Klaus Schulze, a leading creative force in the realm of German psychedelia known loosely as krautrock or kosmische, has died. Schulze’s son announced his death via a Facebook message. Translated from German, the message begins, “In deepest sorrow we have to inform you that Klaus has passed away yesterday on April 26, 2022 at the age of 74 after a long disease but all of a sudden.”

Schulze was born in Berlin in 1947. By the 1960s he was playing drums, bass, and guitar for a number of bands in Germany. From the late ’60s to early ’70s he did short stints drumming with Psy Free, Tangerine Dream, and Ash Ra Tempel before launching a prolific five-decade solo career, which saw him release dozens of albums (sometimes under the alias Richard Wahnfried) and collaborate with everyone from Lisa Gerrard to Pete Namlook. In 1973 and 1974, he was a member of the krautrock supergroup the Cosmic Jokers, reuniting him with Ash Ra Tempel’s Manuel Göttsching. Another supergroup called Go followed in the mid-’70s, featuring Schulze plus Stomu Yamashta, Steve Winwood, Al Di Meola, and Michael Shrieve.

Schulze’s work with synthesizers and sequencers was especially influential. He helped to define a form of droning, pulsing, strobing synth music that would become deeply influential on both electronic dance music and film soundtracks. One of his long-running fascinations was Frank Herbert’s sci-fi novel Dune; he named an album after the book in 1979 and collaborated with Hans Zimmer on the score for last year’s Denis Villeneuve-helmed film adaptation of Dune. His next album Deus Arrakis, set for release on June 10, is also inspired by Dune.

Below, read the statement from Schulze’s son and survey some of his music.

Dear Fans,

In deepest sorrow we have to inform you that Klaus has passed away yesterday on April 26, 2022 at the age of 74 after a long disease but all of a sudden.

He leaves behind a huge musical legacy and is survived by his wife, two sons and four grandchildren.
In his name and in the name of the family we would like to thank you for your loyalty and support over all these years — it has meant a lot to him!

His music will remain, and our memories…

There’s a lot more to write about him as person and artist but he probably would have told us: nuff said!

According to his wishes we will bid farewell to him in the closest family circle. You know him and what he always said: my music is important, not my person…

Maximilian Schulze

also in the name of the family and the Klaus Schulze-Team