Digital Dream: the Klaus Schulze mixes

This is a research work about the Digital Dream mix done by Klaus Schulze. Below you will find a text published by Michel Huygen in a Spanish Journal, as well as the Klaus D. Müller response to this matter

This text appeared in a Spanish magazine (the author is MICHEL HUYGEN):

El título de este artículo puede parecer extraño a simple vista pero rápidamente os daréis cuenta del "affaire". Hemos recibido multitudes de cartas y de llamadas relacionadas con las mezclas de "Digital Dream" por Klaus Schulze. Nadie entiende nada por lo visto y mi deber es informaros de todo.

Abril de 1980: mi entonces amigo Klaus Schulze acude a Barcelona para tres días con todos los gastos pagados incluyendo avión y hotel de lujo para intervenir en un programa de Musical Express del circuito catalán y ello durante 30 minutos. Klaus Schulze es traído a España de mi mano porque es entonces un amigo al que poca gente conoce en España y ya es hora de que se le conozca un poco más. Uno de los días de su estancia él escucha los temas de "Digital Dream". Lo deja alucinado según sus propias palabras y me dice e insiste para mezclar nuestro nuevo LP en los estudios Panne-Paulsen de Frankfurt, todo ello por amistad según él. Los multipistas salen para Alemania la primera semana de mayo y teóricamente tienen que estar de vuelta en 15 días. Pasan dos meses sin noticias ni respuestas a mis cartas. Luego llega la primera carta explosiva. Klaus Mueller (su mánager y socio en sus negocios) nos escribe una carta de puro chantaje: Klaus Schulze hará la mezcla SI Neuronium cede todos los derechos de "Digital Dream" para el mundo entero!! Escribimos una carta para aclarar que se trata de un asunto para negociar y que nada tiene que ver con la mezcla prometida como arreglo de "amistad". Pasa un mes más y cuál no es nuestra sorpresa cuando recibimos un envío de Klaus Schulze al cual le acompaña una carta que me es dirigida. La carta no puede ser más expresiva y cruda. Klaus Schulze me dice bien claro que ya no necesita para nada a Neuronium porque la situación entre él y yo ha cambiado por completo. Según lo escrito me puedo guardar para mí mis derechos y me prohíbe utilizar su nombre como autor de la "mezcla" que me envía, en caso contrario habría problemas legales. Carlos Guirao y yo escuchamos la supuesta mezcla... Resultado: toda la música ha sido desnaturalizada. Ocho pistas han sido suprimidas y el guitarrista Santi Picó ha sido suprimido de "las torres del silencio", el tema que más había impresionado a Klaus Schulze cuando lo escuchó por primera vez. ¿Curioso no? Todo estaba claro. Neuronium molestaba y si hubiésemos cedido todos los derechos de este nuevo LP de Neuronium quedaba bloqueado para siempre y a nivel internacional. Afortunadamente allí lo teneis en la calle y con una nueva mezcla efectuada por un gran músico y técnico llamado Alberto Moraleda y por nosotros. Olvidé concretar que el multi-pista sigue en poder de Klaus Schulze creyendo seguramente que de esta forma nuestro LP no puede salir ahora, pero nuestra nueva mezcla definitiva estaba ya realizada en el momento de mandar el multipista a Alemania. Una vez más Neuronium sigue adelante en su difícil camino de la música electrónica y seguirá porque estamos actualmente preparando lo que constituirá nuestro cuarto álbum. Para dar fe de lo expuesto, reproducimos a continuación la carta de Klaus Schulze para los que hablan inglés. Según una reciente charla mia con Edgar Froese (Tangerine Dream), se trata de la táctica habitual de Klaus Schulze cuando algún disco puede llegar a ser molesto para él. Asunto claro y totalmente confirmado. La meta era hacernos desaparecer. Casualmente los discos de Neuronium están en Estados Unidos en el mismo catálogo que los de Klaus Schulze...

MICHEL HUYGEN

The letter send by Klaus (it is unclear whether it is signed by Schulze of Müller. What is very clear is that the letter is sent by the record company IC. Thus, they would be probably discussing about the possibility to publish Digital Dream in IC label):

Dear Michel,

our situation has changed. We don't need "NEURONIUM" anymore. So you can have the mastertapes. I mixed them and I'm happy if you like the mix. De rien. So you can keep all your rights, but you are not allowed to use my name or print my name on the cover. I'll get legal problems if you use my name.

O.K. Thats it. Thanks a lot for everything. See you sometime

Klaus

Translated text by mindchild:

The title of this article can look strange at first sight but rapidly you will realize the "affaire". We have got multitudes of letters and calls related to the mix of " Digital Dream " by Klaus Schulze. Nobody understands anything apparently and my duty is to inform you about everything.

April, 1980: my friend at that time Klaus Schulze comes to Barcelona for three days with all the full expenses including plane and luxury hotel to participate in a program called "Musical Express" of the Catalan circuit lasting 30 minutes. Klaus Schulze is brought to Spain of my hand because he is then a friend that few people know in Spain and already it is time for him to be known a bit more. One of the days of his stay he listens to the tracks of "Digital Dream". It makes him hallucinated according to his own words and he insists to mix our new album at the Panne-Paulsen studio in Frankfurt. All this for friendship according to him. The multitrack went to Germany the first week of May and theoretically it had to be returned in 15 days. Two months gone without news or answers to my letters. Then the first explosive letter came. Klaus Mueller (his manager and partner in his business) writes to us a letter of pure blackmail: Klaus Schulze will do the mixture IF Neuronium transfers all the rights of "Digital Dream " for the entire world!! We write a letter to clarify that there treats itself about a matter to negotiate and that nothing has to see with the mix promised as arrangement of "friendship". It happens one more month and which is not our surprise when we receive Klaus Schulze's sending on which he accompanies a letter that is directed for me. The letter cannot be more expressive and raw. Klaus Schulze says to me very clear he does not need for anything Neuronium now, because the situation between him and I has changed completely. According to the written thing I can keep for me my rights and he prohibits me to use his name as author of the "mix" that he sent me, otherwise there would be legal problems. Carlos Guirao and I listen to the supposed mixture... Result: all the music has been denaturalized. Eight tracks have been suppressed and the guitarist Santi Picó has been suppressed of " the towers of the silence ", the track that had most impressed Klaus Schulze when he listened to it for the first time. Onlooker not? Everything was clear. Neuronium was a nuisance and if we had transfered all the rights of this Neuronium's new LP, it would remain blocked forever and worldwide. Luckily you have it on the street, done by  a great musician and technician called Alberto Moraleda and for us. I forgot point out that the multi-track still continues in power of Klaus Schulze believing surely that by this way our LP cannot go out now, but our new definitive mix was already realized in the moment to send the multitrack to Germany. Once again Neuronium continues forward in his difficult way of the electronic music and it will continue because we are preparing nowadays what will constitute our fourth album. To give faith of the exposed fact, we reproduce later Klaus Schulze's letter for those who speak English. According to a recent conversation I had with Edgar Froese (Tangerine Dream), it is a question of Klaus Schulze's habitual tactics when some disc can be annoying for him. Clear and totally confirmed matter. The goal was to make ourselves disappear. By chance Neuronium's discs are in The United States in the same catalogue that those of Klaus Schulze....

MICHEL HUYGEN

The correspondence about this matter with Klaus D. Müller:

From: klaus-d.mueller@gmx.de

Subject: Re: KS mixes of "digital dream" in 1980

At 02.02.2012 21:05, you wrote:

Dear Klaus
I am performing an historical search about some important aspects of electronic music. I found a Spanish journal with an opinion written by Michel Huygen (you can see an attached scanned version. I apologize for the low quality, but it is from the begining of the eighthies)
This is the text, and I want to know your opinion about this info.
Kind regards,

Thanks for your interest.

Sorry, but we are not interested in this matter. And we will not give you any "opinion".


Best regards / Schoene Gruesse
Klaus D. Mueller
Berlin
P.O.E.M. Musikverlag * Klaus Schulze Prod. * The KS Circle *www.klaus-schulze.comwww.kdmueller.comhttp://jeeves.blogger.dee-mail: kdmueller@klaus-schulze.com
e-mail: poemverlag@gmx.de