contact kdm, see address at the end of these news. I already started to prepare a new set of 10 CDs. Only historic recordings, mostly from Schulze solo concerts in the seventies. Scheduled title: HISTORIC EDITION. (Not before spring 1995. I'll keep you informed) --------------------------------------------- Released is also the unusual KLAUS SCHULZE GOES CLASSIC, that was formerly called MIDI KLASSIK, which is of course a less sensational selling-title. This CD contains some famous classical and romantic music from Brahms, Schubert, von Weber, Grieg, Beethoven and Smetana, arranged for, and played by KS on the computer. This is not just an interpretation, a cheap "Best of...", or a popular "catchy melody plus drums", but the original music, seriously done, with today's computer & sampling technique. It's on ZYX 20297-2, and I do like the cover. It reminds me of David Stone Martin's famous Clef and Verve covers from the fifties. There are some misprints on the CD. The word "Vitava" after the Smetana title is nonsense. Klaus' LAUTENQUINTET is only IN PARTS based on THE FLIGHT OF THE BUMBLE BEE and Saint-Saens piece. In addition it is also based partly on Schubert's "The Trout". --------------------------------------------- It took a long time to conceive and produce it: Already ten years ago, KS planned to do HIS OPERA, but for some reason or another it was never realized. Now it's completed. The long awaited 104 minutes opus is called TOTENTAG. As very often with Klaus Schulze, it's another daring step. Others may repeat all over again the old-fashioned "electronic" music, once invented by Klaus Schulze in the early seventies, the inventor himself goes beyond. His opera deals about the Austrian expressionist poet Georg Trakl and his last days in a hospital, anno 1914. Trakl died voluntarily of an overdose of cocaine, as a wounded soldier during World War I. His visions during the last hours are the LIETMOTIFS of Schulze's opera. "Georg Trakl ist fuer mich ein Vehikel fuer menschen, die am Rande des Abgrunds positiv agieren, obwohl auch sie dieselben Aengste haben die ein Vogel hat, der kein Baum mehr findet. TOTENTAG ist eine Hoffnung unf ein Kontrapunkt zum Ueberleben." (Klaus Schulze.) [Try to translate THAT! -kdm] The name Georg Trakl is not new to Klaus Schulze aficionados. Already on his famous double LP "X" in 1978, a short angelic track was included, called simply "Georg Trakl". Another famous Schulze LP from 1983 contains a long track called "Sebastian im Traum" - which is the title of a long poem by Trakl. In addition to KS' typical music, five operatic voices did their bel canto in Klaus' studio. For KS it is important to add: These singer were recorded by Werner Eggert - the info in the credits about our friend Werner was suppressed by the record company. Also some lines of the lyrics Klaus are missing in the ZYX' booklet. TOTENTAG is on ZYX 81014-2. It was planned by ZYX to use a thin two-CD box, but that was impossible because of the thick booklet. I won a sample of their thinner try. Anyone else has seen the TOTENTAG as a THIN edition? --------------------------------------------- The last of the KS LPs that is not yet out on CD, is - as most of you know - the double longplay ". . . L I V E . . ." from 1980. Already over one year ago the responsible man at the record company METRONOME asked KS if he wants to do the mastering for the planned CD release. "YES", Klaus said, "JUST SEND ME THE MASTER TAPES!", He still waits for them. This is not the first time (oho!) that this young man from the record company announces something and, h'm, ... FORGOT about it. I wonder. His latest "promise"" A maybe release in October '94. He promised to call KS about this "...LIVE..." re-release after his holidays, on the 8th of August. Until today, there was no such call... (which is this man's typical behaviour)... and no re-release. I have to remind again that records are BULK articles. If all pressed copies of a certain CD are finally ,sold out, the company will not immediately re-press another edition of five- or ten thousand (not even 1000), just to serve a few latecomers. Only if they feel there is still, or again, a huge demand for this specific CD, they will (probably) re-press. Remember, that there is plenty of music outside "electronic", which indeed sells EN MASSE. Regardless of your faith, there simply is no "huge demand" for electronics and other exotic music. Klaus' Brain CD INTER*FACE is already deleted from the catalogues, and other will surely follow. Remind this, when you are buying records the next time. --------------------------------------------- >During two nights in August, Klaus had some wonderful private meetings with Gilmore, Wright and Mason of PINK FLOYD who were touring Germany at this time. It came out that all three know, have, and value all of Klaus' records. Most funny for everyone was, that KS called the keyboard player Rick Wright erroneously "Tony Banks". What laughter! >From the 20th to the 25th of August, Klaus was invited to and visited LOS ANGELES to discuss some filmmusic for a director. More about this in coming "KS news", IF KS decides to take the offer - because he didn't like the Californian mentality at all. His regard for a pleasant feeling is much higher than any (well, MOST any) Hollywood $uccess. >I wonder why STILL many inept journalists cite Karlheinz Stockhausen as a forerunner of electronic music? Most certainly they have not followed Stockhausen's output during the last 25 years (and what he did before was mainly not at all "electronic"). Recently I heard some organ playing on the radio that indeed reminded me stark of Tangerine Dream's early pre-synth music, also of Klaus Schulze's organ playing during his early years 1971 to '73. Have a look in the record shelves for some organ compositions by the great Gyorgy Ligeti. You'll be surprised. >A Very positive article about Klaus I found in an American magazine, that printed this summer: "He's the godfather of electronic keyboard music, the synthesizer Messiah incarnate, and along with Brian Eno, one of the most powerful influences, either directly or indirectly, on the world's greatest contemporary musicians. For over 20 years Klaus Schulze has been out in front of the pack and has never looked back..." and so on. Nice, isn't it?. Another detailed eight(!) pages interview with Klaus was in the August edition of the American KEYBOARD magazine. And the (non-electronic!) glossy American A.P. rock magazine printed three pages of KS praise, also in their August issue. At the same time the summer edition of the American i/e came out. It had a great three pages interview with Klaus, with, sadly, one small error: It was SCHULZE who at first didn't trust SILVER EDITION's success, and not me (!). Klaus immediately put it right, after I showed him the interview, which was initially done via telephone, and certainly needed plenty of editing. A small wonder that just this one error occurred. >In the English music magazine WORE of October '94, I found the following. They asked RYUICHI SAKAMOTO about Tangerine Dream: "Were you a fan?". He answered: "Yes, I listened to Tangerine Dream, but my favourite was Klaus Schulze: better music!" >The most correct and detailed up-to-date name-discography ever KLAUS SCHULZE THE WORKS (152 pages, laster printed, spiral bound) is still available from my address below. Inside Europe a copy costs 30 DM, overseas 50 DM, cash in a letter or by (postal) I.M.O. NO ERSATZ MONEY!! >KS in an interview for the american HORIZON magazine: >>I don't do "Electronic Music" anymore. I just do music, also with electronic instruments.<< compiled by kdm, 12 November 1994 --------------------------------------------- ZYX CDs for USA dealers: ZYX MUSIC DISTRIBUTION LTD 72 Otis St. West Babylon, NY 11704 USA phone: 001 - 516 - 253 0800 fax: 001 - 516 - 253 0128 ZYX in Switzerland: PHONAG in Austria: ECHO in France: SONY More infos: Klaus D. Mueller, Lankwitz, Kurf"urstenstr. 24, D-12249 BERLIN Fax: (030) 772 61 55 --------------------------------------------- Alright! Now you're up to date on matters pertaining to KS! -tgb