Klaus Schulze Irrlicht (Reissue)

Back to the future… that might just be the case. I have to admit, having not played this album for about two decades now l'd forgotten just how good it is with its beautifully haunting organ work and tonal structures over a sea of raw electronics and treated tape recordings. Musically l think it's more relevant today than ever it was ten, twenty or even thirty years ago. All in all making you realise just how attuned the young Mr Schulze was to what he was doing. Yes okay, so this was the work of a guy that was really off in deep space mode, but he had one trump card to play, that being that he knew exactly where he was taking us.

I was about to write a piece to say that this debut release had not much if anything to do with that which was to come from Klaus,( given that it actually contains no synthesisers) but how wrong can you be. Yes the original three tracks do contain no synths,( not that you'd really guess that to listen to them) and yes this was all produced on a 'make do'/ non existent budget, but the really startling aspect of the recording is the fact that the entire structure of what we would readily assume to be typically Schulzian compositions these days is all laid out there for us to hear track after track, those extended compositional frameworks remaining in evidence throughout, frameworks which he still employs right up to the current day!!

Released in late 1972, 'Irrlicht' was the debut solo work from Klaus following on from single album stints with both Tangerine Dream and Ashra Tempel. Having found T.D. to be too unadventurous for him and Ashra to be too consensual and constricting what might the world have been expecting from Mr Schulze who was after all a drummer who had a tendency to beat the living crap out of his drum kit every now and then. One would think that 'Irrlicht' was to be a drum heavy outing……..not so. It is however best described as a gathered set of tonal ideas which firmly plants itself into the realms of the experimental. Critics and reviewers before my good self have pointed a finger at the influences of Stockhausen and Boulez from the electro acoustic side of Schulze's early works through to Terry Riley, Steve Reich and Phillip Glass for the atonal quality of the music, (Schulze himself refuting all these claims having not even heard some of these artistes at the time, let alone their music). In fact l think l'd like to put a slightly different spin on the whole argument given that Schulze came from a different kind of musical background whose psychedelic roots lay with the whole Krautrock scene, having much more to do with the 60's 'happenings'. The music was of a freeform improvised nature that had as much to do with the physical performance as the music itself, the whole thing being a pure expression. Schulze was,( and still is to an extent) a musical surrealist. Always there to create a reaction, surprise us and do things that we might least expect. The result may not always be a pretty one given the improvised nature of the way that he worked, but it would be memorable. The sort of thing a drummer that records an album containing no drums might do…….'Irrlicht'.

Featuring as number one in this re issue series 'Irrlicht' is regarded as an electronic musical milestone by many and makes no bones about professing itself as a 'classic' album in the sleevenotes this time around. Though in all fairness it took quite afew more years before 'Irrlicht' got any kind of recognition. Pivotal yes, a classic……….l'm not so sure.

Presented in a gatefolded card slipcase with quality inlaid transfers of the cover art, the CD album is supplied with a 16 page booklet featuring more vintage shots of Schulze with insights from both Klaus D Mueller and Schulze on the background to 'Irrlicht', interesting stuff. Though the album has not been remastered it does come across as a much cleaner clearer recording than that which l remember with improved stereo separation allowing the background effects to be heard like never before. The single most astounding feature of the album being that a 24 minute bonus track has been dug out from around the same time making this a superb little package indeed.

Passing itself off as some sort of cosmic symphony for orchestra and electronic machines 'Irrlicht' gets underway with 'Satz:Ebene',(23.23). Heavily treated sounds of a string section glide in resonating away as Schulze tinkers with what can only be described as a bunch of damaged and broken electronic bits and pieces of equipment!!! Non the less Klaus is determined to get the feel of the piece across, the fizzing electronic drone he creates successfully weaves its way around the fragmented orchestral slices of a recording he made earlier. At around the ten minute mark Klaus switches to his primary instrument for this recording, his slightly modified organ, changing the mood from musique concrete to minimalism with a steady pattern of shifting chords which progress through the piece whilst distant filtered electronic wailing can be heard in the background……truly haunting and mesmerising stuff. Only in the last three or four minutes do things step up a gear to a rhythmic level as the organ work becomes more frenzied, then a kind of electronic crash takes us straight into the second track, 'Satz:Gewitter Energy Rise Energy Collaps',(5.39). Modulated effects ride high on the agenda here, which serve only to confound a beautifully sedate piece of organ work. Finally things settle down as the calming sound of the organ see's the piece to its close.

Track three 'Satz: Exil Sils Maria',(21.25) is a typical Schulze proportioned A/B/A composition that again is very haunting and beautiful in its own melancholy way. I wont get into the nuts and bolts of how the opening section of the piece is put together other than to say enjoy the tonal quality for what it is, superb. Six minutes in and we are hurtling through a time warp of high speed reversed FX and noises from tape machines various. The pitched harmonics of the organ return creating a soothing air of tranquillity for the final six minutes as we drift on with an underlying layer of effects that compliment the organ work perfectly.