Klaus Schulze-Blackdance (1974)

The third solo album by German synthesizer wizard Klaus Schulze is a kind of transitional record between the avant-garde "Irrlicht" and "Cyborg" and the more accessible "Timewind" and "Mirage". "Blackdance" was originally released in 1974, but due to printing errors in the date on the album covers, it was for some time believed to be the fourth album after "Picture Music" (1975), and was erroneously listed as the fourth album on a number of more recent CD reissues. However, its chronological order has now been correctly restored. On "Blackdance", Schulze crafts incredibly dark, immersive, and abstract space music, and for the first time uses the human voice on one of his albums. To achieve this, the keyboardist recruited vocalist and percussionist Ernst Walter Siemon, who delivers operatic vocals in the first six minutes of the hypnotic and dark suite "Voices of Syn". Other highlights include the spacey and psychedelic flourishes of "The Ways of Changes" and the recurring minimalist electronica of "Some Velvet Phasing". However, despite being one of his most distinctive and interesting works, this third album by Klaus Schulze is often overshadowed by more mainstream releases like "Mirage", "X", or "Timewind".