Force Majeur...
Tangerine Dream is a German band formed in 1967 and originally composed of Edgar Froese, Lanse Hapshash, Kurt Herkenberg, Volker Hombach and Charlie Prince. Group considered today as one of the major groups of electronic instrumental music.
The group name 'Tangerine Dream' is actually a confusion related to the mishearing of the line "tangerine trees and marmalade skies" from the Beatles track "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds".
It was the arrival in 1970 of Christopher Franke that enabled the group to begin to gain noticeably. A year that coincides with the release of a first album "Electronic meditation", an album that will unfortunately go somewhat unnoticed...
The albums "Alpha Centauri" and "Zeit" released in 1971, 1972 respectively will not do much better.
It is the album "Atem" which will be released a year later in 1973 which will change the situation somewhat since the English DJ John Peel will take an interest in it and de facto bring the group from shadow to light. A spotlight that will allow the group to sign with the Virgin Records label.
Label with which they will release the album "Phaedra" in 1974, an album which this time will not go unnoticed, far from it, since it will be a real hit on the planetary level and launch the group on the front of the international scene in a resounding way.
Many albums with notorious repercussions will follow, including the enormous "Rubycon" in 1975, "Stratosfear" in 1976, "Cyclone" in 1978 and "Force majeure" in 1979. Albums which will forge the legend of the group and some of which passages will remain as monuments of instrumental electronic music.
The group will continue to produce many albums, as well as film scores, during the decades to come, but none will have the incredible impact of the opuses produced during the 1970s...
To discover or rediscover.
Discography (among othersā¦) :
Genesis (Electronic Meditation) 1970
Fly and Collision of Comas Sola (Alpha Centauri) 1971
Zeit (Zeit) 1972
Fauni Gena (Atem) 1973
Phaedra (Phaedra) 1974
Rubycon Pt.1 (Rubycon) 1975
Stratosfear (Stratosfear) 1976
Soundmill navigator 1976
The call (Sorcerer) 1977
Betrayal (Sorcerer) 1977
Cherokee Lane (Encore) 1977
Monolight Encore) 1977
Haunted heights (Cyclone) 1978
Cloudburst flight (Force Majeur) 1979
Tangram Set 1 (Tangram) 1980
Diamond diary (Thief) 1981
Trap feeling (Thief) 1981
Remote viewing (Exit)1981
White eagle (White eagle) 1982
Daydream (White eagle) 1982
Hyperborea (Hyperborea) 1983
Puer natus est nobis (The Keep) 1983
Going West (Flashpoint) 1984
Poland (Poland) 1984
L.A. Streehawk (Le Parc) 1985
Zen garden (Le Parc) 1985
Le parc (Le Parc) 1985
Logos Part 1 (Dream sequence) 1985
Desire (Heartbrakers) 1985
Taking the park Pts.1 & 2 (The park is mine) 1986
Song of the whale Pt. 1: From dawn 1986 (Underwater Sunlight)
Loved by the sun (Legend) 1986
Canyon voices (Canyon Dreams) 1986
Alchemy of the heart (Tyger) 1987
Go to the head of the class (Three Oāclock high) 1987
Main theme (Deadly Care) 1987
Mothers of rain (Optical race) 1988
Ghazal (Love song) (Optical race) 1988
Bus station (Near dark) 1988
Shy people (Shy people) 1988
Theme from Dead Solid Perfect (Dead Solid Perfect) 1988
Valey of the kings (Lily on the beach) 1989
Long island sunset (Lily on the beach) 1989
After the call (Miracle mile) 1989
Berlin summer night (Destination Berlin) 1989
Purposes of brevity (Lāaffaire Walraff) 1990
Cool at heart (Melrose) 1990
Big city dwarves (Rockoon) 1992
Lifted veil (Rockoon) 1992
Rumpelstilskin (Rumpelstilskin) 1992
Galley Slaveās horizon (Turn of the tides) 1994
Dylanās future (Catch me if you can) 1994
Tyranny of beauty (Tyranny of beauty) 1995
Elf June and the midnight patrol (Goblinās club) 1996
Zoning (Zoning) 1996
Theme (Oasis) 1997
Calyx calamander (Ambient monkeys) 1997
Silver scale (Valentine wheels) 1998
Chingan night (Transsiberia) 1998
Order of the ginger guild (Dream encores) 1998
Spiral star date (Level ā) (Mars Polaris) 1999
Silver siren (What a blast) 1999
The red blood connection (The seven letters from Tibet) 2000
Summer in Shauxi (Great wall of China) 2000
Prime time 2001 (DM3) 2001
Before the closing of the day (Inferno) 2002
The courage to loose (Mota Atma) 2003
The glowing zodiac wheel (Purgatorio) 2004
Le combat des Ć©pĆ©es (Jeanne dāArc) 2005
Shogunās prayer (Kyoto) 2005
La grande spirale (Paradiso) 2006
Food for the gods (Blue dawn) 2006
Metaphor third reality (Metaphor) 2006
Navel of light Part Two (Springtime in Nagasaki) 2007
Mystery of life and death (Summer in Nagasaki) 2007
Daughters of time (One Times One) 2007
Hyper sphinx (Sleeping watches snoring in silence) 2007
Trauma (Autumn in Hiroshima) 2008
Babylon the great has fallen (Purple diluvial) 2008
Carmel calif (Views for a red train) 2008
Love on a real train (Choice) 2008
Das romantische opfer 2008
Morning star (Flame) 2009
Verses of a sisong (Chandra) 2009
Nexuses (Winter in Hiroshima) 2009
Wicked games (Under cover ā Chapter One) 2010
Devotion (The endless season) 2010
Death in the shadow (The island of the Fay) 2010
The silver boots of Bartlett Green (The angel from the West Window) 2011
The sensational fall of the master builder (Finnegans wake) 2011
Vernal rapture (The gate of Saturn) 2011
In the storm of serenity (Mona Da Vinci) 2011
Adios a Cusco (Machu Picchu) 2012
Approaching snowy village (Franz Kafka ā The castle) 2013
3 rotcaf neila (Chandra ā The phantom ferry Part II) 2014
The four white wooden horses (Josephine the mouse singer) 2014
Power of the rainbow serpent (Mala Kunia) 2014
Zero gravity 2015
Sensing elements (Quantum gate) 2017
Drowning in universes (Quantum key) 2017
Run to Vegas (Run to Vegas/Leviathan) 2018
Raum 2022
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Clips :
1970...the beginnings of a group that will mark history. No one at this stage knows yet, but the years to come will prove it in a big way...
1971...the band decided to do mostly instrumental music, which isn't really the fashionable genre. And in this particular niche, they will do wonders...
1972...it's clear that we don't really enjoy the joy of living at the inspiration level. On the other hand, the sounds they will succeed in producing will be revolutionary to say the least...
1973... a sound never heard before, a totally atypical style for the time, in short, a compendium of extreme novelties which will be as much their strength as their weakness...
1974...after several years spent looking for the ultimate sound that could make all the difference, the group finally seems to have reached its goal. Starting with this album Phaedra which will bring them their first planetary success...
1975...a meteoric rise in power which saw the group reach a level of inspiration as rarely seen. The amazed world discovers a hitherto unsuspected musical universe. MAS-TER-PIE-CE !
1976... each album now becomes an event all on its own. With each opus, they manage to invent new sounds that we never imagined possible for the time. They managed the extreme feat of doing it anyway...
1976...a title dating from 1976 but which will be released many years later. Nevertheless, it comes to complete an uninterrupted series of exceptional titles which shows that this group is equally... exceptional !
1977... not only will they produce for their own account but they will also do a good number of soundtracks. And whether for themselves or for others, they will make it a point of honor to maintain a level of quality at the Premium level...
1977...the group takes full advantage of all the latest musical technological developments in order to produce unique sounds of their kind. They will be a few to do the same, including among the best known Jean-Michel Jarre, Vangelis and other Mike Oldfield...
1977... not only are the sounds revolutionary, but the pieces also have extraordinary lengths. We almost always exceed 10 minutes and this necessarily adds an additional difficulty to the thing...
1977...it is certain that it is better to be in a good mental state to listen to this kind of music. Sensitive souls refrain...
1978 ... many of their titles will be used in TV shows or movies of the time. And often the music will be remembered more than the TV shows or movies themself...
1979... the group reached extreme consecration in just a few years and is now taking place quietly but surely. Afterwards, it is certain that with such a unique musical style they will not be able to create the event indefinitely so there will be a moment when the curve of success risks being reversed...
1980...it was the 80s that seriously began to curb their enthusiasm and especially their irresistible rise to the top. Electronic music will now become widespread and relegate them to the rank of an almost normal group...
1981... where the group will make its first big mistake is that it will not, or little, change its style. What had created more than once the event the previous decade will seem somewhat banal during this new one...
1981... fortunately that on the inspiration side we still remain on fairly high levels on the film soundtrack side, which will allow the group to stay afloat without too much difficulty. The proof with this soundtrack of the film 'Thief' by Michael Mann...
1981 ... even if the level of success in the Charts decreases from year to year, the group still manages to stay there a little bit and therefore preserves the essentials ...
1982... whatever their level of classification in the Charts, they are still big names in the field of instrumental music, it is clear. We definitely want more...
1982...when they are not composing for film soundtracks or for themselves, they sometimes compose for TV series. And not just any TV series since they will compose for the 'Tatort' series which remains to this day one of the most famous series in the Germanic sphere...
1983 ... almost 10 years of career and a list of awards already worthy of the greatest. And especially a plethoric discography which grows from year to year. And it's far from over...
1983... here they are again on the field of film soundtracks this time for the film 'The Keep'. On the other hand, on the director's side, nothing changes since we find again Michael Mann...
1984...they abandon Michael Mann and we find them this time on the soundtrack of the film 'Flashpoint', a film directed by William Tannen. Unfortunately, none of the films where the group will have appeared will have had a very favorable fate...
1984 ... there we no longer speak of soundtracks or studio albums but of pure and hard Live. As its name suggests, the recordings on the album will have been captured during their concert in Warsaw...
1985...the group has been working since its beginnings on a rhythm of at least one album per year. Without counting all the peripheral titles which are added to it and lengthen a little more a discography which becomes more than substantial...
1985...we like or we don't like music without words but we are dealing with this group at the best of the best in this field. Even if sometimes the sounds can seem very obscure ...
1985 ... a musical style recognizable among all and which will forever remain their trademark. The Fabrique brand is also what differentiates an extraordinary group from a group that is much less so...
1985...after honoring Studio albums, film soundtracks and Live albums, all that was missing were compilations. It's now done with this one...
1985...an ability to take us to hitherto unknown musical lands which will forever remain one of their great strengths. But that's also the magic of instrumental music...
1986...new film soundtrack this time for the film 'The Park is mine'. Well, we're not going to lie to each other again, this film will not stay in history as the masterpiece of the year 1986...
1986...back in the Studio for this new album. Times are getting harder and harder on the Charts side and there is only England left to offer the group a minimum of recognition...
1986 ... finally a film that will not go unnoticed, just like the soundtrack necessarily. With Ridley Scott at the controls of 'Legend', the opposite would have been very surprising...
1986...this time the group works on the soundtrack not of a film but of a documentary and more specifically a documentary on the Grand Canyon. Obviously, they are everywhere...
1987...the group arrives at a key moment in its history with the scheduled departure of one of its founding members...
1987...new movie soundtrack this time for the movie 'Three O'Clock high'. A number of soundtracks that get longer, longer, longer and which make this group one of the most prolific in the field...
1987...after films, TV series and documentaries, the group composes this time for a TV movie. As always, a good job even if once again the television work will only know a very limited level of audience...
1988...new label change. After Ohr, then Virgin, then Jive Records they arrived at Private Music. A list that grows along with their discography...
1988...first album without Christopher Franke, one of the band's most emblematic members. A page that turns, a new one that opens...
1988...another film that will not stay in history as a notorious masterpiece. This in no way discourages the group from continuing to produce quality soundtracks...
1988...rarely has a group composed so much for the cinema. This time it will be for the film 'Shy people' by Andrei Konchalovsky, a film which will be present at the 1987 Cannes Film Festival, a notable performance...
1988...another film that will go under the radar. It must be said that following the life of a high-level golfer is not really what the general public is looking for...
1989...first album where the Froese tribe will grow. Indeed, the son joins the father in the Tangerine Dream adventure and will quickly establish himself as the worthy successor of his father...
1989... the style, just like the sound, begins to evolve, that's clear. The arrival of new blood in the group marks an obvious change of course, it remains to be seen what will become of it...
1989...a decade of the 80s which ended on a half-fig, half-grape balance sheet. The production of titles remained very high and the level of quality remained more or less constant. On the other hand, the group's audience has considerably dropped over the years. Hard law of the trade...
1989...new film soundtrack this time for the film 'Destination Berlin'. Whatever the fate of the films in which they participate, the group makes it a point of honor to maintain the highest possible quality level...
1990...the group begins its 3rd decade of existence with a new soundtrack this time for the film 'The man inside'. Another soundtrack that will not benefit from the lack of success encountered by the film...
1990... the production of Studio albums remains at a particularly high level, to say the least. But where will they seek this inspiration which has never failed them until now...?
1992...who says new year says either new soundtrack or new album. On this one there it will be a new album. And yes, yet another line to add to a discography now among the most extensive of the last 30 years...
1992...this beginning of the 90s decade will see the group surfing on 2 distinct musical trends : its old influences from the 70s/80s and its new influences from the 90s. A subtle mix that will delight both basic fans and new...
1992...which says new decade also says new soundtrack. They will musically illustrate the children's tale 'Rumpelstiltskin', a niche on which we hadn't really seen them since their debut...
1994...new album in this year 1994 which sees the arrival of 2 new members in the group, namely the saxophonist Linda Spa and the guitarist Zlatko Perica. A little new blood does not harm, quite the contrary...
1994...a soundtrack that will be released later since the film dates from 1989. 'Catch me if you can' or the story of a short film with limited impact, to say the least. The group is really struggling to bet on the right horses as they say...
1995...new Studio album which proves once again the permanent renewal of the inspiration of the group. One really wonders when it will weaken. If she ever fails...
1996...a musical style that doesn't really resemble what they did before. The sound changes are obvious and foreshadow what the group is now heading towards...
1996...return to the soundtracks with this time a participation in the film 'Zoning'. Another film that will not mark its era more than that, unfortunately...
1997... who will have heard of the film 'Oasis', not many people that's for sure. But it will have at least allowed the group to produce one more soundtrack, who would complain about it...
1997...the group launches into the mix of nature sounds/musical pieces and the result is once again up to par. Anyway everything the band does holds up as they say...
1998...back in Live mode with this new opus. Still just as inspired, still just as light and airy, in short, pure Tangerine Dream as we like it...
1998...a 90s decade that ended gently as they know how to do so well. We are approaching 30 years of career and the group is still as active and prolific as ever, a real feat !
1998...we really wonder what could prevent them from continuing the adventure at this stage ? And they at first glance have no intention of stopping there, that's clear...
1999... rare were the bands of the 70s to continue to produce so many titles at the dawn of this new decade 2000. A truly extraordinary band just like their music !
1999...new soundtrack for a new documentary this time on architecture. The adventure continues again and again and we know that we will find them again the following decade...
2000...a new decade that begins with this new Studio album. The group has been present every year on the international music scene since its beginnings in the early 70s. Who would have thought...?
2000...it is clear that the best years are now behind us and that the general public has gone elsewhere for years. This does not prevent the group from continuing to believe in it and continuing its adventure as it sees fit...
2001...and given what he continues to produce, he would be really wrong not to believe in it anymore. He remains undeniably one of the most emblematic leaders of instrumental music and nothing and no one can take this privilege away from him...
2002...the voices will be more and more present in the years to come. The group has decided to evolve in depth at this level and the Tangerine Dream of the future years will no longer have much to do with that of the 70s...
2003...new soundtrack for the documentary 'Mota Atma'. The group continues to be in demand in the world of cinema and this clearly proves that he has lost none of its Aura, it is clear...
2004...we are already at 78 albums released in all for this group, a remarkable feat to say the least. And it's not over, far from it...
2005...after 15 years of good and loyal service to his father, Jerome Froese will leave the ship. A father/son collaboration that will have been particularly fruitful...
2005...with each new opus, you say to yourself that it may be the last. And each time they come back in force afterwards with new musical proposals. A truly incredible faculty of renewal...
2006...within the cadors of instrumental music, the group really holds a place of choice. And it's really a shame that the general public hasn't followed the band more than that during the last 20 years...
2006...and what is all the more remarkable is that the group even manages to release several opuses in the same year. And it's been like this for decades, that's to say...
2006...from the very beginnings of the group at the end of the 60s, only Edgar Froese remains as a permanent member. More than 35 years at the helm of a huge ship that will undoubtedly remain one of the most emblematic of the contemporary musical era...
2007...the group will offer us Nagasaki almost in 4 seasons mode. We start with the Spring version, which will of course be followed by the Summer version...
2007...an ode to the Japanese martyr cities since after Nagasaki, the group will also compose for Hiroshima. But that will be a little later...
2007...the number of albums released during 2007 is once again impressive. How this group manages to produce so many titles is a pure and simple mystery...
2007...and it's still not over for this year 2007. With such a rich inspiration, it's easy to imagine that the group left to last a few more years...
2008...after Nagasaki, here comes the tribute to Hiroshima. After Spring and Summer spent in the first city, Autumn will be honored with the second...
2008...while most of their 'colleagues' with a 70s version of instrumental music don't produce much anymore, they continue to produce to a truly mind-blowing rhythm. The mark of the Great, the Very Great...
2008...they will never again reach the level of extreme excellence known at the end of the 70s, but what they continue to offer largely holds up. Anyway, we'll be happy with that...
2008...the years pass, the decades pass without the group being discouraged one iota. The main thing for them is to have fun and us with them necessarily...
2008...the Tangerine Dream vessel continues to sail quietly and above all continues to produce ever more titles. A desire to believe in it again and again, which undeniably commands respect !
2009...the band now focuses exclusively on studio albums. Soundtracks of all kinds are becoming increasingly rare, it is clear...
2009...a 2000 decade that will have seen them as productive as in previous decades. Admittedly, the level of success has nothing to do with it, but as long as the quality is always essential, that's the main thing...
2009...the last part of the 4 Seasons. It is winter that comes to close this ode to the Japanese martyr cities, two cities that will undoubtedly remain among the most afflicted of the modern era...
2010... who would have believed it, here they are revisiting some of the greatest hits of the last 30 years. Revisited versions which will not bring much more than the original but which are in any case a beautiful tribute to these now legendary titles...
2010...they will have gone through the 70s, then the 80s, then the 90s, then the 2000s and here they are proudly entering the 2010s. An exceptional longevity to say the least !
2010...will the group be able to reinvent himself once again during this new decade or will he remain propped up on its fundamentals ? The future will tell us...
2011...for the moment, little noticeable change compared to the previous decade. We will therefore have to be content for the moment with what they offer us...
2011...it must be said that the musical material has changed little for some time and that we are far, very far, from the exceptional mutation that music experienced during the 70s and 80s...
2011... back in Live mode on this title. A Live mode that doesn't offer much more than the Studio version, especially in the field of instrumental music and all the more electronic...
2011...another plethoric year in terms of titles produced. The decades follow each other and look alike at this level in an obvious way...
2012...in terms of instrumental music, the group's discography is so enormous that it alone requires hours of listening, even days, even weeks or even months. Few bands can say the same...
2013...an adventure which nevertheless is getting closer and closer to its end, at least for one of the members and not the least. Edgar Froese doesn't know it yet but he only has 2 years to live...
2014... whatever it is, the adventure continues to be beautiful. And the music always survives the one who composed it and makes him an almost immortal being...at least in the history books...
2014... it is clear that the Froese family has not finished transmitting from generation to generation such an impressive musical heritage and above all of such quality. There are families like that...
2014...a new multi-opus year. How can we produce so many titles, that is the question. It's almost a superhuman feat...
2015...the reunion of the 2 geniuses. When 2 of the most illustrious and talented musicians of the 20th century come together to work together, it gives this kind of result. An almost posthumous title for Froese...
2017...this time we are talking about posthumous titles. Most of the titles present on this opus will result from models imagined by the Master founder of the group...