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Richard Schneider Jr.A rock guitarist and multi-instrumentalist, whose most interesting work was on his second album. A bit of speculation here, but remarkably, on the cover picture of FATA MORGANA Richard Schneider Jr. looks a lot like Can's Michael Karoli, and his guitar style is so similar too. Maybe it's coincidence? Though the backing band are Dunkelziffer and Phantom Band musicians, and the music runs from Pink Floyd cum Eloy territory on to Can SAW DELIGHT realms. Richard Schneider Jr. (guitars, synthesizers, percussion, vocals, baritone sax, flutes, piano), + Helmut Zerlett (synthesizer, pianos, drums), Wolfgang Maus (bass), Jaki Liebezeit (drums, congas), Helmut Schneider (synthesizer), Stefan Krachten (drums) DREAMLIKE LAND FATA MORGANA Conrad Schnitzler Often quoted as the father of the Berlin Underground, Conrad Schnitzler actually originated from Düsseldorf, and only became involved in the Berlin scene in 1967 when he was 30. In these early days, Con had a fascination for chance music, for electronic devices. Famous for establishing the Zodiak Club, the birthplace of Kluster, it was also a regular gigging and jamming place for all sorts of people, like the musicians from Agitation and Tangerine Dream. Here the prototype Kluster were formed, and also it lead to Con joining Tangerine Dream for their debut album ELECTRONIC MEDITATION. Rock music though wasn't really Conrad's oeuvre, so Kluster were established proper, and then later he formed the live session band Eruption. But, Con saw his role as a sonic artist, carving and fragmenting sound rather than playing music with melodic form. So, he went on to experiment solo, using Kluster sound sources for the album SCHWARZ (commissioned by the Block gallery as a sound installation) and thereafter experimenting further with the new electronic gadgets and synthesizers that came onto the market. The other two thirds of Kluster continued without him, as Cluster, whilst Con explored his own musical ideas. Isolated from the music scene, Con took on his music as a way of life, constantly experimenting and recording. He was also often commissioned for performances at festivals and galleries. At this time he developed unique forms of concert performance, in which several cassettes were used at random together with live electronics, thus still adhering to his earlier passion for chance music. His first proper solo LP, housed in a plain red cover, and known a ROT, presented a vast sounding and very dark synthesizer music, full of rasping a twittering sounds, industrial electronics full of power - buzzing electricity - enough to fry the senses! Whereas red meant hot and angry, the blue album BLAU that followed, was cool and flowing, with more modulated tones, glissando guitar, and a quite ethereal air. Still weird, but with an underlying melodic context. Con's big break was when later ex-Tangerine Dream member Peter Baumann, produced an album for release on the international market, recorded at Peter's Paragon studio. It gained release on Egg in France, and on licensed labels in many countries, and presented a refined but powerful electronic music, that pulsed and buzzed with amazing invention. A big success for such weird and creative music, hereon the Conrad Schnitzler release overload happened! And, aside from solo work, he went on to collaborate with the new generation of experimental Berlin bands, like Rollkomanndo, Aussenminister, and others, as well as with his son Gregor, and later the Berlin Express trio with Peter Baumann. Con also became a novel institution in Berlin, giving bizarre street concerts, aided by customised electronics and a helmet fitted with a loudspeaker horn! Of the proliferation of LP releases that continued through to the mid-80's, CONAL is one of the most arresting and strange, GELB (an archive recording from 1974) showed that Con had also delved into more cosmic synthesizer, GRUNE revealed more stark sounds from the CON album era, going even darker on CONTROL. Collaborations with Wolfgang Seidel (aka Wolf Sequenzer) were billed as by Consequenz, and offered a more rhythmic and playful twist on the usual Con sound, though not as playful as the electro-pop of CON 3! And in contrast were the abstract recordings of Con-Hertz. For over 25 years Conrad Schnitzler has been an innovator, and creator of some astonishingly powerful electronic music. SCHWARZ ROT SLOWMOTION BLAU THE RED CASSETTE THE BLACK CASSETTE CON (1977) Auf Dem Schwarzen Kanal CONTEMPORA CON 3 CONRAD & SOHN CONAL (1978) CONTROL (1978-81) GELB GRÜN (1976+1980) CONTEXT CONTEXT - KOMPOSITION FÜR SECHS CASSETTEN CONVEX featured on: BERLINER IN BERLIN CONTAINER (1971-82) CON 33/83 UND 35/83 (1983) featured on: INTERNATIONAL FRIENDSHIP CON 1.7.84 (1/7/84) featured on: THREE MINUTE SYMPHONY featured on: SOUNDS COSMODEL CON '84 (1984) featured on: TRANSATLANTIC OVERDUB CON '85 CONCERT (1985) CONCERT (3/6/86) CON '86 (1986) MICON IN ITALIA (1986) GENCON PRODUCTIONS CONGRATULACION (8/86) BLACK BOX 1987 CONTRA-TERRENE (17/3/87) CONDITIONS OF THE GAS GIANT featured on: NO BORDERS CONCHO (1988) GENCON DRAMATIC NEW DRAMATIC ELECTRONIC MUSIC (1987) JANUAR-DEZEMBER 1988 (1-12/88) KYNAK [CAMMA] JANUAR-DEZEMBER 1989 (1-12/89) Eberhard Schoener A classically trained musician, born in Stuttgart, who has been involved in all manner of musics, from orchestral through to pop and jazz, as well as working in the avant-garde, Eberhard Schoener is a musician impossible to classify. He was in a jazz band with Popol Vuh's Florian Fricke in the 60's, and has never stayed still since! In the early-70's he established his own orchestra, which is probably best known for collaborations with rock groups, notably Deep Purple's Jon Lord, on the album WINDOWS. And, also of note here, was a symphonic collaboration with Tangerine Dream in the mid-80's. Most importantly however, Eberhard Schoener is hailed as the first German musician to own a "Big Moog" system, and was also amongst the first musicians to do an album of purely synthesizer music. The spacious and tranquil MEDITATION had a very similar feel to some of Tangerine Dream's ZEIT, with just one track per side of gently oozing synthesizer tones. Another innovation was the unique fusion of Gamelan music, synthesizers and drums, on the extraordinary BALI-AGÚNG. Strangely, Eberhard Schoener found himself getting together as a backing band what would become The Police! Yes, the pop band. But, before this, THE BOOK and TRANCE-FORMATION albums both featured Andy Summers playing some beautiful guitar. After this, Eberhard got caught up in a series of David Parsons Project type albums, hybrids of pop, rock-opera, and more experimental musics. As a result, the Harvest albums, from FLASHBACK onwards get rapidly worse during the 80's. Still, Eberhard has continued to diversify, he recorded a unique atmospheric album using digital synthesis and sampling called SKY MUSIC/MOUNTAIN MUSIC, has worked with Tangerine Dream, produced music for film, and more recently issued a sequel to BALI-AGÚNG called BALI SYMPHONY. MEDITATION (1973) BALI-AGÚNG THE BOOK TRANCE-FORMATION (5-6/77) FLASHBACK (1977-78) VIDEO-MAGIC SKY MUSIC/MOUNTAIN MUSIC (10/83-2/84) BALI SYMPHONY Schröder Roadshow These were an oddball political cabaret and rock group, who were formed by Uli Hundt in 1976. They were unusual, in that they crossed punk energy with the eccentric humour (akin to Nina Hagen Band) and techno-progressive sound of Grobschnitt. From their more angry sounding origins, akin to Ton Steine Scherben, they in a way became the Lokomotive Kreuzberg of the 80's. In 1981 Uli left the band to go solo. Uli Hundt (vocals, guitar, harmonica), Gerd Beracz (guitar, vocals), Richard Herten (drums, percussion), Didi Maaz (piano), Peter Michels (congas, bongo, flute), Rich Schwab (bass, vocals, percussion), SENSATIONELL - AUF FREIEM FUSS ANARCHIE IN GERMONEY LIVE IN TOKYO (1980) DEUTSCHLAND, DEUTSCHLAND (1981) WIR LIEBEN DAS LAND Robert Schroeder One of the most original synthesists to emerge in the late-70's, who despite having obvious Klaus Schulze influences, went on to develop a style of his own that influenced a scene of more melodic synth-sequencer musics. His use of classical styled melodies and lively sequences was later taken up and developed further by Mergener & Weisser, after Robert Schroeder had moved on to less interesting commercial styled synth musics on PARADISE. HARMONIC ASCENDANT (1979) FLOATING MUSIC (8/80) MOSAIQUE (7-8/81) GALAXIE CYGNUS-A (1982) Skywalker / Space Detective PARADISE Galactic Floor / Black Out (1984) COMPUTER VOICE (7-9/84) BRAIN VOYAGER (7-8/85) TIMEWAVES (1986) DRIFTIN' (1987-88) Klaus Schulze Arguably amongst the most influential of musicians on the German scene, Klaus Schulze has always been a radical and adventurous musician. An important force behind everything from the Berlin Krautrock and cosmic front, through to new-age and the current techno wave. Berlin born and bred, he grew up always fascinated with music, at the early age of 15 he was playing the guitar in school bands playing pop music. By 1967 he had his own band Psy Free. At this time he was studying at the Berlin Technical University, and attended seminars on experimental composition with the likes of Ligeti, Dahlhaus and Winkel, and it is most obvious that the serious avant-garde front in the mid-60s had a big impact. By 1968 Klaus was experimenting with organ and devices, creating extraordinary cosmic music. In 1969 Edgar Froese asked Klaus if he could fill in for an absent drummer in Tangerine Dream. Shortly after, he joined the band proper. Conrad Schnitzler completed the trio, who went on to record the radical ELECTRONIC MEDITATION. Klaus didn't stay in Tangerine Dream long though, and joined another band as drummer: the Steeple Chase Bluesband, who promptly became Ash Ra Tempel. After recording an album and playing numerous concerts, Klaus left Ash Ra Tempel to concentrate on solo work. Many of Klaus' early experiments with organs and electronic gadgetry can now be experienced via the 10 CD set HISTORIC EDITION, which puts into context the radical ideas Klaus had for a new music. His debut solo IRRLICHT, drew on these ideas, and with the aid of a small orchestra, a 4-track tape recorder, organ, guitar, percussion and electronic gadgetry, Klaus went on to produce a cosmic classic without synthesizers, a touch of Terry Riley maybe, and remarkable use of tapes, hurtling into the nether regions of infinity. Klaus hadn't given up as a drummer, fortunately, as he's amongst the most expressive of drummers, and in 1972 he recorded a 30 minute drum solo "Totemfeuer" for a ballet production, which he also used as a concert backing tape. He also played drums on Sergius Golowin's LORD KRISHNA VON GOLOKA and again played with Ash Ra Tempel on JOIN INN. His second solo, the double CYBORG, with one vast sprawling and spacious piece per side, again used orchestra tapes, along with organ, VCS3 synthesizer, and was an even more esoteric music of pulsing twittering electronics, Mellotron-like orchestra, and shimmering organ. The Walter Wegmüller and Cosmic Jokers' albums fit in around here, and also Klaus filled in on a short French tour with Tangerine Dream. With a greatly expanded instrumentation, Klaus' innovation gathered speed. PICTURE MUSIC was a radical departure, featuring percussion, sequencers, melodies, and unusual synthesizer soloing. Also at this time was the multi-instrumental duo Timewind, work with engineer Manfred Schunke using the new "Kunstkopf" artificial head recording system, notably Code III's PLANET OF MAN and Sand's GOLEM, and Klaus' next solo BLACKDANCE which revealed Klaus' training as a classical guitarist, it also had ethnic percussives and string synthesizers. Klaus was busy touring at this time, and his next album TIMEWIND was a refinement of his live improvisations, with two very long cosmic dreamscapes, each almost half an hour long! With a whole orchestra of keyboards, at the hands of a technophile with passion, a new music was born. Klaus also worked on the recordings of Japanese space-rockers Far East Family Band, played concerts with echo-guitar wizard Günter Schickert, and later got involved in the Stomu Yamash'ta "Go" project. MOONDAWN saw Klaus reunited with ex-Wallenstein and Cosmic Jokers drummer Harald Grosskopf, taking Klaus' synth-sequencer music firmly into the "rock" idiom. 1976-77 was a busy time for Klaus, with at least 60 concerts, and in 1977 three LP's were issued! Two resulted from the soundtrack to Lasse Braum's "porno" movie "Body Love". These complimentary albums featured a blend of the styles found on both TIMEWIND and MOONDAWN, both featured versions of "Stardancer" with Grosskopf on drums, shorter ambient/cosmic drifts, and side-long works that combined both above aspects with uniquely Schulze sequencer lines and dazzlingly complex layers of synthesizers. And there's also the ultimate cosmic classic MIRAGE, a side-step from TIMEWIND with one spacious opus per side, each a timeless gem: "Velvet Voyage" with its sonic clouds growing slowly, gaining musical direction, restrained to the point where every new sound, pattern or musical nuance is magical, and "Crystal Lake" with fragile crystalline sequences and arpeggios, a dance on the misty waters of a lake at dawn. The double "X" drew on all that had gone before. Again Klaus sought the aid of an orchestra, but this time in a much more classical manner. Harald Grosskopf featured on a few tracks. In all, it was Klaus' most serious and ambitious album. This classical edge was even stronger on the A-side of DUNE, though in stark contrast the other side "Shadows Of Ignorance" featured English vocalist Arthur Brown, a dab hand at lyric improvisation. Klaus Schulze solos in the 80's were kicked off by ...LIVE... which captured four different facets of the late-70s Schulze live sound, and Klaus' digital debut DIG IT. In concert Klaus had been working again with Ash Ra Tempel leader Manuel Göttsching, and later with new-found friend Rainer Bloss. After the sedate TRANCEFER, came the double AUDENTITY, notable for "Sebastian In Traum", a revolutionary, and weird excursion. The late-80's saw a lull in creativity, save for Richard Wahnfried MIDITATION and the timeless BABEL (recorded with Andreas Grosser), Klaus had on large seemed to have lost much of his talent for invention. Returning to the live scene, the momentous concert in Dresden (then in the DDR) was organised in August 1989, documented as a double CD. Klaus had realised that with only digital technology he couldn't achieve what he wanted, and so, there was the return of his old favourites like the now virtually museum piece the EMS Synthi A! Klaus continued to surprise with the bizarre, almost musique-concrete music of BEYOND RECALL, and a whole series of concert recordings have been released since, as well as studio albums covering all sorts of musical avenues. But most phenomenal are the two 10 CD sets SILVER EDITION and the even more remarkable HISTORIC EDITION, which go to prove how much of a revolutionary Klaus is! IRRLICHT (4/72) featured on: KOSMISCHE MUSIK (7/72) CYBORG (2-7/73) BLACKDANCE (5/74) PICTURE MUSIC (1973) TIMEWIND (3-6/75) MOONDAWN (1/76) MIRAGE (1/77) BODY LOVE (1976) BODY LOVE, VOL. 2 (1976-77) "X" (1978) DUNE (4-5/79) ...LIVE... (1976+79) DIG IT (5-9/80) TRANCEFER (1981) AUDENTITY (1982-83) DZIEKUJE POLAND (7/83) APHRICA (9/83) DRIVE INN (9/83) ANGST (4+9+10/83) Macksy (3/85) INTER*FACE (7-8/85) DREAMS (1986) BABEL (1986-87) Credited to: Klaus Schulze & Andreas Grosser EN=TRANCE (1987) MIDITERRANEAN PADS (1989) Date: 2015-12-18; view: 1013
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