Klaus Schulze - Angst (1983)

Previously on OPIUM HUM:

Klaus Schulze - Irrlicht (1972)

Richard Wahnfried - Time Actor (1979)

Michael Shrieve with Kevin Shrieve and Klaus Schulze - Transfer Station Blue (1988)

Klaus Schulze - Shadowlands (2013)

Synth legend Klaus Schulze's excellent soundtrack to the supremely dark Angst, which, hey! You can watch it right now if you fancy a slow-burning portrait of a psychopath on a bad day.

Track listing:

1. Freeze

2. Pain

3. Memory

4. Surrender

5. Beyond

6. Silent Survivor [Bonus]

Some would surely die of fear. They couldn't stand being tortured that way.

Similar listening:

Jay Chattaway - Maniac (1980)

Biosphere - Insomnia (1997)

Bruno Spoerri - Voice of Taurus (1978)

Well, I finally graduated. There's still plenty of work on the near horizon, but for now, I'm basking in the afterglow with this piece of weirdo astrological synth dorky-ness. A mountain of synths with a single bespectacled Swiss nerd on top. Plus, a bit of live drumming and saxophone. Speaking of which, "Saxelite" is an undeniable highlight here, so stick around for that.

Track listing:

1. Hymn of Taurus (Taurus Is Calling You!)

2. Galactic Acid

3. Saucers Over Montreux

4. Hallo World

5. Meditation

6. Space Cantata

7. Cosmotoxology

8. Saxelite

9. Quiet High

Moondust will cover you

You should also hear:

Roger Powell - Cosmic Furnace (1973)

Leon Lowman - Syntheseas (1980)

Klaus Schulze - Irrlicht (1972)

Previously on OPIUM HUM:

Richard Wahnfried - Time Actor (1979)

Michael Shrieve with Kevin Shrieve & Klaus Schulze - Transfer Station Blue (1988)

Klaus Schulze - Shadowlands (2013)

RIP to Klaus Schulze, the synth GOAT. Schulze changed electronic music, and as a result, the larger musical landscape, by helping to pioneer sounds that would form the basis for not just ambient/progressive electronic music, but trance and techno. He also created some of my all-time favorite records. So to send him off, here's one of them: his very first solo album, and the first one I ever heard. A piece of pure, foreboding, cosmic drone for the ages.

Track listing:

1. Satz: Ebene

2. Satz: Gewitter (Energy Rise - Energy Collaps)

3. Satz: Exil Sils Maria

4. Dungeon [bonus]

Journey through a burning brain

Also listen to:

Tony Scott — Astral Meditation - Voyage into a Black Hole - Part 1 (1988)

Coil - Moon's Milk (In Four Phases) (2002)

Rob Essers - Raincolors (1994)

Related:

Ron Boots, Eric van der Heijden & Friends - By Popular Demand (1993)

Synth time! Rob Essers is from Holland, and in the 90s, he had a big ol' pile of synths, and he used them to make a pair of nerdy-ass Berlin-school records, then he spontaneously combusted, I think.

Track listing:

1. The Ability to Dream

2. A Walk Through...

3. Truceless

4. Sparkles

5. Square One

6. Luscious Feelings

7. Monochromatic

8. Colors of Rain

9. Loosing Chains

10. Electrons

11. The Trivial Round of Life

Some velcro and an order of fries

More like this:

Mario Schönwälder - The Eye of the Chameleon (1989)

Redshift - Down Time (1999)

Morpheusz - Days of Delirium & Nocturnal Nightmares (2010)

Related:

Ron Boots, Eric van der Heijden, & Friends - By Popular Demand (1993)

Ron Boots - Detachment of Worldly Affairs (1994)

The Berlin school synths of Ron Boots and Eric van der Heijden, colored by the soaring, Floyd-ian guitars of Frank Dorittke; Eric's brother Harold's drumming; and some cinematic, symphonic elements.

Track listing:

1. Between the Barriers of Reality

2. Daylight in a Nocturnal Scarescape

3. Prophecies of a Pagan

4. Sandman's Journey Through Sanity

5. Drowse at Dawn

6. Fearful Awakening

Architects of the astral

You'd also like:

Earthstar - French Skyline (1979)

Gert Emmens - Wanderer of Time (2003)

Leda - Welcome to Joyland (1978)

Related:

Peter Baumann - Trans Harmonic Nights (1979)

A really great one-off synthpop project helmed by the great Peter Baumann, under the alias Hacoon Mail. Disaffected, ethereal vocals (courtesy of an uncredited, anonymous female vocalist) drifting over energetic, minimal, precise synth arrangements. Kinda Baumann's Ann Steel Album.

Track listing:

1. Welcome to Joyland

2. Endless Race

3. White Cloud

4. Movin' On

5. City of Light

6. Space Ride

7. Caroussel

8. Future

9. Stardust

Oceans of light

Also listen to:

Hipnosis - Hipnosis (1984)

Mark Shreeve - Legion (1985)

Wolfgang Bock - Cycles (1980)

First album by German synth-man Wolfgang Bock. Lots and lots of synthesizers, live drums, and production by (obvious predecessor/possible mentor) Klaus Schulze. According to my 5 minutes of research, Bock wrote the book on synthesizers, released 4 albums over the course of 17 years, then gave up music in order to devote his life to sailing. 

Track listing:

1. Cycles

2. Robsai Part 1

3. Robsai Part 2

4. Changes

5. Stop the World

Beyond the sunrise

That is where we live

Similar listening:

Ariel Kalma - Interfrequence (1975)

Bas B. Broekhuis - The Escher Drawings (1991)

Fanger & Kersten - Interkosmos (1999)

A perfect piece of Berlin-school, progressive electronic magic from a coupla Germans. Utopian, synth-driven space music ripped, complete with vocoder, straight out of the 70s, but with a few elements -- slightly crisper, cleaner production, a breakbeat here and there -- that betray the fact that it was all written, recorded, and released in 1999.

Track listing:

1. Interkosmos

2. New Times (Betazoid Woman Mix)

3. Deep Sleep

4. Nightshift

5. Searched

6. Black Hole

Alien vocabulary

Similar listening:

Pond - Planetenwind (1978)

Horizon 222 - The Three of Swans (1994)

Mark Dwane - The Monuments of Mars (1988)

Thanks to everyone for the killer workout music recommendations, keep 'em coming! (They don't have to be tough-guy stuff, if that's not what floats your boat.) But since it's been getting so intense around here, let's cool off with some synth-tastic new age. Breathe in through your nose, out through your mouth, and become the alien.

Track listing:

1. Eternity

2. Pyramids of Mars

3. Metamorophosis

4. Solstice Ritual

5. Cydonia

6. Water Age

7. Pyramids of Mars (Reprise)

8. The Martian Sphinx

9. Another Eternity

I took a walk in space

Boy, I really felt blue

Also give these a listen:

Patrick Gleeson - Rainbow Delta (1982)

Gert Emmens - Wanderer of Time (2003)

Earthstar - French Skyline (1979)

Excellent, borderline symphonic Berlin-school synth glory, this time from a Utaca-based band. According to the credits, there are a ton of instruments on this album -- including flute, violin, guitar, French horn, and an actual choir -- but it all gets folded into a single, massive wall of sound. Co-produced by Klaus Schulze.

Track listing:

1. Latin Sirens Face the Wall - Part I: Sirens

2. Latin Sirens Face the Wall - Part II: The Amazon

3. Latin Sirens Face the Wall - Part III: The Flourishing Illusion

4. Splendoured Skies and Angels

5. French Sky Lines Suite

Energy rise, energy collapse

More like this:

Mario Schönwälder - The Eye of the Chameleon (1989)

AirSculpture - Thunderhead (1998)

Wavestar - Moonwind (1987)

Synth-based sounds for drifting through an infinite expanse of glittering stars and planets. Like many of us, anxiety has played a major role in my life over the past year, and it's been the kind of pervasive, omnipresent anxiety that can't be staved off by ambient music. In fact, ambient music has been so at-odds with how I've been feeling, it's made my anxiety worse a few times. Kinda like how if you're feeling really lonely, listening to funk can feel like listening to a great party that someone else threw and didn't invite you. SO I take it as a great sign that I've been listening to more and more of it over the past few months.

Track listing:

1. Voyager

2. Edge of Morning

3. Cabala

4. Troll Valley

5. Moonwind

6. Chase the Evening

7. For the Whales [bonus]

Intergalactic planetary

Similar vibes:

Mark Shreeve - Ursa Major (1980)

Waveshape - Zyklus (1995)

Mark Shreeve - Legion (1985)

Related:

Mark Shreeve - Ursa Major (1980)

ARC - Octane (1998)

Driving, uptempo, post-apocalyptic-sci-fi-worthy sounds from synth wizard/OPIUM HUM favorite Mark Shreeve. Much more compact and 'fun' than the stuff I've linked above. Includes a song (with words and everything!) about Randal Flagg, a recurring character from various Stephen King novels, including The Stand.

Track listing:

1. Legion

2. Storm Column

3. Flagg

4. Sybex Factor

5. Domain 7

6. Icon

7. The Stand

8. Legion (Space Mix)

9. Hammer and Cross

The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want for nothing. He makes me lie down in the green pastures. He greases up my head with oil. He gives me kung-fu in the face of my enemies. Amen.

Also listen to:

Rainbow Serpent - Futuregate (1995)

Arcane - Gather Darkness (1999)

Not Breathing - Time Music of Quazars (1995)

Dark, heavily layered ambient techno from American musican David Wright. Pulsing beats, droning synths, field recordings, and more map out a vast, assumedly stoned inner landscape. The booklet notes that the album was recorded "at home late at night with the lights out." That checks out.

Track listing:
1. The Amoebic Sea
2. Space Between
3. 3-Legged Beetle Eater
4. Dhyana
5. No More Rainbows
6. Combustion
7. Birth of Rotorhead
8. Aether Traveler
9. Cloud Modulation
10. Darth Vader Disco Luv

Mindsweeper

You should also listen to:

Source -
Organized Noise (1993)

Delerium -
Spheres II (1994)

Redshift - Down Time (1999)

Related:
Mark Shreeve - Ursa Major (1980)
Redshift - Redshift (1996)
ARC - Octane (1998)

By request, here are more immersive, dark-tinted synthscapes from the great Redshift. I ran out of shit to say about 70s-style synth music years ago -- in fact, I've probably already said that a few times -- but that's not gonna stop me from posting it.

Track listing:
1. Nails
2. Ultranaut
3. Mania
4. High Noon
5. All Things Bright
6. Protoland
7. Down Time

Heaven is a turquoise avenger

Similar listening:

Arcane -
Gather Darkness (1999)

Gert Emmens -
Wanderer of Time (2003)

Gert Emmens - Wanderer of Time (2003)

Mesmerizing synth-worship from this Dutch nerd. Sprawling, subtly shifting pieces that suggest alien landscapes (pictured above), making your way through a hazy, Bladerunner-esque city at night, and drifting through the cosmos.

Track listing:
1. Wanderer of Time
2. Gaspra
3. Alien Matter
4. Elektra World
5. The Voyager of Voyager I

Another time, another space

You'd also like:

Didier Bocquet -
Eclipse (1977)

Mark Shreeve -
Ursa Major (1980)

ARC - Octane (1998)

Related:
Mark Shreeve - Ursa Major (1980)
Ian Boddy - Elements of Chance (1981) + Options (1982)
Redshift - Redshift (1996)
Ian Boddy : Markus Reuter : Nigel Mullaney - Triptych (2001)

Spacious, meditative but energetic Berlin school excellence from synth-masters Ian Boddy and Mark Shreeve. I ran out of new ways to describe stuff like this years ago, but don't let that trick you into thinking that I'm any less enthusiastic about it.

Track listing:
1. Steam
2. Who Walks Behind You
3. Octane
4. Turn and Face Me
5. Relay

Living in a ritual

You'd also enjoy:

Rainbow Serpent -
Futuregate (1995)

Waveshape -
Zyklus (1995)

Synergy - Cords (1978)

A while back -- like, a few years -- one of you was wondering why, given all the synth stuff I post, I'd never posted any Synergy. So, it's a combination of two factors: they're one of the biggest names in the game, and I don't love a lot of their albums. I like 'em just fine, but sometimes they just feel too middle-of-the-road or something. Cords, however, has a darker, more immediate sound, and I like it significantly more than anything else I've heard of theirs.

Track listing:
1. On Presuming to Be Modern I
2. Phobos and Deimos Go to Mars: Phobos
3. Phobos and Deimos Go to Mars: Deimos
4. Sketches of Mythical Beasts
5. Disruption in World Communications
6. On Presuming to Be Modern II
7. A Small Collection of Chords
8. Full Moon Flyer
9. Terra Incognita
10. Trellis
11. On Presuming to Be Modern II

Rampage of the elements

You'd also like:

Michael Hoenig - Departure from
the Northern Wasteland (1978)

Michael Genest -
Crystal Fantasy (1984)

Arcane - Gather Darkness (1999)

Berlin-school excellence. Everything is completely fucked and there is no hope for any of it to turn around, so why not commit your body and mind to a churning, lushly layered ocean of Spooky Synth™, now and forever?

Track listing:
1. Dystopian Fictions
2. Gather Darkness
3. Flight from Time One
4. Requiem
5. Time Will Run Back

Vast cursed landscape

You would also like:

Software - Chip-Meditation (1985)
+ Electronic-Universe (1987)

AirSculpture -
Trick or Treat? (2009)

AirSculpture - Trick or Treat? (2009)

Related:
AirSculpture - Thunderhead (1998)
Adrian Beasley - Powerhouse (2009)

A single, massive, intricately layered synth behemoth. Recorded live, but aside from crowd noise at the very beginning and end, you'd never know it.

One track, called "Trick or Treat?"

Graveyard shift

If you like this, listen to:

Mario Schönwälder -
The Eye of the Chameleon (1989)

Rainbow Serpent -
Futuregate (1995)

The Legendary Pink Dots - The Gethsemane Option (2013)

Related:
The Legendary Pink Dots - Chemical Playschool 1 & 2 (1981)
The Tear Garden - Tired Eyes Slowly Burning (1987)
The Legendary Pink Dots - The Maria Dimension (1991)
The Legendary Pink Dots - Plutonium Blonde (2008)

A late-career masterpiece from the great Edward Ka-Spel. A sinister, queasily beautiful world of shivering synths, glitchy rhythms, and the man's paranoid musings on death, justice, and isolation within "our Big Society." My introduction to this record came in the comments section of one of my previously LPD posts, so if you're the anon who posted that link: what a magnificent beast of a record, thanks so much for getting me up to speed!

Track listing:
1. A Star Is Born
2. The Garden of Ealing
3. Esher Everywhere
4. Pendulum
5. Grey Scale
6. A Stretch in Time
7. One More Dimension

No bullet is wasted when it comes to the truth

You should also listen to:

Coil -
Moon's Milk (In Four Phases) (2002)

The Residents -
Animal Lover (2005)