Legendary composer and synth innovator Klaus Schulze has died
The musician passed away earlier this week aged 74
Pioneering music producer and inventor Klaus Schulze has passed away aged 74.
The Berlin-born composer, multi-instrumentalist, and brains behind some of the earliest analog synths passed away on Tuesday, April 26, after suffering from a long-term illness.
Klaus Schulze helped to pave the way toward the synths we know and love today, and “modern music as we know it”, as Moog said in a tribute to the late musician.
“A pioneer of electronic sound, Klaus Schulze and his contributions to the synthesizer community and modern music as we know it will continue to inspire for generations. Thank you, Klaus, for showing the world how truly human electronic music can be,” they posted.
Schulze was known for his innovative productions creating soundscape-leaning tracks that often ran for 30 minutes or longer. By using his notable style of step sequencer patterns, Schulze created some of the most fascinating early electronic music.
Early on in his career, Schulze played alongside groups Tangerine Dream and Ash Ra Tempel as a drummer before making his solo journey and began dabbling in electronic music using the minimoog synthesiser, the Mellotron and the Farfisa Duo organ.
During his solo career, Schulze produced over 50 records including studio albums, live albums and soundtracks through techno, trance, ambient, and the pioneering sound of Berlin school.
Schulze’s fascination with early analog synthesisers was never swayed by modern equipment, opting to use it over later produced gear.
“When you edit digital instruments, you're hampered by the pages system, which doesn't allow you to be very intuitive,” he told Sound On Sound in an interview in 1996.
Read some tributes to the late musician below:
Gemma Ross is Mixmag's Editorial Assistant, follow her on Twitter