School of Rock
Random article All articles A–Z
2 languages

Edgar Froese

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Edgar Froese was a German musician and pioneer of electronic music, born in 1944 in Tilsit in East Prussia. After the war his mother settled in Berlin with the rest of the family. He had piano lessons from the age of twelve and began on guitar at fifteen. Among other things he worked as a designer of advertising posters for the Berlin buses and studied psychology and philosophy in the evenings. In 1965 he founded the band The Ones, which played psychedelic rock. During a stay in Spain the group was invited to Salvador Dalí's villa in Cadaqués, a meeting that spurred him towards more experimental work.

Music and breakthrough

After The Ones disbanded in 1967, Froese looked in Berlin for musicians for a free rock group, which became Tangerine Dream. He was the only member to experience the whole history of the group, until his death. He also made solo albums, such as Aqua from 1974, Epsilon in Malaysian Pale from 1975, Macula Transfer from 1976, Stuntman from 1979 and Dalinetopia from 2004. David Bowie said that Epsilon in Malaysian Pale had a great influence on him and was the soundtrack of his life in Berlin. Froese was friends with Bowie, Brian Eno and Iggy Pop, and Pop and Bowie lived for a time at his home in Schöneberg.

Influence

Froese stood for a music of long, floating sounds, made with synthesizers, within the German experiment of the 1970s. His son Jerome played in Tangerine Dream from 1990 to 2006. Froese died in Vienna in 2015.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to Epsilon in Malaysian Pale and notice the slow, broad sounds of the electronic instruments. Can you hear how the piece stretches out instead of becoming a clear song?

Discography

Studio albums

In School of Rock

The chapters, maps and magazine stories of School of Rock are currently available in Dutch only.

See also

Categories: Artists