Klaus Schulze, German Genius and Hero: An Early Work Primer

Today I just want to take a moment to talk about one of my musical heroes, Klaus Schulze. For most music nerds, a mere visit to his Wikipedia Page is enough to stop you in your tracks and fall on your knees. Here are some highlights from his early career: Started Tangerine Dream with Edgar Froese, founding member of Ash Ra Tempel (the first record from them being my ultimate kraut rock record) with Manuel Gottsching, the father of techno, created over sixty albums over five decades, most of which are pretty good, several of which are considered ambient masterpieces. This resume makes my head spin.

Anyway, I reviewed my favorite of his solo records, Mirage, a few years ago, so I just want to post links to some of my other favorites from him. This is simply a primer to his early work, everything after is hit or miss, as anyone would be over fifty years of making music. I hope you take the time to really dig in. It pays off!

From his debut album, Irrlicht, 1972:



From Cyborg, 1973:



From Blackdance, 1974:



From Picture Music, 1975:





From Timewind, 1975:





From Moondawn, 1976:

 



From the soundtrack to Body Love, 1977:



From Mirage, 1977:

R.I.P. Bob Casale of DEVO.

Bob Casale, an original member of Devo has passed away of heart failure at the age of 61. Words can't express what a surprise and loss this is. They were contemplating more shows soon. His work has left an indelible mark on most people I know and much of the world. So sad.

R.I.P. Wayne Smith

Recently I've been obsessed with Reggae that was produced at the beginning of the digital age. Enamored with those Casio beats, I've been researching many different riddims. In 1984, while working with King Jammy, Wayne Smith stumbled across a pattern in a Casio MT-40 home keyboard. In their capable hands, the pattern became 'Under Mi Sleng Teng', and wasa huge hit across Jamaican soundsystems, thus launching the digital dancehall revolution.

Today, Wayne Smith has passed away. His manipulation of the artistic 'accident' will not be forgotten. I can't get enough of it. This late 80's sound just continues to blow my mind. For the unfamiliar, I've cited some examples below:





Here's a latter version of the riddim by Cocoa Tea that happens to be my favorite:



And a killer 45 / 12" dj mix of digital riddims recently performed by Raime:

Random Access Memory

Little did I know, one of my favorite shows in 1985 would have a direct effect on my strange tastes in music. I didn't actually remember this scene but I'm sure it was floating around somewhere in the back of my brain. This is pure nerd happiness. Relish in the nostalgia with me. 

Justine & Juliette - Kiss of the Whip (Arbeit Group, 1988)

I just stumbled across this today. I had never heard of it but I'm pretty sure I'm not going to rest until I find this cassette. American sexy female S&M  industrial duo from 1988. Mostly fast pulsing low end bass explorations contrasted with high pitched Lydia Lunch'ish spoken word. Minimal but rhythmic and sublime in a subtle synth punk way. Sick, sick, sick. Must have. Wow, just wow. In the interim we can all make do with the youtube tracks below. You're welcome.

Manuel Gottsching - E2-E4 (MG, 1984)

I've been on a music history kick lately and decided to make a few posts about releases that were crucially influential to musicians that followed. I'll begin with one that may be obvious to the electronic aficionado that reads this blog, 'E2-E4'. Simply put, this is the ultimate proto-techno cut. Manuel Gottsching (guitarist for Ash Ra Tempel) released his first solo album with a monument to time's end. The reason for its groundbreaking nature was his lack of submission to the popular idea of melody and development. He just rode a rhythm in repetition for nearly an hour. The trance like space this music occupies set the tone for all dance floor material that came about afterwards. If it sounds mundane and familiar to you, its just because everyone emulated this for the next decade and a half without much alteration. There ya go...Techno 101.




Here's a nice tribute reworking of one track by Ernestus and von Oswald over at the BCD:

R.I.P. Martin Lloyd (1950-2013)

Sad news today that Martin Lloyd of the early '80's electronic duo Oppenheimer Analysis has passed due to liver failure. In their early career they opened for such acts as Hawkwind and Spizz Energi. Primarily known only for a cassette release, they had a resurgence of popularity when Minimal Wave issued a vinyl EP.

Read a great interview with him HERE.

Fat Boys - S/T (Sutra, 1984)

Its been a Fat Boys kind of week. I walked into the record store and there was a vinyl copy of Crushin'. The next day a friend was wearing a Fat Boys T-shirt, and later another friend posted on Facebook that he was watching "Disorderlies", the classic Fat Boys movie from 1987. This really got me nostalgiac. One of my first tapes was "Fat Boys". I remember taking my walkman to school in 5th grade and letting friends listen to it. It made me feel cool. I also had a tv-dubbed copy of Disorderlies that was watched so many times, it wore out. 

Prince Markie Dee and Kool Rock Ski rapped and Buff Love aka Human Beat Box provided the beats. Alongside Doug E. Fresh, Buff was a pioneer of beatboxing. This is an old school classic, referenced by many later acts like Boogie Down Productions, Jeru tha Damaja and Jay-Z.

They were originally called The Disco 3 when they won a talent show at Radio City Music Hall. Word spread that they ate constantly. Recognizing that they were overweight, their producer Kurtis Blow suggested they embrace it and change their name to Fat Boys. When the debut record was released, it sold 200,000 copies and became the most requested radio jam in NYC. 

Unfortunately, the 450 lb. Buff passed away in 1995 of a heart attack. And, even sadder is that last year the remaining two members played the annual gathering of the Juggalos. Regardless, this is a cool album.

Here's a song about them getting thrown in jail for stealing pizza.


Get it HERE

Coven - Blessed is the Black (Ever Rat / Medusa, 1987)

I must admit that my introduction to these Seattle Doom / Thrash Metal dorks was at church. Yep, I was having to sit through the "Hells Bells" anti-rock music lecture and slideshow that so many poor kids my age were also forced to pay attention to. Well, the result was an obsession for things like occult imagery, booze, images of naked girls hanging from crosses, Pink Floyd's "Another Brick in the Wall" video, Bon Scott passed out facedown in his own vomit, and an odd affinity for the face of Anton LaVey, founder of the Church of Satan, which is burned into my subconscious for all eternity.

What was I talking about? Oh yeah, Coven was a pretty ridiculous yet awesome band. Everything was tongue in cheek except for the killer shredding and decent vocals. I mean how satanic is a lyric like this?

"Pulsating steel, protruding from my thigh
She who spreads is she who dies.
Long as my arm and five times as thick,
You'll die at the end
Of my iron dick."

With songs like "McDonaldland Massacre" and "6669", I'm thinking fathers should have been more concerned with their daughters keeping their pants on backstage at Coven shows than losing their teenage souls to the Lord of Darkness. These dudes were the Pub Rock of Thrash.

Regardless, get amped on this batch of bitchin' riffs and a deadly blend of Thrash and Doom.

Recommended if you don't like Forced Entry, Metal Church or The Accused.



Get this beast HERE

Nick Nicely - Psychotropia *Compilation 1980-2003* (Castle Records, 2004)

Upon first hearing Nicely's "hit" song "Hilly Fields(1892)", I was quite simply stunned. How had I not heard this before? This track might be the very reason for the early 80's UK Psych revival. In fact, in an interview, XTC frontman Andy Partridge claims that hearing Nicely prompted him to create XTC's retro-psych alter egos, the Dukes of Stratosphear.

Recognizing Nicely's influences, how he incorporated them, and who he has since influenced creates a dizzying schizophrenia. The ghost of Sgt. Pepper era John Lennon is a definitive presence, John Cale is obviously part of the formula (Paris 1919 / Hilly Fields (1892)), a smattering of original New Wave (via electronic experimentation), a hint of Gary Numan, and a solid dose of R. Stevie Moore.

Luckily, his originality has never been copied in its entirety. Robyn Hitchcock borrowed quite a bit from him, and though not fully mimicking him, I feel that Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti might still owe a large portion of their success to him.

This compilation contains his only official release, an EP from 1982 called "Hilly Fields (1892)", as well as unreleased and obscure recordings over a twenty year period. Enjoy and please pass this gem on.

Get it Here

Cindytalk - Camouflage Heart ( Midnight Music,1984)

After the demise of Scottish punk / new wave band "The Freeze", David Clancy and Gordon Sharp formed Cindytalk in 1982. This project is something Sharp described as ambidustrial. I know that doesn't really roll off the tongue but it does summarize how he took elements of Editions EG's ambient releases and fused them with the then hip and new industrial sound.

In case you hear some familiar elements to the vocal stylings, guitar and production, that's because it sounds like This Mortal Coil, the 4AD ambient supergroup that Sharp was a part of. In fact, the single "Kangaroo" that Sharp sang on was the big UK indie hit off "It'll End in Tears" which is one of my favorite albums.

This record is raw, nasty, dirgey, mournful and experimental yet somehow retains a punk as fuck feel. Its bloody good, it is.

Get it Here

Vestibule - Guaranteed to Cure What Ails Ya (Mixtape, 2011)

Sit back, relax and enjoy the ride in 1985.

Stream or Download for Free Here

oOoOO - Mixtape (Actual Pain, 2010)

Mixtape of skating rink bliss. oOoOO's seance conjures 1979-1980 and puts his own bizarre spin on things, adding his own track to other sexy funk jams by Sylvia Striplin, S.O.S. Band, Barbara Mason and, of course, 3-6-Mafia.?!?

This is yet another reminder that Witch House artists refuse to be be pigeon-holed in any way. Get it free at Actual Pain

Sad Lovers and Giants - Feeding the Flame - 1983

1991. I was at a friend's house on a Sunday night listening to "The Edge with Coyote J. Calhoun" on the radio for the first time. My friends and I had just become enamored with Goth and this show was supposed to be the best place to here it. It truly was. I'll never forget that the first song of the evening was "Man of Straw" by Sad Lovers and Giants. This Midnight Music band would be a catalyst for my newfound obsession with dark music.

Not that they were really Goth, mind you. I remember thinking they sounded like The Church if the drugs had pushed Steve Kilby off the deep end once and for all...Goth Church. I think my initial comparison still rings true. After the first two albums I lost interest but this and "Epic Garden Music" continue to be entirely relevant albums. Download a track here: MAN OF STRAW