DIG IT

It's clear this is the start of the '80s as far as Klaus Schulze is concerned. Clearly not a continuation of Dune. While he still used tons of his old gear at this time, on this album he didn't bother and instead used exclusively the GDS computer (and some help with percussion and drums). Trancefer only proved he returned to the old gear augmented by the GDS (and likely newer stuff too). "Death of an Analogue" is definitely prophetic as far as the title goes (by 1985 it's was difficult to find any analog synths being used, digital was in full force by then). This was recorded digitally (Hawkwind's Levitation, released around the same time, was recorded digitally, and so were several other albums since 1979 including Ry Cooder, Stevie Wonder, True Myth). It definitely has a more minimalist abstract approach, and probably not the best way to start the album, as I wished there was more development. It's nice hearing the vocoder, though. "Weird Caravan" is an odd one, as he basically explore reggae, electronic style. I actually found this one more enjoyable than "Death of an Analogue", I guess his exploration into reggae. Don't worry, he didn't go all Bob Marley on us, it's still instrumental electronic, it's that he included reggae rhythms in this piece. "The Looper isn't a Hooker" is truly one of the album's highlights, as he really soars here. "Synthasy" is one of his slow droning pieces that seems to be his trademark, so it's closest to the classic Schulze sound you're going to get here.

I needed to point out that it's hard not to think that Dig It is to Klaus Schulze what Stuntman is to Edgar Froese. Both albums were clearly departing from the 1970s going for a more 1980s sound with a digital approach. Edgar's album came first, a year before Dig It. While Edgar was still using some of his old gear (the Mellotron clearly not one of them) he used new state-of-the-art digital gear (most notably a PPG synthesizer). Schulze used the Crumar GDS mainly, and he went one step further by recording this album digitally. And like both albums there are modern 1980s digital synth sounds that sound easily pass for a Yamaha DX-7, two to three years before the DX-7 hit the markets.

Thanks to the crystal clear digital production and recording, if it weren't for the occasional snap, crackle and pop on my used vinyl copy (original orange Brain pressing), I could have easily sworn I was listening to a CD (the CD did not exist in 1980, although it was obviously reissued on CD many years later).

In conclusion, I'm surprised how good 3/4 of this album is (with "Death of an Analogue" being my least favorite). I generally dread the 1980s given how so many electronic artists of the '70s had started to explore either synth pop or New Age by the 1980s. Seems that Klaus Schulze simply updated his sound and explored new ground with Dig It, but did it rather well. Surprisingly good, despite the opening cut.

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