I was just thinking this morning about how Morton Subotnick (of
"Silver Apples of the Moon" fame, an early synthesizer record) still
manages to compose music that is fascinating without remaining stuck
in an era. Yet some other composers (Aphex Twin, Klaus Schulze, etc)
became less interesting after a certain number of years. With the
latter, the pattern I notice is that in later years they tried to
adjust their music to match what's popular at the moment, which of
course puts them in a field with a lot of competition.
I'm not too knowledgeable about Tangerine Dream's later music, but my
impression from hearing a few samples is that they tailored some of
their music to a general audience (seeking soundtrack & commercial
work) instead of a specialized audience (with the space music). At the
same time, they updated their technology from large bulky synths with
a lot of personality to more modern midi instrumentation (which in the
80s and 90s sounded rather sterile).
On a related note, my radio show/podcast last week was a Space theme
again:
http://ribosomematt.podomatic.com/--
Matt Davignon
mattdavignon@gmail.comwww.ribosomemusic.com
Podcast! http://ribosomematt.podomatic.com
On Tue, Jul 10, 2012 at 6:53 AM, Christophe <cburke55@comcast.net> wrote:
Hi Matt,
I'm a huge fan of the band throughout their career, but of course with a
career 40+ years long there are periods I love (the 70's
Froese-Franke-Baumann era) and some not so much (the Melrose period).
Unfortunately, the 70's era with those wonderful Moog sequences was not
represented very much. The sound and material was in line with what they've
been doing in recent years, and if you listen to any of the live recordings
they've done over the past few (Zeitgeist, London Eye, etc.) you've pretty
much got the picture. Two 90 minute sets, mostly medleys, with parts
representative of different phases of the bands material scattered
throughout. One unexpected treat was a version of the Doors, "The Crystal
Ship", with a vocal by Thorsten Queschning. Bernard Biebl on guitar was
good but maybe a bit too restrained. Iris Camaa on percussion was
definitely the most animated of the group and she added a lot of energy to
the performance.
But alas, no long space odysseys. :-(
TD is a mature band (extremely!) so you really don't see a lot of evolution
in the sound in recent years, but that said they put on a totally satisfying
show. Definitely gave you your moneys worth for $46 for a front row seat!
Chris
________________________________
From: "Matt Davignon" <mattdavignon@gmail.com>
To: Loopers-Delight@loopers-delight.com
Sent: Monday, July 9, 2012 6:22:40 PM
Subject: Re: OT: Tangerine Dream
So, what did you think? I'd love to hear Tangerine Dream do stuff like
they did in the 70s and early 80s. Not so excited about the idea of
them playing their late 80s, 90s and 00s stuff. They are playing in
Napa, California this friday. Tickets are $40. If it was in town, I'd
certainly go to see them. However, wine country gigs are often for
bands that are way past their heyday.
You'd think with all the hip bands that sound like Tangerine Dream now
(such as Oneohtrix Point Never), that they could do well in a San
Francisco or Oakland venue....
Matt
