Tangerine Dream
Electronic Meditation

Berlin at the end of the '60s was an extremely vibrant city full of creative ferment: in the legendary Zodiac Club, many musicians joined in radical free-form music sessions entertaining the audience. Among the musicians were the early Tangerine Dream, who, in 1968, in a still primordial lineup, held a legendary performance: the atmosphere was electric, and the venue was completely dark. After this experience, Froese disbanded the group and reformed it with new members. After several contacts, including one with the important journalist and producer Rolf-Ulrich Kaiser, Froese reached an agreement to record the first album entitled "Electronic Meditation" (1969) in a trio formation that included, besides Froese on guitar and drums, the young Klaus Schulze on drums and Conrad Schnitzler (later in Kluster) on electric guitar and cello. The record was released in March 1970 by the mythical OHR.

The cover of "Electronic Meditation" is already a sort of modern artwork and depicts a headless doll enclosed in the gears of a synthesizer, a representation in line with the sonic aesthetic and philosophy of the album.

The record begins with the dark sounds of a celestial cello (played by Conrad Schnitzler) that seems to emanate from the dark depths of the cosmos, introducing "Genesis", the first track of the album. The piece then unfolds with an insistent flute that might remind one of the subsequent "Ruckzuck" by the Kraftwerk and the impetuous drumming of Schulze until the acid and liquid guitar of Froese introduces the long (about 13 minutes) "Journey into a burning brain" where a grandiloquent and mystical organ guides the music through the parts of "A Saucerful Of Secrets" by Pink Floyd.

It's like being inside a desecrated cathedral abandoned in desolate lands. The guitars then take over for what turns out to be an epic psychedelic excursion reminiscent of the exploits of groups like the 13th Floor Elevators but on an even madder level. The organ finally closes this sonic ride.

"Cold Smoke", on the second side, begins with a quiet otherworldly organ that suddenly becomes dissonant only to return to a celestial tone. Then the usual drumming of Schulze leads the piece into a tribal and wild atmosphere reminiscent of the Amon Düül commune. An incisive guitar finally steers the music toward experimental free-rock. The Tangerine demonstrate thus having absorbed the influence of composers like Stockhausen.

The last two tracks are very short: "Ashes To Ashes" moves on the coordinates of a disjointed and abrasive rock while "Resurrection" closes the album as it began. A still very "Floydian" organ indeed leaves space for the cello that introduced "Genesis", thus closing the circle of this hallucinatory journey into the dissociated mind of an otherworldly being.

It's a pity that this extraordinary and explosive formation of Tangerine Dream lasted the span of just one album, unfortunately, they were three very strong personalities who split shortly afterward due to strong personal contrasts: Edgar Froese was indeed a sort of dictator, wanting to control and plan every detail, surely he already had in mind the cosmic music that would make Tangerine Dream an immortal group. But even the other members were no less and in fact, exited turbulently to shape their art and creativity. Klaus Schulze, after subsequently joining Ash Ra Tempel, will soon become a great synthesizer wizard contributing to writing the history of electronic music. Conrad Schnitzler instead will devote himself to a career marked by the most challenging and uncompromising experimentation.

Froese would later find able collaborators and musicians like Christopher Franke and Peter Baumann, kicking off a cosmic epic that, at least for the '70s, was legendary.