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Tangerine Dream

www.tangerinedream.org

Tangerine Dream was founded in September 1967 by Edgar Froese in Berlin. Edgar, who was actually studying painting and sculpture, never in fact intended to earn his living from music. Rather, he was totally fascinated with the strong expressiveness in the paintings of Dali, with whom he met personally for 2 years in Port Lligat/Cadaques (Spain), as well as Picasso's works and those of the early French Surrealists in the Twenties. The Dadaist and Surrealists manifests, the literature of Gertrude Stein, Henry Breton, Henry Miller, Walt Whitman and Gustav Meyerink meant a lot more to him than commercial rock'n roll or big career dreams that would only get cried into stale German beer anyways. An invitation in 1967 to give several private concerts at Dali's villa was to have quite an impact on the further development of the group. Some of the most outlandish artists from the subculture of London and Paris met in Cadaques at ťhappening afternoonsŤ in summery Port Lligat - only the absurdest ideas stood a chance of getting attention. Music mixed with literature, painting, early forms of multimedia and all sorts of action-happenings. Some of the highlights from this time: Dali, waist-deep in water, attempting to play Satie on a grand piano that had been rolled into the Mediterraean Sea. Gigantic half-eggshells floating on the water with ballet dancers in them, dancing to music by Debussy. The musicians who participated in this project with Edgar unfortunately did not quite get the sense of all this. Upon explaining that: ťin the absurd often lies what is artistically possibleŤ, he soon found himself back in Berlin, on his own with only his guitar. Back then it wasn't that easy to find musicians who were interested in making music other than mainstream Rock, Schlager or copies of American top 40 Pop. Most of the musicians found the crazy idea of transferring the visual arts to music uninteresting. Edgar searched a long time, tried various line-ups and had several frustrating experiences with musicians egos until he met Klaus Schulze in 1969, who at that time played drums with good timing, long before he made a name in the electronic scene. But Klaus had a soft spot for experimental music which he could express on his drums. The two of them then looked for a third adventurer and met Konrad Schnitzler, a student of the art-action artist, Joseph Beuys, who was also on a very unconventional trip through the world of art. The first album, ťElectronic MeditationŤ was in fact a session tape and never intended for release. Edgar had the idea of musical diaries, diaries in which all good compositions, but also the flops and improvisations were entered. This was either the score on paper, music on tape, or ideas spoken on a dictaphone and later acted on. The session tape from an afternoon improvisation 1969 in a loft in Kreuzberg, Berlin became the first longplay album from Tangerine Dream in 1970. When Klaus and Konrad somewhat later both started their solo careers and Edgar met Chris Franke, then a drummer, at a studio session, the rough direction in which the TD project would develop was more or less clear. Even in the years following international acclaim, gold records and Grammy nominations, Edgar continued to cite the impetus that came from the Surrealists at the beginning of the century. In several international reviews the music of TD was described as an ťunreal soundtrackŤ to an ťunreal, unknown lifeŤ, a life in which all events happened at ťthe same time and the same placeŤ. Simultaneity. Especially the early music of TD met with harsh, polemic criticism. For example, when the first TD album was released in 1974 in England and the USA, the reknowned Melody Maker critic, Steve Lake, wrote about the first Virgin album, ťPhaedraŤ, which was no. 8 in the international LP charts at the time: ťPeople, eat more sh**, because 100,000 flies can't be wrong.Ť Critics never seem to have to qualify such statements nor show proof of their own qualifications to make them. The artist always loses out, if it weren't for the most important support imaginable: the audience, the fans. Luckily for TD, there was always ample support from them. Certainly, some of these fans were disappointed over the years, when TD didn't always follow the course they imagined. Edgar commented on this in another compilation: The musician can only remain faithful to his work and take his music further, even if many of the audience don't understand these changes of direction. If musicians were to cater to the varied tastes of their fans, then each production would sound like a musical special offer from the supermarket - indiscriminately diverse. TD certainly can't be accused of mediocracy and indiscrimination in their music. There were not only misunderstandings between TD, their fans and the press, there were substantially heavy discussions between the musicans as well. In the 28 year history of TD, there have been about 34 different line-ups which Edgar transformed into a unique body of human sound experiences. Not all of which saw the twinkling lights of a recording studio but some of these line ups have written history in modern popular music. Although Edgar was the founder and conceptualist of the band - he gave titles to the 652 compositions which the band wrote between 1970 and 1995 - it was understood that the members were at the same time a democratic team, in which strong egoes could endanger the whole concept. You can imagine how tough it must have been, continually building up a team, making it work and achieving international success. The band always held in respect the DJ without whom TD's music in the early 70's would never have been broadcast, for example, by the conservative British BBC and which otherwise never would have found such international acceptance at this time. This DJ is John Peel, a living legend in the meantime in the European radio scene. He made TD's LP ťAtemŤ, which was on his BBC playlist, ťRecord of the YearŤ in 1972/73. TD thereby caught the attention of Richard Branson from Virgin Records and he signed the band for a total of 10 years - this period is known as ťThe Virgin YearsŤ. The Discography section contains the experimental ťPink YearsŤ 1970-1974, the ťVirgin YearsŤ 1973-1983, the ťBlue YearsŤ 1984-1987, the ťMelrose YearsŤ 1988-1990, and the ťSeattle YearsŤ 1991-1995. While producing more than 12 scores for feature Hollywood movies between 1980 to 1983 alone, TD remained also very activ on the Live concert front. One of the most remarkable concert events took place in December 1983 in Warsaw and became the first release on the Zomba-Jive Label in 1984. The line-up, Froese, Franke, Schmoelling, had been around for 3 years before this concert in Poland, and they had experienced 2 unusual events: 1980, after 2 years of preparation, the first concert by a Western rockband in the Palast der Republik in former East Berlin - right behind the Iron Curtain - and a live TV concert with Munich's Philharmonic Orchester in 1981, as well as touring in Australia and Japan. The Polish tour will always be remembered by everyone who was a part of it, as an adventurous jungle expedition. Power failures, truck breakdowns, minus 5° C in Warsaw's ice stadium where the concert took place. Edgar, Chris and Johannes played the Warsaw Concert in wool gloves with the tips cut off, so they had some feeling for the keys. The electronic instruments went haywire in the cold, not always delivering the desired results. The roadies dashed back and forth with pop cans filled with hot water, so the musicians could briefly warm their hands up. The concert was interrupted 5 times by power failure in the stadium. 2 meters of snow covered the glass roof which threatened to cave in - no one will ever forget that gig - Poland, behind the Iron Curtain in the winter of 1983. You'd never guess from the very relaxed musical atmosphere that the conditions were so catastrophic. The studio album ťLe ParcŤ is the last recording session with Johannes Schmoelling, who went on to pursue a solo career and was replaced by Paul Haslinger in January 1986, whose first studio production with TD was ťUnderwater SunlightŤ. Apart from the studio and live activities, Edgar was constantly in touch with the film studios and agencies in Los Angeles, securing work on various soundtracks. This turned out so successfully, that the band at times had often more work than the three of them could handle. TD delivered the music for many Hollywood films during this time, for example, Tom Cruise's first internationally successful ťRisky BusinessŤ, Ridley Scott's ťLegendŤ, Michael Mann's ťThiefŤ, William Friedkin's ťSorcererŤ, the Stephen King screen-adaption ťFirestarterŤ to name a few, and this at times kept the band in the studio working into the early morning hours. With the earnings made from these activities, the band members were able to set up individual studios, catering to separate needs, in different places around the globe, independent from the industry, allowing them to transform their ideas immediately without worrying about time or place. When Edgar, Chris and Paul started the studio production of ťTygerŤ, they were surfacing from a 'Hollywood blackhole', back to creative reality. In other words, moviepicture- free studio work. Edgar arrived with various books from the English mystic and painter William Blake and suggested using these texts as the basis for the new album. He assumed that people would fail to understand them and certainly the fans would tear the group apart when they found out they were working with vocals - but these kind of surprises were to be expected with TD. The project was produced together with Jocelyn B. Smith, a singer from New York, and released in 1987. The critics of course tore the album to bits, failed to catch on to the lyrics and probably none of them bothered to read the booklet. However, for many fans the meaning of this album continues to grow, since this album is about much more than just TD music with lyrics, - and as often the case in TD's long career - time will be the judge of the value of their individual works. In 1986, TD with the line-up Froese, Franke, Haslinger, toured Europe and the USA. Due to differences of opinion and a lot of hassles with unprofessional management by American record companies, Edgar and Chris couldn't picture a really new, creative collaboration in the future. Edgar wanted to develop a creative approach to new technologies and methods of composition, and the endless USA TV series were absolute killers of this. They threatened to turn the group into a musical recycling factory. Although Edgar saw feature films as an ever-new challenge, he remained somewhat distant in respect to TV productions. Chris wished to take a break from music for a while anyways, so the last appearance with Edgar and Chris together with Paul was on stage August 1st, 1987 for the 750th anniversary of Berlin. This concert, together with the gig in Alberquerque, New Mexico, was released on the CD ťLivemilesŤ. This production brought the ťBlue YearsŤ (1983-1987) of TD to a close. In 1988 Edgar and Paul looked for new production means, a new record company and they started work on the studio album ťOptical RaceŤ in the USA. This was the beginning of the next period, ťThe Melrose YearsŤ, which is now history. Paul left TD in 1991, when Edgar's son Jerome joined as a regular member. This period, called ťThe Seattle YearsŤ, came to an end in 1995. As a ťjust for funŤ production in summer of 1995, Edgar and Jerome did a remix of some of the Seattle Years material, called ťThe Dream mixesŤ, which also entered the US top ten New Age Billboard charts. In many ways Edgar and Jerome are already in the process of writing a further decade in the big book of TD history. Beyond this new starting point, as in the early days in 1967, the musical diary will continue, a diary by adventurous surrealists or surrealist adventurers, romantics, explorers in time, loved and mocked, respected and derided, and those who never quite taste like the musical flavour of the day. And it is exactly here, on this musical frontier, where the musical trend of the masses does not meet, that we find the timeless home of TD music.

█ Officiální stránky | 17/07/2002

DISKOGRAFIE

1970 Electronic Meditation

1971 Alpha Centaury

Ambientu podobné album s vesmírnou atmosférou
telotone (8) | 2005

1972 Zeit

1973 Atem

1973 Green Desert

1974 Phaedra

Říká se, že se jedná snad o nejlepší ambientové album vůbec
telotone (7) | 2005

Phaedra disponuje neskuečnou atmosférou. Ta vás přiková od první chvíle do křesla a vy se můžete naslouchat příběh, který Tangerine Dream vypráví hudbou. Titulní skladba má perfektní grády, depresivní pasáže jsou bohatě kompenzovány světlými. Je úžasné slyšet, co dokázali udělat v roce ´74 s tehdy dostupnými syntetizátory. Jarre na to měl ještě dva roky:)
Vítek (10) | 2008

1975 Ricochet

Album stylem i délkou podobné Tangramu. U posluchačů často zmiňované
telotone (8) | 2005

Jedna se o zaznam a naslednou mixaz z koncertniho turne. Vyborne kompozice, perfektni prechody mezi hudebnimi motivy - jeden z mych vrcholu tvorby Tangerine Dream te doby. Zajimavost - samotni clenove kapely jiz nedokazi specifikovat ze kterych koncertu byl vysledny mix alba vytvoren.
Petr (9) | 2009

1975 Rubycon

Velice temné album, využívá podobné postuby jak v albu Phaedra, takže nepřineslo nic nového, je ale zkomponováno více celistvěji. Sirény a mužské chóry na začátku druhé věty mi trochu připomněly Ligetiho práci ve 2001:Vesmírné Odyssee.
Vítek (8) | 2009

Potvrzuji, jedna se o typickou temnejsi strojovost jejich tvorby. Je urcite celistvejsi nez Phaedra. Toto jedine album vyslo limitne i v SACD verzi v 2.0 kanalu
Petr (7) | 2009

1976 Stratosfear

1976 Soundmill Navigator

1977 Encore

Album které je sestřiháno z toho nejlepšího z turné po Americe. Nijaká větší myšlenka či příběh, ale spíš opravdu jen sestřih kloudnějších smyček.
telotone (7) | 2005

1977 Sorcerer

1978 Cyclone

Vítek (5) | 2009

1979 Force Majeure

Jedno z nejlepších alb, i když se jedná spíše o elektro space-rock než o čistou elektroniku.
Vítek (9) | 2009

1980 Pergamon

1980 Tangram

Jednoduché rytmy a melodie jak jsme zvyklí, ale poskládané tak brilantně,že to album nemůžete nemilovat. Zřejmě nejdramatičtější kousek od TD vůbec. Zvlášť dobrá je melancholická část doprovázená kytarou v polovině první části.
telotone (9) | 2005

opravdu skvost
karlos (9) | 2013

1981 Exit

Vítek (6) | 2009

1981 Thief

1982 White Eagle

1983 Hyperborea

1983 Logos

velmi dobrá deska

karlos (9) | 2013

1984 Poland

Jedna z mych nejoblibenejsich desek a asi nejlepsi koncert TD. Je to trochu pristupnejsi hudba a myslim, ze je to dobre album pro seznameni se s TD. Vlastne je to jejich prvni deska, ktera se mi dostala do rukou a ktera pro me byla definici elektronicke hudby.

A propos, casto si kladu otazku, proc tehdy nekoncertovali u nas.
martin (9) | 2005

Vrcholny kousek kapely. Zde perfektne vystihuji svou nalepku "Tangerine Dream - romanticka strojovost). V tomto koncertu se misi jak pomale romanticke pasaze, tam roboticky neustale opakovane stopy, podobne jako na albech z jejich zacatku tvorby. Existuje nekolik verzi alba jak na LP tak CD - ruzni se delkou. Perlicka - koncert byl hran na open-air stadionu a venkovni teplota byla pod bodem mrazu
Petr (9) | 2009

Skvělé
karlos (10) | 2013

1985 Dream Sequence

2 CD plné toho nejlepšího z dob minulých
telotone (9) | 2005

1985 Le Parc

1986 Underwater Sunlight

Romantické se silným příběhem. Chvilkami mírně ponuré, aby byl slyšet silný kontrast s piánovou rozjasněnou scénou, okořeněnou nostalgickou otázkou.
telotone (8) | 2005