Popol Vuh soundtracked Herzog’s best films, Can leant their sounds to both underground arthouse films and to gritty mainstream thrillers but only Klaus Schulze, as far as we know, went and did the soundtrack to a pornographic movie. I do not mean something a little bit saucy or racy but a genuine, full-on hardcore porn film. Of course, it was not really in the same vein as modern, production line pornography. This was for Lassse Braun who fancied himself a skilled film-maker, an artist and a sexual revolutionary. He even went as far as to show this film, also called “Body Love”, at the Cannes Film Festival. Braun later claimed to have quit the industry in disgust at what he saw as its commercialisation and turned instead to sexology, anthropology and erotic fiction. However, if you take a look at “Body Love” it is just an old porn film, whatever the philosophy behind, just one with an unusual soundtrack.
The most unusual thing about the “Body Love” soundtrack is that Schulze seems to make no compromise or alteration to his sound for the medium. This really feels like a straight up electronic cosmic Klaus Schulze album. If you were played it and told it was a soundtrack to something, your first guess would probably be a sci-fi film. First track “Stardancer” in particular sounds like the sound of a rocket launch. Harald Großkopf provides some nice wild drums but Jesus they are low in the mix sometimes, especially on “P.T.O”! Schulze’s keys are hypnotic and psychedelic with some suitably epic choral effects, reminiscent of Florian Fricke’s mysterious old mellotron-type thing. “Blanche” is more serene and beautiful with some gentle piano in amongst the swirling electronic pulses and ghostly synths.
Whatever your views on porn, Schulze has in no way compromised his artistic vision on this release, staying true to his classic sound and producing an album with as many nods to baroque classical as it does to the Berlin-school of electronics. Its energy and pace make it one of those records that lay down the foundations for dance music just as much as any of his peers.
The original edition has lots of images from the film (though nothing more risqué than some bare breasts) but was swiftly replaced by the more subtle version you see in this review. For the CD reissue a fourth bonus track was included, from the same recording sessions and also used in the film. It was simply titled “Lasse Braun” and at over twenty two minute it drastically changes the size and pace of the album. For at least half of it is discrete and ambient and then it builds up into something quite wild and intense.
Is this an album you’d pop on in the bedroom? Perhaps. It’s not an obvious choice but it could not do any harm unless you were just trying to sleep. Is it an album you’d pop on in the living room to listen to with friends? The original vinyl version is but the extended running time of the CD version makes it a bit hard going for the casual listener. Still, “Body Love” is a classic piece of German 70s electronica that has aged beautifully.
At the time of recording and listening to the music, a drum set was not so heavily mixed into the foreground as it was the fashion 20 years later or is today. (Same goes – even more – for the bass, but this was not mentioned above).
The change of the cover (for a leter reprint, also on Brain) was because KS wanted a different cover. The releases in various countries (e.g. F, NL, Jap, and USA) had different covers anyway; let me note that this was (or is) nothing special in the record business. Responsible people at record companies have – in the course of time – very different opinions of what the people would like and buy; not to mention their very own gopod or bad taste. .
please read “leter” = later 🙂
“gopod” = good 🙂
“that choral mellotron thing he bought off Florian Fricke.”
The only instrument that KS ever bought from Fricke was the “Big Moog”: All parts of The Big Moog were purchased and picked up by KS and kdm on 22nd of December 1975 in Munich. I was present. And not only then.
You’re quite right, KDM. I don’t know where I got that idea from. The mysterious ‘choral mellotron thing’ ended up with Jimmy Jackson who played it on some Amon Duul II albums. My poor brain somehow mixed it up with the ‘big moog’