RICHARD WAHNFRIED aka Klaus Schulze - "EER-MUSIC.com aka Eclectic Earwig Reviews Music and More for You!"

Richard Wahnfried and Jorg Schaaf: Trance Appeal Klaus Schulze collaborates with other artists under the pseudonym of Richard Wahnfried (or just Wahnfried). He also uses that alias to extend his range and perform in other styles. On Trance Appeal, he collaborates with Jorg Schaaf. This is a deep, somewhat dark and very experimental - almost avant-garde - set of Berlin school ambience. That term is unexpected but this is unexpected music. Klaus and Jorg stretch the limits of the Berlin school. The dense and unusual atmospheres are both cosmic and organic. This is the ultimate e-music juxtaposition. It is as if Klaus and Jorg are on an outer space journey to earth! they are composing and performing as aliens from a different planet. The environs of Earth are strange and foreign but the organic translation persists. In the Wahnfried discography, this is the best disc. It is certainly Klaus' most original effort and one of his overall best CD's! ~ Jim Brenholts, EER-MUSIC.com Listen to samples & Buy CDs/DVDs here

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Wahnfried, Tonwelle

Innovative Communications, IC 710.095, 1981 www.klaus-schulze.com kdm@klaus-schulze.com Richard Wahnfried is the project name under which Klaus Schulze records and releases music with virtuoso guest performers. Tonwelle features Michael Shrieve (of Santana fame) on percussion, Karl Wahnfried (sic) on guitars, Manuel Gottsching (of Ashra) on guitars, Klaus on keyboards and programming and Michael Garvens on vocals. The disc also has two bonus tracks from Megatone, a Wahnfried LP that has never been available on CD. additional guest musicians on those tracks are harald Katzsch on guitar, Axel Glenn Muller on sax and Uli Schober on drums. As listeners would expect, there is a strong rock and roll emphasis on this disc. Michael's percussion is absolutely frenetic. Klaus's electronics are dreamy and expansive. Manuel and Karl's guitars smoke. Harald's guitar rocks hard. This kind of e-music is good for a change of pace. The roots of Berlin school sequencing are firmly in rock music. the Wahnfried projects acknowledge those roots. This CD is a primary piece of that acknowledgement. - Jim Brenholts Listen to samples & Buy CDs/DVDs here

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Wahnfried, Trancelation ZYX Music, ZYX 3614-2, 1994 www.klaus-schulze.com kdm@klaus-schulze.com On most Richard Wahnfried projects well-known musicians perform as guests. On Trancelation, Klaus Schulze invited some relatively unknown musicians. Marian Gold (vocals), Michael Bolter (guitar), Mark Figge (sax), Hanz Marathon (guitar), U. W. Uberschall (guitar) and Georg Stettner (modulations and electronics) perform with Klaus on this album. And it is a fairly frenetic set. Klaus's signature Berlin school sequences surround a frantic rhythm track. While many of the Wahnfried projects have rock and roll overtones, this project is steeped in avant- and funk. There are some very weird samples and some cosmic computer noises. The funky rhythm drives the project. The project drives the rhythm. That's how it is with all Klaus projects. The individual pieces make up the whole. And each piece relies on the other pieces for its own completeness. If any piece is removed, the project suffers. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts! - Jim Brenholts Listen to samples & Buy CDs/DVDs here

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Klaus Schulze, Totentag: Oper in 7 Bildern ZXY Music, ZYX 81014-2, 1994 www.klaus-schulze.com kdm@klaus-schulze.com Klaus Schulze has been deeply influenced by Richard Wagner and his music. So it is natural that he would compose, produce and perform (except the vocals) the world's first (and, so far, only) electronic opera. Totentag: Oper in 7 Bildern (roughly Death Day: An Opera in 7 Scenes) is a monumental achievement. Klaus, in keeping with a tradition started by Mozart, composed the opera in his native German. He recruited five virtuoso vocalists to play/sing the roles. The opera, again in the truest German tradition, is tragic. It tells the story of a young man and his drug induced hallucinations and visions. The primary setting is a hospital. The drug addict is the only character with a name. (And, perhaps with a sense of irony, Klaus sampled some voices from The Wall by Pink Floyd.) The dark soundscape is dense and dramatic. Klaus sets the tone with his expressive performance. The vocals are superb. All in all, this double CD is flawless. It is also absolutely that such an event is from the electronician's electronician. Klaus is one of the pioneers of electronic music and is still one of its top artists after 30 plus years! This is a great CD from a great man! - Jim Brenholts Listen to samples & Buy CDs/DVDs here

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