reviews - edgar froesePosted by Jacob Pertou Tue, June 09, 2009 22:45:18
EDGAR FROESE
Beyond The StormPRODUCER: Edgar Froese
Caroline/Blue Plate 1895This is the second of Tangerine Dream founder Edgar Froese's revisionist anthologies. Last year, he released the Dream collection "Tangents," and now he has revisited his solo works. But rather than collect them on his two-CD set, Froese has rerecorded them, adding digital timbres and plodding drum machines to the liquid head trip "Upland" and a pseudo-classical intro the otherwise powerful "Drunken Mozart." Combined with 16 outright new compositions, this is a retrospective with no sense of history, substituting the suspect sheen of the present for the exploratory charm of the past.
John Diliberto.
Billboard Magazine, 19th August 1995 - vol. 107, nr. 33, page 62.
reviews - edgar froesePosted by Jacob Pertou Wed, September 03, 2008 00:33:44
On diverse fan fora, there has been no lack of extravagant eulogies,
but personally, I must appear a tad more unimpressed, now I finally
hear Epsilon In Malaysian Pale. Although it stylistically leans toward
Rubycon, my musical innocence is a little rough around the edges, after
listening to remixed excerpts, a re-recording in its entirety, as well
as a backwards version of Maroubra Bay.
Anyways, the album is a little different than the re-recording. I think
the original has lesser nerve, and hearing the re-recording at first,
and having it on cd, contrarily to this cassette, I guess I’ll return
to the aforementioned re-recording more often.
In attempt to sum up, why the album has gained such a hearing, I can only guess.
The title track is a tropical, almost god-fearing mellotron parade,
seeking a trance-like calmness, with undertones of the subconscious,
with the disturbing timbres.
Tangerine Dream sought this style, if not more western sounding, when
they in 1975 played a string of cathedral concerts in England.
My memory seems to fail after listening to the track to end. No trace
of melodic hit potential here. Is this because the music is forgetable?
Nah, actually not, it rather strives towards a metaphysical level.
The most odd about this album, is that the second side of the album
almost feels backwards, after having listened the backwards version, on
the compilation LP, Electronic Dreams.
We’re talking about quite fast, sequencer based music, optimistically
glittering on the sunny hemisphere of the sinister Rubycon Part 1.
It’s genius, by all means. Even David Bowie used the album as an alibi
to flee to Berlin, after a drug-ridden era in USA, around his ‘soul’
album, Young Americas, but I have, unfortunately, heard too much,
before I heard the original, and Epsilon In Malaysian Pale from 2004 is
my Epsilon In Malaysian Pale, I dare say.
(March 2007)
reviews - edgar froesePosted by Jacob Pertou Tue, September 02, 2008 16:45:24
With only two solo albums to draw on - Aqua and Epsilon In Malaysian
Pale, that is - Brain, Edgar Froese's record company then, releases a
compilation, which has become quite a curiosity.
Side one includes two of the more uptempo tracks from Aqua, Panorphelia and Upland:
Panorphelia has a look of Tangerine Dream, by the use of untypical
sequencer. It makes a fast rhythm, and then it's up to the mellotron to
join the pace.
Bobbly noises and organ peals influence the next track, Upland, which,
at the same time, is well considered and arranged, and yet it includes
the unknown destination of improvisation.
The last 40 seconds are dangerous, because it's a tape played backwards.
If you play this section backwards, you'll get just as sinister piano
playing, exposed to reverb. This piano playing refers to the
semi-acoustically orchestrated music of Oedipus Tyrannos.
Side two, on the other hand, is absolutely the carrot on the stick to
invest in this rather cheap looking compilation, with a cover of a
mouse with a phono-plug on it's tail.
That is Maroubra Bay in its entirety, but definitely not as released on
Epsilon In Malaysian Pale. The version is, of what looks like a fault,
backwards!
I can, for obvious reasons, not compare with the original, as I've only heard Maroubra Bay in a re-recorded version from 2004.
Haven't I heard that, and probably didn't know it was backwards here, I wouldn't have noticed anything remarkable.
In connection with the conclusion of Upland, there is nothing in
Maroubra Bay (or yaB arbuoraM) to indicate a track, consequently,
played backwards. The floating impulses from mellotron, synthesizers
and sequencers work radiantly, in the reverse order.
This means the composition is very strong, when the original and
perilious intro is placed at the end, which releases a horrifying
reaction. This version is therefore more anxiety-provoking, as it in
contrast to the original, builds up an intensity, instead of toning it
down.
Conclusively, Electronic Dreams is a success (unvoluntarily?), and if
Edgar comes up with the idea to defy Virgin, like he did with Phaedra
2005, then he'd rather release backwards editions, instead of
self-willedly overdubbing and re-recording, as TD's old material, like
it's the case of Maroubra Bay, definitely has more compositoric
potential in a reversed form.
reviews - edgar froesePosted by Jacob Pertou Tue, September 02, 2008 16:43:46
Doubting how the future of Tangerine Dream was looking, Edgar Froese
recorded this album, for fun, in some way. It was released on Brain in
1976, and released on compact disc in 1998, in only 1000 copies, on the
German label, Manikin, which bought up parts of Brain’s back catalogue,
but was confronted by Edgar Froese, who meant that he should give
permission to the re-release.
On Macula Transfer the song titles were inspired by flight routes. The
music is high tensioned drama, why it has made me presume that Edgar
suffers from fear of flying.
The album takes off with OS 452, which is a musical dialogue between
has an attempted laidback, outer calmness, while the inner anxiety
tries to oppress the calm façade.
AF 765 is a collision course, where the angst almost becomes morbid. A
two-note sequence pounds away, like a heart struck with panic. A
gradually more and more pessimistic guitar figure is the pilot, trying
to let all hope remain, but ultimately loses it all. Edgar’s voice
experiments are the passenger, whose life passes in review.
Near the end, the sequencer is lightning fast. The fate of the aircraft
is not a big crash, but a fade-out, where it is, in my judgement, an
emergency landing in the last moment.
PA 701 also plays on the on the big drama. Airy mellotron and
polyrhythmic sequencer cause an endorphin rush, exactly like driving
220 km/k in a sports car. You just don’t know, if you like it or not.
Conclusively, manipulated sounds are heard, reminiscent of applauses
after a well accomplished plane ride, a mellotron flute illustrates the
feel of relief, as experienced by the passenger.
Quantas 611 is a nocturnal, very sinister piece, which makes it run
cold down your back. The passenger has entered a state of sleep, where
the smouldering anxieties from previous flights influence the dreams.
IF 810 is a reflexive, melodic piece, where the passenger, has somewhat
accepted his fear of flying. He walks the long way towards the
check-out.
With Macula Transfer, another gospel is added in the bible of
electronic rock music, where the synthesizer, the mellotron, and the
electric guitar are the trinity. Unfortunately, the album is a bit of
an apocrypha, as the circulation of the album is extremely
insufficient. I, myself, had only a cassette-transfer to CDR, which
played a “little” too fast.(March 2007)
(Although the music is divine, Edgar Froese is not God, under any circumstance.)
reviews - edgar froesePosted by Jacob Pertou Tue, September 02, 2008 16:42:35
Pinnacles
is Edgar Froese's equivalent to Hyperborea by TD, released the same
year. Like Hyperborea was name after a bitterly cold northern place,
Pinnacle is a western Australian Region, from where, some bizarre rocks
had grown out of the desert sand.
Consequently, the nature has always been inspirational to Edgar Froese,
and the atmospheric music could make a great soundtrack for a stroll in
this fascinating nature.
Specific Gravity Of Smile has a sofisticated complex structure with
well ringing synthesizers and sequencers, could remind one of the White
Eagle title track, due to the somewhat sad melodies. The spectrum of
sounds are in a vast number and they are poetically moody. One of
Froese's best solo compositions, and on par with the mesmerizing
Drunken Mozart In The Desert.
The Light Cone pales the overall impression, for being a tad naïve, and
that drags the rating down to a 9/10. Walkabout has it's best moments
throughout the atmospheric parts.
Pinnacles makes up for the entire second side of the LP, and starts
right away with its repeating and wuthering sequences. In Pinnacles'
finest moments it reaches the same heights as Sphinx Lightning from
Hyperborea - even Drunken Mozart In The Desert, as it also has very
well composed arpeggios. Like a movie review, I will not reveal
anything more, but only encourage you to listen, and swim away in this
beautiful musical landscape.
Like Hyperborea and Ages, this album had to deal with a lot of negative
critique, because of its repetitions, but that's unfair. If you are
about to take a walk in extraordinaire landscapes, Pinnacles should be
the tape in your walkman.
Unfortunately this album was his last true pinnacle. When he
re-launched his solo-carreer in 1995, and later under the moniker of
Edgar W. Froese in 2003 he didn't come up with anything as landmark as
that of the 1974-1983 era.
