Tangerine Dream
Rubycon

On Friday, while wandering through the free reviews of DeBaser, I stumbled upon the electro-cosmos of the Tangerine dream. But the review of one of the many masterpieces of the German ensemble, which I like so much, was missing: "Rubycon." So I decided to write it.

Born from the visionary cosmic experiments of the group's leader, Edgar Froese, this album, composed of two suites each about 17 minutes long, is the artistic and technical consolidation of the Tangerine space crew. Now, I'm not saying it's the group's absolute masterpiece because the earlier works (to name three off the top of my head, I'd say "Alpha Centauri," "Zeit," and "Phaedra") are superior (depending on the points of view though) but "Rubycon" marked, in the mid-70s, the spread and popularization of this small musical movement, the Kosmische Musik, which had previously remained confined to the German black forest, and took it not only throughout Europe but also across the Ocean. From the giant leap of electronic music came synth pop and the new wave of the eighties, then ambient and techno of the nineties.

Today, what Tangerine Dream did in 1975 with such dedication and commitment in searching for new sound obstacles, can be done effortlessly with the use of two or three small programs on any computer. But imagine finding yourself in the German landscapes of 1975 and listening to the techno-tales of these German musicians all "kraut and potatoes."

The curtain opens with chilling and monodic moog sounds and some hissing notes of mellotron. A daydream. You imagine nature and its landscapes, noises, sounds, water, birds. You see the sky, you see the stars, you see the galaxies, you see the cosmos. It’s a relaxing and evocative melody; imposing echoes of voices from the unconscious expanding and giving way to a sound from the abyss, from deep within the earth. Utopia steps aside and makes room for elaborate techno. You feel trapped in a never-ending tunnel. The rhythm becomes increasingly haunting and faster, becoming obsessive but fate makes it dissolve and it’s sucked away. It's the Tangerine dream.

The second track opens with the whistling of the wind. A nightmare. Imagine a house atop a hill, open windows, wind blowing, fluttering curtains, someone screaming. They resemble the thrilling melodies of Lygeti in "Shining". A cursed and biting chant, it feels like the coming of the demons, the apocalypse. Again, techno steps in to placate the curse. Extra-sensory sounds are perceived under the keyboards. Strange rustles and psychedelic hisses. The polyphony of Chris Franke’s keyboards, which in "Rubycon" performs nothing short of a sublime job, concludes this human contact with the cosmos.

Considering that this work was dismissed by the critics of the time with an "it's a too convenient way of making music and money," I leave it up to you to judge "Rubycon." I find myself in complete disagreement due to the fact that at the time it was difficult to make such music appreciated in America since until then kosmische had had and enjoyed success in Germany and Northern Europe. It was a risk that jeopardized the group's career, by then deemed a revelation of modern music in Europe. Considering that instead this album was appreciated, I find it somewhat insulting to judge "Rubycon" as a bad work. A tidy and spotless work, nearly perfectly tuned and calibrated to the best by the three musicians.

A journey to another dimension.