the ks circle - Jeeves

Allerliebst
THE KS CIRCLE
16th Year
April! April! 2011
Issue no. 170
Bom dia! Bonjour. ¡Buenos días! Ciao! Dag! Dzie½ Dobry. Hei. Hello. Ola. Privet!
īȈǿȐ ıĮȢ. Servus & Guten Tag.
NATIONALITY?
Hi Klaus,
Thank you for your time in reading this e-mail question.
I've been a long time fan of Klaus Schulze and German electronica since the mid 70s.
and would like to ask your opinion as to why electronic music found such fertile
ground in your country. The breadth and quality of work over the last 40 or so years
is, as far as I'm concerned, not really matched by any other nation. My question is do
you think that there is something in the German psyche, character or culture that
makes you and your fellow countrymen more intuitively open to the scope and the
possibilities of electronic music in a way that others countries do not?
With best wishes,
Bosko
–
Nonsense :-)
This is not a "nationalistic" thing, but a MUSICAL thing. Klaus Schulze started his
music not because he is a "German". There are other musicians, who play other, or
better, or worse, or similar music, ...in many many many countries.
And now for something completely different:
You should look for another mail server. Normally all mails coming from
"@hotmail" go automatically into the mail filter of my server and will be deleted after
one day, without opening or reading or even reaching me; because there is too much
SPAM coming via HOTMAIL. Your mail above was an exception: I found it by
accident when I had a curious look into my server's "spam mail" department. Normally
I do NOT look there, it was the first and last time.
So, if you intend to write again, and you write via @hotmail, don't wonder
if you get NO answer. That's modern times.
Best regards,
Klaus
Lieber Klaus Schulze!
Schreiben wollte ich Ihnen schon lange...jetzt bin ich seit drei Monaten wieder online
und...hier ist meine kleine Story:
Im Jahre 1980, Sie hatten dieses Auftragswerk in Linz, hatte ich einen Job
als Sicherheitsorgan im Linzer Brucknerhaus. Auf Grund der mir selber auferlegten
lockeren Arbeitsdisziplin genehmigte ich mir einen nervenschonenden Schlaf so
zwischen ein und vier Uhr nachts, ausgeführt auf den hierfür wunderbar geeigneten
weichen Bänken des Foyers. In der nämlichen Nacht wurde ich in einer nie
vergessenen Weise geweckt: von den mystisch-sphärischen Synth-Klängen von Ihnen
im großen Saal des Brucknerhauses! Diese Stimmung... das abgedunkelte
Brucknerhaus... verschlafen-übernächtig... Ihre Musik... dies alles hat sich
unauslöschlich eingebrannt! Zudem war ich ja schon jahrelang Fan der
elektronischen Musik und selbst auch Freizeitmusiker in div. Bands. Also, das ging
echt tief und ich erinnere mich nach nunmehr über dreißig Jahren noch gerne daran,
vor allem, wenn ich Ihre Musik mir zu Gemüte führe, die ich bis heute auch aktuell
verfolge (Großartig das Konzert in der Loreley und Big in Japan).
Sehr geehrter Herr Klaus Schulze, abschließend ein spätes Dankeschön für
dieses geschilderte inspirierende nächtliche Erlebnis und ich verbleibe in der
Hoffnung, daß Ihre Gesundheit noch so manchen kreativen Output zuläßt...
Herzliche Grüße,
Peter (Österreich)
–
KS hat in der Nacht vor dem Konzertabend am 8. September 1980 tatsächlich in der
Halle heftig geprobt und gespielt, schließlich war sein Eröffnungs-Konzert für die
Festspiele am nächsten Abend recht aufwendig geplant: mit Filmeinspielungen, LiveSchaltungen, ein Perkussionist auf der der Bühne gegenüberliegenden Seite, Puppen
(Repliken der beteiligten Stahlarbeiter) im Publikum, Fernsehkameras, Radioleute...
KS bekam natürlich diesen Brief von mir und er war - nun ja, "ergriffen"
wäre zu hoch gegriffen - er war erfreut. Und er erinnerte sich gerne daran: Er hat
damals natürlich nicht mitbekommen, dass da ein Nachtwächter "heimlich" ein
minimales Publikum abgab.
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Nette Webdesigner versuchen es immer wieder und ich muss ihnen jedes Mal - mal
schroff, mal nett - absagen:
Hallo
Schönen Dank für Dein Interesse. Du bist allerdings nicht der erste und wirst sicher
auch nicht der letzte sein, der uns anmahnt, doch bitte schicker, moderner, cooler in
der Webseiten-Präsentation der KS-Website zu sein.
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Manch' Reklame-Fuzzis können sich offenbar nicht vorstellen, dass wir sowas GAR
NICHT wollen, sondern dass wir Information einer vordergründigen Optik vorziehen.
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Mein Webmaster bezeichnet solch Angebote von Webdesignern immer (und
meist zurecht) als unerwünschten SPAM. Nun, ich bin nicht ganz so streng, vor allem
wenn das Angebot - wie hier & jetzt - sehr nett und freundlich gemeint ist :-)
Also: Vielen Dank für das Angebot, aber: Nein.
PS:
Ich war gerade auf Deiner Website. Hm. Genau sowas wollen wir eben nicht: Da
kommt nach dem Aufruf ein schön gestaltetes abstraktes Bild in der Mitte ...und weiter
nix. Keinerlei Info. Also klickt man irgendwo hin, in der Hoffnung, nun kommt
endlich die Information. Es kommt tatsächlich was Neues, aber auch das ist nicht sehr
informativ. Klick ich erneut "irgendwo hin" - ich muss es ein paar Mal versuchen, weil
ein hilfreicher Fingerzeig immer noch fehlt - dann kommt tatsächlich was: allerdings
will man nur, dass ich mir irgendein Programm runter lade... Also: Tschüss.
Siehst Du, genau solch überflüssige Umwege wollen wir nicht, ...und sowas will kein
normaler Nutzer, der schlicht nach z.B. einer Adresse sucht oder nach sonstigen
Information oder Neuigkeiten (über KS zum Beispiel).
Nix für ungut. Schoene Gruesse
Klaus D. Mueller
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» Musiker sind oft sehr lustig. Weiß auch nicht warum. Da wird Gott wieder seine
Hände im Spiel gehabt haben. Musik ist ja irgendwie abstrakt und wunderbar
sinnbefreit - erreicht aber jeden. Vielleicht ist das die Verbindung zur Komik. «
(Schauspieler Matthias Matschke; Partner von Pastewka, Engelke)
I
found
a
sentence
in
an
old
newspaper
clipping
A 15 years old book review starts with "Sooner or later, every young man decides for
himself to concentrate on the most important for his life."
I found this clipping in a much older book (about operas), when I was
looking for something completely different in this book. But when I looked at this old
newspaper and read these first lines, I recollected immediately: yes indeed! When I
was a young man I also had decided about my own purposes and intentions in future
life. How did the journalist know that? He doesn't know me at all.
But he was right. At least in my case. And one other person comes to my
mind, a friend I know well and for a long time. He also had decided once, to set
himself a target, ...and - yes - he has reached it. Not exactly as planned, for his 30th
birthday, but two years after when he was 32. Which is now well over 30 years ago.
His starting position was of course different from mine, and his desires - he was
speaking freely and witty about them - were also different from mine. A little bit I
could be of help to reach what he required. He helped me too, not exactly with & for
my wishes, because they were beyong his realm of facility. But else.
I should not forget to ask my son Max, if he also had already decided for one
or another "goal" in his life.
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A question - or better: a remark - about ARE YOU SEQUENCED? reached me from
an Englishman who just had bought and listened to it for the very first time:
I was a little afraid of Are You Sequenced? After all, Klaus doing Techno?
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A fan from the Ukraine put my attention on an existing "prolonged version" of the
album TIMEWIND, including not only the two classic tracks BAYREUTH RETURN
and WAHNFRIED 1883, but also the bonus tracks ECHOES OF TIME and SOLAR
WIND (but not "Windy Times") from the re-release in November 2006:
Bayreuth Return ... 60:38 ... (original: 30:32)
Wahnfried 1883 ... 57:06 ... (original: 28:38)
Echoes Of Time ... 67:08 ... (original: 38:42)
Solar Wind ... 20:05 ... (original: 12:35)
Someone edited the tracks by using a computer programme and first I thought that he
simply doubled the duration, without changing the pitch (Yes, this is possible. But the
sound of the rhythm is awful then).
To check it, I downloaded the long (mp3) tracks and it's indeed the original
music from the TIMEWIND album, at the same pitch and speed, but just twice as long.
It seems and it sounds as if part(s) of the the original track were copied and added into
this (same) track, until the piece was nearly twice as long as in original. If this makes
any sense, I don't know. But I can image that the fan who did this strange work, had
some fun with it. And I bet: now he knows the four tracks by heart.
Hello
Of course this long track is not "Techno"! It's not "boom-boom-booom-zschick!
boom-boom-boom-zschick!", instead we hear a wonderful "tricky" and catchy
rhythmic beginning and this fine rhythm stays for a long time.
I don't remember if I have mentioned it in the booklet: this long track is more
or less the same music which Klaus played at his concert in Derby, in April 1996. It
was the first time that Klaus played just ONE LONG track in a concert. Before, and
after, he plays in his concerts always two pieces of 30 to 40 minutes, with a pause
between (...and at the end: short encores).
Also, the publicity material for the release, as shown in the booklet, shows a posing
Klaus looking all modded up. I bet he enjoyed that!
I would not bet on it. At least I hate such kind of photos. Because it's not the real KS.
It's made-up, forced, and it shows the artiness. The "producers" were two nice men
working successfully in the "Techno" music business. And the record label did - in
1996 - a lot of promotion hullaballoo. We never got so much press coverage before,
for a new album. We also were invited to a radio station, and being interviewed in a
live broadcast for two hours. I had made a CD-R with the essence of this broadcast and
have given it to members of "The KS Circle", then. (Don't ask for it. It's too late now).
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Klaus Schulze had some technical problems with one of his LPs in the
seventies: PICTURE MUSIC. If you played the LP and switched the HiFi
equipment to mono, the whole rhythm was gone! I don't know if the "Picture
Music" CDs work the same curious way (sadly, I have no "Mono" button
nowhere on my equipment). 25 years after the PICTURE MUSIC release I
found a very good explanation for this strange effect. It's called:
THE OOPS EFFECT
What is OOPS?
Now the good part!
In a stereo recording, some of the sounds are recorded on the left channel, and some
are recorded on the right channel. However, because of the mixing done during the
recording process, some sounds are on BOTH channels. It is very common in modern
stereo recordings, for example, for the instruments to be in stereo (different) on both
sides, and the vocal to be "in the middle", by having it mixed into both channels.
Now, if you took one of the channels of the above example and combined it OUT OF
PHASE (plus to minus and minus to plus) with the other channel, whatever was THE
SAME in both channels would cancel out, and you would hear only what was
DIFFERENT in both channels. In our example, you would cancel the vocal, and hear
only the instrumental accompaniment.
OOPS stands for "Out Of Phase Stereo". It is a simple technique used to process the
two channels of modern stereo recordings into a "new", third channel, enabling us
uncover "hidden" sounds in stereo recordings. The resulting OOPSed signal is a single
channel, mono signal.
How to hear OOPS:
This process is also known as "Left Minus Right". When Quadraphonic recording was
the rage in the seventies, OOPS or Left Minus Right was used as a cheap way of
creating a new, third channel to increase the stereo listening experience.
First, record all or part of the stereo recording you want to hear in OOPS on your
computer in stereo, and save it as a file.
The OOPS effect can be used on all of your stereo recordings to hear them in a way
you've never heard them before. The OOPS process has also been used by some
unscrupulous bootlegers to create and sell "new mixes" of previously available
material.
Why OOPS works
The speakers (or headphones) of your stereo system convert an electrical signal into
sound, by moving the speaker cone in relation to the positive and negative waves in
the signal.
In the simple example of a pure tone, the electrical signal makes the speaker "oscillate"
(move back and forth rapidly) by moving one way, outwards for example, on the
positive (+) halves of the electrical waves, and move back the other way on the
negative halves. The speaker cone movement makes the air in front of it move, and this
frequently oscillating air reaches your ears as sound. This single wave is a "frequency"
(how frequently the sound moves back and forth) and you hear it as a tone.
Recorded sound is made up of many of these elecrtrical waves in various combinations
relating to the frequencies in the sounds being recorded.
Now, imagine two signals that are identical, except they are "out of phase" with each
other, that is, that when one signal is having a postive wave peak, the other is having
an identical negative peak.
If these signals are mixed together, they will cancel each other out. The positive peak
of the first signal tries to make the speaker move out, but as it does, it is counteracted
by the equal but opposite negative peak from the second signal, which tries to pull the
speaker cone back in, so no sound results.
þ
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This requires the use of a computer that can record and play back sounds, and
associated software that can manipulate these sound files.
Next, use your sound editing software to read the file. The first thing you need to do is
select one channel only, so that the next change will be made to one channel and not
the other. Then select the "editing" or "special effects" option known as "invert", and
invert the selected channel.
Next, reselect both channels, and use the function in your software to pan both
channels into one, making it into one mono signal. Since one of the channels was
inverted before you did this, when you listen back to this mono signal, you'll now hear
the track with the OOPS effect!
Used by kind permission of Dave Haber from: www.getback.org/boops.html
Here you can find more practical hints how to get the effect without a computer.
Especially if you are interested in the good old Beatles. "Get Back", ...got it?
–
This article above is taken from Circle # 53 which came out ten years ago. I found it
interesting then, and I find it still interesting to look back to the vinyl era. I remember
very good the cutting of PICTURE MUSIC at a Frankfurt cutting studio, ...and the
effect when switching the LP sound to MONO: the rhythm was gone. I cannot try it
out these days, my last record player was worn out and I dumped it some years ago.
Maybe some of you guys can try the trick, with the Picture Music vinyl LP and can tell
me if it still works.
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Another older article I found in Circle #22, about covers of LP albums
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þ
How Covers Are Done ...and Other Related Thoughts
by Catsmeat Potter-Pirbright
Covers have mainly two functions and they are at the mercy of various influences. The
functions are: An eyecatcher for the record-buying customers, and: an artistic
statement. Sometimes both come together.
Influences: The graphic designer of the record company has another taste than the
A&R manager, and the marketing director tries since years to suply some work for his
wifes's girl-friend who says she's a surrealistic painter. I have not even mentioned the
musician's fondness... And the visual taste of the CD shop owners and the customers:
After all it's them who are urged to buy the product.
Mostly, none of those (company, artist, distribution, customers) have much
knowledge about visual standards, not to mention aesthetical laws. But their
rudimentary expertise does not hinder them to join the conversation, to give their
opinions, to make suggestions and decisions and to criticize, as it is done in art
generally, because it seems so easy; there are no obvious rules; nobody knows the
existing rules... (Imagine other professions: pilot, surgeon, architect... do laymen dare
to open their mouths?!).
But, how else should it work? An expert in visual arts is most probably a novice
in music and selling music. A good visual designer of covers knows about his value
and therefore he's very expensive for the label. Also there is the danger of overfeeding;
the customers are very quick sick of it (The too many Roger Dean or Hypgnosis covers
in the seventies. At least I can't stand them anymore).
Therefore, the good, the mediocre, or the bad covers are mostly the results of all these
deeds, this search in the dark. Most covers happen accidental. The best covers I know
were all done when just one person decides: This way and no other (and all others keep
their mouths shut). This person must have the chance to do his job over a log period of
time, for the same artist or for the same label. You all know the ECM albums. Some of
you maybe have heard of the Blue Note covers in the fifties made by Reid Miles with
photos by Francis Wolff. Photographers do often a good job if they know about the
music, if they know about the musician because they followed his path for a couple of
years. For instance, in Germany there is the photographer Jim Rakete. He did a few
excellent covers.
Even if one of those few experts is hired by the label, the result of his technically
wonderful work could be totally wrong if the designer or photographer knows not
much about the artist he wants to expose and not much about his art. For example: The
rear inlay photo of Klaus Schulze in DOSBURG ONLINE (*). Technically great, but the
wrong type of photo. It's just not Klaus Schulze. (Of course a photo is a photo is a
photo ...and not the person KS. What I mean is: The photo shows not the image of
Klaus Schulze that we all have from hundreds of other photos - or personally - of
Klaus. DOSBURG ONLINE shows the image of another well-known German artist: the
pop singer Udo Lindenberg.)
There is a series of the same type of photos of Klaus that was never used. A
professional photographer made these pictures in 1981. She knew not much about
Klaus and nothing about his former photographical image. And it shows. Klaus looked
on her photos (again) like this German singer Udo Lindenberg. And exactly the same
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happened on DOSBURG ONLINE, although the photographer here was a different one. In
real life nobody ever noticed a similarity of both, KS and Lindenberg. It's only on
these few photos.
Sometimes this also happens with the photos that kdm did. He has one where
KS looks like the late Keith Moon. These photos are good for a private smile, but
absolutely not suited for professional use.
I don't want to interpret the "results" of our little TOP 10 covers game (**). As said
above, the general knowledge about beauty and about visual rules is sparse. Why
should it be better among listeners of Schulze music? Opinions are as many as there
are covers. Typical example: The image of Silver Edition. Some of you say it's among
the worst cover they ever saw, others say it's one of the best.
If some of you want to know more about the enigma "What makes a human act a piece
of art?", if some of you want to know more about art, about its what and why - there
is a wonderful book that I can recommend for reading. It was written by Ernst H.
Gombrich: "The Story of Art". It has also many colour pictures. There is a German
version "Die Geschichte der Kunst", and I know that there are translations in most
other languages available... because it's a classic in its field. Main point: It's easy to
read, because Gombrich is famous for using a language that is understandable.
–
PS anno 2011:
(*)
The rear inlay photo was not used in the re-release version of DOSBURG ONLINE on
the SPV label. It's only in the original WEA release from 1997.
(**)
The mentioned results of the COVER POLL at the end of 1998 were, in short:
THE BEST COVERS:
THE UGLIEST COVERS:
Timewind (by Amann) 13 points
Dreams (by Metronome) minus 11 points
Silver Edition (by kdm) 12 points
2001 sampler (by "2001") minus 7 points
Moondawn (by kdm)
10 points
Historic Edition (by kdm) minus 7 points
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David Lynch
There are no special news about Klaus' work on that track that DAVID LYNCH had
sent him for doing new music to a vocal track by Mr. Lynch's singing partner Chrysta
Bell. Except for the little fact that, technically, there was something "wrong" with the
track he received, but Klaus could repair it in his studio.
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The release of the "American Version" of BIG IN JAPAN was again delayed. The
new release date in the USA is now the 19th of April, other sources give the 22nd of
April. The label's website still (on 25th) give the 28th of March, but KS told me
"delayed to April", and some American dealers announce it for mid-April.
modern times: the mp3 player
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Richard Wahnfried
Ein Redakteur des Magazins DER SPIEGEL erkundigt sich bei mir nett, ob es die
Schulze-Alben noch gibr, die KS als "Richard Wahnfried" gemacht hat, oder ob's die
als Re-release gibt, oder - wenn nicht - ob irgendwann mit Wiederveröffentlichungen
zu rechnen ist. Ich konnte ihm ausführlich antworten:
Hallo
...und vielen Dank für das Interesse an Klaus Schulze.
Diese alten Alben sind seit (gefühlten) 120 Jahren leider ausverkauft, vergriffen, weg,
nicht vorhanden, deleted. Ob die eine oder andere noch ein Händler führt, das sollte
man bei den Händlern selbst in Erfahrung bringen: amazon, jpc, etc.
Werden die wieder aufgelegt?
Damit ist wohl nicht zu rechnen. Jedenfalls ist uns nix bekannt und es ist nix geplant.
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Die Plattenfirma SPV hat ja mal (anno 2005 bis 2009) viele der alten KS-Solo-Alben
wiederveröffentlicht und als die Sache am Laufen war, fiel ihnen ein, man könnte doch
auch die WAHNFRIEDS mit reinnehmen. Zu zwei dieser WAHNFRIED-Alben hat's
gereicht, dann war SPV aber "in Insolvenz" und die Re-release-Serie war zu Ende
(...und wir bekommen seit einigen Jahren kein Geld mehr dafür).
LA VIE ELECTRONIQUE
Die beiden bei der SPV wiederveröffentlichten Alben waren:
WAHNFRIED: TRANCE APPEAL
(1996, Metronome) & 2007: SPV/Revisited Records 78822 CD
WAHNFRIED: DRUMS 'N' BALLS (THE GANCHA DUB)
(1997, Metronome) & 2006: SPV/Revisited Records 305522 CD
1982
1982
1982
Die anderen - also die, die nicht nur Sie suchen - sind:
RICHARD WAHNFRIED: TIME ACTOR
(1979, IC)
(deleted)
RICHARD WAHNFRIED: TONWELLE
(1981, IC)
(deleted)
RICHARD WAHNFRIED: MEGATONE
(1984, Inteam)
(deleted)
RICHARD WAHNFRIED: MIDITATION
(1986, Inteam)
(deleted)
WAHNFRIED: TRANCELATION
(1994, Zyx)
(deleted)
(Wahnfried # 8 “Trance 4 Motion” ist die CD 3 im ebenfalls vergriffenen Zehn-CD set
"Contemporary Works I" aus dem Jahr 2000)
Schoene Gruesse,
After a long break the next volume in the series has been released, Vol. 9. The
catalogue number is: MIG 00182 3CD. It contains music from the period 1982 to
1985. Its first release was in the 1997 set JUBILEE EDITION, and then again in THE
ULTIMATE EDITION, exactly 135 months ago.
1983
1984-85
1984-85
&
1984-85
1984-85
&
Ludwig Revisited . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Live . . . . . JUBILEE CD 3 “Budapest” . . . . . . . 21:30
Peg Leg Dance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Live . . . . . JUBILEE CD 3 “Budapest” . . . . . . . 39:21
Die spirituelle Kraft des Augenblicks Live . . . . . JUBILEE CD 3 “Budapest” . . . . . . . 15:32
= 76:33
Seltsam statisch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Studio . . . JUBILEE 18 “À la mode?” . . . . . . . 21:32
Verblüffe Sie! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Studio . . . JUBILEE 18 “À la mode?” . . . . . . . 34:22
Kompromisslose Invention . . . . . . . Studio . . . JUBILEE 18 “À la mode?” . . . . . . . 15:50
Interview 1984 (deutsch) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . JUBILEE CD 14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 07:10
= 79:14
National Radio Waves . . . . . . . . . . Studio . . . JUBILEE 20 “Interessant” . . . . . . . . 53:05
The Midas Touch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Studio . . . JUBILEE 20 “Interessant” . . . . . . . . 20:12
Interview 1984 (deutsch) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . JUBILEE CD 20 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 04:00
= 77:34
Klaus D. Mueller
The release of volume 10 is announced for the 24 June, hopefully in the year 2011.
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Long ago, when I prepared the LA VIE ELECTRONIQUE set, I gave the graphic
designer plenty of photos; below are two from the era 1982 to '85 for use in LVE 9.
Not all photos were used. The "eating" pic here at the top was made in Hongkong, the
other (by me) in Klaus' studio.
Men in Black 2
Agent J:
"Just about everybody who works in this post office is an alien."
Deutsche Synchronisation:
"So gut wie jeder, der bei der Post arbeitet, ist ein Alien."
kdm:
Das erklärt so manches. / That explains some things.
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Alles hat drei Seiten: eine positive, eine negative ...und eine komische.
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__________________________________________________________________
"Wir doch nicht!"
_________________________________________________________________
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Klaus D. Mueller Dessauerstr.13 D-12249 Berlin
[email protected]
www.klaus-schulze.com
www.kdmueller.com/surprise.htm
www.Jeeves.blogger.de
© 2011 Klaus D. Mueller
Tea & Sympathy: Julia in Berlin & KS in Hambühren
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