“Lot of samplings and lot of din for nothing, well for the first 30 minutes and then the genius of Schulze strikes again”
1 The Dome Event 63:31 2 After Eleven 10:44 Venture | CDVE 918
(CD 74:15) (V.F.) (Minimalist, orchestral and tribal)
Honestly! Would we talk about this album if it wouldn't be listed in the gigantic catalog of Klaus Schulze? I'm not really certain of it! Let's abandon the chauvinism! Let's put aside, if only for one moment, this disproportionate worship which is the privilege of the most inflexible fans of the German Master and let's speak about the music. Only about the music! For me, I really find that this album is one album too many in the discography, already well garnished as for the live albums of that time, from the man that I like the most in this universe of sounds and tones which is EM. We had Royal Hall Festival the year before and The Dresden Performance two years prior. What is the link? The long introductions plastered of iconoclastic voices and with samplings which challenge the patience, if not the boredom. It seems to me that Schulze has made literally the tour of his researches to put an end to this. But no!
The too long The Dome Event is a sonic river of 63 minutes which is constituted in 3 nonofficial parts. The first minutes offer an eccentric introduction painted with effects of operetta voices a la Zoolook and other voices divided into Arabic or oriental ambiences. The soft synth pads, fed with effects of flute which remind indefatigably those of Tangerine Dream in Le Parc, lose their ethereal luster for some effects of voices which melt into lamentations of violins. The percussions! Always and always, these piles of strikings which structure no rhythm at all, but which murmur noise. While the sound effects are always pulling us towards oriental moods. This is a long intro of samplings which goes beyond 6 minutes before that a structure of rhythm is going on. It's soft, idle! Chords, dressed up in a tone of acoustic guitar, weave an ambient ballad which is shaken by knocks of bass percussions. A fluty synth caresses these two elements in an ambient duel which will widen its minimalist structure beyond 35 minutes. Like an architect who seems to disenchant, the Master scatters sound effects (voices, orchestral effects, flutes, violins and others) which thicken the atmospheres, while the percussions inflate little by little a slow rhythm which will always remain very worn out by the heaviness of the samplings. Beyond the 30 minutes, the atmospheres become a stream of tranquility where takes shape peacefully the part 2 of The Dome Event. And there my friends, we forgive everything to Schulze!
After a huge range of the quirky possibilities of samplings, which lasts a big 3 minutes (it's long!), the Tablas percussions restructure a peaceful rhythm into a more nervous one. Jingles spice up this tribal approach from another universe, while the synth embalms the air of orchestral caresses. Little by little, the 2nd part sets in motion. Chants of flutes, electronic babblings and percussions livened up of a sovereign desire of techno swindle the time. It is magnetic and mesmerizing. A huge bass line chews on our ears little before the bar of the 43 minutes, calling back these panting and dissolved melodies of Audentity or still of Trancefer. The arrival of the carillons sounds the knell for these distorted ambiences, bringing The Dome Event towards a boosted finale where Klaus Schulze has of literally knock out his public with a lively and jerky rhythm tortured by soloes which are more than audacious. Simply superb! But we have to pass over well and truly the first 35 minutes to reach this electronic oasis. Did we need After Eleven? Composed (sic!) one year after the concert given at the Cologne Cathedral, this bonus track offers a more fluid structure which seems to fit quite well to the ambiences of this concert. The percussions sound horribly false and the bass line, running out of breath, is too present and sometimes even out of context with the wriggling of the percussions. Still here the 2nd part is more interesting with nice orchestrations on a Techno semi structure filled with Berber moods and torn by these orchestral explosions which became his signature in these years of orchestral samplings. We heard that before! Thus, I found this THE DOME EVENT quite long to tame. Klaus Schulze has offered better recordings than this one. But I have to admit that the last 30 minutes of the epic track is worth the spending ... But then again, I'm a kind of diehard fan!
Sylvain Lupari (October 17th, 2010) *****