Tangerine Dream
Rubycon Virgin Records 1975 Material from the golden era of Tangerine Dream, this hauntingly abstract electronic album featured in the top 10 albums of its year. Famous for making use of a technique called Berlin School Sequencing, the artistic and experimental album drifts from transient atmosphere to spinning classical like prances and orchestration. The album is made up from two tracks, originally pressed to vinyl, each side contained one of these. Rubycon 1 being side one, takes the journey from the previous album “Phaedra” to new heights with further velocities of musical pressure and dimension. The flow and transitions within each number projects like a shifting tempest. It could be classified into subsections, with each phase of the track centring on different key-tones and rhythmic foundations. Formulating the sequenced backing sounds over time allows the layering of more multidirectional musicality to be played on top. Rubycon 2 calls upon a more ethereal sensation and utilises the ghostly pang of human voices, shifted and electronically replicated to draw out the presence of the near paranormal. An exploration ensues, and without a typical structure that most music draws upon, this work spans more like a play with acts and themes. Formed in the 60s, Tangerine Dream has undergone many line-up changes. Until 2015, the only long standing member had been Edgar Froese. After a long career with over one hundred studio albums, Froese sadly died leaving his named heir to the Tangerine Dream legacy as Thorsten Quaeschning, who had been working with the group for ten years previously. As a band, Tangerine Dream have utilised modern technology at every chapter of their progression, and each album makes use of the best music technology of the day. Perhaps this is why the membership has changed so much over the years with each new advance, new minds are required to bring their expertise. For the day, the strange and mysterious sounds on Rubycon must have been dramatic to the ear. Space-age technologies and far reaching ideas adorn this release, as it progresses the boundless scope of the delivery is made ever more apparent. Shearing effects and bubbling tempos merge with subtle pitches that score around shimmering under-melodies. This majestic demonstration of the capabilities of sound technology still fuels inspiration today. Countless electronic artists draw upon Tangerine Dream for their ideas and their use of the equipment has created techniques and habitual musical behaviour for a generation or more. Find the huge Tangerine Dream catalogue on Amazon, Amazon UK, and iTunes.  |
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