LA VIE ELECTRONIQUE 3

The third installment in a series of compilations, electronic pioneer Klaus Schulze gives us a more obscure perspective of his music with 'La Vie Electronique III.' As part of a long string of boxsets, the overall purpose of this release is to bring some otherwise lesser- known material from the vault and organizing it into consumable chunks. Bringing the concept of 'spacemusic' to mind, this boxset is complete with three discs worth of cosmic journeying. While it's clear for the most part why this music may have been kept off of more legitimate Schulze releases, 'La Vie Electronique III' provides a relaxing, albeit uninteresting voyage for about three hours.

I believe it was Brian Eno that described 'ambient music' as being something that could be appreciated either in the 'foreground' or 'background.' Such is true with this particular dose of Schulze's music. Generally comprising of studio/live experiments from the late '70s era, the compositions are generally very drawn out, and center themselves around the concept of 'minimalism.' While some of the tracks have more sense of direction than the others (the undeniable highlight 'Alles Ist Gut' for example) many of the tracks seem to drift around and fail to go anywhere truly interesting and exciting. Much of the music consists of light atmospheric synth playing overtop a backing electronic track. While the sounds Schulze employs here are advanced and effective, the overbearing lack of variety here takes it's toll, and it makes listening through the boxset and maintaining a steady sense of interest, a near impossible feat.

Despite a lack of melody, structure or dynamic, Klaus really gets the concept of atmosphere right for this. Despite being the technical apocrypha of his career, the music still conveys the both desolate and enlightening sense of drifting in space that Schulze no doubt aspires to bring forth with his work. Considering there is over three hours of music to listen to here, there is surprisingly little to say; the boxset is essentially a long running exercise in freeform electronic improvisation, cut into sections by discs and track listings. While there is little reason for a newcomer to look into this beyond the desire for a relaxing ambient record, 'La Vie Electronique 3' should appeal to existing lovers of Klaus Schulze's work, and bring a little more to the plate for his dedicated fanbase.

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