P: “It starts with us agreeing on a root key and a tempo. It was an exception because while none of us is against anything we do like the irregularities of analogue.”Īnd we hear that at the end of the show you play a 30-minute improv? P: “There was one exception where I think Thorsten recorded the same thing using both and we ended up choosing the plugin because in this particular case and musical context it somehow sounded better. But while I think the Arturia emulations sound great, it doesn’t feel right to use an emulation if you are standing next to the real thing! It feels lazy.”
Plugin effects yes: some very good reverbs, compressors and delays.
Were you ever tempted to use any of the many software synthesisers out there? So we didn’t restrict ourselves in any way and there are all types of things including instruments from many early decades up to now.” There was one thing that Edgar said about Tangerine Dream’s music was that it is 'orchestral music produced by electronic instruments and rich in colours'.
T: “Partly yes, so we have an old Jupiter-8 which is unbelievable and a Voyager, plus many of the synths from the last decade.”ĭid you use just analogue synths for the new album Raum? I worked with Edgar and he was very clear and disciplined in real life but not sadly on his hard disc! So we would often just click in a folder here and there and the best case scenario would be finding a nice melody that we could fit in an arrangement.”ĭo you have access to Edgar’s original gear?
T: “Sometimes it was trial and error as there is so much material. How did you choose the material from the archive? It doesn’t feel right to use an emulation if you are standing next to the real thing! It feels lazy And I would say, ‘ok, maybe in two days’! But he would be sitting in the studio every day.” You wouldn’t even be surprised to get a Dropbox link from him with material on Christmas Eve when he would say, ‘here’s a new idea, maybe we could work on it’. He was probably the most hard working person I ever met.
T: “There are 10-12 hard discs full and we have material from 1978 to 2013. How much material is there in Edgar's archive? Is it vast? I think there are 160 ! But there is a strong concept including scales and ideas and concepts about programming sequencers, for example, and there are probably more rules than people expect.” “If you listen to them all you can hear it, although I guess that is a lot. So if you listen to an album from 1970 like Electronic Meditation and then exploring the possibilities of sequencers with Phaedra, Rubycon, Stratosfear and Force Majeure through the 70s, there is a red line between one and the next album which you can hear through every album. That is a fascinating concept, so what would you say the idea behind Tangerine Dream is that you are carrying on? Even Peter Baumann once said that the idea and the concept and the idea behind Tangerine Dream is much stronger than the members involved and that the idea could last longer than a member.” “Probably the bad thing about being German is that I take advice from others and Edgar said I had to carry on and continue the plan and the concept of Tangerine Dream. So it was not even my role to say I would continue as Tangerine Dream without it being like an order or request from Edgar.Įdgar had a phase in the 80s where he tried to get rid of the analogue equipment when the new digital synths came out, which now sound more dated than the 70s synths Edgar made plans, visions and scenarios for every situation that could happen before he sadly passed away in 2015. Thorsten: “So the good thing about it is that it was never our decision to carry on with Tangerine Dream. What is your mission with Tangerine Dream now that Edgar is no longer with us?