Klaus Schulze
"X"

With “X” Klaus Schulze composed a ponderous and grandiose work that established him as a wizard and a master of electronic music. This is a double album – his tenth – that contains very bold music, which despite this, achieved great sales success. Each piece is practically a biography of a famous character important to understanding the cultural imagination of the German musician. The first track is dedicated to the great philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, a controversial but essential author for understanding Teutonic culture: the music is epic and imposing, supported by powerful rhythms: a classic piece from Schulze of the period. The next one, “Georg Trakl”, is instead fluid and sinuous: Georg Trakl was a great Austrian poet who died by suicide, to whom Schulze also dedicated a magnificent song in Audentity (“Sebastian Im Traum”). “Frank Herbert” is dedicated to the science fiction writer, author of the genre classic “Dune”, from which a famous film by David Lynch was also made. The settings are sci-fi and could be a perfect commentary for the universe created by Herbert. With “Friedemann Bach”, the son of Johann Sebastian Bach, himself a composer of great level, is honored: it confirms Schulze's great love for classical music, as also testified by some of his debatable records (like “Goes Classic” from 1994). But the true timeless masterpiece of the album is the legendary “Ludwig II Von Bayern” dedicated to the famous Bavarian king declared insane and thus deposed (splendid is the film by Luchino Visconti that tells his story): the atmospheres are decadent and Central European, supported by the cello of the very talented Wolfgang Tiepold. This is one of the musts of Klaus Schulze. Closing the album is the fragmentary and avant-garde “Heinrich Von Kleist” that recreates the spirit of the great German writer by evoking misty and livid landscapes. We are faced with one of the last great works of Klaus Schulze before the decline of the '80s, a dark period during which he experienced a creative crisis partly due to alcohol problems and during which he founded the record label – which later failed due to debts – Innovative Communication dedicated to electronic music. For Innovative Communication our very own Baffo Banfi also released an album (“Ma, Dolce Vita” – 1979) from Un Biglietto per l’Inferno. “X” seems like the response of a great artist to those who criticized him for taking the path of easier electronics.