Transfer Station Blue
Release Year: 1984
Label: Fortuna
Michael Shrieve is best known for his work with the seminal Latin jazz-rock group Santana from the late 1960s into the mid 1970s. After his departure from Santana, Shrieve joined the multinational jazz-rock supergroup Go, in which he met fellow member Klaus Schulze. The two of them would go on to collaborate numerous times, with Shrieve performing on multiple of Schulze’s albums (and collaborations under the “Richard Wahnfried” name) in the 1980s.
At this point in time, Shrieve’s career trajectory became progressively more rooted in electronic music, which is reflected on many of both his solo releases and collaborations from the 1980s. His 1984 album “Transfer Station Blue” (also featuring his brother Kevin Shrieve) is an oft-forgotten Berlin School release, but it has numerous qualities that help it stand out among contemporaries. M. Shrieve’s jazzier background as a drummer lends the longer pieces a hypnotic quality, further accentuated by the atmospheric synthesisers. Additional melodic elements are provided by K. Shrieve (primarily on guitar), used to full effect on the beautifully melancholic “View From The Window” and the surprisingly upbeat portions built up upon during the “Transfer Station Blue” title track. While of most interest for Klaus Schulze aficionados, there is undoubtedly plenty to enjoy here for fans of Berlin School electronic music.
If you've heard this album and/or want to share more commentary about it, feel free to discuss further in the comments section. As with all of these weekly discussion posts, we encourage you to give it a listen if you're unfamiliar with it!
