French Skyline
Encyclopedia
French Skyline is the second full-length album by the American
electronic band Earthstar
. It was their first release for Hamburg
, Germany
–based Sky Records
.
French Skyline was recorded in 1978 and 1979. The opening track, "Latin Sirens Face The Wall," was recorded at Klaus Schulze Studios in Hambühren
, West Germany
, and was engineered by Klaus Schulze
. Bass and strings were recorded at Aura Sound Studios in New York
. All other tracks were recorded at Deponté la Rue Studio in Paris
, France
. Additional recording took place at four different studios in Germany and New York State. The album was released by Sky Records in 1979.
French Skyline strongly shows Klaus Schulze's musical influence on Craig Wuest
and Earthstar. Wuest's idea was to create a wall of sound, as described by the New Gibraltar Encyclopedia of Progressive Rock: "...his desire apparently is to create music that doesn't necessarily suggest a particular instrument, rather creates a new texture. Therefore, though there are credits for flute, guitar, bass, violin, viola, French horn, sitar and vocals, it's pretty hard to distinguish any of these." French Skyline was also the first of three albums on which Wuest made heavy use of the Mellotron
and the rare Birotron
, a variation on the Mellotron that can sustain notes beyond eight seconds.
Klaus Schulze's presence is almost certainly a large part of the reason why French Skyline is Earthstar's most successful album in terms of sales. Sky Records licensed a reissue on CD by Musique Intemporelle in 1999 without the approval or knowledge of Earthstar.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
electronic band Earthstar
Earthstar (band)
Earthstar was an electronic music group originally from Utica, New York, in the United States. Earthstar was encouraged by Krautrock/Kosmische Musik/electronic music artist, composer, and producer Klaus Schulze to relocate to Germany where they were signed by Sky Records. Schulze produced their...
. It was their first release for Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
–based Sky Records
Sky Records
Sky Records was a Hamburg, Germany based independent record label specializing in Krautrock/Kosmische Musik and electronic music. Some of their releases could be classified as progressive rock or art rock, experimental music, industrial, ambient, or New Age...
.
French Skyline was recorded in 1978 and 1979. The opening track, "Latin Sirens Face The Wall," was recorded at Klaus Schulze Studios in Hambühren
Hambühren
Hambühren is a municipality in the district of Celle, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approx. west of Celle.It is a very pleasant village to live in with many amenities....
, West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
, and was engineered by Klaus Schulze
Klaus Schulze
Klaus Schulze is a German electronic music composer and musician. He also used the alias Richard Wahnfried. He was briefly a member of the electronic bands Tangerine Dream and Ash Ra Tempel before launching a solo career consisting of more than 60 albums released across five decades.-1970s:In...
. Bass and strings were recorded at Aura Sound Studios in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. All other tracks were recorded at Deponté la Rue Studio in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. Additional recording took place at four different studios in Germany and New York State. The album was released by Sky Records in 1979.
French Skyline strongly shows Klaus Schulze's musical influence on Craig Wuest
Craig Wuest
Craig Wuest is an American keyboardist currently based in Atlanta, Georgia. He is best known as the founder and leader of the electronic music group Earthstar during the 1970s and 1980s. Earthstar was only American band who participated in Germany's Kosmische Musik/electronic music scene while...
and Earthstar. Wuest's idea was to create a wall of sound, as described by the New Gibraltar Encyclopedia of Progressive Rock: "...his desire apparently is to create music that doesn't necessarily suggest a particular instrument, rather creates a new texture. Therefore, though there are credits for flute, guitar, bass, violin, viola, French horn, sitar and vocals, it's pretty hard to distinguish any of these." French Skyline was also the first of three albums on which Wuest made heavy use of the Mellotron
Mellotron
The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical, polyphonic tape replay keyboard originally developed and built in Birmingham, England in the early 1960s. It superseded the Chamberlin Music Master, which was the world's first sample-playback keyboard intended for music...
and the rare Birotron
Birotron
The Birotron is a tape replay keyboard conceived by Dave Biro of Yalesville, Connecticut, USA, and funded by Rick Wakeman of the progressive-rock group Yes, and Campbell Soup Company-Pepperidge Farm Foods in the mid-late 1970s....
, a variation on the Mellotron that can sustain notes beyond eight seconds.
Klaus Schulze's presence is almost certainly a large part of the reason why French Skyline is Earthstar's most successful album in terms of sales. Sky Records licensed a reissue on CD by Musique Intemporelle in 1999 without the approval or knowledge of Earthstar.
Track listing
- "Latin Sirens Face the Wall"
"Part I: Sirens" – 4:14
"Part II: The Amazon" - 10:10
"Part III: The Flourishing Illusion" - 4:40 - "Splendored Skies and Angels" - 6:21
- "French Sky Lines Suite"
"Movement I: Morning Song (For Iris And Richard)" - 6:15
"Movement II: Sources Change, including "The Movement" - 7:25
"Movement III: 3 Demensional Music" - 4:45
"Movement IV: Wind and Sky Symphony/Reprise: Morning Song" - 6:10
Personnel
- Craig WuestCraig WuestCraig Wuest is an American keyboardist currently based in Atlanta, Georgia. He is best known as the founder and leader of the electronic music group Earthstar during the 1970s and 1980s. Earthstar was only American band who participated in Germany's Kosmische Musik/electronic music scene while...
– synthesizers, Birotron, mellotron, piano, sitar, harp, sundrys, glass games, voice, vocoder, Tibetan bells, percussion, tape loops, treatments - Dennis ReaDennis ReaDennis Rea is an American guitarist, writer and music event organizer currently living in Seattle. Rea first came to prominence as a member of the electronic music group Earthstar in the late 1970s and early 1980s. He is probably best known in the West as a musician for his work with the quintet...
– electric guitar, treated guitar, "tonewall" - Norm PeachNorm PeachNorm Peach is an American bassist from Utica, New York who was a member of Earthstar during the late 1970s. He also played with Dennis Rea and Daniel Zongrone in Zuir prior to joining Earthstar. He appeared on two Earthstar albums: Salterbarty Tales and French Skyline .-References:*Album liner...
– bass, devices - Tim Finnegan – flute, "templewind"
- Daryl Trivieri – "whaling violin", "sheets of sound"
- Louis Deponté – violin I, viola, treatments, recording of sea birds on the French coast
- Phil Novak – violin II, choir
- Marla Thomson – French horn, flute, choir
- Joan Novak (credited as Joan N.) – choir
- Dirk Schmalenbach – sitar
External links
- Synth Music Direct Earthstar - French Sky (review). Retrieved October 29, 2007.
- Ultima Thule e-page (review). Retrieved October 29, 2007.