“This is a superb audiovisual document”
1 Shoreless Two 28:23
2 Bazylika NSJ 41:34
3 Godspell 20:25
Bonus Feature:
Documentation 'In the Moog For Love'
Synthetic Symphony SPV 306877 (DVD 130) (V.F.)
(Ambient and Sequenced Rhythms)
It's not with an EM concert, even with the Great Schulze, that I will attract people in my living room. And this, even if the drinks were flowing free. And for good reason! Seeing Klaus Schulze in concert is like watching a big old guy playing on his computers and multiple keyboards. Mind you, whether it was him or Vangelis, the result would be the same. It doesn't matter if the music is divine, it has to move, and you have to feel the complicity between the musicians. Jean-Michel Jarre, Kraftwerk and Tangerine Dream understood this! And that's why their concerts are much more popular with a younger crowd, who are looking for sparks and rhythm in the exchange of friendly glances and smiles. Although Kraftwerk... An EM concert with only one man and his equipment is the equivalent of a concert where a pianist and other solo instrumentalists perform in front of a legion of fans. One must love the artist and have traveled with his music to appreciate this invisible communion. At this level, KS fully succeeds. To see him set up in front of the curtain and arrange his equipment so that they form a phantom orchestra where the rhythm appears as if by magic is something to see and hear. Afterwards, wrapping these rhythms with sweet synth solos is a musical high mass where everything is allowed, even astral travels without any influences. And the audience, as well as I, are stunned by the presence of this man who still inspires so much dream, fantasy and tranquility. Schulze alone magnetizes and bewitches by his ease to multiply his harmonies in a perfect cohesion that we are all surprised that he gets up to introduce Lisa Gerrard and Bazylika NSJ after the superb performance of Shoreless Two. A thirty minutes that we did not see slip away! A great lady with a presence as imposing as the German musician with a splendid voice in a not less superb cohesion between the artificial and the natural. Bazylika NSJ, as well as Godspell, are 2 titles with ethereal atmospheres which are interspersed by strong rhythmic movements where Gerrard's voice fits the audacities and improvisations of a Klaus who demonstrates that there is no age to over-dimension his electronic symphonies where the angels bicker the last satanic breaths A good concert with a sober, not to say rudimentary, lighting set, with 2 artists who are not afraid to push electronic art far enough to be hard to catch and where we run after our imagination.
In the Moog for Love is a 30-minute documentary showing the backstage work of the concert. And unlike the Rheingold DVD, the French subtitles (German is also available) make it more attractive to watch. Especially for those interviews given by Lisa Gerrard about her relationship with Schulze and how he made the first steps to draw her into his synthesized paintings. So, a nice little documentary that shows that the old Klaus Schulze is in good health, that he still loves what he does and above all, that he still has the fire.
DZIEKUJE BARDZO the DVD is a superb audiovisual document. On the audio side, we have an excellent concert with the most innovative music whose many twists and turns are the essence of Schulze's creativity, while the visual side is sober and well detailed. We see perfectly everything that the synthesist touches and programs in order to present a concert worthy of the complexity and fantasy of his art. And I would add that watching and hearing this musical gem on a big LCD screen and a home theater with Cambridge amp and B&W speakers is the apotheosis.
Sylvain Lupari (September 16th, 2010) ***½**
Available at Groove nl