![]() ![]() In general Tangerine Dream (and some other artists like Art Of Noise, Yello, Alan Parsons and others) showed me that you can mix up different elements, make very emotive (and not at all “cold”) music with synthesizers and bring this in harmony with acoustic instruments as well.Īh, the controversial one □ Another first for Tangerine Dream: Going even more Pink Floyd (a band Edgar Froese always admired), they added vocals and flute by Steve Jolliffe and created an album that still is discussed sometimes heatedly by fans.Īs far as I see it, there are mainly two sides: The ones who like the addition of vocals (especially mystical, dark ones as can be heard here), and the ones who utterly hate vocals on TD songs). That showed me how powerful music can be in the perfect moment – the music complemented the approaching dark skies and the electricity in the air. ![]() I vividly remember listening to “Stratosfear” with a thunderstorm coming in. The rocking guitar and organ on the title track, and the mystical flute over sequencer patterns on “3AM At The Border Of The Marsh From Okefenokee” are captivating genius. If I had to choose one and only one favorite album, I guess this one might be it (although I always have second and third thoughts… □ ). …1976’s “Stratosfear” that added some more rock elements (especially in the title track), combining acoustic and electronic instruments to a tight sounding blend. The follow-up albums “Rubycon” and “Ricochet” are in the same style and I wouldn’t know which one of these to prefer if I could only take one of them to the proverbial island. You can still hear traces from the “Pink Years” – otherworldly drones and sound effects, but with its sequencer patterns and tighter structure, this album sends you into a trance like none of the first ones could. But it also showed that often the prophet is not accepted in his hometown: In their native Germany it only sold 6,000. It also was their first hit album, reaching number 15 in the UK album charts with six-figure sales, and getting gold discs in seven countries. “Phaedra,” TD’s first release on the still new Virgin label, marks the band’s first full-fledged use of synthesizers (a lot of Moog) and sequencers, and the beginning of the Berlin School of electronic music. ![]() In the band’s own terms it’s the beginning of the “Virgin Years” (after the “Pink Years” of the first four albums). Reminiscent of earlier Pink Floyd, Julian Cope described it as “their most difficult album”, but I tend to disagree, as “Electronic Meditation” (and in parts “Alpha Centauri” as well) has much more noise elements, while “Zeit” is calmer, though gloomy.Īfter 1973’s “Atem”, this album marks the beginning of what I (and a lot of other fans) would call the classic period. Subtitled “Largo In Four Movements”, the four free flowing, meditative songs on “Zeit” are rather dark, but never creepy. To me “Zeit” shows parts of the more experimental (sometimes rather noisy) TD from the beginning, but also already traces of what’s to come (after the second transitional album “Atem” in 1973) when they fully embraced electronic instruments. It’s hard to say which one from the first years is essential. Their third album after “Electronic Meditation” and “Alpha Centauri”. So here are five albums from most phases of the band, some of my favorites and good starting points if you want to check out the band’s work. The space on this blog is not enough to elaborate on TD’s history, personnel changes and different music styles they’ve embraced over the years ( Wikipedia is pretty good on that if you’d like to know more). At first a typical experimental Krautrock band with guitar, flute and drums, Tangerine Dream (TD) evolved over the years to the quintessential electronic band and to the founding fathers of the so-called Berlin School of electronic music (together with artists like Klaus Schulze, who was one of TD’s first drummers, Ash Ra Tempel and Manuel Göttsching). Tangerine Dream through the yearsĢ9 September 1967 – Edgar Froese starts a new band called Tangerine Dream, named after the line “Tangerine Trees and Marmalade Skies” from the Beatles’ “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds”. And although I’m doomed to fail, I’ll try anyway and present five Tangerine Dreams albums you should listen to – from classic times to more modern works. Founded 50 years ago today and having released far over 100 albums, soundtracks and compilations, it’s hard to choose only a few favorites, or to tell anyone not familiar with the band where they should start listening. As I never tire to mention, I’m a big fan of the German electronic band Tangerine Dream and am heavily influenced by their work and their embracing of different styles and re-inventing themselves over the decades. ![]()
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