Submitted By: ysp

Genre: Electronic

Date of Set: 1987

Filesize: 117.46 MB

Total Downloads: 11

Led by Edgar Froese, Tangerine Dream is perhaps the premier exponent of electronic 'rock' music. From their 'free-rock' beginnings in the nascent Kraut Rock scene to the eventual triple keyboard standard that signed to Virgin Records (UK), this German group can take significant credit in introducing synthesizer/sequenced electronic music to most of the western rock world. At the height of their success - during the mid to late 1970s - the Dream's spacey, pulsing music earned them a tenatious cult following. By the late Seventies, however, line-ups, and more importantly, the formula changed, tilting towards more conventional 'rock' music. By the early 1980s, TD was primarily releasing lucrative soundtrack work, before settling into New Age content by mid-decade.

Formed in Berlin in 1967, the initial line up (on their first release Electronic Meditation) included Froese, Conrad Schnitzler (cello) and Klaus Schulze (drums). Their compositions, or rather experimental improvisations, had roots in the psychedelia of London albeit with the Kraut twist. Electronic Meditation is perhaps a misnomer; traditional instrumentation of organ, drums, guitar, cello, flute were hardly electronic and 'freak out jamming' is the more apporpriate adjective, reflecting the confluence of Twentieth Century avant-garde music. Both Schnitzler and Schulze would depart after this album, with the latter forming Ash Ra Tempel. Second album, Alpha Centauri, saw the addition of long-standing member Christopher Franke replacing Schulze, while Peter Baumann would come aboard for Zeit. Although unissued until the mid-1980s, Green Desert was recorded in 1973. The core of Froese, Franke and Baumann would sign to Virgin Records in 1973, and the subsequent release Phaedra would cement their style for years to come. Ambient electronics, utilizing synthesizers and sequencers, was typical of the TD sound. Compositions were long, melodic, pulsing pieces. Michael Hoenig temporarily replaced Baumann for an Australian tour in 1975. One highlight of the Virgin period was Sorcerer, a soundtrack to the film of the same name. After Baumanns departure in 1978, TD experimented with the formula on Cyclone, which saw the addition of Steve Jolliffe, adding vocals and woodwinds. Force Majuere was the classic of this period. Johannes Schmölling would join for Tangram, with this line-up remaining stable until the mid-1980s.

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