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Unsung Forum » Schulze's La Vie Electronique, nos. 1-7 |
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Zariadris 286 posts |
Edited Dec 13, 2023, 15:29
Dec 13, 2023, 15:27
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Hey friends, Any opinions on Schulze's massive La Vie Electronique series? (I'm talking to you Seth Man...and all the other klausologists here). Despite a healthy, long-standing love for 70's Schulze, I'd always been too overwhelmed by the series. I finally dipped a toe in with vol. 2, and I really like it. With the holidays upon us, I've got my eye on some more volumes, specifically nos. 1, 3-7 in the series. I've heard mixed things, especially about 7... Anyway, would love to hear your opinions. Peace, Z-man
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The Seth Man 1242 posts |
Dec 15, 2023, 01:36
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Zariadris wrote: Hey friends, Any opinions on Schulze's massive La Vie Electronique series? (I'm talking to you Seth Man...and all the other klausologists here). Despite a healthy, long-standing love for 70's Schulze, I'd always been too overwhelmed by the series. I finally dipped a toe in with vol. 2, and I really like it. With the holidays upon us, I've got my eye on some more volumes, specifically nos. 1, 3-7 in the series. I've heard mixed things, especially about 7... Anyway, would love to hear your opinions. Peace, Z-man Zariadris, Some might hesitate to accept the full 30 minutes plus of "Avec Arthur" on LA VIE ELECTRONIQUE 7, and I can see (hear) why. But the rest of LA VIE 7 has some excellent material, like "People I Know" (Live 1977) and "Crazy Nietzsche." LA VIE 8 is entirely great. "Dans Un Jardin" is a 40 minute performance live in 1979 while the 1977 studio piece, "Hitchcock Suite" is a series of gigantic, sweeping epics. I think LA VIE 9 is from 1982-1985, and that means it's well into digital era KS where the songs get shorter and the tones and compositions get harsher. Best of luck swimming in that massive ocean of KS. There's a lot of GREAT and rewarding material in there. KS was a genius, truly.
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Zariadris 286 posts |
Edited Dec 15, 2023, 14:30
Dec 15, 2023, 14:14
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Thanks a million Seth Man. I had my eye on 7 but was clueless about the virtues of 8. I've ordered 1,4 and 5, and hope to pick up the rest sometime. I was always afraid of this happening - as a long time KS fan I'd somehow avoided the temptation of diving into LVE, knowing it might be ruinous, but here I go. No cheating fate. Another question: I have most all of his 70s releases on spalax and thunderbolt (or whatever - from the 90s) - are the new reissues markedly superior in sound? Are the bonus tracks essential? I'm almost afraid to ask...
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Zariadris 286 posts |
Edited Dec 15, 2023, 14:28
Dec 15, 2023, 14:18
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PS: What is your (and anyone else's) take on Live? The one from 1980...
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The Seth Man 1242 posts |
Dec 15, 2023, 15:20
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Zariadris, I have good news and I have bad news. I have yet to hear any of the MIG ('Made In Germany' is the company name) KS reissues from 2016 or so. But I know the 2018 Japanese SHM-CD issues on Belle Antique like the back of my hand and they are phenomenal sounding. The bad news? I'm sorry to report this but they are tremendously expensive. Even worse, the bonus tracks are great. Like those tacked on the end of BLACKDANCE: "Foreplay" and especially "Synthies Have (No) Balls?" They are both peak mid-seventies KS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKOm6xkLMQ0 Klaus Schulze, man. No one said it was gonna be easy...!
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The Seth Man 1242 posts |
Dec 15, 2023, 15:44
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Zariadris, Comprised of four side long spacey and sequenced epics recorded live in 1976, and 1979, ...LIVE... neatly caps off the preceding era. Little wonder the Japanese Belle Antique box set was comprised of everything from IRRLICHT up to this: https://www.ebay.com/itm/185890331151 Note: KS's next album, DIG IT (1980) was recorded entirely on digital equipment and is a different beast altogether. It was his last album for Brain Records until 1988's EN=TRANCE.)
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machineryelf 3681 posts |
Dec 15, 2023, 17:16
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I have the MIG reissues, Irrlicht through to Moondawn, can't comment on how they sound to compared to other CDs but they were a tremendous upgrade on my elderly tapes, and I've certainly no complaints about them. I have the full set of LVE 1-16, I'd recommend every volume for one reason or another. It's a stupidly vast collection on paper but in reality every disc has something to offer, and unlike T.Dream for example who in my opinion let the technology overrule the thing that made them magic in the first place KS always sounds like KS whatever he's playing Just in case you feel your wallet hasn't taken enough battering have you heard the Schulze/Namlook collab Dark Side of the Moog, they bring out the very best in each other IMHO, and luckily I managed to pick up all 3 boxsets in an HMV firesale. It's not 70s but it's classic Schulze https://youtu.be/DhDkRgEZlLw just a taster
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Zariadris 286 posts |
Edited Dec 15, 2023, 19:47
Dec 15, 2023, 19:21
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I've always wondered about Dark Side of the Moog...I'll definitely have a listen to that - thanks a lot for the link and recommendation. That's awesome that you have the entire LVE - its good to know there are riches throughout. I'll chip away at it, starting with 1-8 and go from there. To your point, I recently heard a later piece of his called My Ty She from Ballet 3, which was quite lovely, what with the cello and all. It reminded me of the Friendship album he did with Göttsching as AMT, which I dig. I also heard a bit of his penultimate recording before he passed, Silhouettes, and found it quite compelling as well. Have you heard it? Like Seth Man said, he's a true genius. Fascinating indeed how profoundly different his music is from TD, who of course I also love. But there's something almost baroque about Schulze's work: the well-tempered moog.
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Zariadris 286 posts |
Edited Dec 15, 2023, 19:54
Dec 15, 2023, 19:37
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Thanks a lot man for hipping me to all this. Yes, those reissues look amazing: I recall you once writing that the sound of these Japanese remasters 'borders on the occult'! (I think you were referring to TD...) I guess I'll have to gradually replace my collection with the new MiG editions, and hope to one day have a chance to hear those Japanese spec recordings on a great system (alas my tinnitus probably precludes my hearing the finer points of these higher grade versions). This, from a well-written review about the vinyl pressing of LVE 1, puts it well: "Klaus Schulze has released a certifiable ass-ton of music, and only the most severely dedicated have collected it all. For those wishing to own his earliest solo recordings on vinyl, the long wait is over, as the One Way Static label has issued his work from 1968-1970 on the 2LP set La Vie Electronique Volume 1.0. Fully embracing experimentation in a home environment, Schulze’s boldly celestial and drone friendly excursions infuse early electronic, proto-ambient exploration with edge and heft." Edge and heft, indeed. https://www.thevinyldistrict.com/storefront/2018/03/graded-on-a-curve-klaus-schulze-la-vie-electronique-vol-1-0/
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Citizensmurf 1703 posts |
Dec 16, 2023, 03:25
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The Seth Man wrote: Zariadris, I have good news and I have bad news. I have yet to hear any of the MIG ('Made In Germany' is the company name) KS reissues from 2016 or so. But I know the 2018 Japanese SHM-CD issues on Belle Antique like the back of my hand and they are phenomenal sounding. The bad news? I'm sorry to report this but they are tremendously expensive. Even worse, the bonus tracks are great. Like those tacked on the end of BLACKDANCE: "Foreplay" and especially "Synthies Have (No) Balls?" They are both peak mid-seventies KS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKOm6xkLMQ0 Klaus Schulze, man. No one said it was gonna be easy...! Crazy how a man can release a 50cd box of rarities AND still have different bonus tracks for his album re-releases.
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