Picture Music
Encyclopedia
Picture Music is the fourth album of electronic music
by German musician Klaus Schulze
. It was recorded in late 1974 and released in January 1975 on Brain Records
. In 2005 this was the second Schulze album reissued by Revisited Records. This is the only Klaus Schulze solo album in which he can be heard playing a drum kit. Prior to his solo career, he was the drummer for Ash Ra Tempel
; on his later albums, drummer Harald Großkopf of Wallenstein
frequently contributed. Like many of his albums, this one has one long track on each side.
(1974), based on an erroneous liner note stating it was recorded in 1973. His first five albums were displayed in correct order on the back cover of his next album, Timewind
, but his tenth album X
(1978) displayed the previous albums with Picture Music explicitly identified as the third, dated 1973, implying this was the release date as well. The same declaration was made on his twentieth album (not counting collaborations and records made under the name Richard Wahnfried), En=Trance
(1988).
When preparing a detailed discography in the 1990s, Schulze's biographer and publicity manager Klaus D. Müller researched his personal diaries and discovered that the album did not go to press until early 1975. The album is now identified as a January 1975 release at Schulze's website, which Müller maintains. Müller concluded the album was probably recorded before Blackdance, but released after. Still later, Müller discovered that Schulze had not acquired an EMS VCS 3
synthesizer until mid 1974, so the album was likely recorded in the latter half of that year, after the recording of Blackdance. Therefore the official discography was revised again, and Picture Music is now regarded as Schulze's fourth album for both recording and release dates.
, and in 1975, Schulze commissioned Amann to make new covers for all his previous albums, as well as his next, Timewind. The original Wyrs cover was taken as evidence that Picture Music must precede the era of the Amann covers sequence.
Schulze did commission an Amann cover for Picture Music as well (as pictured above, showing a man bound to a ceiling), probably after the first edition of the album was released, but Brain Records did not have a reason to pay the expense of having a new cover designed (unlike his first two albums, which were originally issued under other sub-labels of Metronome Records, Brain's parent company, and then reissued on Brain with new catalogue numbers, so new covers had to be designed anyway), and rejected it. But the Amann cover was used on a French edition on Isadora / Clementine Records (Isadora being the name on the cover, but Clementine was the name on the label).
More covers have also appeared. A 1970s release in Belgium on Ariola Records
uses a cover portrait of Schulze, framed to match the cover of a later album, Moondawn
. Brain Records issued a series of budget reissues around 1980, with new cover art designed "in house" to keep costs down by not paying royalties on cover art, and replaced the original Wyrs cover with a new design of a framed portrait of a child, balanced upright on one corner in a barren field. In 1985, Gramavision Records in the U.S. reissued Schulze's entire back catalogue with new covers showing printed circuit board
s superimposed over photographs of landscapes (again, an anonymous "in house" design). The 2005 CD reissue with bonus track uses the Amann cover with his original back cover design that had never appeared before (the French album with that cover had used a blown-up detail from the front cover for the back), and also reproduced previous covers inside the CD booklet.
On the French LP edition on Clementine Records, side two plays first in error. "Mental Door" is the track with drums.
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
by German musician Klaus Schulze
Klaus Schulze
Klaus Schulze is a German electronic music composer and musician. He also used the alias Richard Wahnfried. He was briefly a member of the electronic bands Tangerine Dream and Ash Ra Tempel before launching a solo career consisting of more than 60 albums released across five decades.-1970s:In...
. It was recorded in late 1974 and released in January 1975 on Brain Records
Brain Records
Brain was a Hamburg-based record label prominent in the 1970s releasing several important Krautrock records by bands such as Neu!, Cluster and Guru Guru...
. In 2005 this was the second Schulze album reissued by Revisited Records. This is the only Klaus Schulze solo album in which he can be heard playing a drum kit. Prior to his solo career, he was the drummer for Ash Ra Tempel
Ash Ra Tempel
Ash Ra Tempel are a German krautrock group of the 1970s, and are an example of cosmic or space rock.-History:The group was originally founded by guitarist Manuel Göttsching, keyboardist/drummer Klaus Schulze, and bassist Hartmut Enke in 1971. All three founding members had previously played...
; on his later albums, drummer Harald Großkopf of Wallenstein
Wallenstein (band)
The band Wallenstein, founded in Viersen in Lower Rhineland, later based in Mönchengladbach, was a German rock band from 1971 to 1982, which was later ascribed to the so-called Krautrock of the 70s.-History:...
frequently contributed. Like many of his albums, this one has one long track on each side.
Recording and release dates, and chronological order
Historically, Picture Music was incorrectly identified as Schulze's third album, allegedly preceding BlackdanceBlackdance
- Personnel :* Klaus Schulze – synthesizer, organ, piano, percussion, 12-string acoustic guitar* Ernst Walter Siemon: voice -External links:* at the official site of Klaus Schulze...
(1974), based on an erroneous liner note stating it was recorded in 1973. His first five albums were displayed in correct order on the back cover of his next album, Timewind
Timewind
Timewind is the fifth album by Klaus Schulze. It was originally released in 1975, and in 2006 was the twenty-second Schulze album reissued by Revisited Records...
, but his tenth album X
X (Klaus Schulze album)
-Personnel:* Klaus Schulze – electronics, percussion * Harald Grosskopf – drum kit* Wolfgang Tiepold – cello , conductor...
(1978) displayed the previous albums with Picture Music explicitly identified as the third, dated 1973, implying this was the release date as well. The same declaration was made on his twentieth album (not counting collaborations and records made under the name Richard Wahnfried), En=Trance
En=Trance
-External links:* at the official site of Klaus Schulze...
(1988).
When preparing a detailed discography in the 1990s, Schulze's biographer and publicity manager Klaus D. Müller researched his personal diaries and discovered that the album did not go to press until early 1975. The album is now identified as a January 1975 release at Schulze's website, which Müller maintains. Müller concluded the album was probably recorded before Blackdance, but released after. Still later, Müller discovered that Schulze had not acquired an EMS VCS 3
EMS VCS 3
The VCS 3 is a portable analog synthesiser with a flexible semi-modular voice architecture, by Electronic Music Studios Limited in 1969....
synthesizer until mid 1974, so the album was likely recorded in the latter half of that year, after the recording of Blackdance. Therefore the official discography was revised again, and Picture Music is now regarded as Schulze's fourth album for both recording and release dates.
Cover art
Picture Music in its various editions, has more cover art designs than any other Klaus Schulze album, and another reason for confusion of release order of albums lies in the choice of original cover artist. The first cover was a painting of an abstract man and background by Jacques Wyrs. The previous album, Black Dance, featured a similar concept painted by Urs AmannUrs Amann
Urs Amann is a surrealist Swiss painter. He is mostly known as the author of Klaus Schulze records' cover art, in a style that reminds of some works from Salvador Dali. He also illustrated the covers of many books, including some of his brother Jürg Amann, who is a Swiss writer...
, and in 1975, Schulze commissioned Amann to make new covers for all his previous albums, as well as his next, Timewind. The original Wyrs cover was taken as evidence that Picture Music must precede the era of the Amann covers sequence.
Schulze did commission an Amann cover for Picture Music as well (as pictured above, showing a man bound to a ceiling), probably after the first edition of the album was released, but Brain Records did not have a reason to pay the expense of having a new cover designed (unlike his first two albums, which were originally issued under other sub-labels of Metronome Records, Brain's parent company, and then reissued on Brain with new catalogue numbers, so new covers had to be designed anyway), and rejected it. But the Amann cover was used on a French edition on Isadora / Clementine Records (Isadora being the name on the cover, but Clementine was the name on the label).
More covers have also appeared. A 1970s release in Belgium on Ariola Records
Ariola Records
Ariola Records is a German record label. As of the late 1980s, it was a subsidiary label of BMG which in turn has since become a part of the international media conglomerate Sony Music Entertainment...
uses a cover portrait of Schulze, framed to match the cover of a later album, Moondawn
Moondawn
Moondawn is the sixth album by Klaus Schulze. It was originally released in 1976, and in 2005 was the thirteenth Schulze album reissued by Revisited Records. In 1995, Manikin Records released "The Original Master" edition of Moondawn, containing a different bonus track from the one included on the...
. Brain Records issued a series of budget reissues around 1980, with new cover art designed "in house" to keep costs down by not paying royalties on cover art, and replaced the original Wyrs cover with a new design of a framed portrait of a child, balanced upright on one corner in a barren field. In 1985, Gramavision Records in the U.S. reissued Schulze's entire back catalogue with new covers showing printed circuit board
Printed circuit board
A printed circuit board, or PCB, is used to mechanically support and electrically connect electronic components using conductive pathways, tracks or signal traces etched from copper sheets laminated onto a non-conductive substrate. It is also referred to as printed wiring board or etched wiring...
s superimposed over photographs of landscapes (again, an anonymous "in house" design). The 2005 CD reissue with bonus track uses the Amann cover with his original back cover design that had never appeared before (the French album with that cover had used a blown-up detail from the front cover for the back), and also reproduced previous covers inside the CD booklet.
Track listing
All tracks composed by Klaus Schulze.On the French LP edition on Clementine Records, side two plays first in error. "Mental Door" is the track with drums.
Personnel
- Klaus Schulze – EMS VCS3 synthesizer, ARP Odyssey synthesizer, ARP 2600 synthesizer, Farfisa Professional Duo organ, drums, percussion