Klaus Schulze facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Klaus Schulze
Schulze in 2009
Background information
Born	(1947-08-04)4 August 1947 Berlin, Allied-occupied Germany
Died	26 April 2022(2022-04-26) (aged 74)
Genres	Electronic ambient kosmische krautrock trance
Occupation(s)	Musician producer
Instruments	Keyboards synthesiser sequencer guitar bass drums percussion vocals
Years active	1969–2022
Labels	Ohr Brain PolyGram Virgin Metronome Manikin Island IC Inteam ZYX WEA Rainhorse Synthetic Symphony FAX

Klaus Schulze (born August 4, 1947 – died April 26, 2022) was a German musician and composer. He was a true pioneer in electronic music. He also used the name Richard Wahnfried. Before starting his own music career, he was part of famous bands like Tangerine Dream and Ash Ra Tempel. Over his career, he released more than 60 albums!

About Klaus Schulze's Life

Klaus Schulze was born in Berlin in 1947. His father was a writer, and his mother was a ballet dancer. After finishing high school, he studied German at the Technical University of Berlin. He and his wife, Elfie, had two sons named Maximilian and Richard.

Klaus Schulze's Music Career

Starting Out in the 1970s

In 1969, Klaus Schulze was the drummer for an early version of Tangerine Dream. This band was known for a type of music called "Krautrock." He met Edgar Froese from Tangerine Dream at a club in West Berlin.

In 1970, Klaus left Tangerine Dream to start a new band called Ash Ra Tempel. He formed this group with Manuel Göttsching and Hartmut Enke. After making just one album with them, he decided to start his own solo music career in 1971.

First Solo Albums

In 1972, Klaus Schulze released his first solo album, Irrlicht. This album used organ sounds and recordings of an orchestra. Even without synthesizers, it was a big step in electronic music. His next album, Cyborg, also used an early synthesizer called the EMS VCS 3.

Klaus Schulze became a very active musician. He released over 40 original albums after Irrlicht. Some of his most famous albums from this time include Timewind (1975) and Moondawn (1976). Moondawn was his first album to use the Moog synthesizer.

In 1976, he joined a "supergroup" called Go. This band included other famous musicians like Steve Winwood. They released two studio albums and one live album.

Developing His Unique Sound

Throughout the 1970s, Klaus Schulze's music was similar to Tangerine Dream's. However, his songs often had lighter, dreamier sounds. His music was also like the ambient music made by Brian Eno.

Klaus Schulze often added non-electronic sounds to his music. For example, he used acoustic guitar in Blackdance and a cello in Dune. He even created a special sound on his Minimoog synthesizer that sounded like an electric guitar!

He often found inspiration for his music in German history. His 1978 album "X" (his tenth album) was subtitled "Six Musical Biographies." It featured music inspired by famous people like Friedrich Nietzsche. Klaus Schulze also loved the composer Richard Wagner, which influenced some of his albums. He even named a studio in Hambühren, Germany.

Music in the 1980s

In the 1980s, Klaus Schulze started using digital instruments along with his older analog synthesizers. This made his music sound a bit different, becoming more approachable. You can hear this change in albums like Dig It (1980) and Trancefer (1981).

His album Audentity also showed this new style. Some songs used a lot of sequencing, which is a way of arranging musical notes. Another important album from this time was En=Trance.

In 1989, Klaus Schulze helped the German band Alphaville with their album The Breathtaking Blue. He played on it and also produced it.

Music in the 1990s

The early 1990s were Klaus Schulze's "sample" period. He used many pre-recorded sounds in his music, like bird calls. By his 1995 album In Blue, he used fewer samples. During this decade, many older, unreleased recordings were also put out in special boxed sets.

Music in the 2000s

Klaus Schulze, portrait

In 2005, Klaus Schulze began re-releasing his classic albums. These new versions often included extra songs that had never been heard before. Later in the 2000s, he worked with singer Lisa Gerrard on several albums and live shows.

Music in the 2010s

Big in Japan: Live in Tokyo 2010 was Klaus Schulze's 40th album. It came out in 2010, marking his fifth decade as a solo musician. These concerts in Japan were his last live performances.

His next album, Shadowlands, was released in 2013. He also released The Schulze–Schickert Session 1975, which was a rare collaboration from long ago. After a few years, he returned to the studio in 2018 for his album Silhouettes. Much of this album was recorded in one go!

Music in the 2020s

Klaus Schulze passed away on April 26, 2022, after a long illness. His final album, Deus Arrakis, was released on July 1, 2022.

Richard Wahnfried: Klaus Schulze's Other Name

Richard Wahnfried was Klaus Schulze's main other name, or alias. After 1993, it was simply called Wahnfried. He released seven albums under this name between 1979 and 1997.

The Wahnfried albums were often different from his usual music. They sometimes leaned more towards rock, dance, or techno. These albums also featured other guest musicians playing with Klaus Schulze's synthesizers.

The name "Wahnfried" comes from Klaus Schulze's love for the composer Richard Wagner.

• Richard is from Wagner's first name. It's also the name of Klaus Schulze's first son.
• Wahnfried was the name Wagner gave to his home in Bayreuth, Germany.

On his 1975 album Timewind, Klaus Schulze had already named a song "Wahnfried 1883." This was a nod to Wagner's death and burial at his Wahnfried home in 1883.

Klaus Schulze's Albums

Klaus Schulze's live concert performances were often original songs recorded during the show. Many of his CDs have been re-released since 2005 with extra songs.

Albums as Richard Wahnfried

These albums were made by Klaus Schulze with other guest artists, under his alias Richard Wahnfried or Wahnfried.

"The Dark Side of the Moog" Series

This was a special project where Klaus Schulze worked with Pete Namlook. The titles of these albums were often playful twists on Pink Floyd song titles.

Collaborations with Other Artists

Klaus Schulze worked with many other musicians and bands throughout his career.

See Also

• Berlin School of electronic music
• Kosmische Musik
• Urs Amann, illustrator of Schulze's early records