Body Love had inauspicious beginnings, as the background music of an erotic movie by Lasse Braun. Instead of the cheesy jazz typical of 70’s adult movies, Klaus Schulze pumped out a masterpiece of throbbing electronica.
There are three cuts on this album. They are each long cuts; the shortest is 11 minutes. They are put together in a classic format: a fast first movement; a slow, reflective second movement; and fast third movement. They come together to make a satisfying listen.
The first cut, Stardancer, starts with swirling percussion, voices and synth sequences. About three minutes in, a pulsing bass line begins, and Schulze solos over this. Stardancer has a bit of an Indian feel the way it starts with a short droning slow section that introduces the “vibe”, and then transitions to a rhythmic section featuring improvisitory soloing.
The second piece, Blanche, is slow and mellow. It features piano that has been treated with echo, giving it a psychedelic feel. It is accompanied by synthesized effects. Synth strings are introduced, along with a slow pulsating sequence. Schulze solos with a heavily echoed lead synth, as tinkling sequences dance in the background.
The final cut is the longest on the album. On vinyl, it took up the whole side, 27 minutes, pushing the limits of what worked on record. P:T:O: starts out slowly, with choral voices (probably Mellotron), synth strings, and the same high-pitched, chime-like sequences fading in and out. Schulze solos over this, in a slow, thoughtful way, allowing the sound to grow and change with each note. 4 minutes into the piece, he introduces a simple, 8 beat sequenced synth line. He accompanies this with “voice” and synth string sounds.
As the piece goes on, Schulze gradually builds up the intensity, and has a pair of lead lines interlock and play off of each other. The music gets more and more intense, building to a sweaty climax at about 20 minutes into the piece. Whew! Then it quickly changes, and there is a sort of musical denouement.
For electronic music lovers and hardcore synth fans, Body Love is a must-have. Maybe it’s psychedelic electronic porn music, but you wouldn’t have read this far if you didn’t get off on that, would you?
