WALDECK'S GARDEN
Jan 1, 2002 12:00 PM, By Sean Ogden
Austria's Klaus Waldeck has long been heralded as a purveyor of the “Vienna sound,” following in the footsteps of such downtempo artists as Kruder & Dorfmeister. Yet his latest album, The Night Garden (E-Magine, 2001), takes his lush, seductive sound to a new level. For example, an undulating, cocktail-lounge dreamscape draws from vocal samples of jazz great Chet Baker. “I was desperate for some trumpet sounds,” says Waldeck. “But when I found this Chet Baker track, I ended up sampling the vocals instead of the trumpet.”
Raised in a Vienna suburb, Waldeck's musical career began with piano lessons at the age of 6 but ended at age 15 when he destroyed an expensive Bechstein while attempting to rewire its innards. The ensuing lawsuit influenced Waldeck to start pursuing a career in law, and he eventually became a practicing copyright lawyer. Waldeck resumed his musical calling thanks to another lawsuit: “It was during the time when George Harrison got sued for ripping off an old Motown tune. I realized the way forward was to work a melody until it didn't belong to anyone anymore.”
Waldeck moved to London in the early '90s and ended up focusing on music rather than upon the legal research he had intended to pursue. During this time, Waldeck discovered music workstations like the Korg M-1 and Roland W-30 that could produce a wide variety of sounds from one instrument. “In the '80s, all you could have was a synthesizer,” he recalls. “With these workstations, I could arrange a whole composition. But I couldn't get the sounds I was after, so I kept buying more equipment. That's how my electronic-music career started.”
In London, Waldeck mixed house and techno tracks and became involved with the nascent trip-hop scene. “It was an interesting time, and it opened my eyes to how the whole industry works.” Here he also met his current vocal collaborators, former Incognito singer Joy Malcolm and Brian Amos of Pressure Drop and Liquid. Upon returning to Vienna in 1996, Waldeck put out the Northern Lights EP, featuring a cover of “Aquarius.” In 1998 he released a successful full-length album, Balance of the Force, followed in 1999 by a remixed version of the album featuring tracks reworked by Thievery Corporation, Mushroom Dive, and Fauna Flash.
Waldeck is dedicated to pushing the boundaries of electronic music. Unlike some electronic artists, he is strongly focused on live performance, planning a major international tour in support of The Night Garden. “We found a way to transfer the basic concept of electronic music to stage,” he explains. “We use projections and effects to make it as live as possible. I also have a sofa and a table lamp. The sofa is for sitting on, and the lamp provides illumination. Sometimes I bring magazines. The true stage presence of electronic music should be like a doctor's waiting room — but it is not a doctor you are waiting for. It is yourself.”
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