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.

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...

This is very early T. Dream when Klaus Schulze was on drums & Conrad Schnitzler was in them. Great Deep Space Avant-rock. Nothing like the later Soundtracks & stuff where thay got all technoey. A classic of early German Krautrock. Sounds like Ash Ra Tempel (Who Klaus Schulze also drummed on the 1st two LP's) if Conrad Scnitzler was in them.

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...

Grabado a fines de 1969, el debut de Tangerine Dream es un alucinante viaje, 35 minutos de confusión, locura, experimentación y libertad sonora. Se pueden percibir ecos de Pink Floyd en algunos pasajes, pero aquí no hay canciones, sólo desenfrenados desarrollos instrumentales que parecen provenientes de alguna remota galaxia.

La guitarra de Edgard Froese es uno de los ejemplos más claros de lo que debería ser una sonoridad ácida, sus incursiones en Journey through a burning brain y Cold smoke ya por si solas justifican el valor del álbum. Klaus Schulze y Conrad Schnitzler por su parte hacen una notable labor en la batería el primero (gran potencia) y al cello y violin el segundo. Sumado a esto los efectos electrónicos y el órgano le dan al conjunto una densidad y riqueza aun mayor. La calidad sonora deja algo que desear, pero las condiciones de la epoca y la experiencia del grupo tampoco eran las más adecuadas.

Tangerine Dream jamás volvería a hacer algo similar a Electronic, aunque hubiese sido muy difícil igualar la energía y originalidad aquí presentes. Un verdadero monumento a la experimentación y una de las páginas más perturbadoras del fascinante libro de la sicodelia y del rock de vanguardia.