TIMEWIND

This album was my introduction to Klaus Schulze back in 1975. I hadn't seen any of his LP's in record stores before this release, even in the import sections. I think the success of Tangerine Dream helped his popularity in the United States. Anyway, this album was enough to get me to purchase several of his earlier (and later) albums. "Bayreuth Return" is the big draw here. "Wahnfried 1883" is pleasant but too static, and just never gets going. The reason the album gets only three stars? I would have to say that the music hasn't aged that well, because of all the "competition" that came after it. Schulze was in a class by himself at the time, but from the perspective of the present, there are elements that bring down the overall quality of his music. His love of long, slowly-developing tracks, using the same types of sequencer patterns over and over (album after album) leads to "listener's fatigue", to put it nicely. Every once in awhile, I'll see a used copy of a KS album I haven't heard, and give it a listen. Each time it's the same thing: all the old tricks he's been using for eons. Not to mention how prolific the guy is!! I feel sorry for the KS completist....

With Timewind, Klaus comes as close to perfection as he will ever, as his music has now reached perfection after still searching itself in Blackdance. As usual Klaus handles every instrument himself and the album clocked almost one hour, which was unheard of for a single vinyl disc back then.Adding to the perfection of this electronic space/cosmic rock music is the awesome Dali-esque artwork on this superb gatefold, where the innerfold's illustration is even more spectacular than the outerfold.

The beauty of this music is that (as with previous albums), it was recorded live on a 2-track Revox as a master machine. The opening track Bayreuth is named after the street where Edgar Froese and Schulze had their "studio" (actually an ex-barbershop store), and it is an epic and plunges you into a dreamland where vestal virgins abound to your feet as the music becomes the drug that gets you hooked. Klaus is pursuing the exploration of the Moog's possibilities with this album, but Timewind is absolutely not experimental, IMHO. Both composition are so well written and arranged that despite the still new and groundbreaking soundscape developed by Klaus and TD, it is completely accessible to a wide public and it is sufficiently romantic to be used as cuddling music without the proghead having to put up with these insufferable female-aimed love songs.

Wannfried is filling the flipside, but remains sonically close to its companion track. I think Klaus decided that a bit of humour was needed on this album and he chose to dedicate the album to Wagner, which of course is hilarious as the pompous and bombastic classical composer is completely at odds with the low-key floating and aerial electronic music Klaus was known for at that time. Anyway, Wannfried is at least as good as Bayreuth is.

This already fantastic album lasting almost one hour - this was much appreciated by fans to have to change the next vinyl side in more or less half an hour rather than stopping his girlfriend fondling every quarter an hour or so ? this type of music was quite suited for get involved deeper. But in the second half of the 00's, Klaus remastered and repackaged his early discography, and this album comes with three tracks to fill a second disc. Three tracks (only), but an almost 39 minutes Echoes Of Time track, that seems to be an evolution of the music Bayreuth. Ditto for the 12-mins+ Solar Wind, another (shorter) version of Bayreuth. However the shorter Windy Times is sonically fairly different, louder and more abrupt, than both the original album and the other bonus tracks, but it is a remake of the the album theme recorded in 2000. Not only that, but the album came out in a mini-Lp format on the Japanese label Arcangelo and this version is most likely the definitive version of this masterpiece of Kosmische muziek.

astoundingly serene music.

I can't really agree with my dear colleagues on this one, it's not the "quintessence" of Schulze's analog synth music. Off course it announces the deep synthesised soundscapes of the famous records to come but none of the two compositions offered in "Timewind" reach the top of creativity delivered in the sublime "Mirage". However I recognize that this album remains an exciting "meditative" voyage with vast & inventive electronic waves. Both tracks conjugate bizarre tonalities with mysterious, "cosmic" sound like synth sequences. "Bayreuth Return" is a long floating piece which progressively penetrates the psyche and elements of our subconscious. The simplistic, atmospheric and efficient melodic lines break down the straight frontiers of "conductive" time. "Wahnfried 1883" is almost developed in the same structure. It first starts with indistinct, confused sounds then the serene and flowing abstract synth passages progressively rises from the obscurity. An impressive work!!!

Klaus Schulze's fifth studio album is another lengthy expose of extended electronic soundscapes that take the listener to another world musically. They are very sparse, they are very indulgent on Schulze's part, and they can sometimes get a little too excessive in length. This album, released in 1975, while a good album, is riddled with sections that do no less than bore and some editing could have been done on both tracks, but other than that, this is another aural voyage that takes the listener through a desolate landscape of sparse percussion and majestic synthesizers. I don't see Timewind as an album that will be remembered as a masterpiece of modern electronic music, but that does not mean I dislike the album, it still has some very redeeming qualities, in the end.

The first of the two songs on the album is the expansive and lush Bayreuth Return, a 30 minute synthesizer experiment that dabbles in minimalistic expressions and sentiments, and for the most part comes off successfully. Beginning with the use of a wind machine, a sparse synthesizer becomes the main focal point for the first part of the piece until simplistic bass synthesizer notes create the basic mainframe of the song while Schulze pulls out all the stops on the atmospheric edge. My main concern with this piece, though, is not the fact that the music is performed wonderfully, but that the music tends to become over-ambitious and thus from that drag on to the point of massive boredom. Still, though, there are plenty of interesting bits in this piece that really help it more than destroy it, like a "solo" so to speak towards the 14th minute that while being a bit low in the overall mix, relays the main theme of the piece quite well.

The second piece is Wahnfried 1883, a 28 minute piece that relies more on atmosphere than sheer bombastic nature. It starts out quicker than Bayreuth Return, but it retains that slow but steady pace Schulze always seems to play at. It begins with mixed noises and a desolate feeling much like the first, but the feeling is more open and more improvisational than the first piece (even though this piece is not an improv). Schulze's synthesizer chords on this piece are lush and diverse, adding more and more layers of mystery and desolation to the mix. I'm quite fond of the section that takes place between the fifth and twelfth minute, where the lead synthesizers hit their critical mark and really are quite moving. But much like the first piece of the album, it takes forever for the song to reach a conclusion and it at points fails to truly grasp my undivided attention. Despite that, though, as with the first song on the album, there are many incredible breathtaking sections that somewhat redeem the piece from being a flatout blunder.

In the end, Timewind isn't a bad album musically, but there is a lot (and I mean a lot) of filler sections that could have been shortened and would have made the songs more concise and to the point, rather than rambling on with the same theme and buildup for 10 minutes until deciding to change the mood of the piece entirely. And at the end of the day, this album does rank highly in the bore factor. It's not a bad album, it's quite good, but I wouldn't call it a masterpiece in any way, shape, or form (or maybe I just don't get ambient electronic albums altogether). 3.5/5.

This album is the precursor of Moondawn, my favorite Klaus Schulze music. It contains two 'side-long' tracks (both around half an hour), to start with Bayreuth Return. First soaring strings and lots of beeps and bleeps, then slowly a powerful sequencer and slow but exciting synthesizer flights joins. This evokes a very hypnotizing atmosphere, so typical for electronic as it emerged in the mid-Seventies, speerheaded by Tangerine Dream from their pivotal LP Phaedra. Halfway the sounds turns more into bombastic with a wonderful blend of deep sequencer runs and lush synthesizer work. The final part delivers pleasant shifting moods, between dreamy with soaring strings and more bombastic with powerful sequencers and compelling synthesizer flights. The second composition Wahnfried has a bit melancholical climate featuring a lush strings sound but halfway this track fails to keep my atttention, I miss something. If I compare this album with Moondawn I think Timewind has a less elaborate sound, on Moondawn the blend of vintage keyboards like the Farfisa organ, Moog synthesizer and string-ensemble was more exciting. Nonetheless, a good electronic album, one of the better solo efforts by Klaus Schulze.

The first major commercial success for synthesizer trailblazer Klaus Schulze was, not coincidentally, also his first album to reach a worldwide audience, thanks to a contract with ace British label Virgin Records. That the album also contained some of Schulze's best music to date certainly helped too, reinforcing his now-undisputed reputation as one of the premier electronic musicians of our time.

And now the original 1975 album, a certified masterpiece all by itself, has been re-released by Revisited Records in a deluxe new CD package deserving more stars than the Prog Archives guidelines will allow. Some reissues come with bonus tracks; this one actually includes an entire bonus CD of never heard material, effectively doubling the length of an album that was already generous by LP standards.

It's astonishing to think that music this sophisticated was mostly played (and simultaneously mixed!) in real time, using only primitive two-track technology (the album was recorded in Schulze's makeshift home studio, above a converted Berlin barbershop). It was dedicated to Richard Wagner, an obvious kindred spirit likewise fond of grandiose, protracted musical structures, although I wonder what the 19th century composer would have made of "Bayreuth Return" and its 30+ minutes of shifting, drifting synthetic soundscapes.

That familiar synth-and-sequencer template, all but patented by Schulze (alongside his erstwhile bandmate EDGAR FROESE and TANGERINE DREAM) has rarely been programmed with such subtlety and sensitivity. The result here is a powerful but at the same time near-subliminal experience...until that unexpected explosion of white noise at the end, a clever way to avoid what otherwise would have been an unresolved and anticlimactic fadeout.

The second of the two original album tracks, "Wahnfried 1883", omits the sequencers entirely, creating a more contemplative, almost funereal mood (appropriately enough: the title marks the place and time of Wagner's death), and is equally as spellbinding over its slowly unfolding half-hour length.

The album proper ends there. But the bonus CD then repeats the entire experience, with interesting variations. "Echoes of Time" is an extended, alternate run-through of "Bayreuth Return", fully eight minutes longer than the original, and including plenty of slight but not imperceptible differences in mood and mix. "Solar Wind" (a mere 12+ minutes long: barely a blink for Schulze) is yet another version of "Bayreuth", and likewise dating from the same 1975 recording sessions, but this time played without the tense undercurrent of sequencers, totally changing the flavor of the music.

The final bonus track, "Windy Times" (note the tongue-in-cheek inversion of the album title) is a short digital homage to the original LP, recorded in the year 2000 but recycling the same sequencer patterns. It makes a fitting conclusion to the extended double-disc, offering a fascinating glimpse of just how far Schulze had come in the previous 25 years. But the new music also (inadvertently, to be sure) serves to validate the unvarnished strength of the analog original, no less impressive when heard today than it was in 1975.

On "Timewind" Klause starts to impliment multi layered synths, and as a result his music becomes more ambient and spacey. I was reminded of CLUSTER's first two albums actually which came out in the early seventies, although they achieved their sound in a different way than Klause did. Again we have two side long tracks, what's surprising though is the length of this album at 59 minutes considering it was on vinyl.

"Bayreuth Return" opens with spacey winds that continue to blow throughout. A pulsating beat comes in around 2 minutes as other sounds are added. I like the synth sounds 12 1/2 minutes in. It's very windy 21 minutes, more synths at 24 minutes. The sound becomes more intense 26 1/2 minutes in until it ends on a loud and disturbing note.

"Wahnfried 1883" unlike the first track has no beat or rhythm and reminds me of CLUSTER for that reason. Sounds echo as a wind storm blows in. Synths seem to rise out of the storm and build 3 minutes in, then take over. There is something sad about the soundscape here, as spacey winds continue but are more in the background. The sound gets intense late with higher winds as the song ends and our trip is over.

I still think I like "Picture Music" more than this one, but this is essential for the Electronic music fan.

The music that is held in this album is just astounding, beautiful, amazing, grandiose, and immense. In one word: gorgeous. Plentiful. Superb, plenty.

I guess that with these few words of introduction, you got the message. I consider this work as a monster one. The type of masterpieces which suffers no obstruction nor discussion. We knew that the man was gifted. So far, he released several very good albums, but this one topped them all.

A sublime "Bayreuth Return" as the side one of the original album conveys so much feeling! I truly believe that the best of electronic music has been reached here. You got it all: technical maestria, skills, melody and passion. It is equal to the best of what TD has produced.

I know that this is a separate affair, but at the end of the day; their works are so close and their origin so genuine that I can't prevent comparing those two great bands.

GIANTS.

This fabulous "Return" is a fantastic piece of music which matches the liking of "Rubycon". An absolute jewel of electronic prog music that should deserve a whole bunch more of reviews than these mere thirty ones. When I see how heavy metal bands are scoring here, I'm just voiceless!

Do yourself a favour, please: do listen to this jewel of true prog music, enjoy yourself, share your comments, and post your review. PLEASE. It is such a wonderful musical experience. This piece of music deserves six stars (and I'm not really keen on this if you have read some of my reviews so far).

And what to write about "Wahnfried 1883"?

It opens on such a moving intro, Such an incredible keyboard lines, such a sculptural beauty. Such a ?Aaaaargh! This is heaven. An exceptional moment of music to be honest: an extraordinary peaceful and beautiful track, so melancholic, so splendid, so fantastic.

This work is a masterpiece. An absolute five stars (even more if I could). It deserves MUCH, MUCH more exposure on such a site (only thirteen commented reviews before mine! . What a shame!. Come on guys! Wake up! There is more than "prog" metal available in the music we all love.

Such a gigantic work for instance!

Little words can depict my feeling. Just have a listen: that's the best advice I can provide.

Timewind is the 5th full-length studio album by German progressive electronic music artist Klaus Schulze. The original album contained two side long tracks while the 2006 re-issue is a 2 disc version with the original album on disc 1 and three bonus tracks on disc 2. I have the 1991 Blue Plate CD version with only the original album.

The two tracks on the album Bayreuth Return and Wahnfried 1883 are respectively 30:25 and 28:29 minutes long. The songs are ambient, repetitive and atmospheric. Bayreuth Return is a pleasant track which I sometimes use as background music when I read, while Wahnfried 1883 is a bit darker and commanding. It´s only the latter that can hold my attention for longer periods of time but I still think it´s way too long. Both tracks could easily have been boiled down to 8 - 10 minute songs and only have gained in strength IMO. The music is keyboard/ synth driven with next to nothing else in the songs. The music is multilayered yet minimalistic. There´s a pulse in the music ( created by Sequencer) but no rythms created by percussion ( if there are I missed them).

The production is warm and pleasant.

To be honest Timewind doesn´t do much for me, but contrary to some of the earlier work by Klaus Schulze this album doesn´t annoy me or make me feel like I´ve been cheated. I still think the music is too repetitive and that the songs drag on for way too long, but the two songs are actually quite pleasant in their own right and I won´t rule out the possibility that I might learn to appreciate the album more some time in the future. I guess a 3 star rating is deserved. Oh and by the way! The album cover is one of my favorites. Really beautiful Dali inspired stuff.

Schulze is one of the most prolific musicians of popular music. He's also been one of the most innovative and without doubt the most sensuous electronic music composer ever. The list of superlatives to bestow on Schulze is endless, especially so for this defining album Timewind.

Timewind is the earliest artistic highlight of Schulze's evolution from abstract eerie electronic music to the more melodic and pulsating type of progressive electronic that he is best known for. There is no moog yet on this album but all synths have a similar warm and bright sound, the kind that would be cloned by JM Jarre on Oxygène.

Compared to the dark droning pulses of Tangerine Dream's Phaedra and Rubycon, Schulze has a decisively more dreamy and melancholic touch. Also the construction of the pieces is different. Schulze's music is always largely improvised and he has that unique gift to make his music progress in a very organic way. It seems as if the music is continuously the same, yet it constantly changes. This music flows almost unnoticeably from A to Z, and you wouldn't be able to cut out a minute without hearing an abrupt jump. Quite the opposite from modern metal, which looks very dynamic on the outside but is actually perfectly fit for seamless cut and paste jobs. This is no valorisation mind you, I like both styles, it just exemplifies the point very well.

Bayreuth Return is an excellent piece, it has a bit of an unexpected ending, sounding as if Klaus's partner came in and accidentally tripped over the equipment while he was still in the middle of his continuous symphony. The second cd of the 2006 reissue contains an alternate take (Echoes of Time ) which is actually superior, it just ended up too long to make it onto the original album. So obviously, the 2006 re-release is the recommended issue.

Wahfried 1883 is a more abstract piece, without any sequencer pulses but with those gorgeously flowing melodies that keep developing endlessly, without ever settling to a fixed tonal centre (check Wagner for more theory about the technique). This piece is pure genius. One of the most beautiful pieces of electronic music and the pinnacle of Schulze's output together with his album Mirage.

This is pure progressive music, not for everybody obviously and progrock and metalheads especially should approach with care. This is very far removed from the busy nature of your usual prog treat.

'Timewind' is like a floatier and lighter 'Rubycon', which in no way belittles it. Pure analogue synths at their best. I still can't find out anywhere which of these two artists developed the electronic arpeggiator first, and that REALLY annoys me. There's only two (very long) tracks on this album. So long I don't know how they fitted on to a vinyl record in 1975. This is music made for cd on which it benefits enormously. Definitely not one for crackly old vinyl.

'Bayreuth Return' appears first and is just about as good as it gets. Any fan of 'Berlin School' electronics should own this, although I'm sure they already do. Incredibly, this was recorded on a two track mahine.

'Wahnfried 1883' on side two is an altogether more serene affair. Definitely midnight music.

A beautiful album - and the best thing Klaus Schulze ever released.

Oh, and the cover painting by Urs Amann fits the sound of the music perfectly. So this is one instance where you CAN judge a book by it's cover.

Possibly Schulze's most respected and well-known album, 'Timewind' would be the release that would deservedly give the former Tangerine Dream-member and keyboard- and-synth-wizard an international profile. That was because it was the first of his albums to be released outside of Germany and, thanks in part to the striking, Dali-esque artwork, instantly became a favourite for lovers of both electronic and progressive-minded music, allowing Schulze a platform on which to build a long and successful career spanning over thirty studio albums and forty years worth of intense electronic experimentation. 'Timewind', which was recorded and released in 1975, was in actual fact Schulze's fifth solo album, following on from his 1972 solo debut 'Irrlicht' and it's various follow-ups, which included, in order, 'Cyborg'(1973), 'Picture Music'(1973) and 'Blackdance'(1974). Each of these albums progressed both stylistically and technologically from the previous one as Schulze, himself a former drummer, slowly built up a larger and more sophisticated collection of keyboards and synthezisers as his career progressed. Now, in 2010, Schulze is rightly heralded as one of the earliest innovators of purely electronic music thanks in part to his brief association with Tangerine Dream during their early, experimental phase(Schulze was part of the very first line-up of Tangerine Dream and helped to create their groundbreaking 1969 debut 'Electronic Meditation) and his mesmerizing ability to craft intensely lush and psychedelic soundscapes out of the most basic of technology. He was also a founder member of the Berlin-based cosmic-rock group Ash Ra Tempel, again on drums, and was a key component in the creation of their eponymously-titled debut and it's supremely psychedelic follow-up 'Join Inn', alongside another electronic pioneer, the guitar-virtuoso Manuel Gottsching. This musical and cultural grounding has given Schulze a special place at the heart of the genre known as 'Krautrock', and his endearing collection of solo albums have sprung from an association with a series of highly-imaginative and influential groups, informing his radical compositional style and confirming his status as a genuine 20th century musical innovator. His first ten or so albums make up the high-point of his career, but it is 'Timewind', with it's twittering synths, electronic rumblings and loving-crafted space melodies that truely defines what Klaus Schulze and his free-form style of music is about. Made up of just two, expansive tracks - 'Bayreuth Returns', which breaks the thirty minute mark and 'Wahnfried 1883', which is just a couple of minutes shorter - 'Timewind' is a truely astounding musical experience that slowly and carefully unfolds to reveal layers of meditative sonic patterns and rhythms, strange noises and electronic sounds, all the time sucking the listener into Schuzle's wonderous world. Fans of Harmonia, Neu! and Cluster will find much to admire amongst the discography of Klaus Schulze, whilst newcomers to the electronic side of Krautrock are urged to start with 'Timewind', an album that is equally this pioneering guru's most accomplished, accesible and adventurous release to date and one of the foremost creations of the entire electronic genre. STEFAN TURNER, LONDON, 2010

Timewind was the first Klaus Schulze album to reach a worldwide audience, one of the main reasons why some consider it his best. This is supposedly a tribute to composer Richard Wagner. It won the Grand Prix du Disque award in Europe. Unlike some of his other '70s albums, there is no drums or percussion here. Recorded after Picture Music, this album is even more electronic sounding than it. The main reason being he has acquired even more synthesizers this time around. Still using the EMS Synthi-A and ARP Odyssey, he also adds the ARP 2600 and an Elka string-synth. He doesn't use the "big Moog" he bought from Florian Fricke until the next album, Moondawn. A Farfisa organ is also used. The Schulzenator is really pushing the time limits of vinyl here, with the first track "Bayreuth Return" clocking in at over a half hour(!) This piece was completely improvised on the spot and recorded directly to 2-track. Completely synthesizer based. Generally this has lots of rhythmic sequencers mixed with atmospheric sustained chords. Some synth-generated wind noises go back and forth in the stereo spectrum once in awhile. Some quasi-soloing on the synths here and there. At 27 minutes the sequencers start to increase in tempo, making the music more tense and dramatic. The last 20 or so seconds is a loud crashing sound that goes back and forth fast between the channels. Let's say, hypothetically speaking, you had smoked some mind-altering substance and then listened to this album on headphones; that part at the end would scare the hell out of you. Not that I would know or anything.

"Wahnfried 1883" in contrast was a multi-tracked recording. The long-held organ chords kind of give that away; it's hard to hold a chord on one keyboard and screw around with synths at the same time. Instead of wind noises, there is artificial sounds of ocean waves. Not much sequencer here as the music is more atmospheric and symphonic. Early ambient if anything. Some bubbling sequencers at the end. Intense stuff but not quite as enjoyable as "Bayreuth Return". Although I like this album, I still prefer both Picture Music and Moondawn to it. Recorded in 1975 on analog equipment, this sounds less dated than any electronic music from the 1980s. It's surprising how well this has stood up over the decades. Indeed, there is such a thing as timeless electronic music. 4 stars.

As with many seventies progressive music fans, this album was my first exposure to Klaus Schulze's music. And as such, it is still my favorite. And listening to it yesterday, while driving through an early spring New England snowstorm, I found a perfect way to enjoy the album.

The record, and the CD version I also own (sadly, without bonus tracks) is made up of two tracks, each about a half an hour long. The first track, Bayreuth Return, is the more rhythmic of the two. While the rhythm is more low key than, say Tangerine Dream's work of the same period, is has just as much of a hypnotic quality. And Schulze spices it up by subtlely varying the patterns and time throughout the piece. All of this is done while dropping in synth sounds that fly around the stereo spectrum.

The second piece, Wahnfried 1883, is more abstract, but no less spacy and entrancing. An interesting note is the outline of the song printed on both versions of the album I own. Schulze appears to diagram the song in graphic representations of the synth patches he uses, rather than write out traditional music.

Timewind is the album that got Klaus Schulze a lot of recognition, and is his most accessible work that I've listened to. One difference on this album versus the previous albums is that Timewind seems to have a quicker pace, especially the first track.

"Bayreuth Return" features some hypnotic synthesizer lines coupled with high-pitched galactic sounds, and it all really comes together over a no-percussion beat that is easy to move your head to. This track seems like his most Tangerine Dream-esque track, and is probably the best Schulze recording for closing your eyes and taking a cosmic journey through your mind's eye.

With sounds of sirens in the distance, "Wahnfried 1883" leads into a spacey, otherworldly wind combined with a sombre synthesizer lullaby that progresses slowly as the wind gets louder, stronger, violent. There's no percussion on this track, but there is a mid-paced beat that never really becomes established and has the same head-bobbing effect and tempo.

When listening to this album versus prior albums, it's really not hard to see why most people prefer this album as one of his finest. I can't say that I don't agree. This, combined with Mirage and X, make up the most essential beginner's guide to Klaus Schulze.

Electronic wallpaper?

Having paid his dues as a brief member of Tangerine Dream then Ash Ra Temple, Klaus Schulze set out on a solo career in 1972. Since then he has been highly prolific, releasing numerous albums of variable quality and appeal. For many, 1975 was when Schulze reached his creative peak, his fifth solo album "Timewind" often being cited as the best album of his career. While part of that popularity can doubtless be attributed to the fact that this album was distributed far more widely than any other early Schulze album, we should also acknowledge that it contains sounds and devices which were still largely unheard in the early to mid 1970's.

Consisting of just two tracks, each running to around half an hour, the album was certainly unusual for a time when the limitations of the LP format meant that most bands restricted their compositions to an absolute maximum of around 20 minutes.

The first of the two tracks, "Bayreuth Return" was recorded in a single take on a two track recorder. Racing synthesisers immediately lay the foundations for ambient synths and floating sounds to drift in and out. While the overall effect is relaxed the music can be listened to on different levels, either as a quasi-symphonic composition or as electronic wallpaper. On "Wahnfried" the sequencers are less in evidence, so the piece sounds even more ambient than its partner. The sound comes in waves and while referring to the overall effect as drone (not a derogatory term in this context by the way), there is less of an overt melody to "Wahnfried". Unlike "Bayreuth Return", "Wahnfried" is subject to more post-production, with multi-tracking being used to enhance the effect.

It probably goes without saying that those who enjoy the music of Tangerine Dream from around this time will also appreciate "Timewind". Given though that during his brief tenure with that band Schulze's roll was as drummer, it is interesting how well he adapted to the roll of composer and musician. In all, a highly rewarding way to spend an hour or so.

On Timewind Klaus Schulze had the opportunity to use sequencers for the first time, resulting in a refreshed sound which is dazzlingly ahead of its time. Some of the sounds and atmospheres on here are reminiscent, to my ears at least, of the more ambient moments Vangelis' Blade Runner soundtrack, and it's certainly the case that it would take years before the bulk of the electronic music world caught up with some of the ideas expressed here. The compositions are in general a bit busier and have more going on than most of his previous albums, and so Timewind could make a fine starting point for exploring Klaus' career. Apparently it was his only album available in the US for some time - if that's the case, it's a shame, but at least the US got one of his best.

6/10

"Timewind" is a decent midway album between the two golden Schulze periods.

Klaus Schulze's fifth album distances itself quite a bit from the musician's previous album, the abstract 'Picture Music', and goes towards a direction similar to the one early Tangerine Dream were going for.

Space once again is put aside on 'Timewind': the cold synthesizers, the fragile layers of the sound and especially the strong, yet atmospheric synth leads that linger for whole pieces, give a strange, primordial feeling, as the listener was transported into the beginnings of time and space. It's a somewhat dragging piece of work, where, as mentioned, the synth leads are for the most part remaining intact while around them Schulze throws in quirky sound effects or actual melodies. It has been so for other albums of the musician, like for 'Irrlicht' and 'Cyborg', although it wasn't as obvious as it is here. Pink-era Tangerine Dream influences are also noticeable, however, Schulze's style despite having the same roots as the band's, was always able to pull off a style completely different from theirs.

If 'Picture Music' is the ultimate abstract Schulze album, and 'Cyborg' at the time was the ultimate cosmic Schulze album (or 'Irrlicht'), 'Timewind' stands right in between: such an album could have been the most important one by far of the musician, as it resumed all of his previous works, however, despite being dragging in it's nature, fails at times to leave a strong impact, as 'Picture Music' did. The two tracks, one per each LP side, are very long, and require attentive and dedicated listening and it gets hard to keep such a concentration, and if one just relaxes to the music without paying that much attention to the details, he'll be missing most of the things going on. It's a rigidly complex album that alludes to more simplicity.

The two long tracks that shape 'Timewind' are both about half a half hour long, the first one being 'Bayreuth's Return', a slow, but somewhat hypnotic piece, and the second track 'Wanhfried 1883', even slower and more difficult to get into. Both of them aren't always as entertaining and effective as they should be, leaving a mark of disappointment after this hour long electronic meditation.

'Timewind' has some shiny moments here and there in both the tracks featured, however, as a whole neither of them can be exactly grab you from beginning to end, making it somewhat frustrating for the listener. Then again, 'Timewind' should be respected as a decent midway album for Klaus Schulze, who will accomplish his most grandiose albums after this LP.

Is. This. What. It. Is. To. Be. Dead.

Or of a segment pulled through with pain and pleasure. Or of humming underwater with the sun. Or of, not you moving but that moving over you. That separating past you.

It is always tilting to a point of constant return until the equality of that perception unfolds as bits of thirst, grains of her thoughts, the meal of the Recycler of Souls. Grist of reality of sleep of lifting so that all atomized particles are longer without time or that which this new house of wardship is took up by the thoughts. Of me and you and them and.

Without time. Out with time. With or without time. Times with, times without. In with time, out with timeout. Out time with times of in. Times are in, time is out. Of in, of out, of time. In time; In time; In time. Out of time out of time out of time out of time out of time out time out of time out of time out time of out time of out time of out time of out time of out time of out time of out time time of time time of time of time of time time of time time of time time of time time of time time of.

The always of it I'd rather be watching other lives not in motion but in singular blends of hewn of nothing traveled to it nothing traveled to it nothing traveled to it traveled to it traveled to it traveled to it to it to it to it to it to it. Believing me, believe you me, you believe me, me you believe or we could dance but unlikely curtains make it difficult of bowls of steam that may or mayor or may. Provides an underbelly; mask of foundation so that the heavy mentals may weigh upon each and every. Notwithstanding or without standing outstanding standouts standing out of standing, lucky we had a thought of such as this.

Time to dream

Fifth opus by the German drummer and experimenter, "Timewind" is the album that genuinely establishes Klaus Schulze as an electronic music pioneer. After his early drone experiments and the transitional but nonetheless very interesting "Picture Music", the young artist really begins to take confidence on new synthesizers technologies and adopts the formula that will become his trademark: (very) long, deep, immersive and slowly evolving sonic landscapes. The sound effects are now more polished, mastered, and the usage of sequencer has definitely been adopted. The two 30 minutes pieces are a worthy testimony of both the musical freedom and spontaneity Schulze insufflates is his albums. Instead of hearing melodies, we dive into enigmatic ambiances that needs time to develop. Each composition has a beginning, but do they have a true end?

Klaus Schulze particularly enjoys Richard Wagner and dedicated "Timewind" to him. Logical when you take a look at the track-list. The German classical composer moved to Bayreuth in Bavaria, where he founded the "Bayreuth Festival", dedicated to his ten main operas. The festival still takes place nowadays. He lived in the "Villa Wahnfried", and died in 1883 in Venice. Therefore, "Bayreuth Return" and "Wahnfried 1883", which could also be described as "symphonic progressive electronic music", are clearly a tribute.

A few words concerning the cover art: impossible not to think of Salvador Dali when looking at Urs Amman's painting. Logical, as the esoteric and oneiric universe of the Spanish artist is well suited to "Timewind"'s soundscapes. The back cover displays kind of conceptual draft notes or abstract partitions of "Wahnfried 1883", from Schulze himself, but is this really the case? Matching the drawings and the different musical sections is not that easy...

Supposedly composed during an aware dream, "Bayreuth Return" was recorded in less than 2 hours in the night of the June 3rd, 1975, just after Schulze woke up on purpose. And that's really what this 30 minutes piece is about: a genuine awaken dream. Over-trippy interlacing loops textures weave a superb, meditative and surrealistic landscape. Slightly TANGERINE DREAM-esque, it resembles a retro-futuristic whirling dervish dance. At the end, the sequence is surprisingly accelerated. Fantastic! One of the greatest achievements from Klaus Schulze and even from the Berlin School! Like TD's "Phaedra" and Manuel Göttsching's "Inventions for Electric Guitar" albums, released during the same period, it will without any doubt have an influence on the trance genre from the 90's.

More atmospheric and non-sequenced, the ambient "Wahnfried 1883" is slow and contemplative, as if you were if you were discovering a desolated extraterrestrial landscape. No real melody or catchy passage here, you have to be concentrated to really enter this track. Hypnotic, mystical and innovative for 1975, however I still personally prefer the more lively "Bayreuth Return". Good "new-age" music before new-age music even existed? Perhaps... An inspiration for NEURONIUM? Certainly!

Simply a progressive electronic classic, "Timewind" is an iconic album the 70's the Berlin School, and also one of Klaus Schulze's best offerings! An essential listen, and the one to start with, especially for fans of TANGERINE DREAM.

With "Timewind", Klaus Schulze won the French prize 'Grand Prix du Disque International de l'Académie Charles Cros". This fifth opus was ordered by many media centers, and then became a huge success. That's how France was the country that truly launched the German drummer's career, for good...

Timewind is the followup to Picture Music and clearly shows this new synth direction that was already obviously shown on Picture Music. This just takes it to the next level. "Bayreuth Returns", for example, is very much dominated by sequencers, and isn't too different from Tangerine Dream's Ricochet (which Ricochet was actually released after Timewind). Unlike Tangerine Dream though, Schulze loved cramming 30 minutes on to one side of the disc, and it shows here. "Wahnfried 1993" is much more calm, without the use of sequencers, and is in fact more in tune with his 1977 album Mirage, so I obviously recommend Mirage if you like what Schulze did on "Wahnfried 1883". The album was dedicated to Richard Wagner, apparently a big influence on Schulze. Nothing short of essential, as far as I'm concerned.

Timewind is a good album, but it's probably the weakest of Schulze's 1970s records. Its pieces contain most of Schulze's hallmarks of the era, although there's no drum kit on this one. Timewind is said to include Schulze's first use of a sequencer, and while this might be true in a technical sense, some of his earlier works had used repetitive synthesizer patterns. Interestingly, Schulze would later use one sequence in the middle of "Bayreuth Return" on "Crystal Lake," the b-side of Mirage. The sequence is prominent in the eleventh minute of "Bayreuth," but also appears elsewhere.

The sequencer on "Bayreuth" plays a role similar to that of the guitar on "Way of Chances" from Blackdance: a rhythmic backing pattern which adds to the drone-like atmosphere of the track. It makes sense, then, that Schulze would not play additional instruments (i.e., non-keyboard instruments) on Timewind, as he had on his prior albums, and would not engage outside musicians. That he employed drummer Harald Großkopf for four of his next five albums is probably indicative of his interest in rhythm as a component of his music during this period.

Nonetheless, "Wahnfried 1883," the second side of Timewind, is one of Schulze's evolving, generally rhythmless tracks; if "Wahnfried" uses a sequencer, it's very hard to detect. My issue here is with the pace of the evolution. Unlike, say, the hypnotic "Crystal Lake," which changes slowly, "Wahnfried" seems to introduce one or two variations each minute. Like "Bayreuth," it comes across as overly busy to me.

While Timewind doesn't quite meet the expectations Schulze established with Blackdance and Picture Music, I wouldn't classify it as "for fans only." In fact, if it were Schulze's only album, I'd probably assign it four stars. But the other nine of his first ten albums are better.