Edgar Froese

Thanks for that post.

I went to see TD at the Hammersmith Odeon (as it was) - must have been around '83 about when Le Parc LP came out.  At that time (I was 15), I was just getting into synths and sequencers, and of course TD were the apex of all of that.

A near 3 hour show, with just a single red light moving about.  3 men on a stage facing away from the audience.  Lots of 'special' smoke being consumed within the theatre and a wonderful evening.

I wonder if their current shows are still as good?  Tempted to go and see next year...

Hi,

The "new" TD features more women ... and continues to grow ... and yeah ... I'm buying the next set or two ... TD with a VIOLIN? ... ohhh yeahhhhhh ... and I love the way he picked the girl out ... from folks that would never appreciate her playing ... which kinda tells you where the majority of kids end up these days ... nowhere land ... and then in the Coffee House with prayers and hopes in their hand, instead of being out there doing what they love!

I specially used to love their live albums in the first 10 years ... because the equipment was so moody and difficult, most of the shows never were the same, and they were all magnificent.

If any of you get a chance, catch the Phaedra anniversary DVD in London ... and see what digital can do to analog ... still damn good, when in the hands of the right people!

The best. And other than Pink Floyd, the one band I am most proud of having seen in my life a total of 3 times ... and would gladly see them again, if they make it this far on the west coast.

And I'm looking forward to the CD's of "An Evening of Edgar Froese music" with one orchestra in Germany ... that was sold out and got some amazing reviews ... unffortunately, The Boston Merde Pops will never play TD or FZ! Not enough talent to play real music, instead of songs!
 
Of all things, the discussion of music and his process, and then his take on digital/analog -- and few would KNOW the difference as well as he has known it and studied it -- is spectacular, and one of the few times that he has opened up to discuss these things. He has been writing a book, and I think that it will also have some rather funny anecdotes on it ... but wait until you hear the story behind the "echo chambers" in the early days of Tangerine Dream! ... apparently he drove many technicians to drink with it, for the sake of the sound itself ... but how can you fault its history and the work this many years later, when most "roadies" are not capable of understanding the subtleties of the "sound" itself!
 
On a side note, if you ever want to see where Steven Wilson learned some of the subtlety that has made him a master producer, you should see the Klaus Schulze DVD that has an interview in it by Steven ... and you know that Steven saw the other special bit in there, when a couple of engineers are working the sound of the live piece for the DVD. Magnificent, and a subtlety that is not always appreciated in rock music and its simplicity.

Hi,
 
You know what made PT nice and special for me? ... easy!
 
I was one of the main photographers for the Music Festival in 1999 in SF ... and on early Saturday Morning, at around 1PM, the band rolls in ... and the Prophet-5 had taken a nasty spill at the airport ... and it wasn't working. So half hour later backstate, the keyboard is spread out and two or three folks are trying to fix it, and get a hold of a Radio Shack or something to make sure they can get this or that ... at 4PM it was not a go ... and the band did not even get a sound check or warmup!
 
Richard spent 4 hours back stage while 3 other bands played, and programmed -- two other synthesizers ... and the show went on ... and was great ... they sounded fantastic, and I had NEVER heard these guys BEFORE. One roadie kept complaining and in the end, right in front of the producer I told him to shut or leave the building .. because it was excellent, ragardless ... and Steven thanked Richard for his efforts and such in the middle of the work.  I believe they were allowed
 
It was, one of the most professionally impressive things I ever saw ... to stick with it, not be afraid, and just do what you can ... and they did. That's not only class ... it's quality and BELIEF in your own work!
 
PF had a lot of free form stuff in their days, and the bootlegs showed it time and again.
 
TD, in the first 15 years of concerts, couldn't do the same thing twice as most synths were not as good or clean as they are today ... and there was a lot of free stuff in between the pieces ... which you can not get in the albums ... and makes their music special. By comparison, I consider TD a bit too melodic and conventional for my tastes ... these days, and I miss the moody and far out experiments, and the 3AM's at the blah and blah and the Mysterious Semblances at the Coffee House ... which are still better to my ears, than any of their modern work.
 
TD gets the award for courage, and doing it! And knowing what they are doing! As opposed to an idiot roadie!