Widely thought of as one of Klaus Schulzes finest works (and he's done a few fine ones, believe me...), this album has been one of my all time favourites since its release in 1977 or thereabouts.
All the synths and sequencers in the world cannot make music as beautiful as this without the input of a sensitive, talented individual to programme and painstakingly build these tracks, layer on layer. Klaus Schulze is one of the finest in his field.
My discovery of Klaus Schulze's music came from a recommendation in a local record shop. Blackdance first, followed by Monndawn and then Timewind. This one came next for me and right from the start I loved it!
The soundscapes of the first part, "Velvet Voyage" are so lonely and desolate it's agonising. The sense of being lost in infinite vistas is tantalisingly strong and, like much of KS's music, it just goes on and on and on...... It takes a strong soul not to be moved somehow by this piece by the end.
The first "half" of the second piece, "Crystal Lake" on this album (side two in old money) is absolutely beautiful. The wonderful "Xylotones" begins with gentle, soft xylophone like sequences, slowly added together, that gently fade in and repeat over and over with only occasional key changes, getting a little more intense as it goes on. A quiet, simple "melody" is then played in the background and finally, the whole section is brought to a gentle conclusion with a descending sequence - like a trickling waterfall - which fades into another of KS's famous, beautiful soundscapes. Things start to get busy again towards the end, Klaus wanting to carry on but being beaten by the capacity of the LP medium (each side of a typical KS LP is around thirty minutes long).
There are more complex electronic compositions out there, many by KS himself, but THIS one has a genuine, almost perfect beauty all its own. The "track" titles are very evocative of the music they portray and the inside of the LP's gatefold (and also the insert of my "Thunderbolt" CD) has an explanation (in a slightly Hippy German translation) of what the composer intends for his music and the listeners reaction to it, which sums it up perfectly for me. Also a list of equipment used - were these guys filthy rich, or were they mortgaged up to the eyeballs? :-)
I SINCERELY recommend this CD to anyone who loves "Electronica". Latest issues have an extra composition (I can't really say "Track") too.
One of his VERY best...
