''Irrlicht'' is the first album by

Klaus Schulze Klaus Schulze (4 August 1947 – 26 April 2022) was a German electronic music pioneer, composer and musician. He also used the alias Richard Wahnfried and was a member of the Krautrock bands Tangerine Dream, Ash Ra Tempel, and The Cosmic Jokers ...

. Originally released in 1972, in 2006 it was the sixteenth Schulze album reissued by Revisited Records as part of a series of Schulze album reissues. Recorded without a synthesizer, ''Irrlicht'''s set of "early organ drone experiments" is "not exactly the music for which KS got famous".

Overview

The album's complete title is: ''Irrlicht: Quadrophonische Symphonie für Orchester und E-Maschinen'' (

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

: "

Will-o'-the-wisp In folklore, a will-o'-the-wisp, will-o'-wisp or ''ignis fatuus'' (, plural ''ignes fatui''), is an atmospheric ghost light seen by travellers at night, especially over bogs, swamps or marshes. The phenomenon is known in English folk belief, ...

Quadraphonic Quadraphonic (or quadrophonic and sometimes quadrasonic) sound – equivalent to what is now called 4.0 surround sound – uses four audio channels in which speakers are positioned at the four corners of a listening space. The system allows for th ...

Symphony for Orchestra and Electronic Machines"). Its atmospheric

drone music Drone music, drone-based music, or simply drone, is a minimalist genre that emphasizes the use of sustained sounds, notes, or tone clusters – called drones. It is typically characterized by lengthy audio programs with relatively slight harmon ...

tone is similar to

Tangerine Dream Tangerine Dream is a German electronic music band founded in 1967 by Edgar Froese. The group has seen many personnel changes over the years, with Froese having been the only constant member until his death in January 2015. The best-known lineup ...

's album '' Zeit'' (released the same month) as it stemmed from a common idea that Schulze and Edgar Froese couldn't agree on and parted ways over. In 2005, Schulze said, "''Irrlicht'' still has more connections to Musique concrète than with today's electronics. I still never owned a synthesiser at the time."''Irrlicht'' CD booklet. Schulze mainly used a broken and modified electric organ, a recording of a classical orchestra rehearsal played backward, and a damaged amplifier to filter and alter sounds that he mixed on tape into a three-movement symphony. ''Irrlicht'', despite its highly unconventional nature, was originally released on the

krautrock Krautrock (also called , German for ) is a broad genre of experimental rock Experimental rock, also called avant-rock, is a subgenre of rock music that pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique or which experiments ...

label

Ohr ''Ohr'' ("Light" he, אור; plural: ''Ohros/Ohrot'' "Lights" ) is a central Kabbalistic term in the Jewish mystical tradition. The analogy of physical light is used as a way of describing metaphysical Divine emanations. ''Shefa'' ("Flow" an ...

. Because Schulze was signed to them while a member of

, the label asserted that his solo album belonged to them too; Schulze's reaction was, "I was just glad that ''Irrlicht'' was released at all. Any other company would have probably turned me away with this record."

Track listing

All tracks composed by Klaus Schulze.

Notes

*On vinyl, "Ebene" and "Gewitter" were combined into one 29:00 long track. *"Satz" is the German word for the musical term "movement", therefore "1. Satz" is German for "1st Movement". Translated, the titles mean: ** 1st Movement: "Plain" (as in the flat plains of

Sils Sils or SILS may refer to: Places *Sils, Girona, a municipality in the ''comarca'' of Selva in Catalonia, Spain ** Lake Sils (Catalonia), an ancient lake near Sils, Catalonia, Spain ** Lake Sils, a lake in the Upper Engadine in the Grisons, Switzer ...

) ** 2nd Movement: "Thunderstorm" ** 3rd Movement: "

Sils Maria Sils im Engadin/Segl (german: Sils im Engadin; Romansh ), often also as ''Sils i.E./Segl'', is a municipality and village in the Maloja Region, Upper Engadine in the Swiss canton of the Grisons. It consists of two villages, Segl Maria (Romans ...

exile" (possibly a reference to

Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (; or ; 15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher, Prose poetry, prose poet, cultural critic, Philology, philologist, and composer whose work has exerted a profound influence on contemporary philo ...

) * The 3rd Movement "Exil Sils Maria" was recorded backwards. The recording can be heard the way it was originally recorded by being played in reverse.

Personnel

* Klaus Schulze – "E-machines", organ, guitar, percussion, zither, voice, etc. * Colloquium Musica Orchestra (4 first violins, 4 second violins, 3 violas, 8 cellos, 1 bass, 2 horns, 2 flutes, 3 oboes)Original 1972 LP bookle
as quoted
at

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...

. – recorded as raw material then post-processed and filtered on tape.

References

* ''Irrlicht'' CD booklet, 2006, Revisited Records, SPV 304962 CD

Notes

External links

''Irrlicht''
at the official site of Klaus Schulze * {{Authority control Klaus Schulze albums 1972 debut albums Ohr (record label) albums Musique concrète albums