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Royal Festival Hall Vol. 2

Klaus Schulze: Royal Festival Hall Vol. 2
Reviews

» Fast hundertundvierzig Minuten Musik umfassen diese beiden CDs. Auf der ersten CD sind zwei Stücke ... Die Unterteilung mit Index ist zu begrüßen, sollte man öfter machen...
Wild und unbezähmbar beginnen einige Musikstücke. Man bekommt fantastische Klänge geboten. Klaus Schulze wird zu Recht Klangmagier genannt. . . .
Die zweite CD gefällt mir besser als die erste. ... Gut gefällt mir der Anfang des ersten Titels mit seinen verschiedenartigen Sounds, die zusammengemischt in den Hauptteil fließen. Sakrale Chöre lassen einen einschweben zum zweiten Teil, der leise mit Sequenzen einsetzt.
Interessant ist das Ambiente des zweiten Stückes Anchorage. Ein verträumter Saxophon-Sound wandert unbekümmert über rhythmische Landschaften, fernab jeder Hektik. Klaus Schulze nimmt sich sowieso die Zeit, die er braucht, um ein Stück aufzubauen. Er hat sie ja. ...
Auch beim letzten Titel: wieder mal hört man die unverwechselbaren Sounds, die man sonst noch nirgendwo gehört hat. Nach einigen Minuten 'typischer' Klaus Schulze-Musik singt wieder die Stimme aus dem Sampler. Nicht alle Stimm-Klänge auf dieser CD sagen mir zu, dieser aber sehr gut. Überhaupt, die zweite CD hat mir wesentlich besser gefallen als die erste.
Zwei CDs, die für Klaus Schulze-Fans interessant sind, da die Musik in brillanter Qualität dargeboten wird...«
(1/93, Chris Höppner, "Waves", Germany)

» ... Ces deux CD au design élégant nous en offrent l'enregistrement intégral, auquel s'ajoutent quelques nouvelles compositions en studio. Autant dire que ces albums surprendront même l'auditeur blasé. Les derniers disques de Schulze ont parfois pu décevoir par leur style trop prévisible. Mais ici, nous avons un son et une esthétique renouvelés. Certes, on retrouve, dans les plages séquencées, les solos mélodiques orientalisants, les rythmiques hypnotiques qui tournent sur la longue durée. Mais Schulze fait un retour remarquable aux pièces climatiques, dans un style nouveau, à grands renforts d'échantillonneurs et avec une belle palette de sons synthétiques. Cris d'animaux, bribes d'opéra et de conservations, fracas industriels créent des atmosphères d'avant-garde pleines de tension dramatique, proches parfois de THE ORB ou K.L.F. ("Chill Out"). Bref, voici deux disques inattendus, qui témoignet de la place unique, mais toujours actuelle, de Schulze sur la scène électronique européenne.«
(2/93, C. Jacob, "Keyboards", France)

» One of the main failings of Germany's great electronic group TANGERINE DREAM was a tendency towards coitus interruptus. TANGERINE DREAM's rhythms disappeared back into the drifting banks of synthesizer noises as quickly as they emerged from them. Schulze is happy - keen, even - to pursue rhythm, and more besides.
On pieces ranging between two and twelve minutes he drums up dark pulses, sets them against forground with his synthesizer emulating guitars, violins, even Andean pipes. ...radios machinery, water, weather, sex, starlings, cantors and cicadas are all used as instruments. ...Schulze works on ambitious and dramatic scale. Don't be put off by the new age trappings; this makes ORB's "Uforb" sounds positively dull.«
(1/93, J. Gill, "Vox", Great Britain)

» ...While all the other Dreamers have smoothed the edges of their music ... Klaus Schulze, the drummer on the first Tangerine Dream album Electronic Meditation, seems to be pushing further into the avant-garde. Making extensive use of samplers, Schulze's recent work is full of distorted, pitch-bend voices (Bulgarian choirs, opera tenors, Islamic chants, speech) and dissonant industrial sonic shards that make him sound more STOCKHAUSEN than YANNI. But the gee-whiz effect wears out fast in 44-minute-length pieces...
When Schulze gets back into the sequencer groove as a unifying concept, however, he still can create twisting sound tunnels with the best of them as he does on several moments from Ancient Ambiance and Silence & Sequence.
Schulze fails with more spectacular crashes than his peers because he's at least struggling to come up with something new instead of slotting himself into an ill-defined instrumental-rock or new age format...«
(5/93, J. Diliberto, "CD Review", USA)

» Klaus Schulze is one of the true giants in the field of contemporary electronic music. ... Over the course of his ongoing career, Schulze has released over 30 solo and collaborative albums. His two new CDs include studio work in addition to his 1991 Royal Festival Hall concert. These recordings show that Schulze has remained true to his vision. Ancient Ambiance and Yen, both 44-minute pieces, show his penchant for moving from total space to pulsing sensuality, although Yen is a bit of a departure for him with its Eastern themes and mystical imagery. (The only element he should have forgone was a sound sample of a woman feigning sex. His works don't require such gimmicks)
These two recordings are the latest work from an artist with a long and distinguished career. Most importantly, they are also the works of a creative and vibrant musician. «
(6/93, M.C. Mahan, "A.P.", USA)

» Klaus Schulze's Royal Festival Hall is a challenging two-volume CD set which is sold separately. This album marks a further evolution in Klaus' long and creative career. ...
These two CDs have a combination of live and studio tracks. However the live tracks are so well-conceived and performed that I have to look at the track listing to sort them out. Each CD has one live track spanning approximately 45 minutes, with other, smaller tracks to fill each CD to about 70 minutes. I was impressed by how multifaced the compositions are. ...these tracks are composed of many separate movements as one. Schulze uses sampling to effectively construct immense surreal, often cubist soundscapes. ... The live tracks reflect a certain collage structure not found on previous live albums.
Moreover they aren't as melodic as the live track on The Dresden Performance, but there is more to explore here. It's amazing to imagine these tracks live. For this fact alone I'd have to caution listeners. Some people may find Klaus' new direction to be too chaotic and abstract for them and thus may not like this less melodic approach. Others may find this music to be refreshingly more challenging and delightfully more complex. In either case, with nearly 140 minutes of music, there's a lot for everyone. It's well worth the investment. While a few of Klaus Schulze's contemporaries degenerate to making "electronic pop", Schulze clearly remains as avant-garde.«
(3/93, A. Wedlake, "Dreams Word", USA)

» ... Les deux morceaux live: Yen et Ancient Ambiance enregistrés le 10 septembre 1991 à Londres sont sans conteste deux grandes symphonies électronique contemporaines. «
('93, "Crystal News", France)

» ... Most artists would play safe and at least include some earlier recognizable pieces. Not Klaus Schulze. Instead we have uncompromising new material which takes us into some uncharted territory. KS has always made demands of his audiences but he in turn delivers sublime, occasionally brilliant musical inspiration. His sound has been much imitated but never equalled.
Having heard mixed reports about the concert, the two albums came as something of a revelation. It is not easy listening and in places requires perseverance but the rewards are much in evidence. The opening sequence on Yen, Out of Limbo, is a restless difficult opening but Pastorale Awakening and Placid Yen are pure magic.
The studio cut, Silence and Sequence opens with unsettling voice samples and bells before a blissful passage gathers a little momentum in Gentle Wind. Then Klaus opens up with Fire Riser which is magnificent, hypnotic sequencers and masterful percussion in a perfect marriage which kick up a real storm -- a five star track, no question. The final piece, Clear Water, is both sublimely beautiful and oddly disturbing as weird sampled voices disturb the tranquility.
Volume 2 continues the trend . . . Castle Rock: Pedal Away succeeds on every level, being exciting, vibrant music. Try sleeping to this boys and girls! ...«
(6/93, SR, "Zenith", Great Britain)

» Un nuova album di Klaus Schulze è sempre un evento. ...
Questo The Dome Event è la registrazione del concerto dato davanti alla cattedrale di Colonia nel maggio del 1991. E' un'unica suite divisa in 11 movimenti che ripropone i temi cari al musicista tedesco; sono finalmente tornate le tastiere policromatiche dei tempi d'oro, le manipolazioni elettroacustiche, le atmosfere oniriche ed evocative, mentre sono scomparsi, finalmente, i ritmi irritanti e monotoni e le melodie insulse. La novità sta nell'uso intensivo di rumori e suoni concreti di sapore surrealista (voci, effetti, ambiances) che vengono introdotti nella tessitura a creare momenti di contrasto dinamico.
Registrazione impeccabile per un disco importante. Il Maestro è tornato.«
('93, G. Gasparetti, "Deep Listenings", Italia)

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