Klaus Schulze
Ballet 3 (Reissue)
CD / 2 tracks / 79.10 mins
Okay, well if you've seen fit to purchase 'Ballett 1 & 2' then doubtless you'll need little encouragement from my good self to go ahead and buy the third and latest instalment in the 'Ballett' series. Again its an album lifted from the four linked discs of the 'Contemporary Works' box set that continues the theme on from where the last disc left off. Expect to find yourself in similar sonic territory as 'Ballett 3' is a recording which again contains music which paints a largely sombre picture,( though on this occasion the short bonus track definitely bucks that trend).

On this occasion Klaus utilises the skills of a number of collaborating musicians to bring their own style and identity to the music using their respective instruments, something l might add they do superbly this time around. Their collective play providing real emotion and a sense of vitality in the recording, something that Schulze alone just could not have achieved via keyboards. Taking a backseat on this CD, Klaus credits himself with just the recording and mix of the music - and in all fairness it really is his collaborators which carry the day contributing at least 70% of the artistic input here. This is in essence very much a group effort with quite a number of happy helpers participating. Wolfgang Tiepold features as ever at the Cello, multi instrumentalist, Thomas Kagermann also reappearing on flute, violin and vocals remaining prolific as ever adding an ethnic twist. With the chanting and vocal ad libs he is joined by Australian singer Julia Messenger. Tobias Becker plays oboe and finally Tom Dams assists with programming, recording and samples. Expectations are high with so much external creative input from the hired hands; let's see what happens.....

The reissue is presented in the now standard gate folded card clip case which features the original artwork together with more pictures of Schulze's studio together with a 12 page booklet and afew final words from Klaus D. Mueller. There's no real discussion of the making of the album in Schulze's write up which is abit of a shame,(Klaus felt that he had said all that needed saying about the 'Ballett' series in the previous two reissue booklets). The original album consisted of a single extended piece which runs for almost seventy six minutes!!!! The reissue also featuring a short three and a half minute up-tempo bonus track this time making for a CD whose playing time is almost completely maxed out!!!

In goes the CD and 'My Ty She'(75.40) gets underway. Immediately the piece appears to be very animated with a pseudo classical air as Tiepolds Cello works its magic making easy work of the opening section. Soon he's joined by the sound of oboe and within two minutes Kagermann cuts in with pizzicato strings from the violin. The oboe vanishes and soon the dual sequences of Schulze have joined the mix. With the gentle addition of a synthetic sub harmonic bass pottering around in the background the scene is set for the remainder of the track and it's pretty much over to Schulze's session musicians to carry the track to its conclusion. Tiepold gradually exits the piece at around this juncture as the violin of Kagermann cuts a swathe through the bulk of the improvisations during the first half of the track. The wordless vocal chants of Messenger and Kagermann seem to play off one another easily adding a Middle Eastern flavour to the music. Klaus does his best to keep his hand in by fading up some light topset percussion into the mix some fifteen minutes later - and so the track progresses.

Things simmer down towards the halfway mark to a point where you may have thought that the track was about to reach a natural conclusion, not so. The vocalisms return and the piece continues unabated as the multi instrumental textures build once more. Again it's Kagermann's gypsy violin work that is truly inventive seemingly leading the way. Vocoded speech is carefully woven into the stylised phrases sung by Messenger. The delicate sounding oboe of Mr. Becker again drifts in and out of the mix, the vocalist's sound being re-enforced by a transposed sampled voice in the background. At fifty four minute's the percussion of Schulze returns higher in the mix this time sounding more intense than ever now driving the track forward. The sound of flute then violin seems more purposeful now as the piece marches on. At times some of the sung phrases do seem little aimless, but on the whole everything works beautifully. The piece concluding with the brief return of Tiepold's Cello and an abstract phrase repeated several times,"dreams of reason produce monsters". The monster produced here being the track itself having been playing for almost one and a quarter hours!!!

With just a small amount of playing time left on the disc for a bonus track, we are given a recording made sometime around 2000 to 2002 entitled,'Schruer der Vorwelt'( though l'm inclined to go with Klaus's spelling of the title as Schauer der Vorwelt). Klaus is ablely assisted by Jorg Schaaf on this three minuter that comes out sounding like something from 'Intelligentsia', 'Synthetik' or as Dave Law himself suggests a comparative of 'The Race' by the Swiss group Yello. A fun track, but perhaps alittle misplaced. So what of that big main track - well for Schulze's part you've pretty much heard it all in the first few minutes, any real variation is performed at the mixing desk so don't go looking for any great depth here. Schulze's real skill on this one comes through on the editing and mix of all those solo player's improvisational parts. At seventy five minutes is the track tiresome? Not abit of it, this track is absolutely mesmerising. Klaus's session players have done a fantastic job on this one turning in flowing, fluid performances that just breeze through the entire piece, Kagermann again putting in a substantial effort, just about everything working out perfectly. There is repetition but not in a repetitive way, the players inventiveness keeping us well away from that whole Berlin school arena. The piece remains in a single key throughout which again is pretty amazing for a recording of this length. Without a theme as such, it is in fact that single key and sequencer pattern that melds the whole thing together. The music created is a resounding success. (B22)

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