QUINOA

I picked this up in a sale of Tangerine Dream CD's recently.Looks quite promising on the face of it with only 3 tracks plus the very nice digital artwork for the CD case.The trouble is I had forgotten that this period of Tangerine Dream (late eighties and early nineties) is the least productive of any era.Paul Haslinger,Johannes Schmoelling,Chris Franke and Peter Baumann were all in the past by this time.Instead Edgar Froese is joined only by his son Jerome.

Musically this is probably as aimless as anything they've done with most of the longest track made even worse by Jerome tapping away on the drumkit with all the skill and invention of a bored 5 year old.As for lush synth textures,beautifull harmonics,lovely compositions and dark edged electronic soundscapes...ermmm try something they did about 15 years earlier.This is truly pointless stuff.

Originally, "Quinoa" was a limited edition EP only available to the TD fan club members released in 1992. This one is an extended version which features two additional tracks and provides a full length CD.

The final result is fully acceptable I should say and can compete with most of their official releases from the nineties. The opening track "Voxel Ux " is quite an upbeat electronic track: purely repetitive but dynamic thanks to the drumming. It is quite in line with several of their songs from the nineties. It was apparently put together in '96 and finds its place quite well here.

The "pièce de résistance" is the title track that clocks at almost twenty-nine minutes. It starts on a languishing beat featuring some good sax, maybe somewhat repetitive again but there is no harm as far as I'm concerned (but you might know that I'm biased with their great music). The song quickly evolves to a fine ambient and dreamy affair which can even be related with their early work.

When those melodic keys draws you to the boundaries of the outer world, there is nothing I can do but succumb. And that's what is happening again when you reach the sixth minute of "Quinoa". A wonderful and spacey jewel. As they have performed quite a lot so far. I might understand though that it is a love-hate affair. I do belong to the former opinion (but is this a surprise?).

I can only agree with Pixel Pirate when he said that "Quinoa" combines the old and the new TD. A fine summary of three decades of music it is. The modern part might sound too much upbeat for some fans but once you have done the effort to listen to it quite a few times, you'll be rewarded. At least I feel so.

This track is varied, offers different soundscapes and ends up in a wonderful piece of melody for several minutes. Peaceful and interstellar like the band could be in the seventies. I have to admit that these parts are my favourite ones but the whole is quite decent.

My fave one from this set is with no doubt the moving "Lhasa". About ten minutes of poignant keyboards beauty. It reminds me of the superb "Indian Summer" available on "Green Desert". Some might say that it offers only the same keyboards lines, but these are so vibrant and crafted that I am just speechless while I listen to this piece of music.

This is another great TD moment for sure. Quite contemplative for sure.

This album is not a TD essential but contains enough good music to be of interest to more than a devoted fan. I rate "Quinoa" with three stars. A good album, this is what it is. No more, no less.

"Quinoa" is initially a single long composition first released in 1992 as a gift to the TANGERINE DREAM fan club members. In 1998, the band had its own label, TDI. They decided to re-release this track by adding 2 bonus tracks. The music was composed and perfomed only by the Froese and son duo. Whereas the studio albums of this period displays a more rock-oriented style, "Quinoa" is essentially electronic.

Although unequal, the title track remains the only interest of the record. This marks the return of TD's long epics in a non-live release. The last one was "Sphinx Lightning" on 1983's Hyperborea, ie. nearly 10 years before. "Quinoa" is almost 30 minutes long! The first half is rather ambient and relaxing and features sequenced synth textures. However, the second half is more catchy, as it alternates sweet passages, upbeat dramatic moments and short asian themes.

The bonus tracks are optional. "Voxel Ux" was composed in 1996 for a website contest. This tune sounds flat and not very inspired. At least it includes more modern beats. "Lhasa" was a preparation of the track "The Blue Pearl" for the later album "The Seven Letters From Tibet", released in 2000. Not much to say about it either, as it is atmospheric, without rythm, melody or no real changes.

The only reason to listen to "Quinoa" is the title track . As a long TANGERINE DREAM epic, it contains interesting moments and is one of the best compositions of the german band during the 90's.