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Klaus Schulze - Are You Sequenced? CD (album) cover

ARE YOU SEQUENCED?

Klaus Schulze

Progressive Electronic


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ZowieZiggy
PROG REVIEWER
3 stars After some sort of a return to ancient sounds with the triple CD set "Blue", what was going to deliver dear old Klaus? Well another long album, that's for sure (over 140 minutes). But what else?

I must say that when I listened to the opening track: "Welcome To The Moog Brothers" I was rather enthusiast. The good old days are back again: the poignant but cold synth lines are emotional from start to finish in this beautifully melodic piece of music. Are we back on the tracks of "Blue"?

Not completely.

This album is more upbeat; and seriously "dance" oriented. The use of drum "machines" is not alien to the feel I guess. And as the title of the album refers: one get lots of looped sequences which are quite alright for a while, but which tend to be a bit too repetitive (some might say hypnotic) on the long run. And since the album is such a loooooong experience, you can take your own conclusions.

If you listen to the "Vocs In The Dark" sequence (Part I & II), it might sound logical that no real difference can be observed. But it goes on with the same flatness during the next "No Frets - No Bass" which fades with no real change of melody or rhythm. This "sequence" lasts for about twenty-four minutes?

It is totally bearable but much too long. Same mood for the title track except that it only lasts for a mere three minutes directly followed with "Moogy Baby Goes Solo". This could be a one and only song since there are basically no difference in between?a weak "sequence" which lasts for over ten minutes.

As if the great man wanted to get forgiven, he also offers some superb and lyrical songs as well: "Valle De La Luna" and "Moldanya". Those are another thrilling and beautiful parts of this album which is hesitating between upbeat and unmelodic sections while wonderful spacey songs are flourishing too and are much more convincing and enjoyable as far as I'm concerned. The short "Vidanya" also belongs to these enchanting moments but is rather brief.

These songs really reminds me of the glorious seventies and all the grandiose work from Klaus. A total trip on the other side of the moog?Sublime and immaterial. The total contrary of the next "sequence": the combination of "The Wizard Of Doz" and "Vidanya" is again a trip into the dance beats which I can't really endorse.

I'm quite mixed about this first CD. One third is great, but two thirds are average.

But there is no reason to be "mixed" about the second one: truly crappy. Techno, house: awful. There are apparently several versions of this album originally released in 96. This one with a second CD full of "remixes", a single CD release, and a remastered work with another second CD part (which I have never heard so far).

I rate the single CD with three stars. Let's take for granted that the second was just a packaging mistake and that it should never have been there?(otherwise two stars is a max).

Report this review (#252871)
Posted Thursday, November 26, 2009 | Review Permalink
Bonnek
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR
Honorary Collaborator
3 stars After a period of experimentation with sampled sounds in the first half of the 90's, Schulze returned to analogue synths in 1993 on his cooperations with Pete Namlook. With Are You Sequenced? he gives a fitting answer to the evolutions in the dance scene around that time.

The album starts excellently. The first piece, before the beat kicks in, is gorgeous. It is followed by 25 minutes of good trance music that get slightly repetitive because of the monotone rhythm. Working with beats will never be Schulze's speciality. Valle De La Luna makes up for it and is a typical Schulzean piece for dreamy synths and washes of violins.

The album was intended to be a regular studio album but shortly before its release Schulze performed it live and the adrenaline captured during the live rendition was eventually preferred over the original studio take. That's why some of the transitions between beat driven parts and ambient sections are a bit rough at times, but the live energy bonus can clearly be heard on the next couple of tracks. On Are You Sequenced? the beats kick in again but this time it's a smooth ride, the music gets in a commanding groove and especially the section Moogie Baby Goes Solo is a wild swirling moog fest that you shouldn't miss. Moldanya / Vildanya balances the steady pace with a great moment of peace and beauty. The closing 15 minutes repeat the earlier beat with tons of dazzling Schulze sounds on top of it. Over the course of allmost 80 minutes, this continuous piece of music really builds up to a great finale

Conclusion, not a perfect release but given the impressive length, it's easy to distil more then an hour of perfect listening pleasure. The rest is a bonus. As with all Schulze music, the key to full enjoyment is ear-shattering volumes. Don't play this as background music, crank it up! It's an annoying cliché but it's certainly true for this music.

About issues and re-issues.

There are several versions of this album. The original release had a second CD consisting of remixes. While varying in quality, some of the remixes are spot on and demonstrate how the regular album could have sounded with real techno beats. An example is the delicate lounge reworking Voices In The Dark, also SQ3 is great house interpretations. Be warned though, real techno here, bound to drive away prog lovers even more then punk does.

The preferred issue to seek out is the 2006 remaster which adds a second CD with a 1993 composition called Vat Was Dat?. It has the same beat as the main album but apart from that it's entirely different. It starts with a stringent sequence, embellished with eerie synth vocal melodies and aggressive orchestral samples. A second theme is more classical, slightly similar to Philip Glass. Both themes are alternated and further developed throughout the entire 77 minutes of this piece. It's really long obviously, but it's a bonus and a 3.5 star album in its own right. Highly recommended in the electronic progressive section of prog.

Report this review (#259645)
Posted Wednesday, January 6, 2010 | Review Permalink
4 stars This album is quite overlooked,i think most of listeners doesn't realy taste the techno beat running all along the recording.It's supposed to feature several tracks but in fact ,it's a long one piece and transition from one part to another is difficult to perceive. I've been listening to that record loudly in my car a week long and listening after listening,i turned rather entousiast cause the music is realy powerful and good .Of course it's a very very long journey and sometimes a bit repetitive but did klaus ever play differently? no for sure, the whole piece is techno oriented? yes! but klaus is kind of techno precursor, just get back to TOTEM on PICTURE MUSIC in a way it's techno beat yet.This is a live recording and the sound is clear and powerful,the looped sequences are strong and quite hypnotic and the minimoog chorus on MOOGIE BABY GOES SOLO is realy wild,.At the beat background ,one can still hear those typical SCHULZE chords.Play this record LOUDLY!! turn up the volume and feel the sound blast against your body as your mind takes off.4 stars
Report this review (#302135)
Posted Monday, October 4, 2010 | Review Permalink
admireArt
PROG REVIEWER
3 stars Klaus Schulze's discography is huge and continues to grow each year. Be them new, remixed, remastered, + bonus track/s, etc., etc.

Add to that this artist gets all kind of mixed-ratings and top-it with 90% anonymous ones, on his least famous efforts. (Not the case with this one.)

Anyway, I have learnt not take those ratings as words carved in stone. As always, I strongly suggest you decide by your own. At the end of the day the best method still is to sample and hold or forget.

I mistrust most of Klaus Schulze's 80s and 90s releases, he, the same as 1000s of proggers, was bitten by the Drum-Box fly. His musical idiom became lame and sweet-toothed, things I despise as my listener's role.

His 1996, "Are You Sequenced" + bonus disc, is not exempt of this "flu", but thank the Gods, his intelligent melody lines subdue these "sparkling" or "New Agy" sounds. The drum-boxes will be there most of the times, so you better bare the fact that this listening experience will have its drawbacks. It also helps that some tracks , not all (as I would have wished), do without these "drums", and when this happens, Mr. Schulze delivers top of the game electronic music compositions, which show Mr. Schulze's craftmanship as a focused electronic music composer...(If you do not mind the average -Polka/Square Dance- like drum-box rhythm compasses adopted by most of the synth-Rock/Pop 80s' bands and musicians, you are almost in heaven!)

Like a work that could have been perfect, it is constantly diminished by its own author, with these kind of heartless and simplistic rhythm solutions. (Oddly considering that he, besides being a keyboard player, also plays "real"drums.)

Now, if you are young and highly impressed by all those "new" prog electronic musicians, check this guy the same as Tangerine Dream first, because as always nothing comes from nowhere.

Would have loved to love it but those incessant, personal, nuances hinder half my pleasure.

***3 PA stars.

Report this review (#1592531)
Posted Thursday, July 28, 2016 | Review Permalink

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