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Electronic Meditation

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

Electronic Meditation · The debut by Tangerine Dream was released in June 1970 on the German label Ohr. The band recorded it in October 1969 in a rented factory in Berlin, with nothing more than a two-track Revox tape recorder. It is the only album with Edgar Froese, Klaus Schulze and Conrad Schnitzler together. Schulze left before the release, and Schnitzler shortly afterwards.

The music lies somewhere between free jazz, electronic art music and instrumental rock. Guitar, organ, drums and cello sound alongside home-built electronics and found sounds, such as breaking glass, burning parchment and peas being shaken through a sieve. At the end of side B there are reversed voices: Froese reads out the back of a ferry ticket. Journey Through a Burning Brain recalls the free improvisations of Schnitzler's Kluster. Critics call the record a cult curiosity, but also a landmark from which a whole universe of sound grew. The striking sleeve design originally included a balloon.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to Journey Through a Burning Brain and notice the sounds that do not seem to come from ordinary instruments. Hear how the musicians improvise freely, without a fixed rhythm or melody.

Track list

  1. 1Genesis5:56Apple Music ↗
  2. 2Journey Through a Burning Brain12:32Apple Music ↗
  3. 3Cold Smoke10:49Apple Music ↗
  4. 4Ashes to Ashes3:59Apple Music ↗
  5. 5Resurrection3:31Apple Music ↗

30-second previews via Apple Music. Listen to the whole album on Apple Music ↗

Categories: Albums and songs