I could fill a book with a response to this! This music has dominated the last 50 years of the playlist of my life. Here are a few sound-bite responses. Yes, the name originates with Lucy in the Sky. The Second World War and Salvador Dali are both important contexts. The description "Berlin School" often refers to analog synthesizer sounds where a relentless pulse (a 'clock') drives a pitch-controlling 'sequencer'. It is possible to interact with a sequencer in real-time, but takes great skill, not the least because the 24 (in this case) pitch-control knobs are not quantized. Music technology moved so fast in the subsequent few years that the skills and technologies this music needed became stranded in time. Niche enthusiasts have kept it alive; some have explored and developed it further while artificially constraining the technology (plug here for Mark Shreeve's wonderful 'Red Shift' recordings); and latterly, 'old school' nostalgia has re-popularized the analog instruments for a new generation.
Rubycon Part I - Karl Dallas interviews Chris Franke of TANGERINE DREAM: The beginning is Baumann on Fender Rhodes piano, “playing very lonely notes”, with bell-like Moog tones from Franke, joined by an oboe sound from Froese’s [M400] Mellotron. All three lines come closer and closer together, but there are quiet spaces between the notes. “It’s the first time we have put breaks between the notes, but it’s very important, so you can get your brain clear for what’s coming.” A very high melody line on Franke’s Moog comes over the long, slow notes, is joined by tapes of mixed voices on the Mellotron with glissandi from Baumann. The Moog melody returns and Froese changes to strings tapes for a brief section of trumpet-like tune and strings. “Peter has some very nice voltage-controlled bits with the synthi. Sometimes he comes very near with his glissandi, through the well-tempered melody line. I like it very much if there are two scales of notes together -- a well-tempered scale and a not-tempered scale producing, like birds, quarter notes, like Schoenberg. “This part gives me the impression of a very big river, at the end of the river coming into a big sea, the ocean. It’s very liquid.” Wind noise is followed by a cymbal-like tone created by a cluster of 20 or 30 notes very close together and a very low bass, with feelings of fuzz in it. “It’s a little meditation tone.” After a rhythm sequence, Froese plays the main theme on the strings followed by a remarkable duet between Baumann’s Fender Rhodes and Froese’s oboe-tapes, in which they swap phrases and half phrases. The rhythm continues, very ostinato, “a repetitive rhythm like the Negroes make it, very often”, Baumann switches to organ and the duet continues. The rhythm doubles and Franke adds an overdubbed piano tape loop: a backwards tape is joined to a forwards tape so that the sound comes to its attack and then dies away. The rhythm becomes very complex, with Moog tones and snare-drum sounds, plus overdubbed piano, “prepared” with pieces of wood stuck between the strings to give a more percussive effect. Over this Froese plays chords and Baumann plays a very high melody line on organ. A change in the rhythm is overlaid by clashing sounds from Baumann’s voltage controlled oscillator, played over a very fast-running Leslie speaker and very long echo delay. Froese plays a reprise of the original oboe melody while the decay of the snare drum sound becomes longer and longer so that the beat disappears. Later Baumann plays grand piano over a Leslie. “In this piece I think all the melodies, rhythms and all the sounds are much, much more complex and much better than on Phaedra. I think it is a step forward, this record.” The piece ends with a long sitar-like sound created by scraping the strings of a grand piano with a piece of metal, recording it, cutting off the attack at the beginning of the note, and playing it back on multi-track at different speeds, giving several different pitches. The rhythm becomes simpler and simpler, moving from three to two to one single tone, and the piano loops are faded across to each other, making chords, slowly shifting.
I discovered Tangerine Dream through my cousins, who had bought the Rubycon album when it came out in early 1975 (I was nine at the time), and this pictorial/cinematic approach set to music grabbed me straight away. It immediately conjured up mental images and soundscapes. The world of Tangerine Dream is a musical journey through sound painting. Founder Edgar Froese studied painting and sculpture at the Berlin Academy of the Arts, and was invited by Salvador Dali to his villa in the mid-60s, which was decisive in his adventurous musical approach. Amy, I invite you to continue your discovery of Tangerine Dream, and what better way than to listen to Rubycon part 2.😉
Oh my, this takes me back .......I spent many hours listening to this album, which I still have tucked away with the rest of my vinyl collection. Thank you for reacting to this, I forgot how good it was.
In those days they were amazing, too - saw them in Coventry Cathedral (UK) in 1976/77 - and was even more hooked. I still use them today when photo-editing or writing.
Rubycon was the first Tangerine Dream album that I bought. A friend recommended the band to me when I said that I like keyboards and synths in the music that I listen to. He informed me that the only non-keyboard instrument they play is the guitar. "No drums or percussion?" I asked. "Nope," he replied. I was intrigued because, coincidentally, just a few weeks before, I had seen a copy of Rubycon at a new record store that had just opened, and I was curious how a band could produce something good without any percussion. I took the plunge and bought it. The opening movement was pretty standard, in my opinion, with sounds that reminded me of a trip on a river or the sea, with its sounds like ocean waves and seagulls. But after about six minutes, those sequencers kicked in, and I immediately understood how a band could successfully make music without drums. I knew I had something unique, and I have been a fan ever since. Tangerine Dream's uniqueness appealed to me at once. I enjoy just listening to their music when relaxing. Sometimes I've used their compositions to inspire drawings I have made. Their works can be exciting or contemplative and everything in between. You never know what you're going to get with this band, but I guarantee you, it will be different, and in a good way.
Brave choice Vlad. Great review Amy. Tangerine Dream can be described as the birthers of 'Ambient Trance' music. This Album has a great spread of space, colour and atmosphere. I always feel I have visited strange land on a strange planet after listening to this album. For me this was a 'gateway drug' towards more avant-garde classical music, then onto all types of classical styles, not just towards Ambient Rock categories.
Tangerine Dream/Vangelis/Jarre/Kraftwerk , you are at the start of another journey, this one has some strange destinations , you could end up with Laurie Anderson, Mike Oldfield or Klaus Schulze or take a path that leads to concerts with more than a million people watching and has entire city skylines as the stage backdrop ( Jean-Michel Jarre ), who by the way has a laser harp !. As for where I listen, sat on a tractor cutting acres of grass, driving long distances or sometimes just sat at home, this music can take over your consciousness as it syncs with your brainwaves and opens your mind as you follow the musical twists and turns through a world that is no longer bound by verse/bridge/chorus limitations.
For me also. ''Phaedra'' is the benchmark along with ''Epsilon in Malaysian Pale'' by Edgar Froese. There are many other good albums and I have a soft spot for ''Stratosfear'' and ''Ricochet'' but always go back to ''Phaedra''.
My all-time favorite instrumental track of any band is Tangerine Dream's Cloudburst Flight. I hope you can check it out next! It adds acoustic and electric guitar to the mix.
Fantastic drumming from Klaus Kruger as well - famously using his high hat cymbal as a trigger to control the tempo of the sequencer - so it was always slightly changing
Oh, I'd love to see Vangelis on this channel too! But it's hard to pick a proper track/album for a reaction. Heaven and hell? Mask? My personal favourite albums of him are probably The City or China, but you can't just take one track from there and listen to it. I think it won't work this way. p.s. and for Jarre it must be Oxygene. No doubts about that 🙂
@@AntonNidhoggr Well, i have doubts it must be Oxygene, Jarre is still active since the 70's. For example he opened Coachella in 2018. Thats how you open a festival. ruclips.net/video/DqizBDwmwKg/видео.html (Equinox infinity Movement 08 (The Opening)). Personally I prefer the Chronology album from him. But, obvoiusly Oxygene is unavoidable. From Vangelis it can be anything. I would suggest Albedo 0.39 or Spiral. But also his cinematic scores are world famous. Btw, actually all his music is cinematic score, because they was (and are) widely used as music for scientific shows. The most famous in the US maybe Cosmos by Carl Sagan (which is Heaven and Hell 3rd Movement)
I first saw Tangerine Dream perform here in southern England in the early 1970s. Their wall of electronic instruments, eerie light show and stage presence had me utterly spellbound as a teenager. I had been attending clsssical concerts at the same venue with my music teacher. It could not have been more different an experience. I was intrigued by the technical aspects of their music as much as the avant garde nature of their work.
I would HIGHLY recommend Larry Fast who’s pioneering work with sequencing and various voices and hardware voice cards were highly sought after in the 1970’s and early 1980’s. He worked with Peter Gabriel Pink Floyd and others. He released albums of his own as Synergy en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_Fast
Tangerine Dream is definitely one of my all time favorite electronic acts. I can enjoy it both actively as on the background. Besides all the qualities you already mentioned, like the minimalism, subtle evolution and soundscapes, what really makes them stand out to me is the capacity to transport me with their hypnotic ostinato's. Most of their numbers have this quality where at some point i would struggle to stop the recording because it puts me in a kind of trance state.
My first introduction to Tangerine Dream was the soundtrack for 1980s Risky Business. Watch the "train scene" and the music makes the scene almost dreamlike.
Great analysis of one of my favorite tracks! I'm a bit surprised that noone comments on the improvised nature of this piece. I think lot of it is playing the "wrong" chord and sticking to it. It's very spontaneous music, which I think parts of its otherworldly appeal. Making an orchestral score of it is an interesting idea, but I'm not it would have any of the appeal of the original recording, which is as much about the sound as it is about notes.
Yes, Tangerine Dream's studio work in the 70s was a real musical laboratory, with many hours of improvised recordings, meticulously chosen to end up on disc. The most stunning is that this improvised work in the studio was extended on stage, where each performance was never the same! (the many official recordings and quality bootlegs allow to prove it).
Peter Baumann: "There was really never a ‘wrong’ note, just parts that didn’t fit as well. But that was not a reason to stop playing… as long as it didn’t throw the mood of the track. In the studio, we would keep recording and edit out anything that went against the grain.”
I recently attended a wonderful outdoor festival overseas; in the UK, this past August, to see Tangerine Dream, Gong... and Hawkwind. I love Hawkwind, but I wouldn't have gone if Tangerine Dream hadn't been headlining a night... and Gong helped ;) If I recall correctly, my first exposure to Tangerine Dream was sometime early 80's watching the 1977 film: Sorcerer... on the Tele, late at night, as a kid, while everyone was sleeping. It was the effect the soundtrack had on me that I recall.... It's now my go to Halloween album to give out treats to. * Tangerine Dream has been involved with many a film, I'm sure you've watched one or two or.... Tangerine Dream were more upbeat at the fest, and I'm pretty sure they played something from the Sorcerer film... If not, the feel was recognizable to me. I made my way up to about 40' from stage and just let the sound envelope... I had never felt anything like it before at a live show. It was as if the sound waves were encircling everything. I found myself in wonder about how strong the Bass was flowing through the ground, was fascinated by how my pant-legs were vibrating and how physical the experience was. Hawkwind also closed the following night, and that physical aspect was even more magnified... everything on me was shimmering, vibrating and sometimes even pummelling the diaphragm.... and yet, just as uplifting as Tangerine Dream. The difference to me was: Tangerine Dream encircled and entwined... and I suppose, had an origin point. Hawkwind engulfed everything at once... The sonic experience came from everywhere... like being absorbed by a Gelaninous Cube, while releasing all that energy outwards from the self at the same time... with total clarity of sound. Hawkwind produced so much more volume than Tangerine Dream did.... once I moved away from the main kick drum speaker, I must add... that was too loud. ;) It's interesting how perceived sonic chaos can be so calming... and make one still. Spacing out with the headphones on, lights off, finding ones place in the moment and soundscape, until time dissolves, is a wonderful thing... that said, I think Electronica, Ambience, Space Rock; and the like, really need to be experienced live (and perhaps outdoors in a natural environment), to really be felt. P.s. The Festival I attended is: A New Day Festival (in Kent/Faversham UK). * Not: Newday Festival I'm pretty sure if you look up A New Day Festival here on 'Utube, you'll find a clip or two of Tangerine Dream. The 2025 line-up looks promising.... Id love to see Hawkwind again... this time with EBB, and The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, and Caravan playing in their own backyard: The Land of Grey and Pink. * EBB did an excellent impromptu cover of Dave Brock's 'The Demented Man' during the pandemic that you can find on here... (song is from Hawkwind's: Warrior on the Edge of Time). P.s.s. Check out the documentary called: The Delian Mode - Delia Derbyshire documentary. Delia is the unsung hero of the Doctor Who theme and in the vanguard of Electronica.
I just found you tonight. You will love "I'd Like to change the world" by 10 years after. One of the earliest songs with acoustic and electric guitars harmonizing. (My all-time favorite rock song) I'm 66.
Wow. This is a departure for this channel, in a good way. Yes, it's not progressive rock, but 70's electronic music and synth-rock are usually considered progressive rock-adjacent. By the mid- to late-70's there was a lot of crossover happening between this kind of music and mainstream popular music. Musicians like Brian Eno and David Bowie had absorbed much of this (along with its sibling style, krautrock) and were busily incorporating it into their music. It does push more experimental boundaries for a lot of listeners, so it often comes down to personal preference whether you spend much time with it or not. It TD is too out there then someone like Vangelis or Jean-Michel Jarre or Suzanne Ciani might be worth a listen.
I checked and you were right, Tangerine Dream was indeed named after the Beatles' lyric. I'm excited to see you getting into more electronica. I haven't gone down the TD rabbit hole yet - their catalogue is a bit daunting, but it's definitely in my wheelhouse. I hope you get to a few of my favorite artists in the genre like ambient pioneer Brian Eno and some artists from the UK's IDM movement(intelligent dance music- NOT named by the artists) like Aphex Twin and Squarepusher. It's a hard genre to pin down because it can take so many forms but there is so much great music there to discover. Depending on the style I can listen to it while I study, play games, drive or even while taking a walk through nature or just sitting outside. Other times I'll slip on a sleep mask and some good headphones and immerse myself in it. I suppose I don't listen to it in social settings much, but I'm not sure if that's just because I know it is something of an acquired taste or because it just doesn't work well; maybe it depends on who I'm hanging out with. I'm looking forward to more of this type of review even if Richard D. James (Aphex Twin) once said of this music "It's not music you talk about, it's music you listen to"- or something to that effect. I'm sure you'll figure that part out though 😁.
DJ (1): “Where did you get the name of the band by the way, Tangerine Dream?” Edgar Froese: “Uh (sighs) I believe, but sorry I can’t say it exactly, but I believe it was a Beatles song (general Laughter)
I use to listen to TD a lot in my early 20s. Often alone, often with shut eyes on my bed when I got home from university. Floating away with the musics different faces. My first electronic experience was Jean Michel Jarre "Oxygene". A little simpler och closer to popular music, but still symphonic. I read The Lord of the Ring with that in the background. Another gound breaker with electronic in popular music is I Feel Love by Donna Summer from 1977. It still sounds futuristic.
Is the other way around. Tchaikovsky made this kind of music with the tool available. It starts as a doodling sounds, aesthetic choices are made, and it is morphed to a more classical approach. It is poetry. Uses our language but doesn't become a prosaic narrative of the real world. But it is. Most people doesn't get music not based on concrete things.
Check out Tomita. He arranged famous classical pieces for synthesizer in early seventies. I love Tangerine Dream and I think you are right about them taking name from Beatle song. Thanks for doing Tangerine Dream.
@@Hartlor_Tayley Yes. I think I suggested Snowflakes Are Dancing to Vlad/Amy months ago but I'm not sure they have time to read many comments these days (unless one buys her a Kofi...)
I have so many things to say about this choice Amy, but right out of the gate - THANK YOU! I’ve followed you from day one here on RUclips, and enjoyed so many of your first-listens and analyses, but none more than this. This is like the BIG PAYOFF today! :-) Tangerine Dreams is one of my favorite bands - Rubycon probably my favorite of their albums. I’ve listened to it over 100 times since I first heard it back in high school around 1976, so maybe I can help answer your questions about what kind of playlist would this be on? Consider a long drive on a lonely highway, well past sundown and you still have another 2 hours of driving ahead of you. Play Rubycon. Perhaps on a camp site, in Northern Ontario, on the edge of a lake as the stars are just peeking out, your canoe is pulled up on shore, you are alone and the campfire behind you keeping you warm as Rubycon plays on your Sony Walkman tape player and headphones. It’s late night, you just got home from a party, but not sleepy yet, so you squirrel away downstairs, turn on the old B&W portable TV and turn the dial to a channel that’s only “snow”, then pop Rubycon on the turn-table and just watch the snow on the screen while Tangerine Dream grinds out those sounds and patterns. You might be surprised at how entertaining it can be. Simply laying back on the couch, with headphones and listen while you stare into space works well too. Time to mull over the day and perhaps do a bit of day dreaming. Your descriptions of the sounds, washes, changes, etc is SPOT ON. I’ve always felt like this era of Tangerine Dream’s music is like an M.C. Escher drawing come to life in musical form. Especially, those long panels Escher did called “Metamorphose” I, II or III. Very Tangerine Dream like. Your idea of doing an arrangement of this piece with a traditional orchestra is a GREAT idea. I think maybe it’s been done already? Not 100% sure, but it is a really great idea. Maybe if you give TD a few more listens it will grow on you some more and who knows!? Maybe this is something in your future that you could spearhead. I’ll be in the audience on the first night! Other things about Tangerine Dream that appeal greatly to me is how cinematic it feels. Sound scapes that have texture and evoke images and feelings that are hard to put your finger on (like a dream!) but are distinct and come back each time you hear the piece. One of the greatest (IMHO) films ever made is called “Sorcerer” by the director William Friedkin. It’s for sure his greatest film, and he did “The Exorcist” and “The French Connection” which are no doubt masterpieces of cinema too to give you an idea of its strength. Anyway, Tangerine Dream did the score for the film, it was the first (and not the last) film they scored. The story of how they got involved with the film is interesting, but note worthy is that they hadn’t seen the film. Wrote like 45 minutes or more of music, taped it and sent it to Friedkin as he was shooting the film in the middle of a jungle in the Dominican Republic. When he heard the music he said it changed the way he was shooting the film. It’s the only film of his that he says that he wouldn’t touch one frame of - in other words he considers it his only perfect film. The music is a deep part of that film and just about ALL the music they wrote is in the film. I truly hope you give it another listen (or 10) and perhaps try the flip side, Rubycon Part 2. I’d really like to hear what you think of it upon multiple listens, even more so than your first impression as I KNOW you’ll tell me things that I had never thought of and will give me a deeper better appreciation of it too. Thanks again! James.
I always think that the only way to listen to TD is with good headphones or really good speakers, in a darkened room with your eyes closed and no distraction. And then just let yourself be consumed? by the sound.
Very true, in other words taping a RUclips reaction video is not ideal, although, we are all DEEPLY grateful that Amy has done it! But perhaps we’re all hinting that she give another quiet listen as Felix suggests. We all suspect it will grow on her - yes Amy?! :-)
Loved your reactions to this. On subject of classical crossover with this kind of music, Philip Glass has written orchestral versions of Bowie’s Berlin Trilogy which is far removed from the ambient(ish) originals, but still recognisable.
I do enjoy your takes on these things, especially as it is from someone who has never heard this before. I have loved Tangerine Dream for a long time. My most played albums by them (besides Rubycon) are Rocochet, Phaedra and Stratosfear. All were recorded from the 1974 to 1976 period. This particular track is (for me) very reminiscent of being on a beach, with the washes of sound like the waves pushing back and forth over a beach made of small pebbles that get disturbed by every wave. Overhead - seagulls of course. The biggest thing I get from T Dream is the relaxed way that sound develops - they are never in a hurry and give you time to enjoy the sliding shifts. This is chilling-out music for when I want to sit/lay back and just immerse myself into the shifting motifs. I love the (usually) unhurried flow where you can just enjoy the way different elements just slide in and out of the piece. A very nice choice and very German in origin (bands like Kraftwerk, Neu and Faust are from this time - and I think they are all mainly German). Some idiots mis-named stuff like this under the generic title of Krautrock, which is a very bad description as it isn't rock at all. Electronica is a better description as it is largely synthesizer-based - if I were to try for a description of things like this, it would be 'Soundscape' music. If you want the polar opposite to music like this, I'd cite Gentle Giant, which is an extraordinarily rich and complex tapestry of music, but almost entirely without the relaxed pacing of T.Dream. It is fast-changing, challenging to follow sometimes and absolutely stuffed with ideas that they want to shoehorn into each track. I love both groups, despite how different they are. I mentioned GG, because with Tangerine Dream I can sit down (and almost dream or meditate) to the tracks, whereas with GG you want to be up and moving, as it plays.
I first heard this in the month that it was released. It was my introduction to the world of The Dream and admittedly it took a few spins to appreciate it. It’s been in my top 10 albums for 50 years and still listen to it on a regular basis. A classic 👍 thanks for the interesting review
Hey, Nathan McCree and his work in Tomb Raider is something that actually inspired me to pursue music as a goal life. You have a wonderful channel, thank you so much!
You asked me when or why we listen to this kind of music and I would answer like this: Listening to Tangerine Dream music is an experience where you experience a wide range of emotions while listening to it. I also experience being in many different places and situations and I see many different images in my mind. I may have memories or possible visions of the future. It may evoke fears or give comfort. Listening to music is like looking at a beautifully done painting, or not even having to look at it as the painting is created in my head while listening to this music. The music tells a story with a beginning, different events during the story and the actual catharsis and maybe even an epilogue... Tangerine Dream is a complete experience!
I listen to both Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze, Jean-Michel Jarre, Mike Oldfield and Vangelis both to "get into the mood" of writing pen & paper fantasy roleplaying scenarios or simply 'lore' or other things related to it like handouts to the players. I also listen to it when I am trying to get into the mood to write short (horror) stories. It is music that I grew up with and also music that was playing in the background when I was introduced to tabletop roleplaying. We always played through the night. Now I'm 30 years older, so we don't play longer than until 2 or 3 AM anymore ... but we still listen to this music. I regard this as a masterpiece. The sound of the old analogue synthesizers is quite unique and not that easy to reproduce today. Another Tangerine Dream pick should probably be "Invisible Limits" (from the 1976 album "Stratosfear"). It's somewhat shorter and resembles more of a rhapsodic composition.
Hi Amy, well... I never thought I'd see the day when you were doing some TD. I couldn't click on it fast enough!! You'll find a video on RUclips showing some students from Sweden performing a much later TD track called "Poland" on traditional instruments here: ruclips.net/video/k5z9qES48Rw/видео.htmlsi=eRMC9-H28ECFgTH9 . I listen to TD very often, usually when I just want to relax and escape everything. I sit back close my eyes and just lose myself in the soundscape. It would be good if you could do the other side of the album (Rubycon part 2) as well as other TD tracks. I don't think I remember you doing any Kraftwerk yet so that might be interesting too. I'd also like to see you go back to some Pink Floyd (although I realise this can be difficult due to copyright) and Black Sabbath (Ozzy era, but Heaven & Hell (1st Sabbath album featuring Ronnie James Dio) is also a great album). EDIT: I almost forgot!!! Have a listen to some Vangelis, perhaps start with one of these albums: Albedo 0.39, China, or Spiral.
Yay! Some Krautrock! I’ve been looking forward to this hoping Amy might eventually arrive here! Popol Vuh, Can, Faust, Neu!, Ash Ra Tempel, Cluster, Kraftwerk, the Krautrock supergroup Harmonia which comprised artists from Cluster and Neu! And of course Tangerine Dream - There are so many wonderful bands to explore from this German movement.
What Tangerine Dream is really all about is being the soundtrack to the movie in your mind. It's really good background music to do stuff by. I saw them in concert 3 times and one of them was one of the most entertaining shows I've ever seen. They can go from sensual and beautiful to scary and disturbing, just like life.
Can you imagine the impact this music had on a 15 year old boy hearing this and part 2 of course for the first time? This boy was me. I am almost 57 now and TD was always a part of my life. TD and Klaus Schulze of course are the pioneers of this kind of music. This kind of music is what i would call the closest thing of modern music to classical music
I literally listen to Tangerine Dream in my daily life during my work as a translator, during cleaning etc. I love the ever-evolving patterns, ostinatos, sequences. I also enjoy classical music and soundtrack music in this way. I love how you can't really box it down, how it doesn't conform to norms, how it tends to evoke emotions and experiences that you don't even have a name for.
The main lead you're listening to is a Mellotron sampler, which in fact sampled choir, flute, and violin on looped tapes for each pitch, so yes, you're listening to all three morphing in and out.
I bought this album when it was released, I found it soothing and relaxing with a note of sadness. This album and Phaedra both remind me of sounds from my dreas. The first part of this one makes me envision a rocky beach with birds flying around. As I stand there time starts rolling backwards, now I am aware that we are back in the time before man. Time continues to go back and soon the birds are gone, they haven't evolved yet. The shallow waters close to shore are crystal clear and I can see trilobites and other primitive life forms swimming in the water. There are a few plants on land but nothing complex. This all fades away as the music changes.
EDGAR FROESE: "Our music should have an individual effect on everyone. The only basic principle is to pay attention to flowing transitions and never to abruptly introduce new themes. Theoretically, our music is exactly as György Ligeti describes it in his "Klangfarbenmusik".
That thudding sound you may have heard would be me keeling over in a faint :) One of my absolute favourite pieces from one of my absolute favourite artists. Oh and in case no one makes the point, the whole album is one song and is only split into two because you could only get so much on one side of vinyl :D EDIT: And I have ever described to people that Tangerine Dream is like classical music but played with electronic sounds rather than 'real' instruments.
All these decades this album still absolutely satisfies my soul as few others can, so rhythmic, so aquatic in its fluidity. If Picasso or Dali had written music it would be so similar
The first part of this track always make me imagine rivers, lakes and the ocean; flowing water, seagulls, waves hitting the shore, flock of birds, underwater sound etc.
Thank you for reacting to this song. I’ve often wondered what a classical musician would think of the electronica of the 70s. I am only at the 4 minute mark, but I would love it if you reacted to more like this, especially if you reacted to Jean Michael Jarre, a very famous French electronic pioneer with his works Oxygene or Equinox. Thanks for stepping out of the traditional rock and roll. Btw, Rubicon is a wonderful album.
Re your question about under what circumstances someone would want to listen to this stuff: I've spent half a century writing fiction listening to Tangerine Dream, Brian Eno, some classical composers, and (in the last 20 years) electronic dance music mixes -- all for exactly the same reason. They're not wallpaper but neither do they steal focus. They drone, and induce a trance-like state (alpha-wave state, it used to be called) that I find absolutely immersive for creative sessions. I've heard similar from many artists in a variety of media (music composers being an obvious exception; I doubt many put music on while composing).
YES! YES! YES! For me, he and Tan-Dream are the second-highest Prog-Rock acts after The Beatles and Queen. (NB I know both those bands did many more genres - even invented some (The Beatles may even have invented Prog-Rock) but, for me, many of their best works are Prog-Rock. JMJ is fab.
An incredible live band. Notably, the performed at The Royal Albert Hall in 1975 largely based on Rubycon in a brilliant extended format. Also, the performed inside four cathedrals at Reims France, Coventry, York and Liverpool, England during 1974 and 1975. But after this the Church said no more thank you. The Reims December 1974 concert is epic and probably the best sound quality-wise. Most of TD performances start slowly and build up (after about 10 or 15 minutes to a crescendo of highly co-ordinated sound between the three members of the band Froese, Franke and Baumann. Concerts like the are an real experience and I believe everyone should listen RAH, Reims Cathedral and Nottingham, England Nov 1976 at least once in their life. They are missing out if the don't. That said, Ricochet 1975 is my favorite studio (and part live) album.
Wow. First Captain Beefheart, now Tangerine Dream. Very interesting. You could really separate yourself from most of the other music reactors on RUclips by focusing on some of the more out-there 'rock' artists' work. And giving a treatment of a 17ish-minute piece of music! Might Soft Machine's "Slightly All The Time" or "Out-Bloody-Rageous" be future song reaction selections? That would be great. Additionally, exploring the area known as 'Krautrock' -of which Tangerine Dream are prime exponents (at least of the more electronic wing)- is a whole other world to enter. If you do, I'll be along for the ride!
I first listened to Tangerine Dream with the sense that this music was outside what I knew, but also complete in itself and valid - I had no good reason to say there was something wrong with it. Still, it was someone else's world and I was just a visitor. I still visit in this way. I can also visit Mahler in the same way. I like to explore, and this is a big world to explore. I went around America exploring many years ago. I realised very quickly that it was not my country, and not the fantasy place I had experience through the TV. But it was a beautiful, complex, challenging and life affirming place to visit - just not my country.
In answer to your concluding question TD for me is meditation through ambiance and exhilleration in scripted pounding base sequences.with often greatly improvised descants (Froese). Love the creativity and imagination plus they are skilled musicians and pioneers in their field. The compositions were lengthy and you don't want them to stop. People either love it or can do without it. Hope that helps.
This is great, I never bought Rubycon, must have 4 o5 Tangerine Dream records, this is a real treat. Phaedra and Live were the most played. There are few Kraftwerk tunes that would be great. More Krautrock...Faust, Amon Duul, Can, Cluster, Neu!, Klaus Schulz, Ash Ra Temple . Has Amy already ENO? He did a great lp with Cluster. That would be a real Holiday gift!
Tubular Bells came out in 1973, I doubt if it was influence by either, Kraftwerk were around at that time, sure, but their music at that stage was nowhere approaching Mike Oldfield's sound/genre. As for Numan, '73 was way too early, I don't think he started recording til '76 or '77.
@@MashLimit I stand corrected I did not know it was that early. I like TD especially the first three albums. But my love for numan who is criminally underrated and never hardly reviewed except for cars influenced my first reply.
Wow! First Captain Beefheart, now this. You may be in danger of becoming musically radicalized 🤤 Believe it or not, this band is still going strong to this very day. Being around for so long, they are now part of a small contingent of bands that have NO original members left. The one mostly constant member (the lineup changed a lot over the decades) was founder Edgar Froese. He passed away in 2015. His son was in the band for a while, but has since moved on to other projects. It should be noted that being around for decades inevitably means that their sound was going to morph over time. In fact as the years rolled by, they slowly embraced more traditional melodic and harmonic structures as they progressed. You may find some of their later material a little closer to your tastes. I myself discovered TD in college back in 1980 with their first album on Richard Branson’s Virgin label, ‘Tangram’. I freely admit that I didn’t really understand what they were doing back then, but they are my all time favourite musical entity now. Richard Branson is Britain’s version of Elon Musk. He owns a bunch of companies, including Virgin Space (not sure if that’s the actual name) which offers tourist travel into orbit. And his whole empire started with Virgin Records. Specifically with Michael Oldfield’s “Tubular Bells”, which you may or may not want to react to at some point.
I had good friend who had copies of this album, George Harrison's Electronic Sounds and pink Floyd's Meddle and a couple of Kraft Work albums .... They all require different listening skills and like you said .there is less of a traditional hook for most people to grasp. It's more of let it wash over and around you. One has to kind of pick something to focus and follow and be willing to let it go to find another sound to continue the journey.
Someone else may have said this already, but given Amy's comment about Tchaikovsky I wonder whether she has come across Isao Tomita. Most of his work may be too close to its classical roots to have a place here, but she may be interested. I don't think I know of him doing Tchaikovsky, but he certainly did Debussy and Mussorgsky.
I always associate the first swell with sunrise, as I listened to that on tape one very early morning in the countryside when I was much much younger. Suns rising up and 'alien seagulls' are flying. Also, thank you for this, there's too few TD reactions. I listen to this just to listening.
During the pandemic, Thorsten Quaeschning, who has been a member of Tangerine Dream for several years, and is now a member of the post-Froese lineup, started making jam sessions with other musicians (some electronic music artists, others not) in an empty concert venue in Berlin, "Behind closed doors". Here is an example: ruclips.net/video/XM12jKC_e0o/видео.html I'm a mathematician. I often listen to this kind of music when some background noise (colleagues talking in the hall, a leafblower outside) make it difficult to concentrate. Then the music often helps me focus on my work.
This era of Tangerine Dream was a direct influence for ambient electronica from the early 90s onwards, alongside experimental classical musicians like Stockhausen, Philip Glass and Steve Reich. You can hear definite references to Rubycon in Orb tracks, particularly those writtn by Kris 'Thrash' Weston. He's an interesting composer/producer worthy of a listen - he has a way of layering dozens of sounds and including very dissonant or atonal elements that work incredibly harmoniously. You should also listen to 'Chill Out', the seminal album by the KLF, perhaps their best album. And if you want to bring it full circle you should definitely try listening to System 7 - the duo of Miquette Giraudy and Steve Hillage, who was a guitarist in prog rock band Gong for a while. That brings you back to rock and Gong are another journey you should go on, with their crazy space pixie themes mixed with psychadelic space rock jazz.
I tend to listen to this style of music for pleasure and then when the mood takes me try to recreate something in this style with my collection of instruments
I love to listen to Tangerine Dream to get lost in space and time. It's always with 100% focus on the music and it has to be absolutely quiet. I imagine traveling through the universe, visiting strange planets and worlds.
Together with Phaedra, a masterpiece of early electronic music. I saw them play at the Corn Exchange in Cambridge in the early 1970's. You must do Rubycon 2 (side two of the original LP release) but also Phaedra, the album which preceded Rubycon and made their name in the UK and beyond.
I really like your Rock Music analyses. But when I saw you had listened to Rubicon I really thought Wow! Coz I thought it was exactly something you wouldn't do and because I doubted Vlad would be familiar with Tangerine Dream. I used to listen a lot to this piece. Especially while studying or reading. I remember one night in the 90's I was working on a study project at home in summer. It was really hot and humid that night. Sweat was dripping down my face. And playing this piece it felt like I was in the jungle of Costa Rica instead of my student flat in Holland. 😅 If you want to listen to a more or less classical interpretation of this kind of music I would recommend Hania Rani. She is classicaly trained pianist who is clearly influenced by this Berlin School sequencer based sound. Like on her song Buka where she does play all those nice sequences manually.
My experience as a listener, for me it’s a journey. My father said, see it as a long road, first time on that road is boring, second time on that road you notice some flowers next to the road, next time you see various tree types, then comes the wild live, and then you see that you’re not the only one on that road.
![American reacts to "American Tourists caught in the wild" [part 2]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/0nJyQTm0IJA/mqdefault.jpg)
I could fill a book with a response to this! This music has dominated the last 50 years of the playlist of my life. Here are a few sound-bite responses.
Yes, the name originates with Lucy in the Sky.
The Second World War and Salvador Dali are both important contexts.
The description "Berlin School" often refers to analog synthesizer sounds where a relentless pulse (a 'clock') drives a pitch-controlling 'sequencer'.
It is possible to interact with a sequencer in real-time, but takes great skill, not the least because the 24 (in this case) pitch-control knobs are not quantized.
Music technology moved so fast in the subsequent few years that the skills and technologies this music needed became stranded in time.
Niche enthusiasts have kept it alive; some have explored and developed it further while artificially constraining the technology (plug here for Mark Shreeve's wonderful 'Red Shift' recordings); and latterly, 'old school' nostalgia has re-popularized the analog instruments for a new generation.
The term Berlin School also seems to be in contrast to the Dusseldorf School with Kraftwerk, 4/4 and Detroit techno onwards.
Rubycon Part I - Karl Dallas interviews Chris Franke of TANGERINE DREAM:
The beginning is Baumann on Fender Rhodes piano, “playing very lonely notes”, with bell-like Moog tones from Franke, joined by an oboe sound from Froese’s [M400] Mellotron. All three lines come closer and closer together, but there are quiet spaces between the notes. “It’s the first time we have put breaks between the notes, but it’s very important, so you can get your brain clear for what’s coming.”
A very high melody line on Franke’s Moog comes over the long, slow notes, is joined by tapes of mixed voices on the Mellotron with glissandi from Baumann. The Moog melody returns and Froese changes to strings tapes for a brief section of trumpet-like tune and strings. “Peter has some very nice voltage-controlled bits with the synthi. Sometimes he comes very near with his glissandi, through the well-tempered melody line. I like it very much if there are two scales of notes together -- a well-tempered scale and a not-tempered scale producing, like birds, quarter notes, like Schoenberg. “This part gives me the impression of a very big river, at the end of the river coming into a big sea, the ocean. It’s very liquid.” Wind noise is followed by a cymbal-like tone created by a cluster of 20 or 30 notes very close together and a very low bass, with feelings of fuzz in it. “It’s a little meditation tone.”
After a rhythm sequence, Froese plays the main theme on the strings followed by a remarkable duet between Baumann’s Fender Rhodes and Froese’s oboe-tapes, in which they swap phrases and half phrases. The rhythm continues, very ostinato, “a repetitive rhythm like the Negroes make it, very often”, Baumann switches to organ and the duet continues. The rhythm doubles and Franke adds an overdubbed piano tape loop: a backwards tape is joined to a forwards tape so that the sound comes to its attack and then dies away. The rhythm becomes very complex, with Moog tones and snare-drum sounds, plus overdubbed piano, “prepared” with pieces of wood stuck between the strings to give a more percussive effect. Over this Froese plays chords and Baumann plays a very high melody line on organ.
A change in the rhythm is overlaid by clashing sounds from Baumann’s voltage controlled oscillator, played over a very fast-running Leslie speaker and very long echo delay. Froese plays a reprise of the original oboe melody while the decay of the snare drum sound becomes longer and longer so that the beat disappears. Later Baumann plays grand piano over a Leslie. “In this piece I think all the melodies, rhythms and all the sounds are much, much more complex and much better than on Phaedra. I think it is a step forward, this record.” The piece ends with a long sitar-like sound created by scraping the strings of a grand piano with a piece of metal, recording it, cutting off the attack at the beginning of the note, and playing it back on multi-track at different speeds, giving several different pitches. The rhythm becomes simpler and simpler, moving from three to two to one single tone, and the piano loops are faded across to each other, making chords, slowly shifting.
I discovered Tangerine Dream through my cousins, who had bought the Rubycon album when it came out in early 1975 (I was nine at the time), and this pictorial/cinematic approach set to music grabbed me straight away. It immediately conjured up mental images and soundscapes.
The world of Tangerine Dream is a musical journey through sound painting. Founder Edgar Froese studied painting and sculpture at the Berlin Academy of the Arts, and was invited by Salvador Dali to his villa in the mid-60s, which was decisive in his adventurous musical approach. Amy, I invite you to continue your discovery of Tangerine Dream, and what better way than to listen to Rubycon part 2.😉
I’ve listened to TD’s masterpieces from the 70’s so much, I can actually hum every song. They never get old
Oh my, this takes me back .......I spent many hours listening to this album, which I still have tucked away with the rest of my vinyl collection. Thank you for reacting to this, I forgot how good it was.
Ooh! This takes me back to my teens. Back in my little bedroom. Lights out, headphones on and off we go.....😊
In those days they were amazing, too - saw them in Coventry Cathedral (UK) in 1976/77 - and was even more hooked. I still use them today when photo-editing or writing.
@@MiscellanyTopOctober 1975 -
Connected a light organ to the amp... never needed any drugs.
RicOchet is the masterwork of electronic rock music !
That is my favorite TD album as well. Then comes Phaedra, Rubicon and Stratosfear - oh the good old days. The Virgin years
That second side! Ethereal, erotic, vivid.
Rubycon was the first Tangerine Dream album that I bought. A friend recommended the band to me when I said that I like keyboards and synths in the music that I listen to. He informed me that the only non-keyboard instrument they play is the guitar. "No drums or percussion?" I asked. "Nope," he replied.
I was intrigued because, coincidentally, just a few weeks before, I had seen a copy of Rubycon at a new record store that had just opened, and I was curious how a band could produce something good without any percussion.
I took the plunge and bought it. The opening movement was pretty standard, in my opinion, with sounds that reminded me of a trip on a river or the sea, with its sounds like ocean waves and seagulls. But after about six minutes, those sequencers kicked in, and I immediately understood how a band could successfully make music without drums. I knew I had something unique, and I have been a fan ever since.
Tangerine Dream's uniqueness appealed to me at once. I enjoy just listening to their music when relaxing. Sometimes I've used their compositions to inspire drawings I have made. Their works can be exciting or contemplative and everything in between. You never know what you're going to get with this band, but I guarantee you, it will be different, and in a good way.
Amy is on a roll. Rainbow yesterday and TD today.
Good days. For me, Rainbow are very good indeed but, at their best, TD are exquisite.
... and krautrock tomorrow!
TD’s music is best heard in the evening, lights off, headphones on and a half hour excursion into the infinite! Such a marvellous experience 😊
Brave choice Vlad. Great review Amy. Tangerine Dream can be described as the birthers of 'Ambient Trance' music. This Album has a great spread of space, colour and atmosphere. I always feel I have visited strange land on a strange planet after listening to this album. For me this was a 'gateway drug' towards more avant-garde classical music, then onto all types of classical styles, not just towards Ambient Rock categories.
Tangerine Dream/Vangelis/Jarre/Kraftwerk , you are at the start of another journey, this one has some strange destinations , you could end up with Laurie Anderson, Mike Oldfield or Klaus Schulze or take a path that leads to concerts with more than a million people watching and has entire city skylines as the stage backdrop ( Jean-Michel Jarre ), who by the way has a laser harp !. As for where I listen, sat on a tractor cutting acres of grass, driving long distances or sometimes just sat at home, this music can take over your consciousness as it syncs with your brainwaves and opens your mind as you follow the musical twists and turns through a world that is no longer bound by verse/bridge/chorus limitations.
Love Laurie Anderson
I would also add Patrick O'Hearn to the list of electronic artists. I love listening to his work.
@@CopyKatnj Shadowfax, Tomita, and Alan Parson
And we shouldn't forget Kitaro to mention as well.
@@peterattilakriszt3150 and YMO.
Ambient music is like an ocean wave on the shore, constantly moving, but every wave is different.
"Phaedra" is one of my favourite albums. It precedes Rubycon
For me also. ''Phaedra'' is the benchmark along with ''Epsilon in Malaysian Pale'' by Edgar Froese. There are many other good albums and I have a soft spot for ''Stratosfear'' and ''Ricochet'' but always go back to ''Phaedra''.
@@neilparnell5712 I have not heard "Malaysian" (I lived there for a while when I was a child in 1965) thank you for the suggestion Neil
@@MrJohnnyMel I'm sure you will enjoy it.
yeah, that's my favorite TD too. I really like Force Majeure too because of the neat guitar work.
love it, this was a good composition to pick for the channel, Amy, thank you
My all-time favorite instrumental track of any band is Tangerine Dream's Cloudburst Flight. I hope you can check it out next! It adds acoustic and electric guitar to the mix.
Fantastic drumming from Klaus Kruger as well - famously using his high hat cymbal as a trigger to control the tempo of the sequencer - so it was always slightly changing
That was very enjoyable, lovely to be able to hear all the music. "Tubular Bells" has to be soon.... please :)
Electronic music on this channel? Maybe Jarre and Vangelis has a chance then.
Oh, I'd love to see Vangelis on this channel too! But it's hard to pick a proper track/album for a reaction. Heaven and hell? Mask?
My personal favourite albums of him are probably The City or China, but you can't just take one track from there and listen to it. I think it won't work this way.
p.s. and for Jarre it must be Oxygene. No doubts about that 🙂
@@AntonNidhoggr Well, i have doubts it must be Oxygene, Jarre is still active since the 70's. For example he opened Coachella in 2018. Thats how you open a festival.
ruclips.net/video/DqizBDwmwKg/видео.html (Equinox infinity Movement 08 (The Opening)). Personally I prefer the Chronology album from him. But, obvoiusly Oxygene is unavoidable.
From Vangelis it can be anything. I would suggest Albedo 0.39 or Spiral. But also his cinematic scores are world famous. Btw, actually all his music is cinematic score, because they was (and are) widely used as music for scientific shows. The most famous in the US maybe Cosmos by Carl Sagan (which is Heaven and Hell 3rd Movement)
Anything from Blade Runner is a must.
I first saw Tangerine Dream perform here in southern England in the early 1970s. Their wall of electronic instruments, eerie light show and stage presence had me utterly spellbound as a teenager. I had been attending clsssical concerts at the same venue with my music teacher. It could not have been more different an experience. I was intrigued by the technical aspects of their music as much as the avant garde nature of their work.
I would HIGHLY recommend Larry Fast who’s pioneering work with sequencing and various voices and hardware voice cards were highly sought after in the 1970’s and early 1980’s. He worked with Peter Gabriel Pink Floyd and others. He released albums of his own as Synergy
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_Fast
Yes! TD❣ One of my favourite bands of all time 🤘❣ Have been with me since my early teens 👌🙏
And yes, Tchaikovsky is top notch too!😀👌
Where would you listen to music like this? In the car with a good sound system, at night on lonely roads and in the rain. It is amazing!
Tangerine Dream is definitely one of my all time favorite electronic acts. I can enjoy it both actively as on the background. Besides all the qualities you already mentioned, like the minimalism, subtle evolution and soundscapes, what really makes them stand out to me is the capacity to transport me with their hypnotic ostinato's. Most of their numbers have this quality where at some point i would struggle to stop the recording because it puts me in a kind of trance state.
Yes! Tangerine Dream.
:) :) :)
My first introduction to Tangerine Dream was the soundtrack for 1980s Risky Business. Watch the "train scene" and the music makes the scene almost dreamlike.
Based on Steve Reich’s Music for 18 Musicians part 6
Exactly! When I heard that I had to get that album, and fell in love. Warsaw live is my favorite.
Mine was the soundtrack to the 1981 Michael Mann movie Thief, starring James Caan and Tuesday Weld.
From - '74 - '76... Tangerine Dream were at their creative peak... this album considered one of their best for sure 👍...
100% Agreed. (Though I like others equally, eg: "Exit", "Phaedra", etc)
@@MiscellanyTop Exit is superb
Edgar Froese: “there is no ‘best’ Tangerine Dream album” ;)
@AndyKing1963 Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight!!!
Swirlings - spot on - vowels flowing one to the other 😢
Great analysis of one of my favorite tracks! I'm a bit surprised that noone comments on the improvised nature of this piece. I think lot of it is playing the "wrong" chord and sticking to it. It's very spontaneous music, which I think parts of its otherworldly appeal. Making an orchestral score of it is an interesting idea, but I'm not it would have any of the appeal of the original recording, which is as much about the sound as it is about notes.
Yes, Tangerine Dream's studio work in the 70s was a real musical laboratory, with many hours of improvised recordings, meticulously chosen to end up on disc. The most stunning is that this improvised work in the studio was extended on stage, where each performance was never the same! (the many official recordings and quality bootlegs allow to prove it).
Peter Baumann: "There was really never a ‘wrong’ note, just parts that didn’t fit as well. But that was not a reason to stop playing… as long as it didn’t throw the mood of the track. In the studio, we would keep recording and edit out anything that went against the grain.”
You just dipped your toe into a deep ocean of music. I own everything by Tangerine Dream. It is a staggering catalog of music.
it's pretty bold to claim to own everything in TD's catalogue!
I recently attended a wonderful outdoor festival overseas; in the UK, this past August, to see Tangerine Dream, Gong... and Hawkwind.
I love Hawkwind, but I wouldn't have gone if Tangerine Dream hadn't been headlining a night... and Gong helped ;)
If I recall correctly, my first exposure to Tangerine Dream was sometime early 80's watching the 1977 film: Sorcerer... on the Tele, late at night, as a kid, while everyone was sleeping.
It was the effect the soundtrack had on me that I recall.... It's now my go to Halloween album to give out treats to.
* Tangerine Dream has been involved with many a film, I'm sure you've watched one or two or....
Tangerine Dream were more upbeat at the fest, and I'm pretty sure they played something from the Sorcerer film... If not, the feel was recognizable to me.
I made my way up to about 40' from stage and just let the sound envelope... I had never felt anything like it before at a live show. It was as if the sound waves were encircling everything. I found myself in wonder about how strong the Bass was flowing through the ground, was fascinated by how my pant-legs were vibrating and how physical the experience was.
Hawkwind also closed the following night, and that physical aspect was even more magnified... everything on me was shimmering, vibrating and sometimes even pummelling the diaphragm.... and yet, just as uplifting as Tangerine Dream.
The difference to me was:
Tangerine Dream encircled and entwined... and I suppose, had an origin point.
Hawkwind engulfed everything at once... The sonic experience came from everywhere... like being absorbed by a Gelaninous Cube, while releasing all that energy outwards from the self at the same time... with total clarity of sound. Hawkwind produced so much more volume than Tangerine Dream did.... once I moved away from the main kick drum speaker, I must add... that was too loud. ;)
It's interesting how perceived sonic chaos can be so calming... and make one still.
Spacing out with the headphones on, lights off, finding ones place in the moment and soundscape, until time dissolves, is a wonderful thing... that said, I think Electronica, Ambience, Space Rock; and the like, really need to be experienced live (and perhaps outdoors in a natural environment), to really be felt.
P.s.
The Festival I attended is: A New Day Festival (in Kent/Faversham UK).
* Not: Newday Festival
I'm pretty sure if you look up A New Day Festival here on 'Utube, you'll find a clip or two of Tangerine Dream.
The 2025 line-up looks promising....
Id love to see Hawkwind again... this time with EBB, and The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, and Caravan playing in their own backyard: The Land of Grey and Pink.
* EBB did an excellent impromptu cover of Dave Brock's 'The Demented Man' during the pandemic that you can find on here... (song is from Hawkwind's: Warrior on the Edge of Time).
P.s.s.
Check out the documentary called: The Delian Mode - Delia Derbyshire documentary.
Delia is the unsung hero of the Doctor Who theme and in the vanguard of Electronica.
I just found you tonight. You will love "I'd Like to change the world" by 10 years after. One of the earliest songs with acoustic and electric guitars harmonizing. (My all-time favorite rock song) I'm 66.
Wow. This is a departure for this channel, in a good way. Yes, it's not progressive rock, but 70's electronic music and synth-rock are usually considered progressive rock-adjacent. By the mid- to late-70's there was a lot of crossover happening between this kind of music and mainstream popular music. Musicians like Brian Eno and David Bowie had absorbed much of this (along with its sibling style, krautrock) and were busily incorporating it into their music. It does push more experimental boundaries for a lot of listeners, so it often comes down to personal preference whether you spend much time with it or not. It TD is too out there then someone like Vangelis or Jean-Michel Jarre or Suzanne Ciani might be worth a listen.
I checked and you were right, Tangerine Dream was indeed named after the Beatles' lyric. I'm excited to see you getting into more electronica. I haven't gone down the TD rabbit hole yet - their catalogue is a bit daunting, but it's definitely in my wheelhouse. I hope you get to a few of my favorite artists in the genre like ambient pioneer Brian Eno and some artists from the UK's IDM movement(intelligent dance music- NOT named by the artists) like Aphex Twin and Squarepusher. It's a hard genre to pin down because it can take so many forms but there is so much great music there to discover.
Depending on the style I can listen to it while I study, play games, drive or even while taking a walk through nature or just sitting outside. Other times I'll slip on a sleep mask and some good headphones and immerse myself in it. I suppose I don't listen to it in social settings much, but I'm not sure if that's just because I know it is something of an acquired taste or because it just doesn't work well; maybe it depends on who I'm hanging out with.
I'm looking forward to more of this type of review even if Richard D. James (Aphex Twin) once said of this music "It's not music you talk about, it's music you listen to"- or something to that effect. I'm sure you'll figure that part out though 😁.
DJ (1): “Where did you get the name of the band by the way, Tangerine Dream?”
Edgar Froese: “Uh (sighs) I believe, but sorry I can’t say it exactly, but I believe it was a Beatles song (general Laughter)
My introduction to Tangerine Dream was from the 1981 Movie "Thief". I've been exploring this rabbit hole ever since. :)
Putting Tangerine Dream on while driving through any of the national parks in the American southwest enhances the experience in a non-linear fashion.
I use to listen to TD a lot in my early 20s. Often alone, often with shut eyes on my bed when I got home from university. Floating away with the musics different faces.
My first electronic experience was Jean Michel Jarre "Oxygene". A little simpler och closer to popular music, but still symphonic. I read The Lord of the Ring with that in the background.
Another gound breaker with electronic in popular music is I Feel Love by Donna Summer from 1977. It still sounds futuristic.
Is the other way around. Tchaikovsky made this kind of music with the tool available.
It starts as a doodling sounds, aesthetic choices are made, and it is morphed to a more classical approach.
It is poetry. Uses our language but doesn't become a prosaic narrative of the real world. But it is. Most people doesn't get music not based on concrete things.
Check out Tomita. He arranged famous classical pieces for synthesizer in early seventies. I love Tangerine Dream and I think you are right about them taking name from Beatle song. Thanks for doing Tangerine Dream.
@@Hartlor_Tayley Yes. I think I suggested Snowflakes Are Dancing to Vlad/Amy months ago but I'm not sure they have time to read many comments these days (unless one buys her a Kofi...)
Also Morton Subotnik did some great electronic works in the sixties
Tomita’s Pictures at an Exhibition is marvellous
@ yes and the Planets and Firebird. I really liked those albums.
I love Tangerine Dream. For a while I used to fall asleep listening to their albums every night.
I have so many things to say about this choice Amy, but right out of the gate - THANK YOU! I’ve followed you from day one here on RUclips, and enjoyed so many of your first-listens and analyses, but none more than this. This is like the BIG PAYOFF today! :-)
Tangerine Dreams is one of my favorite bands - Rubycon probably my favorite of their albums. I’ve listened to it over 100 times since I first heard it back in high school around 1976, so maybe I can help answer your questions about what kind of playlist would this be on?
Consider a long drive on a lonely highway, well past sundown and you still have another 2 hours of driving ahead of you. Play Rubycon.
Perhaps on a camp site, in Northern Ontario, on the edge of a lake as the stars are just peeking out, your canoe is pulled up on shore, you are alone and the campfire behind you keeping you warm as Rubycon plays on your Sony Walkman tape player and headphones.
It’s late night, you just got home from a party, but not sleepy yet, so you squirrel away downstairs, turn on the old B&W portable TV and turn the dial to a channel that’s only “snow”, then pop Rubycon on the turn-table and just watch the snow on the screen while Tangerine Dream grinds out those sounds and patterns. You might be surprised at how entertaining it can be.
Simply laying back on the couch, with headphones and listen while you stare into space works well too. Time to mull over the day and perhaps do a bit of day dreaming.
Your descriptions of the sounds, washes, changes, etc is SPOT ON. I’ve always felt like this era of Tangerine Dream’s music is like an M.C. Escher drawing come to life in musical form. Especially, those long panels Escher did called “Metamorphose” I, II or III. Very Tangerine Dream like.
Your idea of doing an arrangement of this piece with a traditional orchestra is a GREAT idea. I think maybe it’s been done already? Not 100% sure, but it is a really great idea. Maybe if you give TD a few more listens it will grow on you some more and who knows!? Maybe this is something in your future that you could spearhead. I’ll be in the audience on the first night!
Other things about Tangerine Dream that appeal greatly to me is how cinematic it feels. Sound scapes that have texture and evoke images and feelings that are hard to put your finger on (like a dream!) but are distinct and come back each time you hear the piece.
One of the greatest (IMHO) films ever made is called “Sorcerer” by the director William Friedkin. It’s for sure his greatest film, and he did “The Exorcist” and “The French Connection” which are no doubt masterpieces of cinema too to give you an idea of its strength. Anyway, Tangerine Dream did the score for the film, it was the first (and not the last) film they scored.
The story of how they got involved with the film is interesting, but note worthy is that they hadn’t seen the film. Wrote like 45 minutes or more of music, taped it and sent it to Friedkin as he was shooting the film in the middle of a jungle in the Dominican Republic. When he heard the music he said it changed the way he was shooting the film. It’s the only film of his that he says that he wouldn’t touch one frame of - in other words he considers it his only perfect film. The music is a deep part of that film and just about ALL the music they wrote is in the film.
I truly hope you give it another listen (or 10) and perhaps try the flip side, Rubycon Part 2. I’d really like to hear what you think of it upon multiple listens, even more so than your first impression as I KNOW you’ll tell me things that I had never thought of and will give me a deeper better appreciation of it too.
Thanks again! James.
It's an absolutely amazing piece of work
Lucky to have on record ⏺️
I always think that the only way to listen to TD is with good headphones or really good speakers, in a darkened room with your eyes closed and no distraction. And then just let yourself be consumed? by the sound.
Very true, in other words taping a RUclips reaction video is not ideal, although, we are all DEEPLY grateful that Amy has done it! But perhaps we’re all hinting that she give another quiet listen as Felix suggests. We all suspect it will grow on her - yes Amy?! :-)
Loved your reactions to this. On subject of classical crossover with this kind of music, Philip Glass has written orchestral versions of Bowie’s Berlin Trilogy which is far removed from the ambient(ish) originals, but still recognisable.
I do enjoy your takes on these things, especially as it is from someone who has never heard this before.
I have loved Tangerine Dream for a long time. My most played albums by them (besides Rubycon) are Rocochet, Phaedra and Stratosfear. All were recorded from the 1974 to 1976 period. This particular track is (for me) very reminiscent of being on a beach, with the washes of sound like the waves pushing back and forth over a beach made of small pebbles that get disturbed by every wave. Overhead - seagulls of course. The biggest thing I get from T Dream is the relaxed way that sound develops - they are never in a hurry and give you time to enjoy the sliding shifts.
This is chilling-out music for when I want to sit/lay back and just immerse myself into the shifting motifs. I love the (usually) unhurried flow where you can just enjoy the way different elements just slide in and out of the piece. A very nice choice and very German in origin (bands like Kraftwerk, Neu and Faust are from this time - and I think they are all mainly German). Some idiots mis-named stuff like this under the generic title of Krautrock, which is a very bad description as it isn't rock at all. Electronica is a better description as it is largely synthesizer-based - if I were to try for a description of things like this, it would be 'Soundscape' music.
If you want the polar opposite to music like this, I'd cite Gentle Giant, which is an extraordinarily rich and complex tapestry of music, but almost entirely without the relaxed pacing of T.Dream. It is fast-changing, challenging to follow sometimes and absolutely stuffed with ideas that they want to shoehorn into each track. I love both groups, despite how different they are. I mentioned GG, because with Tangerine Dream I can sit down (and almost dream or meditate) to the tracks, whereas with GG you want to be up and moving, as it plays.
According to a recent poll that I ran on FB - TDs top two albums from the 1970’s are 1. Ricochet and 2. Force Majeure - Rubycon was at no.3
Yeah I remember that.. 🎵
I first heard this in the month that it was released. It was my introduction to the world of The Dream and admittedly it took a few spins to appreciate it. It’s been in my top 10 albums for 50 years and still listen to it on a regular basis. A classic 👍 thanks for the interesting review
Yes! This is the stuff that got me into modular. Ricochet is a great live album by the same trio.
Hey, Nathan McCree and his work in Tomb Raider is something that actually inspired me to pursue music as a goal life. You have a wonderful channel, thank you so much!
You asked me when or why we listen to this kind of music and I would answer like this:
Listening to Tangerine Dream music is an experience where you experience a wide range of emotions while listening to it. I also experience being in many different places and situations and I see many different images in my mind. I may have memories or possible visions of the future. It may evoke fears or give comfort.
Listening to music is like looking at a beautifully done painting, or not even having to look at it as the painting is created in my head while listening to this music.
The music tells a story with a beginning, different events during the story and the actual catharsis and maybe even an epilogue...
Tangerine Dream is a complete experience!
It’s my dream that one of these popular reactors will go all in on Krautrock in general. There’s just so much INCREDIBLE music from that “school.”
So true!!
Like abstract watercolour painting in sound.
I listen to both Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze, Jean-Michel Jarre, Mike Oldfield and Vangelis both to "get into the mood" of writing pen & paper fantasy roleplaying scenarios or simply 'lore' or other things related to it like handouts to the players. I also listen to it when I am trying to get into the mood to write short (horror) stories.
It is music that I grew up with and also music that was playing in the background when I was introduced to tabletop roleplaying. We always played through the night. Now I'm 30 years older, so we don't play longer than until 2 or 3 AM anymore ... but we still listen to this music.
I regard this as a masterpiece. The sound of the old analogue synthesizers is quite unique and not that easy to reproduce today.
Another Tangerine Dream pick should probably be "Invisible Limits" (from the 1976 album "Stratosfear"). It's somewhat shorter and resembles more of a rhapsodic composition.
Hi Amy, well... I never thought I'd see the day when you were doing some TD. I couldn't click on it fast enough!! You'll find a video on RUclips showing some students from Sweden performing a much later TD track called "Poland" on traditional instruments here: ruclips.net/video/k5z9qES48Rw/видео.htmlsi=eRMC9-H28ECFgTH9 . I listen to TD very often, usually when I just want to relax and escape everything. I sit back close my eyes and just lose myself in the soundscape. It would be good if you could do the other side of the album (Rubycon part 2) as well as other TD tracks. I don't think I remember you doing any Kraftwerk yet so that might be interesting too. I'd also like to see you go back to some Pink Floyd (although I realise this can be difficult due to copyright) and Black Sabbath (Ozzy era, but Heaven & Hell (1st Sabbath album featuring Ronnie James Dio) is also a great album).
EDIT: I almost forgot!!! Have a listen to some Vangelis, perhaps start with one of these albums: Albedo 0.39, China, or Spiral.
Yay! Some Krautrock! I’ve been looking forward to this hoping Amy might eventually arrive here! Popol Vuh, Can, Faust, Neu!, Ash Ra Tempel, Cluster, Kraftwerk, the Krautrock supergroup Harmonia which comprised artists from Cluster and Neu! And of course Tangerine Dream - There are so many wonderful bands to explore from this German movement.
I should thank Vlad for suggesting Tangerine Dream to Amy. I'm sure there will be more Krautrock to come. I'll be patient till then…
What Tangerine Dream is really all about is being the soundtrack to the movie in your mind. It's really good background music to do stuff by. I saw them in concert 3 times and one of them was one of the most entertaining shows I've ever seen. They can go from sensual and beautiful to scary and disturbing, just like life.
Can you imagine the impact this music had on a 15 year old boy hearing this and part 2 of course for the first time? This boy was me. I am almost 57 now and TD was always a part of my life. TD and Klaus Schulze of course are the pioneers of this kind of music. This kind of music is what i would call the closest thing of modern music to classical music
I literally listen to Tangerine Dream in my daily life during my work as a translator, during cleaning etc. I love the ever-evolving patterns, ostinatos, sequences. I also enjoy classical music and soundtrack music in this way. I love how you can't really box it down, how it doesn't conform to norms, how it tends to evoke emotions and experiences that you don't even have a name for.
The main lead you're listening to is a Mellotron sampler, which in fact sampled choir, flute, and violin on looped tapes for each pitch, so yes, you're listening to all three morphing in and out.
I bought this album when it was released, I found it soothing and relaxing with a note of sadness. This album and Phaedra both remind me of sounds from my dreas.
The first part of this one makes me envision a rocky beach with birds flying around. As I stand there time starts rolling backwards, now I am aware that we are back in the time before man. Time continues to go back and soon the birds are gone, they haven't evolved yet. The shallow waters close to shore are crystal clear and I can see trilobites and other primitive life forms swimming in the water. There are a few plants on land but nothing complex. This all fades away as the music changes.
GYORGY LIGETI's "Atmospheres"! No electronic needed.
a big influence on Edgar, Chris and Hans-Peter
EDGAR FROESE: "Our music should have an individual effect on everyone. The only basic principle is to pay attention to flowing transitions and never to abruptly introduce new themes. Theoretically, our music is exactly as György Ligeti describes it in his "Klangfarbenmusik".
I don't have much of a musical education, but Ligeti was the first thing I thought of.
That thudding sound you may have heard would be me keeling over in a faint :) One of my absolute favourite pieces from one of my absolute favourite artists. Oh and in case no one makes the point, the whole album is one song and is only split into two because you could only get so much on one side of vinyl :D
EDIT: And I have ever described to people that Tangerine Dream is like classical music but played with electronic sounds rather than 'real' instruments.
Mike Oldfield - Tubular Bells
Jean Michel Jarre - Oxygene 4, Equinoxe 5
Kraftwerk - The Model, Computerworld
Mike Vickers - Visitation
Andrzej Korzyński - Baby bump
Pink Floyd - Saucerful of secrets
Herbie Hancock - Rockit
The Residents - Hello Skinny
Listened to TD almost every day for the last 44 years - not just TD of course, that would be boring. However you will find 'everything' in TD's music
Love this group.
i AM all in FOR THIS ONE!!! :)
All these decades this album still absolutely satisfies my soul as few others can, so rhythmic, so aquatic in its fluidity. If Picasso or Dali had written music it would be so similar
The first part of this track always make me imagine rivers, lakes and the ocean; flowing water, seagulls, waves hitting the shore, flock of birds, underwater sound etc.
Thank you for reacting to this song. I’ve often wondered what a classical musician would think of the electronica of the 70s. I am only at the 4 minute mark, but I would love it if you reacted to more like this, especially if you reacted to Jean Michael Jarre, a very famous French electronic pioneer with his works Oxygene or Equinox. Thanks for stepping out of the traditional rock and roll. Btw, Rubicon is a wonderful album.
Yes, I would love to see her react to Michael Hoenig - 1978 album, Departure from the Northern Wasteland.
Re your question about under what circumstances someone would want to listen to this stuff: I've spent half a century writing fiction listening to Tangerine Dream, Brian Eno, some classical composers, and (in the last 20 years) electronic dance music mixes -- all for exactly the same reason. They're not wallpaper but neither do they steal focus. They drone, and induce a trance-like state (alpha-wave state, it used to be called) that I find absolutely immersive for creative sessions. I've heard similar from many artists in a variety of media (music composers being an obvious exception; I doubt many put music on while composing).
Brian Eno's ambient music is great to relax to.
Jean-Michel Jarre is worth hearing to continue this exploration into electronic music.
YES! YES! YES! For me, he and Tan-Dream are the second-highest Prog-Rock acts after The Beatles and Queen. (NB I know both those bands did many more genres - even invented some (The Beatles may even have invented Prog-Rock) but, for me, many of their best works are Prog-Rock. JMJ is fab.
@@MiscellanyTop Early Kraftwerk too.
Monolight by tangerine dream is a beautiful thing.
A brilliant album. Came out when I was 14. Blew my mind :) Ahead of its time. Still great now.
Absolutely LOVE Rubycon. That said, it gets quite creepy at time, especially the beginning of side two, like the soundtrack to Hell.
An incredible live band. Notably, the performed at The Royal Albert Hall in 1975 largely based on Rubycon in a brilliant extended format. Also, the performed inside four cathedrals at Reims France, Coventry, York and Liverpool, England during 1974 and 1975. But after this the Church said no more thank you. The Reims December 1974 concert is epic and probably the best sound quality-wise. Most of TD performances start slowly and build up (after about 10 or 15 minutes to a crescendo of highly co-ordinated sound between the three members of the band Froese, Franke and Baumann. Concerts like the are an real experience and I believe everyone should listen RAH, Reims Cathedral and Nottingham, England Nov 1976 at least once in their life. They are missing out if the don't. That said, Ricochet 1975 is my favorite studio (and part live) album.
Wow. First Captain Beefheart, now Tangerine Dream. Very interesting.
You could really separate yourself from most of the other music reactors on RUclips by focusing on some of the more out-there 'rock' artists' work.
And giving a treatment of a 17ish-minute piece of music! Might Soft Machine's "Slightly All The Time" or "Out-Bloody-Rageous" be future song reaction selections? That would be great.
Additionally, exploring the area known as 'Krautrock' -of which Tangerine Dream are prime exponents (at least of the more electronic wing)- is a whole other world to enter. If you do, I'll be along for the ride!
A lot of their work was improvised.
They were on the soundtrack for the movie Risky business, Love on a real train is a great track
I first listened to Tangerine Dream with the sense that this music was outside what I knew, but also complete in itself and valid - I had no good reason to say there was something wrong with it. Still, it was someone else's world and I was just a visitor. I still visit in this way. I can also visit Mahler in the same way. I like to explore, and this is a big world to explore. I went around America exploring many years ago. I realised very quickly that it was not my country, and not the fantasy place I had experience through the TV. But it was a beautiful, complex, challenging and life affirming place to visit - just not my country.
In answer to your concluding question TD for me is meditation through ambiance and exhilleration in scripted pounding base sequences.with often greatly improvised descants (Froese). Love the creativity and imagination plus they are skilled musicians and pioneers in their field. The compositions were lengthy and you don't want them to stop. People either love it or can do without it. Hope that helps.
My favorite band of all time 👏👏👏
This is great, I never bought Rubycon, must have 4 o5 Tangerine Dream records, this is a real treat. Phaedra and Live were the most played. There are few Kraftwerk tunes that would be great. More Krautrock...Faust, Amon Duul, Can, Cluster, Neu!, Klaus Schulz, Ash Ra Temple . Has Amy already ENO? He did a great lp with Cluster. That would be a real Holiday gift!
Also,I listen to TD very often as I paint ,as I am an artist 🎨
I recommend Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bell. It had a large influence on elctronica, new age, rock, metal, and movie soundtracks.
I recommend kraftwerk and gary numan tubular bells was influenced by them! 😊
Tubular Bells came out in 1973, I doubt if it was influence by either, Kraftwerk were around at that time, sure, but their music at that stage was nowhere approaching Mike Oldfield's sound/genre. As for Numan, '73 was way too early, I don't think he started recording til '76 or '77.
@@MashLimit Numan keeps telling a mate of mine he hasn’t heard of TD but I’m not sure I’m buying that
Kraftwerk and Can (well Irmin and his wife) both checked out TD in 1976 in fact they were in the audience at the same gig
@@MashLimit I stand corrected I did not know it was that early. I like TD especially the first three albums. But my love for numan who is criminally underrated and never hardly reviewed except for cars influenced my first reply.
TD brilliant! Next maybe try The Fall - 'Backdrop'
Amazing song, I heard echoes of Pink Floyd in some parts and that, for me, is high praise.
Bought this album when I was 15, 1975, have loved it ever since.
Wow! First Captain Beefheart, now this. You may be in danger of becoming musically radicalized 🤤
Believe it or not, this band is still going strong to this very day.
Being around for so long, they are now part of a small contingent of bands that have NO original members left.
The one mostly constant member (the lineup changed a lot over the decades) was founder Edgar Froese. He passed away in 2015. His son was in the band for a while, but has since moved on to other projects.
It should be noted that being around for decades inevitably means that their sound was going to morph over time. In fact as the years rolled by, they slowly embraced more traditional melodic and harmonic structures as they progressed. You may find some of their later material a little closer to your tastes.
I myself discovered TD in college back in 1980 with their first album on Richard Branson’s Virgin label, ‘Tangram’. I freely admit that I didn’t really understand what they were doing back then, but they are my all time favourite musical entity now.
Richard Branson is Britain’s version of Elon Musk. He owns a bunch of companies, including Virgin Space (not sure if that’s the actual name) which offers tourist travel into orbit. And his whole empire started with Virgin Records. Specifically with Michael Oldfield’s “Tubular Bells”, which you may or may not want to react to at some point.
Amy also Tangerine 🍊 Dreams has a collaboration with Jon Arderson (Yes)” Loved by the Sun”. It’s a most listening
👍👍👍🎶🎶🎶
Happy Thanksgiving 🍁
Cosmic music from the space age.
I had good friend who had copies of this album, George Harrison's Electronic Sounds and pink Floyd's Meddle and a couple of Kraft Work albums .... They all require different listening skills and like you said .there is less of a traditional hook for most people to grasp. It's more of let it wash over and around you. One has to kind of pick something to focus and follow and be willing to let it go to find another sound to continue the journey.
Someone else may have said this already, but given Amy's comment about Tchaikovsky I wonder whether she has come across Isao Tomita. Most of his work may be too close to its classical roots to have a place here, but she may be interested. I don't think I know of him doing Tchaikovsky, but he certainly did Debussy and Mussorgsky.
I met someone two years ago who had an incredible hi-fi system. He's a fan of Tomita.
I always associate the first swell with sunrise, as I listened to that on tape one very early morning in the countryside when I was much much younger. Suns rising up and 'alien seagulls' are flying.
Also, thank you for this, there's too few TD reactions.
I listen to this just to listening.
During the pandemic, Thorsten Quaeschning, who has been a member of Tangerine Dream for several years, and is now a member of the post-Froese lineup, started making jam sessions with other musicians (some electronic music artists, others not) in an empty concert venue in Berlin, "Behind closed doors". Here is an example: ruclips.net/video/XM12jKC_e0o/видео.html
I'm a mathematician. I often listen to this kind of music when some background noise (colleagues talking in the hall, a leafblower outside) make it difficult to concentrate. Then the music often helps me focus on my work.
This era of Tangerine Dream was a direct influence for ambient electronica from the early 90s onwards, alongside experimental classical musicians like Stockhausen, Philip Glass and Steve Reich. You can hear definite references to Rubycon in Orb tracks, particularly those writtn by Kris 'Thrash' Weston. He's an interesting composer/producer worthy of a listen - he has a way of layering dozens of sounds and including very dissonant or atonal elements that work incredibly harmoniously. You should also listen to 'Chill Out', the seminal album by the KLF, perhaps their best album. And if you want to bring it full circle you should definitely try listening to System 7 - the duo of Miquette Giraudy and Steve Hillage, who was a guitarist in prog rock band Gong for a while. That brings you back to rock and Gong are another journey you should go on, with their crazy space pixie themes mixed with psychadelic space rock jazz.
After Tangerine Dream, my personal favorite... Cluster.
I tend to listen to this style of music for pleasure and then when the mood takes me try to recreate something in this style with my collection of instruments
Ambient for the win!
The intro for some reason reminds me of Tristan und Isolde
I love to listen to Tangerine Dream to get lost in space and time. It's always with 100% focus on the music and it has to be absolutely quiet. I imagine traveling through the universe, visiting strange planets and worlds.
Together with Phaedra, a masterpiece of early electronic music. I saw them play at the Corn Exchange in Cambridge in the early 1970's. You must do Rubycon 2 (side two of the original LP release) but also Phaedra, the album which preceded Rubycon and made their name in the UK and beyond.
I hope you are able to listen to Phaedra next, it is sublime :)
Better than Rubycon for me and the bands first breakthrough
I really like your Rock Music analyses. But when I saw you had listened to Rubicon I really thought Wow! Coz I thought it was exactly something you wouldn't do and because I doubted Vlad would be familiar with Tangerine Dream.
I used to listen a lot to this piece. Especially while studying or reading. I remember one night in the 90's I was working on a study project at home in summer. It was really hot and humid that night. Sweat was dripping down my face. And playing this piece it felt like I was in the jungle of Costa Rica instead of my student flat in Holland. 😅
If you want to listen to a more or less classical interpretation of this kind of music I would recommend Hania Rani. She is classicaly trained pianist who is clearly influenced by this Berlin School sequencer based sound. Like on her song Buka where she does play all those nice sequences manually.
Hurray finally some attention for my fav group, there later albums are more accessible for newcomers.
My experience as a listener, for me it’s a journey. My father said, see it as a long road, first time on that road is boring, second time on that road you notice some flowers next to the road, next time you see various tree types, then comes the wild live, and then you see that you’re not the only one on that road.