Sundaze 2004

Hello,  today's artist spent most of his life studying Sufism and Mysticism as such being 'out there ' that much may well have led him deciding to stay there, instead of returning to his aging body, after all he had given what he had to give..


Today's artist is is a German ambient drone. While the early releases of the early 80s (almost exclusively released on cassette) were characterized by droning singing bowls, tambouras, zithers and natural sounds, these natural sound sources were combined more and more delicately on the late works, so that the sound source itself can no longer be identified was. The result was a deep, dronic sound current. If you listen closely, you will discover the incredible complexity that swells up and down and gives the sounds something organic. Each album was under a spiritual (often Sufic) motto and probably opened a corresponding door in open-minded listeners to touch or awaken that emotional level. Do listen to this guy, whose music, while hardly including a single word, has so much more to say to us than words, no matter their number, could ever communicate. .......N-Joy

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Klaus Wiese (January 18, 1942 – January 27, 2009 in Ulm) was a veteran e-musician, minimalist, and multi-instrumentalist. A master of the Tibetan singing bowl, he created an extensive series of album releases using them. Wiese also used the human voice, the zither, Persian stringed instruments, chimes, and other exotic instruments in his music. Wiese is considered by some as one of the great ambient or space music artists such as Robert Rich, Steve Roach, Michael Stearns, Constance Demby, and Jonn Serrie. His musical style is much more appropriately compared to the organic soundscapes of drone and dark ambient music, such as Oöphoi, Alio Die, Mathias Grassow, and Tau Ceti.

He was briefly a member of the krautrock band Popol Vuh in the early 1970s where he played tamboura on the albums Hosianna Mantra and Seligpreisung. Eventually Wiese would move away from krautrock to his own version of long tone ambient music by the 1980s. In the 1990s he founded the Nono Orchestra to play the giant sheetmetal instruments of Robert Rutman. His music has regularly been featured on nationally syndicated radio programs such as Hearts of Space and Star's End.

Wiese is known also for his collaborations with Al Gromer Khan, Mathias Grassow, Oöphoi, Tau Ceti, Saam Schlamminger, and Ted de Jong. He collaborated with Deuter on his Silence is the Answer album in 1980 and East of the Full Moon in 2005. Outrageously, twenty-four albums of material were released in 2004 alone. He traveled the East for many years studying Sufism and Mysticism which clearly influenced his spiritual, ambient music. Klaus Wiese died on 27 January 2009 at the age of 67. "It wasn't obvious he was sick and he was not suffering from any known illness. He died unexpectedly during the night."

Wieses approach to ambient music is based on the minimalist tradition of composers such as John Cage, Steve Reich and Philip Glass; The greatest similarities between his space-flooding, ethereal, sometimes almost statically persistent, and genre-typical extended (sometimes over 60 minute long) drone passages exist for artists such as Robert Rich and Steve Roach. Wiese was a self-taught multi-instrumentalist throughout his life and used various Persian stringed instruments, drums, Tibetan singing bowls, chimes and a number of other instruments in addition to the zither on his recordings.

Klaus Wiese's life's work, however, is difficult to reduce to his music as such, because for him mystical elements were always an integral part of his art, he himself emphasized spiritual, therapeutic and healing motives. Multiple trips to the Orient brought him in particular in connection with the teachings of Sufis Hazrat Inayat Khan, experiences that should also be reflected in his musical expression (and many of his artworks). Through Wiese, a piece of the Sufis' love of music came to Europe, which, although distant from classical Sufi music, still has similarities such as ecstasy (wagd) and rapture (hal)

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A Sufi mystic walks into a bar and asks the bar tender, “Have you ever seen me before?” The bar tender answers “No, never”, to which the Sufi replies, “Then how do you know it’s not me?”

A Tarīqah (طريقة‎‎) is an order of Sufism., or especially for the mystical teaching and spiritual practices of such an order with the aim of seeking haqīqah  "ultimate truth".

Tariqa means "the inner path" in the language of the Sufis and speaks of those who offer their soul in divine submission. It adresses those, who do not look for therapeutic crutches, but submit themselves to the Divine Will with the Breath Of The Heart.

Klaus Wiese - Ted de Jong - Tariqa (flac 225mb)

01 Tariqa 74:49


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Qalandar Black Rose: Sufi Trance Music is Klaus Wiese's best CD. That says quite a lot considering that he is extremely prolific, with over 30 albums in his discography. This is a collaboration with Saam Schlamminger. It is their expression of the spirit of the Qalandar, a freewheeling sect of Sufis. They have no ties to any of the other sects and they do not follow the traditional rules and tenets of Sufism. The music reflects their loose style. It is dark and ominous with a strong sense of foreboding. Wiese's sound design incorporates powerful overtone elements. The liner notes list only acoustic instruments, so the recording techniques create the atmospheres. The deep drone has a strong personality. Wiese and Schlamminger have keen senses and deep spiritual beliefs. The soundscape includes Sufi poetry and a unique dervish prayer. The dervishes pray by altering their breathing patterns.

Klaus Wiese (with Saam Schlaminger) - Qalandar Black Rose (flac 315mb)

01 Tscheschme-Tark 10:50
02 Tscheschme-Djadu 8:30
03 Tscheschme-Chomaar 3:50
04 Tscheschme-Mast 5:38
05 Tscheschme-Labb 11:54
06 Tscheschme-Qalb 8:01
07 Tscheschme 16:50

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Klaus Wiese is known for his extensive discography of deep meditative music. Among this many works there are many masterpieces. Nevertheless, the collaboration with Jim Cole and Mathias Grassow on Cosmic Chasm, occupies a special and respectable place in the list of masterpieces.

When listening to this release, you don’t even have to try to meditate. He will meditate on your own. If you try to briefly express the feelings that the album evokes, then these words: "Cosmic Reality". Grassov’s musical strength, which in his other releases still has a human and soft face, here reveals its true uncompromising essence: the listener has to withstand the attack of Latitude. To stay alive will help Jim Cole's incredible voice, which despite the detached, cold sound, as if coming from a human heart. I personally associate Cole on this album with a certain cosmic being who calls something into life from the center of the Universe. Beauty is simply beyond.
Peaceful, minimalistic, spiritual, soothing, instrumental, atmospheric, meditative, repetitive , Beneath Zero is his greatest hit of all time.

Klaus Wiese, Jim Cole and Mathias Grassow - Cosmic Chasm ( flac   313mb)

01 Existence 29:20
02 Beneath Zero 34:02
03 Dust 11:19


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Soma, in ancient Vedic writings, was a strong drink that could help one commune with gods. It also meant "body" to the ancient Greeks. Robert Rich and Steve Roach released an album by this name in 1992. Klaus Wiese released Soma in 2000. He describes it as "inner space music." That description is accurate. These atmospheres, built upon low drones, are perfect for exploring the psyche and the soul. Building upon Wiese's description, the surest way to the inner self is through the exploration of the external self and the environment. This album is totally atmospheric and totally mesmerizing. There are no distractions and there is an infinite number of hidden meanings. The psyche of the listener determines the route of the journey.

Klaus Wiese - Soma   (flac   275mb)

01 Soma I 12:11
02 The Divine 10:06
03 Astral Garden 10:52
04 Feathers 5:28
05 Noor 6:51
06 Soma II 14:30

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While it is difficult to choose a "best" from a library of excellence, Dunya is the best Klaus Wiese CD. It is the small extras that raise this album to the next level. In addition to zithers, keyboards, and bowls, Wiese incorporates a choir, a tambura, and nature samples into his sound design. The choir performs in overtone harmonics. The nature sounds add relaxation effects and the tambura adds just enough melody to offset the drones. While the psychoactive effects of the bowls have been well documented, these extras are stunning and pull the soundscapes in new directions. The spiritual and emotional responses are astounding. This is one of the best discs of this style. It stands with the best psychoactivity of Robert Rich, Steve Roach.....

Klaus Wiese - Dunya (flac 272mb)

01 Ocean I 5:14
02 Akhira I 13:36
03 Ocean II 3:16
04 Dunya 28:33
05 Akhira II 9:54
06 Taksim 4:11

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