No, this is NOT your father's Tangerine Dream performing on their 1969 debut lp. What it is, however, is a meeting of 3 of Germany's most productive musicians ever.

Edgar Froese, the guitarist and founder, studied under famed artist Dali and proceeds to put together a unique combination of musicinas that eventually becomes Tangerine Dream. He meets up with avant-garde meistro Conrad Schnitzler (The Madman from Berlin), who adds his cellos and guitars to the mix. Add to the cauldron the amazing drummer (and later moog specialist) Klaus Schulze , and the mix is complete.

The results of their experimentations are sometimes uneven, mainly due to poor editing, but the music is unlike anything heard before or since. From the blaring of Schnitzler's cellos to Schulze's hypnotic and explosive drumming and Froese's freaked out guitar licks (and that's just on the first 2 tracks), "Electronic Meditation" takes off for the cosmos and never returns. On later tracks, add Froese's keyboards and moogs for added textures- the only partial sign of what would come later for the re-invented band. But on this lp, it is Schulze and Schnitzler that dictate the pace and orientation of the lp. It is pure psychedelia and avant-garde at once.

Schulze would leave the band shortly thereafter to help form another prominent band, Ash Ra Tempel, and later to a prolific career as the foremost master of the moog synthesizer on such classics as "Cyborg," "Timewind," and "Irrlicht." Schnitzler would perform some on T. Dream's 2nd lp, "Alpha Centuari," before quitting to form the anarchic trio Kluster with Moebius and Roedelius. Schnitzler has since recorded over 200 lps, by far the most prolific of Germany's musicians.

Froese, as we know, would re-invent Tangerine Dream as the moog and synth-driven band that created gems as "Green Desert," "Phaedra," and "Stratosfear," but their 1st lp stands out as their most purely emotion driven and among their most innovative ever. It's an amazing listen that has to be heard many times to be believed. Pure passion and power. Cellos, fuzzed out guitars, Schulze's powerful drumming. Pure freak outs. An awesome lp.

Why is this, TD's debut from 1970 so underrated? Perhaps because many buy this expecting more of the same synth happy material and it's not found here. The lineup on this album was quite different, this time with Edgar Froese, Conrad Schnitzler, and Klaus Schulze (here, he plays drums, rather than keyboards). Let me tell you: this album rocks! I'm serious, this is by far their most rock oriented albums as it's heavy on guitar, drums and organ. I just love how this album starts slow and keeps building up to a mindblowingly intense climax with some totally wild guitar and drums. If you've heard "Amboss" from Ash Ra Tempel's self-entitled debut from 1971 (which was the album Klaus Schulze played in after he left TD after Electronic Meditation), then you get more or less an idea what Electronic Meditation is like. Certainly the sound quality leaves a lot to be desired, it sounds like it was recorded in a tin can, but that can also be said of Alpha Centauri, and Atem (but oddly, not Zeit which came before Atem). But this was Tangerine Dream like they originally were, the epitome of an underground Krautrock band. Of course they continued to release great albums until the late 1970s, but after that they sold themselves to bland, commercial New Age in the 1980s and 1990s, which is really depressing if you think of it. If you love the idea of Tangerine Dream as a rock band, you can't go wrong with Electronic Meditation. But I warn you: don't let the title deceive you, as it's not particularly meditative, and the only electronics here is electronically treated instruments through sound generators (the only keyboard used here is the organ).

The guitar player, Edgar Froese, founded Tangerine Dream in the fall of 1967. At first, the band played various compositions of the time (covers) and tried to develop their own style. Froese was inclined towards experimentations and free form in rock music. Hence he welcomed musicians playing nonstandard instruments, who shared the same vision. It took time however, to get straight on these goals. Many musicians came and went. In 1969 they recorded their debut single, Ultima Thule, which, if it had been included in Electronic Meditation, would have nicely contrasted the material. In June 2000 a long-awaited compilation was issued, entitled Ancient Dreams, where you can find Ultima Thule. Quick rock instrumental songs with violin and guitar.

The first album recording of Tangerine Dream, Electronic Meditation, sounds as if recorded in the depths of a well. One could say that the stuffing for plush chairs at least found its alternative application. Instead of chair decoration, they were put on the speakers. As the story goes, the trio did not have any professional publishing plans at the time of recording, which partially explains the quality. On the other hand, Electronic Meditation is a manifesto of artists' musical freedom. The flagship of experimental rock. Yes, it is still rock, despite the enigmatic title.

Out of the three musicians who appear on this album, all have become famous in their own way. Edgar Froese continued with Tangerine Dream and co-pioneered so-called electronic rock (or electronic music). From Electronic Meditation, he carried away only the band's name with himself. Klaus Schulze became the grandfather of dark, meditative music and patented the sequencer ostinato that is nowadays sampled by various techno youngsters. From Electronic Meditation, Klaus carried away the title and made it his musical motto. Conrad Schnitlzer apparently continued with experimentation. In over 30 years that have passed since 1969, he pushed experiments to the absolute limits.

Although by itself this album is not fascinating, it stands as a monument in electronic music history, a landmark.

If you're familiar with Tangerine Dream only as a synthesiser group, specialising in "New Age Ambient" music (as many people think of them), then "Electronic Meditation" will come as something of a shock. This was the embryonic Tangerine Dream's first record release, recorded in October 1969, a couple of years before even the name Tangerine Dream had been heard outside of Germany.

Bear in mind that 1969 was only five years or so after Robert Moog and David Buchla almost simultaneously released the world's first commercial electronic music synthesisers: such instruments were still rare, expensive, and of fairly limited capabilities back then, and the 'electronic' of the title refers not to the use of any such instrument, but rather to the treatments applied to the sound produced from the standard acoustical instruments--guitars and piano (Edgar Froese), cello and violin (Conrad Schnitzler) and drum-kit and metal sticks (Klaus Schulze)--and the use of Farfisa organ. The music itself is difficult to describe unless you're already familiar with the cult experimental free-form rock that was prevalent across continental Europe (especially Germany) in the late 60s. If you imagine three guys hammering and scraping away and generally torturing their instruments, often with little or no seeming regard for what their fellow group members are doing at the time, then you'll have a pretty fair idea! But don't let that put you off: this is important music which at one time had a huge cult following and it deserves to be heard still. And, who knows, you may even discover that you like it!

Be warned, however, that this disc runs for fewer than 35 minutes. (Hence the paucity of stars!) And it was recorded 'live' in an old warehouse, using less than the highest of fi recording gear, so it has a much lower dynamic range than we're used to hearing these days, and in parts sounds positively muddy. Which was probably intended... You should also be aware that there is three disc boxed set of early TD releases which includes this album, together with "Alpha Centauri" and "Zeit", which-if you can find a copy-is great value.

Incidentally, if you do find you like it and want to hear more like it, then you should definitely check out the other early Tangerine Dream albums, "Atem", "Zeit" and "Green Desert", as well as the early musics of Klaus Schulze and other experimental groups of the time, like Amon Dhul and Cosmic Jokers. Or you may prefer to explore the more up-to-date approach to experimental electronic music-making, by investigating the many treasures available from Centaur Records and the Consortium to Distribute Computer Music releases, or the electroacoustic masterpieces on offer from Diffusion i Media...

Every once in a while, someone releases a record that is so bizarre in it's musical approach that it has to be regarded and analyzed apart from everything else. This is one of those albums; it belongs in the same vein as Amon Duul's "Psychedelic Underground" or King Crimson's Beatclub performance. All of these records share an experimental approach that is so outlandish, so extreme, that it can barely be described as having any structure to speak of. Its weirdness is so colossal that any previously made assumptions have to be thrown to the wind, and the music taken on its own terms.
This record starts out with some quiet, unsettling noises produced on organ and treated cello, and joined by some muffled drums. This section gives kind of a general feel for the whole album - somewhat unnerving, eerie and unstable. The rest of the record merges these sounds with all kinds of spooky passages for acidic guitar, organ, and VERY heavy-handed drumming. In particular check out the drumming at about 10:00 and following on the second track - Keith Moon fans take note of the FORCE exhibited here. It's almost as if the drums had to be put in the back of the mix or they would overpower everything else. And those guitars - Craaazy.
In the end of the third track, the guitar develops a problem - it makes screechy feedback if it isn't continually struck. So the guy just keeps striking it. End of problem. This is typical of the musical approach taken throughout the album, where the instruments seem to be more in charge of the music than the musicians.
Don't expect this to be anything like other TD records - it's totally different. A very weird disc, but sure to find some fans.