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Tangerine Dream: Phaedra

 A l b u m   D e t a i l s


Label: Virgin Records
Released: 1974.02.20
Time:
 37:33
Category: Electronic, Avant-Garde
Producer(s): Edgar Froese
Rating:
Media type: CD
Web address: www.tangerinedream-music.com
Appears with:
Purchase date: 2012
Price in €: 1,00





 S o n g s ,   T r a c k s


[1] Phaedra (E.Froese/Ch.Franke/P.Baumann) - 17:39
[2] Mysterious Semblance at the Strand of Nightmares (E.Froese) - 9:55
[3] Movements of a Visionary (E.Froese/Ch.Franke/P.Baumann) - 7:56
[4] Sequent C′ (P.Baumann) - 2:13

 A r t i s t s ,   P e r s o n n e l


Edgar Froese - Mellotron, Guitar, Bass, VCS 3 Synthesizer, Organ, Cover Painting, Producer
Peter Baumann - Organ, Electric Piano, VCS 3 Synthesizer, Flute
Christopher Franke - Moog Synthesizer, VCS 3 Synthesizer

Phil Becque - Engineer

 C o m m e n t s ,   N o t e s


Recorded in November 1973 at The Manor, Shipton-on-Cherwell.



Phaedra is one of the most important, artistic, and exciting works in the history of electronic music, a brilliant and compelling summation of Tangerine Dream's early avant-space direction balanced with the synthesizer/sequencer technology just beginning to gain a foothold in nonacademic circles. The result is best heard on the 15-minute title track, unparalleled before or since for its depth of sound and vision. Given focus by the arpeggiated trance that drifts in and out of the mix, the track progresses through several passages including a few surprisingly melodic keyboard lines and an assortment of eerie Moog and Mellotron effects, gaseous explosions, and windy sirens. Despite the impending chaos, the track sounds more like a carefully composed classical work than an unrestrained piece of noise. While the title track takes the cake, there are three other excellent tracks on Phaedra. "Mysterious Semblance at the Strand of Nightmares" is a solo Edgar Froese song that uses some surprisingly emotive and affecting synthesizer washes, and "Movements of a Visionary" is a more experimental piece, using treated voices and whispers to drive its hypnotic arpeggios. Perhaps even more powerful as a musical landmark now than when it was first recorded, Phaedra has proven the test of time.

John Bush - All Music Guide



Today, many people see electronic music as something that sprung up in the 90s, created by some high on crack elitist youths with top end computers. Much to the dismay of parents who dismiss this music and reminisce about the good old days of Van Morrison and The Beatles, electronic music was in strong force even then. Phaedra was the first ever commercial album to feature sequencers, all the way back in 1974. Albums featuring synthesizers even predated that in the 1960s. Even though electronic music was in its infancy, Phaedra was not just a collection of beeps and whirrs much like the sounds found in old Microsoft 3.1x computers. Rather a unique voyage of sound and art, that is still as influential today as it was back in the 70s. The sounds within the album may not reflect what artists are capable of producing today, yet the foundations of modern electronic music can be seen in the work of artists like Tangerine Dream, Brian Eno and Kraftwerk.

Tangerine Dream has certainly proved their longevity, in some ways. The band has gone through dozens of line up changes and over 15 members. Edgar Froese the founding member of Tangerine Dream is the only person who has remained in the band for a lengthy period of time. In their 40 years of existence, Tangerine Dream has made around 100 albums, sometimes missing horribly and at times verging on genius. It is clear however, where Phaedra falls on that line between genius and insanity.

The line-up for Phaedra was Edgar Froese, Peter Baumann and Christopher Franke. It is easy to see why this is often the most heralded Tangerine Dream lineup, with much of Tangerine Dream’s best work being created by the trio. One of the problems that Froese, Baumann and Franke faced when creating their early albums was that they really had no one to lead them. As such Tangerine Dreams’ first 4 albums that predated Phaedra lacked a concise vision. They were by no means bad albums; they just fell short in a number of areas, with Tangerine Dreams technical prowess and knowledge not able to match their dreams. Alpha Centauri for example felt like a rough and cut up journey, never quite flowing as it should. At times it showed glimpses of mesmerising soundscapes and ideas, yet too often these moments were then followed up by uncaptivating segments. Phaedra offers a more refined experience, a cerebral journey through sounds, genres and worlds. Their days of experimentation were not behind them when creating Phaedra, with experimentation still being key in the bands vision. But with experience and chemistry together, Tangerine Dream were now able to translate their ideas into sound with far more poise and control. Their music no longer detailed journeys through space; it explored the emotions of those journeys.

Although it would be impossible to infer any references to the ancient Greek mythological figure Phaedra, it is a track that can be satisfying no matter what state or mood you are in. Phaedra actually occurred by mistake, the band were experimenting with their new synthesizers and sequencers, just as the tape happened to be rolling. Even though the track was ridden with technical errors, Edgar Froese and crew left it pretty much as it was, only adding a few extra synth layers in parts of the song. The equipment that they were using was so experimental and shoddy, that with any slight change in temperature the equipment’s oscillators would flux. Resulting in ever changing tuning.

Phaedra essentially fits into the progressive and ambient genres. The first passage in Phaedra lasts about 4 minutes long with sweeping solar wind like swoops and a continuous moog synthesizer sound that cautiously builds up and creates a trance-inducing effect. As the passage builds up, so do the sweeping synth noises that somehow flow into a precipitated passage of rapid bass noise. The flow between the passages is spectacular, having a seamless transition between bass and synthesizer. The transitions in Phaedra truly show how much Tangerine Dream have developed since their often inharmonious prior works.

As the bass melts away, eerie moog synthesizer noises roll in and transform into a familiar slowly ascending movement. As the volume starts to rise, so do the sweeping solar noises fading in and out, with a variety of wavey synthesizer sounds weaved into the soundscape. The build up climaxes 10 minutes into the piece, with haunting choruses adding to the spine-chilling feel. After the build the scene is set on a desolate planet, with spooky organ chords, an eerie background hum and chilling alien like noises. As the song slowly fades out with its spine-tingling synthesizer noises, it is very difficult not to be drawn into the music; to imagine the scene Tangerine Dream intended to create. What Tangerine Dream do is absorb the listener into the music, and drive home the emotion of the experience. To call this song anything short of brilliance would be a fallacy.

Of course the album is not just one song in length, and although Tangerine Dream could have easily left it at that, the album still contains three more spellbinding songs. Mysterious Semblance At The Strand Of Nightmares is a solo piece by the band’s leader Edgar Froese. Rather than an artificial and detached sound that many ambient songs could be accused of, its spiralling synthesizer washes are abundant with emotion. The song never really reaches anywhere, yet the immersion in the journey brings much enjoyment.

The themes of the album do not differ much from the straight and narrow, yet the planets, galaxies and universes of each song are clearly defined. Movements Of A Visionary begins with stuttering bug like noises that creating a tense and frightening atmosphere. The transitions once again are done to perfection, with helicopter like noises fading in and out into those familiar moog synths. Unlike the title tracks desolate planet feel, Movements Of A Visionary feels full of life with croaking bugs and clicking insects dwelling inside the untamed jungle. Letting oneself drift away with the music creates a surreal experience of art and music blended into one, before Tangerine Dream quickly pull the listener out of their mesmerised state.

Sequent C' has a strong feeling of depression, with the minor key synthetic washes slowly making a path through the song. It is not of the same breed as the first 3 tracks, nor of the same magnitude. But it does make for a chillingly beautiful ending. The song does not dwell about, with its aching sorrow driven into the listener’s heart in just over two minutes. Whilst no magical world is created in the music, it acts as one last pure release of emotion as the album fades out.

As you can no doubt guess, Phaedra isn’t for everyone. If you permit yourself to be immersed into the music, and allow yourself to float away into Phaedra’s world then it is quite simply one of the most spell-binding albums of the 20th century. But with a sceptical & demanding mind Phaedra does not offer its full experience to the listener. The album is still as highly influential as it was back in the 70s, and it is easy to see why. Tangerine Dream truly were leaders in electronic music, they carved a path with Phaedra for future generations to follow and learn from. Genius is an overused term in the music industry, thrown about left right and center. Phaedra however is one of those rare cases where the term is merited.

Daniel Incognito - February 23rd, 2007
Copyright 2005-2014 Sputnikmusic.com



This 1974 masterpiece from Christopher Franke, Edgar Froese, and Peter Baumann ebbs and flows with richly dark soundscapes of electronic sounds and synth. Phaedra was a progenitor for much ambient - and some dance - music, influencing such artists as Steve Roach. After listening to Phaedra it's easy to understand why. The signature pulsing of thick, beautiful Tangerine Dream synth falls across the ambient treasures here, pulling along the orchestral dreamscape before oozing aside for thick washes of expansive sound. The now-classic title cut is both soothing and ghostly, throbbing with subtle sequences and twisted metallic calls before diving into a swamp of nightmarish whistles and hoots. "Mysterious Semblance" soars and swoops like a lovely electronic eagle, bringing tripped-out light and cosmic dignity to the collection. This and the follow-up Rubycon are juicy pieces to the Tangerine Dream pie.

Karen Karleski - Amazon.com



Phaedra (1974) is an album by the German electronic music group Tangerine Dream. This is the first Tangerine Dream album to feature their now classic sequencer-driven sound, which launched the Berlin School genre. This album marked the beginning of the group's international success and was their first album released on the British Virgin records label. It achieved six-figure sales in the UK, reaching No 15 in the charts in a 15-week run, with virtually no airplay, only by strong word of mouth. It also earned the group a gold disc in seven countries, and yet in their native Germany it sold barely 6,000 units.

On hearing a set of recordings Edgar Froese and Christopher Franke had made earlier in the year at Skyline Studios in Berlin. Virgin Records' Richard Branson offered the group a five-year contract and was keen for them to record in UK. A huge modular Moog synthesizer was bought with the advance and the trio arrived at The Manor, in Shipton-on-Cherwell, Oxfordshire in the winter of 1973.

The entire album was recorded in less than six weeks, with the first recording session taking place on 20 November 1973. Some of the music was recorded with the help of Froese's wife, Monique. Interviewed by Mark J. Prendergast, Froese recalled:
Phaedra was the first album in which many things had to be structured. The reason was that we were using the Moog sequencer (all driving bass notes) for the first time. Just tuning the instrument took several hours each day, because at the time there were no pre-sets or memory banks. We worked each day from 11 o'clock in the morning to 2 o'clock at night. By the 11th day we barely had 6 minutes of music on tape. Technically everything that could go wrong did go wrong. The tape machine broke down, there were repeated mixing console failures and the speakers were damaged because of the unusually low frequencies of the bass notes. After 12 days of this we were completely knackered. Fortunately, after a two day break in the countryside a new start brought a breakthrough. 'Mysterious Semblance' was recorded on Dec 4th. Pete and Chris were asleep after a long day's recording session so I invited my wife, Monique, into the studio. I called in the studio engineer and recorded it in one take on a double-keyboarded Mellotron while Monique turned the knobs on a phasing device. This piece is on the record exactly as it was recorded that day. And this practice was to continue for the rest of the session.
The title track was originally based on an improvisation recorded in the studio, and unintentionally exhibits one of the limitations of the analog equipment used at the time. As the equipment warmed up, some of the oscillators began to detune (they were highly temperature-sensitive), which was responsible for some of the changes in the music towards the end of the piece.

Both the title track and "Movements of a Visionary" rely on Franke's use of the Moog analog sequencer as a substitute for bass guitar. "Mysterious Semblance at the Strand of Nightmares" features Froese soloing on a Mellotron which is treated to slowly sweeping filter effects. "Sequent C'" is a short but memorable piece by Peter Baumann on flute, with tape echo.

The All Music Guide to Electronica describes the album as a milestone for the band as "one of the most important, artistic, and exciting works in the history of electronic music". Phaedra is commonly cited as one of Tangerine Dream's best albums and is listed in 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. In the Q and Mojo Classic Special Edition Pink Floyd & The Story of Prog Rock, the album also came in at 38 in its list of "40 Cosmic Rock Albums". Writing in his 2000 Ambient Century, Mark J. Prendergast describes the title track: "At over 17 minutes it conveyed feelings of the cosmos, of giant suns exploding, of huge ocean movements , of mythological lands, of eddies and drifts. Layer upon layer of futuristic sounds piled one on top of the other until the whole thing climaxes in some interstellar void." The sleeve design and cover painting are by Froese.

Wikipedia.org
 

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