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AMAZING SOUNDS No.111 / October 11, 2001
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THE CD´S "SINE", "PULSE" AND "RANDOM" FROM THE TRILOGY BY LOIBANT,
TOGETHER WITH THE NEW ALBUMS: "NUCLEUS", "REGRESSION ALPHA" AND "FIRE
COMET", CAN BE PURCHASED AT THE VIRTUAL SHOP OF AMAZING SOUNDS:

http://www.amazings.com/mailorder.html

====================

CONTENTS:

NEWS

TANGERINE DREAM (2): THE GEAR STARTS. No doubt, Tangerine Dream is
a legendary band within the electronic genre and the musical
avantgarde in general. Throughout their long trajectory, they have
explored unknown areas in the music world, and have contributed to
create the basis for a wide variety of current trends.

REVIEWS:
NAUTILUS: "SOLAR MOON" Prudence / BSC Music
MATT BORGHI: "DECEMBER IMPRESSIONS"
ZINKL & ALQUIMIA: "UNDERWATER" Prudence / BSC Music

====================

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NEWS

Creation of Neuronium Records as a record company that will not
only release in the countries of the European Economic Community
new albums by Michel Huygen & Neuronium, but also music by other
artists, such as for instance the latest work of Constance Demby
or the latest work of Suzanne Ciani.

====================

Michel Huygen has granted to Amazing Sounds the privilege of
exclusively selling via internet the CDROM "Hypnotika vol.1".
More information here:

http://www.amazings.com/articles/article0082.html

Free samples of the CDROM here:

http://www.neuronium.com/CDROM.htm

====================

TANGERINE DREAM (2): THE GEAR STARTS
No doubt, Tangerine Dream is a legendary band within the
electronic genre and the musical avantgarde in general. Throughout
their long trajectory, they have explored unknown areas in the
music world, and have contributed to create the basis for a wide
variety of current trends.

"Alpha Centauri", the second release under the signature of TD,
and the first one in the electronic wave, was the true start for
the band. This ceased to be a mere collective of guest artists
improvising without a given direction, to acquire their own
identity. In this first coherent album adventure, they were also
accompanied by Steve Schroyder, who soon after would leave the
band, plus some other performers. Franke was centered in the
synthesizer, taking care of string, wind and percussion
instruments as well. Froese played the guitar, bass and organ.

With "Alpha Centauri", TD appeared leading what became a new
genre: Space Music. The astronomical or science fiction references
present in the titles of their works clearly state their
precocious orientation. TD, however, would not be limited to this
genre, to which creation contributed with their own style, but
rather would encompass other trends or ideas, quite often of a
very personal nature.

With the parting of Schroyder, the two members of TD decided to
look for a third partner. Franke had a friend who was acquainted
to Peter Baumann. This was a young keyboardist who used to play at
a club in Berlin, and who, like Froese and Franke, was inspired by
surrealist painting. That was the first sign that there could be a
good stylistic understanding among the three of them. Froese
proposed him to join the band, and after a period playing together
and exchanging ideas, he became a member of the group for several
years.

Their next release, "Zeit", where Baumann already appeared,
advanced towards a more experimental, darker path.

"Atem" marked the transition towards a far more rhythmic
structure, which since then has constituted an important element
in the "TD sound".

During a stay of Peter Baumann in Nepal, Froese and Franke
recorded some pieces, somewhat different from the line they were
following. These were unreleased until 1986, when they appeared as
an album under the name "Green Desert".

In 1973, the Rolling Stones sold a Big Modular Moog, a most bulky,
sophisticated synthesizer the size of a huge wardrobe for a
married couple, full of wires and connections, that arrived into
Germany through the label where TD released their albums. Nobody
in the studio had the faintest idea about how to make it work, and
there even wasn't an instruction leaflet. Franke took charge of
the task, although it cost him a lot of work to reach a sufficient
proficiency with the use of the device. According to what he
admitted once, he had to learn through trial and error.

Having attracted the interest of the then young label Virgin, TD
recorded thir next album there, "Phaedra". This meant the
international recognition of TD. A year later, the band was
awarded a Golden Disc. In "Phaedra", Franke already utilized the
modular synthesizer Moog. During his endless series of
experiments, he had discovered uses difficult to guess with a more
"rational" approach, as he states. Among other things, the Moog
allowed him to build a most complex rhythmic structure based on
the repetition of sequences of notes at a high speed. This
structure, so typical of the music by TD, was not a chance find,
but rather Froese, and specially Franke, had it in mind since
several years before. The former had occasionally used the echo
generated by a unit of effects to try create rhythmic patterns of
a certain complexity with a bass. As for Chris, since the sixties
he had been in contact with musics from different parts of the
world, finding positively invaluable the effect of trance of the
African tribal music from Ghana as well as the complexity of its
rhythm. This had led him to try explore the hypnotic concept of
rhythm by means of taped sonic loops, a rudimentary and
insufficient form of sequencer. With respect to these ethnic
influences that originated his revolutionary rhythmic ideas, one
must take into account the fact that in those times, the ethnic
musics were not accepted and difused as widely as they are now,
thus being very difficult indeed to have anyone drinking from them
with artistic aims. Just as Franke remembers, many people in their
environment were astonished at his interest in the musical forms
from other cultures. "African music? Oh! It's so primitive! You
should listen to Mozart or something similar!"

As he became the expert of the band, Franke also helped Froese in
his first solo album, "Aqua". Chris contributed his knowledge with
the Big Modular Moog and the sequencer.

By that time, the kind of music done by TD, and the sort of
instruments they used, generated all manners of mistrust in many
areas of their society. For instance, soon after Franke purchased
his VCS 3, the band went to give a live concert outside Berlin. As
is already known, in those times of the two Germanies, Berlin was
in the middle of the Eastern side, so the citizens of the free
sector of the city had to go through the Communist Germany to go
to other cities. On the border, the inspectors examined with the
utmost attention all the instruments and luggage of the band.
When they opened one case carried by Franke, they discovered the
synthesizer VCS 3. Its aspect as a supersophisticated electronic
device. and the absence of a musical keyboard in the box, made
them believe that it could be anything but a musical instrument.
When Chris told them it was that, they became angry with him
believing he was laughing at them. The agents feared that the
artifact could be a bomb or a device for espionage purposes. They
were detained for three hours until the officers were convinced
that the artifact was not what they suspected. The same happened
as they left the Communist Germany on their way back.

Another remarkable event was the one that took place when TD gave
a concert at a cathedral. The blasphemous attitude with the
premises on the part of several of the fans, who filled the sacred
place with the smoke of pot, and who made statements such as "If
Jesus Christ came off his cross he would play with Tangerine Dream
because they are God", caused the church authorities to decree
that the band would never ever again perform within sacred ground.

(By Jorge Munnshe)


If you wish to purchase any recordings by these artists you only
have to use these links:

Tangerine Dream

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ts/artist-glance/131404/thesciencebookbo

Edgar Froese

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ts/artist-glance/42020/thesciencebookbo

Christopher Franke

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ts/artist-glance/125180/thesciencebookbo

Peter Baumann

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ts/artist-glance/157833/thesciencebookbo

Johannes Schmoelling

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ts/artist-glance/157413/thesciencebookbo

Paul Haslinger

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ts/artist-glance/94176/thesciencebookbo

Steve Schroyder

http://gemm.com/q.cgi?rb=AMAZINGS&artist=Steve+Schroyder

Steve Jolliffe

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ts/artist-glance/36405/thesciencebookbo

Klaus Schulze

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ts/artist-glance/123276/thesciencebookbo

Conrad Schnitzler

http://gemm.com/q.cgi?rb=AMAZINGS&artist=Conrad+Schnitzler

Michael Hoenig

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ts/artist-glance/54657/thesciencebookbo

====================

REVIEWS:

NAUTILUS:
"SOLAR MOON"
Prudence / BSC Music
With the nine themes included in this album, the listener embarks
on a nice cosmic voyage to an imaginary Moon, depicted on the
cover of the CD in full detail. The music, however, is more
approppriately labelled within the genre of New Instrumental Music
or Ambient Music with some touch of pop, rather than true Space
Music, even if there are indeed some sound effects that give the
CD this slightly, yet eminently, Space Music feel. This album will
undoubtedly appeal to a wide audience.
MONTSERRAT ANDREU-MARIN

If you wish to purchase this recording you only have to use this
link:

http://gemm.com/q.cgi?rb=AMAZINGS&artist=NAUTILUS

MATT BORGHI:
"DECEMBER IMPRESSIONS"
At times disquieting, at times suggesting an interstellar voyage
throughout unknown regions of space, at times with meditative
passages, this is no doubt a CD that will no doubt appeal to the
followers of Ambient Music.
VICENTE GISPERT

ZINKL & ALQUIMIA:
"UNDERWATER"
Prudence / BSC Music
Zinkl and Alquimia decided to join their talents and their
artistic skills to create an album of innovative Pop. They
succeeded in creating a collection of pieces dominated by intense
melodies. The expressivity that Alquimia achieves with her voice
is remarkable indeed.
DEREK DOARN

If you wish to purchase any recordings by Zinkl you only have to
use this link:

http://gemm.com/q.cgi?rb=AMAZINGS&artist=ZINKL

====================

We are preparing an international directory of record companies,
artists, festivals, radio shows, zines, webs, journalists,
associations, and other organizations & people working in the
field of electronic music, Ambient, New Instrumental,
Experimental, World Music, and so on. The inserts are free. The
persons or firms wishing to be included can send us a file of no
more than 600 words with the data they consider as being of
interest (contact addresses - snail mail, telephone number, fax,
email, URL... -) and an explanatory text on their activities in
English) to: amazings@...

We are also preparing an encyclopaedia of composers of electronic
music. The artists wishing to be included can send us a biography
(with a list of works and contact address if they wish to) of no
more than 900 words, in English, to amazings@.... Inserts
are free.

The persons or firms having a page in internet related in some way
to the alternative musics can communicate the URL, as well as a
brief description of its contents, to webmaster@..., and
we will set a link from our web to theirs (The insert of a link in
our web is free whenever it is corresponded with a similar link
from their web to our web)

====================

Our warmest greetings for our readers and until the next edition
of Amazing Sounds.

====================

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