Tangerine Dream: Untangling the Tangram

  2011: Knights of Asheville - http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_k-HyA3QZBUPNASfsxqgX7Ezw_NoAuNoHs

Edited by Psychedelic Paul - March 19 2023 at 05:14

I was consistently attracted to Tangerine Dream's sound ideas. Their keyboard settings were particularly interesting to me. The dark soundscapes on Zeit and the pulsating rhythms on Phadrea and Rubycon.

Tangerine Dream broke ground in stepping forward with Electronic sounds. Some of these particular sound ideas for pulsating rhythms and dark soundscapes had already been invented and recorded by Delia Derbyshire in 1964. They weren't quite along the lines of Karlheinz Stockhousen, but more likely to be on the same page as Tangerine Dream and by the early 70s that particular style of Electronic resurfaced in Tangerine Dream music , but with a new approach.

In the 70s I'd often compare Rick Wright's keyboard work on Ummagumma with Tangerine Dream Atem. The similarities were outrageous. I recall reading about Delia Derbyshire paying for a taxi to transport the members of Pink Floyd to a studio so she could introduce them to Electronic Music or perhaps how to utilize it.

Tangerine Dream seemed to blend these kinds of ideas into music in a new innovative way..which influenced many other Electronic artists. I was really impressed with the talents of Edgar Froese. His solo albums were telling. Listening to them caused me to believe that he was Tangerine Dream. It was in fact like hearing a Tangerine Dream album.

Edited by Jacob Schoolcraft - March 26 2023 at 15:59

Psychedelic Paul wrote: ^ I have fond memories of Delia Derbyshire too.

She gained popularity for Dr. Who which was a creepy little theme she rearranged for Gainer , but some of her music is haunting and can create fear in the listener's mind. "The Dreams " was quite disturbing because she created deep dark impressionable tones for background sounds ..as a backdrop for the edited voices of people describing their dreams. The musical backing is reminiscent of what surfaced a decade later on Brian Eno Discreet Music. Additionally some of her pieces sounding like music from an underworld by the usage of sound generators and cutting tapes is fascinating to me. Some of her music gave me the same vibe I felt from early Hitchcock films. Very creepy

richardh wrote: Those 'breathing' sounds she put into the Doctor Who theme were genius. Along with Thunderbirds , best sixties TV theme by a country mile.

Edited by Psychedelic Paul - March 27 2023 at 08:58

As a teenager in the 70s I put good effort into tracking down Tangerine Dream albums. It wasn't the easiest thing to do . Their distribution in the U.S. seemed limited and it was on you to call the record shop in the big city and say.." Do you have a copy of Phadrea?" The store owner says.."Yeah..I have one copy..I'll hold it for no more than an hour" Now you have to get into the city fast . If you dont..someone else will. That was the 70s.

In Philadelphia it seemed that people were more open to Tangerine Dream. If you were from South Jersey it would in fact be rare to cross paths with someone who followed their music. In Philadelphia not as such and typically because it withstands the test of observation on human behavior surrounded in a city environment where culture is a main attraction to a vast majority of people.

Jem Records opened in North Plainfield and South Plainfield N.J. They opened a warehouse and a mail order business. You could easily obtain their catalog by writing to them. Their catalog featured a selection of Tangerine Dream. This made life easier by driving to the post office buying a money order ..mailing it to Jem and just waiting a few weeks for your Tangerine Dream albums to arrive.

WXPN radio station in Philadelphia began playing the music of Tangerine Dream late at night. Surprisingly this got people's attention in South Jersey and by 76' I began crossing paths with people in the area who collected their albums.

Eventually Tangerine Dream gained recognition from their film scores along the way. In the 80s it felt as if their American audience increased. Fame or no fame...the idea is to get your music out there . If you gain some popularity along the way its honorable to not completely sell out or follow the times. Too much of that will spoil your inner creativity.

Tangerine Dream were sort of up and down for me in the 80s. First they'd release something a bit too New Age for me and then they'd release another album which reflected their more Electronic Berlin style ...as such when they had Johannes Schmolleing in the band.

I had just about all of their 90s releases as well. I haven't heard anything from them since they released a live album that featured Purple Haze as the encore. They played Philadelphia that year and it was on the radio being promoted. They were talked about frequently and the concert was a success.

Two of my favorite pieces are "Overture" and "Haunted Heights". Overture originally released on the album Virgin Various Artists and Haunted Heights was available in a box set I purchased in the early 80s.

I bought the movie "Legend" yesterday (starring Tom Cruise) mainly for the amazing Tangerine Dream soundtrack, but when I looked at the DVD cover upon returning home, it said "Music by Jerry Goldsmith". I discovered today that it's only the original American version which features music by Tangerine Dream and not the European version.  

Edited by Psychedelic Paul - April 19 2023 at 06:22

richardh wrote: ^ that's very unlucky, I can't imagine such a thing happens very often. From looking at Amazon it appears that there is a Blue Ray special edition that includes both versions of the film, but it's not totally clear to me so don't rely on that!

  2012: Machu Picchu - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpck5itdn5M

Edited by Psychedelic Paul - July 09 2023 at 08:57

  2012: Booster V - http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXIRox_di7SOEJIbbYdz6_weMQ3zPWYwl

Edited by Psychedelic Paul - July 11 2023 at 03:45