Klemania

Christopher Franke was, early in his career, right on the cutting edge of the freshness of electronic music. Indeed, as a member of Tangerine Dream, he helped to pioneer the genre and achieved much acclaim as a founder of the Berlin school of e-music. Unfortunately, after he left TD, he became more interested in the mass production of music. The quality of his albums has suffered as a result. He has, however, released four CDs that rate as good to excellent. Klemania is one of the good ones. (KLEM is an organization dedicated to the advancement and promotion of electronic music.) This disc has two long-form (over 21 minutes) pieces and one short (four minute) piece. Within his soundscapes, Franke visits the Berlin school and other domains. There are deep atmospheres, heavy experiments and dynamic rhythms. Gentle melodies weave around and through those elements to complete the soundscapes. This is a good CD. In relation to Franke's entire career, it is a disappointment. In relation to his solo career, it is a fine disc. It will appeal to fans of Klaus Schulze, Edgar Froese, Paul Haslinger and Johannes Schmoelling.