LA VIE ELECTRONIQUE 4

Being credited for pioneering the electronic music scene almost forty years ago, there's no denial that innovator Klaus Schulze has been a huge force in modern music. Having released a number of albums that are now considered masters of the genre, it goes without saying that the man is an inspired composer and musician. On top of his more visible releases however, Schulze has released many hours of previously unreleased material. To that measure, 'La Vie Electronique,' a newly commissioned boxset series seeks to rerelease this vast section of Klaus' work that never came to light. This is the fourth installment of that series.

The tracks on 'La Vie Electronique IV' are taken from 1975-76, around the time when Schulze was at a creative peak. The sound here is generally taken from obscure live recordings of long, drawn out improvisations that Schulze would fashion in concert. With tracks here going as long as 73 minutes (being broken down for the sake of CD navigation), there is no doubt that Schulze lets his sound simmer and take it's time. With that being said, that is both the music's greatest strength, and most fatal weakness. While the minimalistic attitude of the composition and lack of form makes for a very soothing, near-astral listening experience, anyone looking for an exciting piece of music should look elsewhere. Even after multiple listens of the music on 'La Vie Electronique IV,' the listener will be hard pressed to find much of a narrative structure beyond the intentions of the improvised manifest.

Most of the music throughout the three hour-plus discs on 'La Vie Electronique IV' follows the same format, which can get very tiresome after an almost four hour experience. A very slow, minimalistic sound that generally switches between two prescribed chords is layered with some added meandering synth leads. Occasionally, there will be some new sound introduced into the recording, which is alot more exciting here than it normally would anywhere else. While the preceeding installment in the series had a few more dynamic sections and a more driving atmosphere, 'La Vie Electronique IV' slips even further down the route of spaciness and ambience.

The most valuable thing about this product is actually the packaging itself. Everything is put together beautifully, and each disc is formatted in a nostalgic digital vinyl. Inside is also some insightful commentary from the acknowledged electronic music historian Darren Bergstein, as well as some words from Schulze himself on the music.

While 'La Vie Electronique IV' is certainly not a stellar listen and generally a very boring record. Klaus Schulze is a very talented composer, but despite some very attractive packaging and a generally atmospheric journey, only the more dedicated fans of electronic music are recommended this.

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