One of our readers, John T, recently gave us this comment about Tangerine Dream’s concert on 1 April at the Albert Hall.

I was at the concert. As an old fan – I listened to phaedra at Loughborough Uni in ‘74, at two hours into the concert I wanted to leave. I’d had enough, but with friends? And having waited months for the experience.

The engineering wasn’t that good – the Hall’s normally good, adjustable sonics, weren’t matched and there were a few low req resonances that were quite nasty. It was too loud for this genre. What’s wrong with not driving the amplification into distortion?

The sound scape was very very busy at times with leads and counters fighting for presence – the net effect confusing. There is the suggestion of egos fighting for importance in the lineup.

TD had become too self indulgent and has forgotten about the experience of its audience, at least that’s my impression.

Major British newspaper The Times has posted a review of Tangerine Dream’s concert on 1 April at the Albert Hall.

Reviewer Will Hodgkinson asks this rhetorical question:

Way back in 1970 Tangerine Dream was a revolutionary proposition. Pioneering the use of early sequencers, digital technology and 30-minute musical pieces devoid of choruses, vocals or indeed song structures of any kind, Edgar Froese’s band created about as much atmosphere as three motionless German men lost in a sea of electrical cables are capable of.

That year their concert at the Albert Hall caused a mass outbreak of furrowed brows amid the greatcoat-wearing youth of London. Four decades on, with synthesizer and New Age music long established, even pilloried genres, could Tangerine Dream still weave that magical spell?

Read the complete review here.

It is such a joy to be a Tangerine Dream fan! There is just so much material still being released, so many excellent concerts to attend and such a fantastic community. The latest edition is a recording of TDs live performance in Japan in September last year – which has been released today, March 10.

On September 5th, 2009, more than 20.000 people pilgrimaged to the tropical peninsula of Izu on the Pacific shore about 130 miles off from Japan’s capital Tokyo. On the occasion of the immensely popular “Metamorphose Festival” TD performed some of their highlights accompanied by an enthusiastic young Japanese crowd. A fantastic warm summer night out in South East Asia.

The DVD also contains three clips from “BEHIND THE SCENES” which will give you an intimate insight of TD backstage, the streets of Tokyo and a bit of Japanese culture.
Here is a presentation of the tour, which still is on the road. London in April will be BIG.

See the track listing on the Eastgate Shop.

Time and time again Tangerine Dream proves that New Age Music is live music. No one is better than Edgar Froese & co on stage.

The below video is from the One Night In Space DVD, recorded at the Frankfurt opera on October 7th 2007. Have you ever seen a happier drummer?

The video is available at the wonderful Eastgate Music Shop.

Isn’t it fun that the first and most influential band in our genre still is the most active too? 2009 was a very good year indeed for Tangerine Dream fans; we saw the release of the four albums Springtime and Summer in Nagasaki, Autumn and Winter in Hiroshima, the awesome Views from a Red Train and Hyperborea 2008, plus the live album London Eye Concert 2008 (plus several re-releases of previous albums too!). Yes, 2009 was a busy year! And now TD soon will be out on the road again, this time in Europe!

These are the dates and cities:

• Lisbon (25th March),
• Barcelona (27th March),
• Paris (28th March),
• Zoetermeer/Amsterdam (30th March)
• London (1st April).

Links for tickets to the Amsterdam concert is ready – for the other concerts, follow updates here.

What is there to say? Only one thing; there are no one better! TD forever!

Picture Copyright by Andreas Mueller, Tangerine Dream

Tangerine Dream’s second release this year is a live recording of The London Eye Concert from London-Kentishtown on 1st November 2008.

Here is the presentation from the band’s homepage:

London’s and TD’s soundscapes are so unique like a score to a movie. The British influence in TD’s music within their 40 years’ development most people may have recognized. For those who couldn’t join the concert or like to relive it again: Here’s the full cut of their beat show at the Forum in Kentishtown (including a nice booklet). A kaleidoscope beginning with the new title Trauma (Autumn In Hiroshima) and ending with the breathtaking live interpretation of the TD classic Cloudburst Flight.

The album contains nearly 3 hours of music! TD’s already impressive live discography is getting better and better. Check out the track listing here.

Tangerine Dream is perhaps the best live band in our genre. They have given many incredible concerts, and quite a few of them have been recorded and released as albums. My favorite live Tangerine Dream album is Logos, Live At the Dominion , but Encore is also great.

But the show is not over! Tangerine Dream will perform live in Berlin on 30th August and in Paris on Saturday 12th September 2009. There will also be a show in Northeim 29th August.

You can order concert tickets for the Paris show here (scroll down to find the show). This is indeed something for all TD fans to look forward to!