Moonlake

Klaus Schulze | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 2005)
• Original Release Date: 2005
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Spv U.S.
• ASIN: B0009SQ38Q
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #12,281 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #13 in Music > World Music > Europe > Continental Europe > Germany

Editorial Reviews

Klaus Schulze first attracted attention as a member of the German progressive rock band, Tangerine Dream. Following the release of their debut LP, Electronic Meditation, he departed for a solo career. Klaus' recorded work typically features extended pieces sometimes filling an entire album built around computer-generated synthesizers and other specially programmed electronic effects. Klaus Schulze remains a cult figure in the United States, where the bulk of his prolific output has until now been available only through the import bins. He is widely considered an avant-garde mainstay as well as a founding father of both the new-age space music and electronica genres.

The title Moonlake refers to Schulze’s love of the Austrian moonlake and the monumental fascination radiated by this lake and its surrounding landscape. All of which is perfectly reflected in the intensity and power of Moonlake. Nevertheless, Moonlake is a typical Klaus Schulze album, one that in the words of Schulze "unites tradition and vision". There is a noticeable focus on percussion on the album which hasn’t been found in Schulze’s work for some time. While rhythm was often used as an element to supplement the music on his earlier albums, it takes on a more dominant role on Moonlake. The album also marks the introduction of Schulze playing the Mini-Moog (with distortion and Wah-Wah!) in the studio for the first time. Previously Schulze had only ever used this set up live on stage. This working process gave Klaus Schulze the necessary surge of adrenalin to create a vibrant and lively album, which hides many surprises.

Apart from the first two tracks, Playmate in Paradise and Artemis in Jubileo, which were recorded ‘live’ in the studio, there are also two actual live performance pieces, Same Thought Lion and Mephisto, both recorded in Poland on November 5th 2003 during a concert in Posen for Gert Hof’s huge light show. These edited tracks are now available for the first time for a larger audience to enjoy.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Return Of Klaus Schulze!!!, November 2, 2005

By 

Louie Bourland (Garden Grove CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Moonlake (Audio CD)

One of Germany's most influential and pioneering electronic music artists Klaus Schulze has returned with his first proper album since 1997, "Moonlake". During the eight year gap, Klaus was anything but absent from the public eye and musical ear having released several boxed sets of new and unreleased material, two live albums as well as several collaborations with other artists (notably Pete "Namlook" Kuhlmann on the hugely sucessful "Dark Side Of The Moog" CD series).
"Moonlake" not only marks the return of Klaus Schulze with a regular release but also shows off his relentless talents for experimenting with new musical ideas. The opening track "Playmate In Paradise" is an epic 30-minute piece that fuses dance-oriented sequences and rhythms with Ethnic and Arabic influences (courtesy of violinist/singer Thomas Kagermann). The middle section of this long piece is an unsettling dark affair that harkens back to the days of Schulze's first release "Irrlicht". The Eastern-tinged vocals aren't too far from removed from the Techno-Ethnic experiments of Robert Rich, Steve Roach and Paul Haslinger.
The second track, "Artemis in Jubileo", has a more typical Schulze style to it but offers some heavy dance-oriented grooves that haven't really been heard in such a fashion on a Schulze album. As this 18-minute piece progresses, it builds into a dynamic trademark Schulze overture complete with orchestral sounds and thick layered chords alongside the relentless percussive rhythms and sequencers.
The final two tracks were recorded live in 2003. The 10-minute "Same Thoughts Lion" is a hypnotic sequencer-oriented piece that mixes classic Schulze ala "Timewind" and "Moondawn" with the music of today. This piece is definitely a standout.
The 15-minute closer "Mephisto" is another dynamic effort which begins with various sounds before a quiet sequencer enters in. From this, the rhythmic element of the piece is built up as the percussion enters in followed by a solid Minimoog lead solo that brings the piece to a grand finish.
Was it worth the wait for "Moonlake"? Most definitely!!! While Klaus Schulze has released some excellent work in recent years, "Moonlake" is the most focused release he has done in quite some time and brings back memories of old while creating new ones for the future. The album also shows that Klaus is definitely not afraid to tackle unfamiliar territory (such as the ethnic influences on Track 1) and successfully pull it off.
With this said, "Moonlake" is a grand return for Klaus Schulze and is his masterwork for the 21st century.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The Album is Good but Don`t Expect Revelations, December 18, 2005

By 

Sergey Lenkov "Serge" (Mother Russia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Moonlake (Audio CD)

Read review by L. Bourland - the description of the album is quite complete, but...
The great start and good first 5 minutes of "Playmate in Paradise" (I fell in love with grooves again, says Klaus Schulze) after that turns into repetitive melody with Moog solos by Klaus. Violin playing and a kind of ethnic singing by Thomas Kagermann hard to call great (and by the way, we had heard Deep Forest, Peter Gabriel and "Enigma-2" before, so it isn`t sounds original now; and which ethnos taught Thomas to sing so - it`s hard to say, definitely not the Slavs) - the rest of the track would remind you in style "Dune" and "In Blue". Dymanic final composition - edited live performance in Poland - "Mephisto" - really good, close to early Tangerine Dream sound. Of course, Schulze is great artist of music, but the common mood of the album seemed to me depressive. Our world is much depressive today, so this album wouldn`t help you to be more optimistic. I could look through my window on the street to become pessimist without help by Klaus.
I recommend you his classic tracks and albums - "Crystal Lake" from CD "Mirage" (his "Stairway to Heaven"), CDs "Body Love" and "Dosburg Online" (1997). Much more interesting and healthy music.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Hit and miss..., March 17, 2006

By 

RKL (Asheville, NC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Moonlake (Audio CD)

After the superb 'X' remaster, I was expecting something special with 'Moonlake'. Not to be I'm afraid, the excellent start of track 1, after a killer groove/beat sadly evaporates into a chanting strange mess. This goes on for about 23 minutes. The other three tracks are better with track 4 probably being the best, complete with a very Tangerine Dream-like keyboard solo. Maybe this is the older more mature Klaus Shulze on 'Moonlake'. I enjoy his earlier material better. Digipack packaging. 4 tracks, 74.06