MIRAGE

Considering I associate mirages with blistering hot climates (deserts etc.), it was a surprise to me that the second album I tried from Klaus Schulze ended up being one of the coldest albums I've ever heard. Composed of just two tracks - both nearly thirty minutes long - "Mirage" feels like the soundtrack to a journey through some sort of digitalized winter landscape, and not one of those happy 'Winter Wonderland' types either. These soundscapes are the polar (ha) opposite of inviting. Instead, they're chilling and ruthless, and despite being texturally dense, still evoke a sense of desolation in all of their mechanical glory.

While I do want to summarize the overall atmosphere of "Mirage" as I've just done, I should also point out that it is not just an hour long trudge through unpleasant synthesizer passages. The first six minutes of the second track consist of little more than several layers of cascading synthesizers, but are they gorgeous. The track evolves further from there, but this first movement, entitled 'Xylotones', truly captivated me and is easily the album's best moment.

It feels like a bit of a boneheaded move to listen to this as the winter fades and spring approaches, but I still felt enveloped by the wintry mood that "Mirage" creates despite listening in the midst a shift away from the season it's meant to portray. I probably would have gotten more out of the experience had I given it a try at a more fitting time of year. Still, if it can make me feel like there's 3 feet snow on the ground when in reality there isn't even a puddle, then it's certainly accomplished something.

4.5 Klause Shulze was definitely one of the fathers of electronic prog.

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