Klaus Schulze
Mirage

The 1970s were certainly a period of great creativity for Klaus Schulze: after the masterpieces “Irrlicht” (1972) and “Cyborg” (1973), which fully consecrated him as the undisputed master of Cosmic Music, a genre practically invented by him, the German musician continued his career by releasing albums characterized by easier electronics, but still equally valid. The gothic and grandiose “Blackdance” (1973) and the meditative “Picture Music” (1975), with the rhythms of the classic “Totem”, clearly showed the path that would soon be taken. The "Wagnerian" masterpiece “Timewind” (1975) was a confirmation of his great moment of inspiration. Meanwhile, Schulze was beginning to be known and appreciated in Europe, particularly in France, where he enjoyed much respect and credit. But it is with the release of “Moondawn” (1976) that the Schulze-sound is clearly defined from that moment onwards. The music becomes more impactful, dominated by sequencers, as the Tangerine Dream were already doing during their Virgin period, but it remains of great value. It is true, however, that the formula explored here will be exploited in the future to exhaustion, starting with the soundtrack of “Body Love” (1977).

With “Mirage” (1977) instead, Schulze releases a different album of undoubtedly more difficult and less engaging music. Despite this, sales will be excellent, a testament to the fame achieved by the artist and to how good currency does not always drive out bad. “Mirage” is an album that evokes winter scenes, sad and cold. It was composed during a particularly difficult period in Klaus Schulze's life as his brother was on the verge of death and was about to die. It contains 2 long tracks titled “Velvet Voyage” and “Crystal Lake”. The easy rhythms of “Moondawn” disappear in favor of leaden atmospheres created by Moog synthesizers. “Velvet Voyage” immediately envelops us in an endless twilight of the soul. The early Tangerine Dream come to mind, but the music is possibly more dramatic: it seems like the soundtrack of a landscape of infinite stretches of eternal ice. “Crystal Lake” is instead a small masterpiece and one of the best tracks of his production: the structure of the music is based on slow and circular sound layers that create an epic symphony of infinite cosmic sadness. It is like living within a dream that connects us with a sense of impending death, making us understand the transience of human life and the sense of dismay in front of the eternal beauty of nature. We are faced with deep and twilight music, from which shines through all the sensitivity of Klaus Schulze.

“Mirage” is one of the best Schulze that captures this artist in a particular moment of inspiration. To be listened to during gloomy and rainy winter days.