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This album was my introduction to the real art of the synthesizer, at least in a less formal context (I had been a fan of Stockhausen, Xenakis, and other contemporary composers for years.) What strikes me most about this album after all these years is how fresh it still sounds, and how warm.
Along with several other synthesists (Brian Eno, Jean-Michel Jarre, Michael Hoenig, Wendy Carlos) Tangerine Dream pioneered the use of synthesizers in an ambient context. This style of music may not be your cup ot tea. But few albums do the style better than Phaedra. Each track is animated by well constructed looped sequences, and then surrounded by a vast assembly of sounds. This is not rhythmic music, as later Dream albums would be...rather this is inhabits a world where rock, Terry Riley and Gyorg Ligeti would meet. In fact, the dissonance of much of the opening track reminds me of some of Ligeti's famous cloud pieces of the 60s. (For those of you not familiar, think about the music for the trippy scenes of Kubrick's 2001. That's all Ligeti.)
Synthesis has made tremendous technical strides in the last 30 years. The advent of digital synthesis revolutionized electronic music in many ways. Unfortunately, it also changed the direction the music then took. Rather than searching for new and hitherto unimagined sounds, synthesis has devolved into the search for less expensive ways to replace studio musicians. Listening to TD albums from the 70s reminds you of the revolutionary nature of this style of music, a nature that has been lost in New Age tripe or over literal "MIDI orchestrations." TD's analog synthesis is still lightyears ahead of other groups. It's warmer, less imitational, and more original than most of what passes for synthesized music now. Yes the music is trippy...I certainly loved it back in my old ...days.... and it's still mind-expanding. Highly recommended!
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This was the first CD of this kind that I got, and what a way to start off! I don't know how to describe this stuff, but its trippy, for sure. It takes you through so many different moods, and possibly to different worlds if you really let it. I was surprised that electronic music could display this much depth and feeling.
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I really have nothing to add to all the good things said. Except for the title track - It's like I'm on a space voyage (preferably in our solar system), and when one comes across those pulsing drone sounds, it's as though I'm approaching a giant planet , like yes, Jupiter. This album puts you there!
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I really have nothing to add to all the good things said. Except for the title track - It's like I'm on a space voyage, and when one comes across those pulsing drone sounds, it's as though I'm approaching a giant planet , like yes, Jupiter. This album puts you there!
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Listen to this album very loudly so you can hear all of the subtleties of the complex interplay going on. Big bright slabs of Mellotron and Moog roam around in a landscape comprised of Franke's bubbling arpeggios and Baumann's cloudy flute. The first track alone is worth the price. To be able to hear such marvelous things happening is truly a privilege.
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